Best Golf Course You’ve Played?
- Thread starter Indyhorn
- Start date
Yes, easterners could sell their high priced real estate, take the money to Florida, buy a nice property and stick money in the bank.
Is UPS waiting for the contract talks to finish before spending money on upgrades (e.g. building upgrades)?
i have a "friend" that is very interested in knowing as it alters their business....
We ship daily from Pakistan to all over the United States. UPS, DHL, FEDEX. UPS is far and away the best fwiw
Wolf Creek in Mesquite, NV is incredible, as well as Arcadia Bluffs along upper Lake Michigan. Scottsdale has several great courses.
Was is the operative word.
NYers/NJers have driven up the price, driven up the traffic, driven up the rudeness and deflated the charm.
Been that way for awhile on the Atlantic side and they have now discovered the gulf and are polluting that.
I think I’m going to start checking out the mid south for my old age. Carolinas, Tenn, and GA. Maybe Virginia.
You never played Medinah #3? I thought you did.
Remember when we played the par 3 course on Old 37 in Bloomington, probably the spring of 1983? You hit every green with your tee shot - and they all bounced liked superballs off of concrete. I thought you were gonna eat your 7 iron. Good times!
The most notable courses I (as a terrible golfer) have played are Medinah #3 a couple of times and TPC Sawgrass, but the toughest course I've EVER played is the Irish Course at Whistling Straits.
It was exceptionally windy the day we played it, and the course literally chewed up everyone in our group, to the extent that two of our 12 players stopped playing during the round and just rode in their carts the last four or five holes.
Never seen that (a flat tap out) before or since.
It was exceptionally windy the day we played it, and the course literally chewed up everyone in our group, to the extent that two of our 12 players stopped playing during the round and just rode in their carts the last four or five holes.
Never seen that (a flat tap out) before or since.
Had to jump out of a week vacation in Destin 12 years ago to go to NYC for a sales meeting. All of our NY guys had no idea where/what Destin was. They knew Miami and South Beach (mostly Jewish, BTW)...all of them live there now.
Naples may have fallen, but maybe the panhandle will remain Midwestern/Southern.
I’ve tapped out roughly 1/3 of my rounds of golf. Anger. Alcohol. Frustration. Thrown clubs. The old forest park public course here was real fun to play. Took half a day and the eye candy was fantastic. Before they renovated there was a long hole in front of the art museum. I told a 12 yr old kid who was with his dad behind us waiting for us to hit that if I don’t hit it straight and a mile long I’m going to give him my bag and my entire set of clubs and walk home. Expensive clubs. I was a big believer in clubs over practice. I sliced it straight into the water. Pulled off my clubs. Put them in his cart and walked home. My friends still laugh about it. One of my many tapout rounds
Yeah, played it over 20 years ago. Only remember a long par three, with a ravine for most of way to the green while being elevated from tee to green. I recall it being close to impossible hitting the green in regulation. Well over 200 yards long.
All of the Bandon Dunes courses. It's a b!tch to get there, but absolutely beautiful and challenging courses.
It's definitely a bucket list kind of experience.
Yeah that was #13, could be hit if you can hit a high ball about 220. But typically you played off the backstop area behind the green and tried to get up and down for par. #12-15 on that course was hardest 4 hole stretch you'd find anywhere. Was a beautiful course, unfortunately Stan Burton ran the club into the ground. If he had invested some money into the on- site cottages and made it more of a destination course for 10-15 groups/ week it would have been financially viable, IMO. At the end the irrigation system failed and was going to be a couple million just to fix that, and he threw in the towel. Then he wanted so much money for the land it wasn't viable for another course operator to take over. Ended up being bought by some rich bird lovers for $5m, and is a wildlife area.... eventually the city of Zionsville is going to take it over.
It was much too difficult to be a daily member- only course. It was built for single digit and lower handicaps, and just aren't enough of them around for a club with no other family amenities.
The IU course has very similar vibes to Wolf, being the same designer and similar land, trees and topography.
I just played it once with our insurance agent from Fort Wayne and a member. He was a low handicap golfer. The yardage you indicate sounds about right. As i recall, i hit the green, but bounced right and off by several yards. I couldn't get up and down for par.
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Yep. Even the driving range was hard.
We had 2 guys quit golf at the Ocean Course. One mid-round.
Played it half a dozen times or more the first few years when it was as hard as Victoria. Played a two man best ball tournament there which was a blast.
The thing about Victoria National before Dormie Club was you only had to hit a ball a few yards of line, you had a lost ball and reteed. Stroke play tounments at Victoria were amazing. Scratch players routinely made double digit scores on holes.
I believe the highest winning score in Indiana Amateur history was at Victoria. If my member serves second place was like 9-10 shots behind first place.
Many of the tees they played were foward of the next to back tees we always played.
Crazy story when I quit Victory a few years ago. My buddy and I finished 18 holes a couple days after the end of tax season. It was my first round of the year. We sat down for dinner. There was a full staff and not 10 golfers on the course. They wouldn’t serve us because we didn’t have a reservation.
