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  1. #61
    Join Date
    Apr 2011
    Location
    Winston’Salem

    Tobacco Road (Sanford, NC)

    A controversial course. We loved it. "Pine Valley on steroids," they say. In great condition right now and, tee to green, maybe the most interesting course I have ever played. Run, don't walk ....
    "Amazing what a minute can do."

  2. #62
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
    Location
    Rent free in tarheels’ heads
    Quote Originally Posted by Tripping William View Post
    A controversial course. We loved it. "Pine Valley on steroids," they say. In great condition right now and, tee to green, maybe the most interesting course I have ever played. Run, don't walk ...
    Absolutely hated it the first time I played. Swore I wouldn't go back. But decided to give it another try this past summer and ended up liking it much more the second time. It's very quirky. But once you're more aware of what's out there and how to play the course, it really is a good time.

    Mike Strantz designed some interesting courses. Tot Hill Farm was utterly frustrating - struck the ball really well and still couldn't score. But Tobacco Road is a good track.
    “Coach said no 3s.” - Zion on The Block

  3. #63
    Join Date
    Apr 2011
    Location
    Winston’Salem
    Quote Originally Posted by Dr. Rosenrosen View Post
    Absolutely hated it the first time I played. Swore I wouldn't go back. But decided to give it another try this past summer and ended up liking it much more the second time. It's very quirky. But once you're more aware of what's out there and how to play the course, it really is a good time.

    Mike Strantz designed some interesting courses. Tot Hill Farm was utterly frustrating - struck the ball really well and still couldn't score. But Tobacco Road is a good track.
    I should clarify that, well-aware of Strantz's reputation, we did quite a bit of pre-round prep work before playing Tobacco Road. Read a good set of hole-by-hole reviews, downloaded and walked through their app, etc. I would hate to have played that course "cold."

    The difference with Tobacco Road is that miI'm a real wanker for saying this.I'm a real wanker for saying this.I'm a real wanker for saying this.I'm a real wanker for saying this.s mostly land in predictable places (sand). Miss at Tot Hill, and the ricochet off the boulders puts you lord knows where. But I still want another crack at Tot Hill.

    No Finley today. Had to fly to Utah for a funeral instead. Blech.
    "Amazing what a minute can do."

  4. #64
    Join Date
    Apr 2011
    Location
    Winston’Salem

    Any Las Vegas course recommendations?

    I need to be in Sin City at the very end of January, and will probably take some clients out for a round. I have played TPC at Summerlin, and loved it, but I took them there last time out and am looking for something new. The only other course I have played out there is Las Vegas Country Club, but it didn't particularly impress. (Not terrible, not great.)

    I am particular intrigued by the Paiute Golf Resort courses: Three designs by Pete Dye.

    Any intel would be appreciated.

    Thanks!
    "Amazing what a minute can do."

  5. #65
    Quote Originally Posted by Tripping William View Post
    I need to be in Sin City at the very end of January, and will probably take some clients out for a round. I have played TPC at Summerlin, and loved it, but I took them there last time out and am looking for something new. The only other course I have played out there is Las Vegas Country Club, but it didn't particularly impress. (Not terrible, not great.)

    I am particular intrigued by the Paiute Golf Resort courses: Three designs by Pete Dye.

    Any intel would be appreciated.

    Thanks!
    No suggestions, but if you are playing three Pete Dye courses in short order you may need a healthy dose of peyote.
    My Quick Smells Like French Toast.

  6. #66
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Chesapeake, VA.
    Quote Originally Posted by Channing View Post
    No suggestions, but if you are playing three Pete Dye courses in short order you may need a healthy dose of peyote.
    Or good ball placement.
    "We are not provided with wisdom, we must discover it for ourselves, after a journey through the wilderness which no one else can take for us, an effort which no one can spare us, for our wisdom is the point of view from which we come at last to regard the world." --M. Proust

  7. #67
    Join Date
    Apr 2011
    Location
    Winston’Salem
    Quote Originally Posted by Channing View Post
    No suggestions, but if you are playing three Pete Dye courses in short order you may need a healthy dose of peyote.
    Quote Originally Posted by rsvman View Post
    Or good ball placement.
    Regrettably, I don't have an ample supply of either one! Back-to-back-to-back Pete Dye is probably the very definition of masochism. The silver lining: I'll only be playing a single round this trip.
    "Amazing what a minute can do."

