calibuck
Too soon old, too late smart
As a spin-off from the OSU Scarlet thread, thought there needed to be a thread on the memorable golf courses that we have played, and discussion thereof. Old classics, designed by Donald Ross, Alistar McKenzie, up to newer classics, designed by Jack Nicklaus and ?.
Noticing the 'Best 100 courses in America' some of the old classics, such as Seminole, in Jupiter Fla have gotten booted off the list for some of the newer ones, either public or private, such as the 'Dunes' courses, such as Bandon Dunes in Oregon (there's three of them), but there are still many of those on the list from Cental Ohio. Scioto (Donald Ross), Muirfield (Nicklaus), The Golf Club (I forget), OSU Scarlet (Alistar McKenzie) as well as the new Double Eagle make Columbus area as populated with great courses, only on a par with the Monterey Peninsula (Spyglass, Pebble Beach, Cyprus Point, Spanish Bay, Poppy Hills, and just up the road, my favorite, Pasatiempo (Alistar McKenzie).
'Pas' was McKenzie's signature course (sorry Cyprus, Augusta and Scarlet) and he had his house on the signature hold (#17). It has everything you could ask for, and more. The pros don't want to play it, because it screws up their putting for the flatter, more 'puttable' courses. But the carries across hills or valleys force you to hit shots that you sometimes feel uncomfortable with. Once you get there, you might have an easy 7 or 8 iron to the pin, but the putting is always treacherous. Played there over a dozen times, until the member who was hosting me got beaten too often (never did learn how to play political golf). The drive to get there is scenic, and is to be remembered. Of course, being in the Santa Cruz mountains, with various peeks at Monterey Bay cause the real estate to jump into the mega-millions, so retiring there is out of the question.
Was a member at OSU Scarlet for ten years, and played it every chance I could. My father wanted to play the Gray all the time, and so we did, but when I was out with my high school buddies, we teed it up from the varsity (back) tees. Some of the holes still stand out, like Scarlet #16, a severe dogleg left, well 'back in the day', the trees weren't so big on the left, and you could hit it over Trabue road and slice it back around the green. Never drove the green, but had a couple of 'Texas wedge' putts. The 555 yard par five (I think #6) was a monster, with a big carry over the water, and if you were right, you were in jail with the stand of trees. Another wood, and then another, and then a short iron, if close enough to one putt and get a par or bogey. I have two oil pictures of Scarlet #13 in my office, one with a wonderful remembrance by my father. Played that course with a 4 iron to start, and as got bigger and stronger (and probably a better swing) went to a 7 iron (probably now hit a 4 iron again).
Anyway, that's more than one, but I'd like to hear about other courses to play when I come back in November.
:gobucks3::gobucks4:
Noticing the 'Best 100 courses in America' some of the old classics, such as Seminole, in Jupiter Fla have gotten booted off the list for some of the newer ones, either public or private, such as the 'Dunes' courses, such as Bandon Dunes in Oregon (there's three of them), but there are still many of those on the list from Cental Ohio. Scioto (Donald Ross), Muirfield (Nicklaus), The Golf Club (I forget), OSU Scarlet (Alistar McKenzie) as well as the new Double Eagle make Columbus area as populated with great courses, only on a par with the Monterey Peninsula (Spyglass, Pebble Beach, Cyprus Point, Spanish Bay, Poppy Hills, and just up the road, my favorite, Pasatiempo (Alistar McKenzie).
'Pas' was McKenzie's signature course (sorry Cyprus, Augusta and Scarlet) and he had his house on the signature hold (#17). It has everything you could ask for, and more. The pros don't want to play it, because it screws up their putting for the flatter, more 'puttable' courses. But the carries across hills or valleys force you to hit shots that you sometimes feel uncomfortable with. Once you get there, you might have an easy 7 or 8 iron to the pin, but the putting is always treacherous. Played there over a dozen times, until the member who was hosting me got beaten too often (never did learn how to play political golf). The drive to get there is scenic, and is to be remembered. Of course, being in the Santa Cruz mountains, with various peeks at Monterey Bay cause the real estate to jump into the mega-millions, so retiring there is out of the question.
Was a member at OSU Scarlet for ten years, and played it every chance I could. My father wanted to play the Gray all the time, and so we did, but when I was out with my high school buddies, we teed it up from the varsity (back) tees. Some of the holes still stand out, like Scarlet #16, a severe dogleg left, well 'back in the day', the trees weren't so big on the left, and you could hit it over Trabue road and slice it back around the green. Never drove the green, but had a couple of 'Texas wedge' putts. The 555 yard par five (I think #6) was a monster, with a big carry over the water, and if you were right, you were in jail with the stand of trees. Another wood, and then another, and then a short iron, if close enough to one putt and get a par or bogey. I have two oil pictures of Scarlet #13 in my office, one with a wonderful remembrance by my father. Played that course with a 4 iron to start, and as got bigger and stronger (and probably a better swing) went to a 7 iron (probably now hit a 4 iron again).
Anyway, that's more than one, but I'd like to hear about other courses to play when I come back in November.
:gobucks3::gobucks4:
Nice course.