We played a member/member a few weeks later at Dormie Club course, Ballyhack in Virginia. Then I resigned. All my buddies have since quit.
Dormie Club doesn’t want local members. They think they’re going to thrive on members flying in and staying in the expensive cottages onsite. They only want 60 players a day.
Many of the tees they played were foward of the next to back tees we always played.
Crazy story when I quit Victory a few years ago. My buddy and I finished 18 holes a couple days after the end of tax season. It was my first round of the year. We sat down for dinner. There was a full staff and not 10 golfers on the course. They wouldn’t serve us because we didn’t have a reservation.
We played a member/member a few weeks later at Dormie Club course, Ballyhack in Virginia. Then I resigned. All my buddies have since quit.
Dormie Club doesn’t want local members. They think they’re going to thrive on members flying in and staying in the expensive cottages onsite. They only want 60 players a day.
Perhaps the toughest placement course I have played. Never joined and glad we didn’t. I didn’t have fun on that course.
That was good times. I wonder how many classes we missed to go play that stupid course?
Yea it is going all corporate. My business partner just left Dormie. It was fun while it lasted.
They’re banking on a model that isn’t going to work. Their diamond is Victoria. You go to Evansville Indiana once and get the hell beat out of you by the course and you’re not going back.
Before me and my buddies quit we talked to several people who made the trip. One trip was enough for them.
I believe I was the last person to ever play Wolf Run. Buddy of mine had a bid on a round of golf there in an auction. Forgot he had it and called for a tee time. They said the last day to play was on Friday, Nov 16th I think. Course would close completely after that.
Though it as supposed to be 40 degrees and snow flurries, we played anyway. By the back 9, rain started, then came sleet, and freezing rain. We trekked on and I made the last putt on 18.
Got done and only 2 cars in the lot: mine and the lone worker. He said we were the last people ever to play Wolf Run. And it was in perfect condition to the last putt.
How many members did Vic have usually during your time there? Local vs national (pre-Dormie)?
I think approximately 150-200 local. I will have to dig some. I could be high. I was told a week ago that 28-30 now.
I don't know the answer to your question, except to say that we missed a LOT more classes playing euchre, pinochle, or challenging each other with trivia that we picked on the fly from the USA Today, i.e., "Which batter is 88th in the American League in batting average today?"
That question alone would waste about 45 minutes, and we'd have 20 questions like that.
Every. Single Day. Mix in a trip to the quad store for Hostess fruit pies and Coke, a few games of euchs/pinochle, and that would take you from Monday to Wednesday.
How any of us earned a degree is beyond me. Yet we all did.
Were they getting a lot of revenue from national members or other outside guests? Really hard to run a private club at a high level with under 275-300 members. Outside the exception of exclusive, high dollar clubs you might find closer to large metros, where they just assess the members each year and everyone writes a big check.
I swam naked in that lake at Coeur d’Alene. Does that count?Ocean Course (Kiawah) have played it about 10 times and it changes amazingly dependent upon the weather and wind. Probably the best course that Pete Dye ever built and I've played a lot of his stuff (some great, some terrible)
Best course in Indiana I think is Pete Dye @ French Lick. I've played Crooked Stick many times. It's great, and I know better ranked by the experts, but the Dye course at FL is just a fabulous experience. I think Vic National is better than Crooked Stick, too. The Pfau course @ IU is really damn good. I miss Wolf Run. It was so good.
Best one off ever would have been Oakmont or Muirfield Village. Oakland Hills, was renovated by the Jonses to just be stupid hard, not fun. The reno that Hanse did looks really good, a much better course from what I've seen. Would love to go back if I can ever get on again. Hopefully with a rebuilt clubhouse. I did play Detroit CC on same trip to Oakland (where they host the Rocket Mortgage). Kind of bland for a Ross course, but the clubhouse was so fkn cool. A step back in time to the pinnacle of Detroit's economic prowess. In a total ghetto neighborhood getting there, but the course surrounded by these amazing 1920-1940 mansions. Some decrepit, some beautiful.
I've not played much of anything out west. Other than Coeur D'Alene which was mesmerizing in its beauty and conditioning, not an amazing design.....but you do get to take a boat to the green on one hole(movable floating green they can move from 100-200+ yards). The conditioning was the best I've ever seen. The fairways ran quicker than most greens. THE driving range is launching balls out into the lake... which was fun, (you can see the net in this picture)
No, the place has been a money pit. Until they get rid of Bent Grass Fairways and Greens, it will continue to be a money pit. The young kid running Dormie for his daddy is going to get a lesson.
Rumor has it they are going to solicit local members again. Most former members, including me wouldn’t go back if the dues were zero.
I've Played - Pebble Beach - all Pinehurst courses - Shinnecock - National Golf Club - Bethpage Black - both French Lick courses - Sawgrass - etc
Loved them all - can't pick one favorite