  8. #68
    Join Date
    Apr 2011
    Location
    Winston’Salem

    BreakingEighty.com's list of Top 100 courses

    I don't know if anyone else here has followed Sean Ogle's reviews. He is a guy who grew up in Oregon and maintains a golf course blog at BreakingEighty.com. Anyway, he has finished releasing his list of the Top 100 Courses he has played in the last two years, which he says he has ranked entirely on the basis of "fun." An interesting read that may spark some debate here.

    Topping the list? Pebble Beach. The rest of the Top 10 has a heavy dose of West Coast and Scotland (but with three courses in the East).
    "Amazing what a minute can do."

  9. #69
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Chesapeake, VA.
    Quote Originally Posted by Tripping William View Post
    I don't know if anyone else here has followed Sean Ogle's reviews. He is a guy who grew up in Oregon and maintains a golf course blog at BreakingEighty.com. Anyway, he has finished releasing his list of the Top 100 Courses he has played in the last two years, which he says he has ranked entirely on the basis of "fun." An interesting read that may spark some debate here.

    Topping the list? Pebble Beach. The rest of the Top 10 has a heavy dose of West Coast and Scotland (but with three courses in the East).
    Nice. Thanks for the list. It was worth scrolling through just for the pictures. Beautiful.

    I've played several courses on the list and loved them all, especially Pasatiempo (which I agree is widely underrated), and, of course, Pebble Beach, which I also enjoyed a great deal.
    "We are not provided with wisdom, we must discover it for ourselves, after a journey through the wilderness which no one else can take for us, an effort which no one can spare us, for our wisdom is the point of view from which we come at last to regard the world." --M. Proust

  10. #70
    Join Date
    Apr 2011
    Location
    Winston’Salem

    Sedgefield CC

    Walked the Ross course today, following my 12-year-old's tournament. It is the home of the Wyndham Championship (f/k/a the Greater Greensboro Open, and is where the ACC was founded). Donald Ross at his finest, at least this side of #2. The greens complexes are top-notch, and the championship Bermuda greens were rolling really nicely. Can't imagine the precision needed to play this from the tips. I was jealous and want to find a member to get me on it.
    "Amazing what a minute can do."

  11. #71
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Chesapeake, VA.
    How did your kid do?

  12. #72
    Join Date
    Apr 2011
    Location
    Winston’Salem

    The Best of Times, The Worst of Times

    Quote Originally Posted by rsvman View Post
    How did your kid do?
    Charles Dickens would have been proud. A tale of two nines. It was a shotgun start, so he teed off #10. Played that side wonderfully (tied for the best score on that 9 in his age group), but struggled mightily after the turn and ended up middle-of-the-pack overall. He had fun, though.
    "Amazing what a minute can do."

  13. #73
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Chesapeake, VA.
    Excellent. It should be fun, win, lose, or draw.

  14. #74
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Richmond, Va

    The Cardinal Golf Club

    Pete Dye design in G'boro. Played a college tourney there a few times and tried to qualify for the GGO there. Excellent course, not overly long, but plays longer than it's yardage.

    TW, any response at Finley?

  15. #75
    Join Date
    Apr 2011
    Location
    Winston’Salem
    Quote Originally Posted by duketaylor View Post
    Pete Dye design in G'boro. Played a college tourney there a few times and tried to qualify for the GGO there. Excellent course, not overly long, but plays longer than it's yardage.

    TW, any response at Finley?
    I believe the Cardinal is now owned by McConnell Golf and associated with Sedgefield (which they call the "Dye Course").

    Had to cancel at Finley, due to an unexpected funeral. Is the answer "Raymond Floyd"?
    "Amazing what a minute can do."

  16. #76
    Join Date
    Apr 2011
    Location
    Winston’Salem

    Grandover West Course (Greensboro, NC)

    A Boxing Day round here this afternoon. I have played it a couple of times, but only in Captain's Choice charity events. This was my first time from #1 tee to #18 green playing my own shots. A fairly forgiving course, but with a nice mix of elevation changes, bunkering, and water hazards. The bent grass greens must have burned out this summer; more "pock marks" on the greens than I would have expected. Still, a fun track in late December, and I'm anxious now to play the East Course (which I have yet to play).
    "Amazing what a minute can do."

  17. #77
    one of the white-shoe clubs here in Atlanta is the Piedmont Driving Club (of ridiculous entitlement behavior notoriety - http://www.golfvacationinsider.com/p...embership-8560). Apparently they were doing some course renovations and lowered the level of their lake. That caused some instability and two of the greens more or less fell into the lake. That sounds like assessment city to me...
    My Quick Smells Like French Toast.

  18. #78
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    San Diego, California
    Serious golfers should all make a pilgrimage to Bandon, Oregon and play the courses at Bandon Dunes. I think it's amazing in every way. I've played a reasonable number of the "top" courses and Bandon was the top golf experience for me. Fun. Challenging. Beautiful. No carts. Good caddies. Nothing but golf.

  19. #79
    Join Date
    Apr 2011
    Location
    Winston’Salem
    Quote Originally Posted by RPS View Post
    Serious golfers should all make a pilgrimage to Bandon, Oregon and play the courses at Bandon Dunes. I think it's amazing in every way. I've played a reasonable number of the "top" courses and Bandon was the top golf experience for me. Fun. Challenging. Beautiful. No carts. Good caddies. Nothing but golf.
    Definitely on my To-Play List. I have heard nothing but good things, and the photos I have seen are phenomenal.

    As a Christmas gift, Mrs. Tripping and the boy have given me a weekend at Pine Needles, where (weather willing, and the creek don't rise) we'll play that course and Mid-Pines on Saturday and Sunday. I haven't played either of them previously, so I'm looking forward to it. Nothing says "Happy New Year" like 36 holes of Donald Ross . . . .
    "Amazing what a minute can do."

  20. #80
    Join Date
    Apr 2011
    Location
    Winston’Salem

    Mid Pines and Pine Needles

    We rang out 2016 by playing an afternoon round (in the cold in Pinehurst) at Mid Pines, and we rang in 2017 by playing a morning round (in a bit of mist) at Pine Needles. These two courses are a pair of peas in a pod. Their respective facilities are now operated by the same management company, they are literally right across the street (Midland Road) from one another, and they are both classic Donald Ross designs from the 1920s (although Pine Needles has had some more recent renovations). Really good routing (I think both could easily be walked, although we had a covered cart both days). Interesting elevation changes and dog-legging, and those oh-so-treacherous Ross-style greens, both in championship bermuda.

    Mid Pines plays to a par 72, with distances ranging from 6700 yards down to 4900. Although the two-some with whom we were paired played from 6200, we took it easy on ourselves and played the 5700 yard tees. That really only made a meaningful difference on about three holes, including (especially) saving us from a long forced carry over water on #3 (a really tight uphill par 4). I cannot even begin to imagine how colorful this course is when the azaleas are in bloom, and 18th is photo-worthy even in the winter, with the stately Mid Pines Inn set as the backdrop.

    Host to three U.S. Women's Opens, Pine Needles is par 71 (35-36), and measures from 7000 down to 4900. We played at 6000 yards this time around. The course starts you out immediately with the only par 5 on the front. Holes 6 through 9 are all par 4's, but each is interesting. The back is more traditional: Par 5's on the 10th and 15th, and par 3's on the 13th and 16th. You finish up with two really long par 4's, with 18 coming downhill back on the clubhouse on a green that is really, really tough to hold.

    Overall, I liked Mid Pines a little better, but not by much and I definitely play them again. Greens frees are rather inexpensive for those staying at one of the facilities (and the hotel rates were reasonable for us as well). I can see why they have been Sandhills fixtures for so long.
    Last edited by -jk; 01-03-2017 at 06:11 PM. Reason: clarity
    "Amazing what a minute can do."

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