Tanglewood Championship I think was clearly the best test of golf. While very well maintained, it suffers a bit from its public ownership and heavy play. But it's a course that could host a tournament at any level, and I guess has. It's also a course I would consider "old style" with no houses and a more walker-friendly layout. A couple holes were reminescent of the Bethpage courses.

Greensboro National was a very pretty course, albiet bordered by MacMansions. But I thought the homes nowhere near as obtrusive as Salem Glen. I think from the tips it would give players like Erik, Dave, Rafi and Josh all they could handle. But being modern, it was designed for carts. And I kind of don't like that. It reminds me of many newer, high-end daily fee and semi-private layouts. They're great fun to play, but maybe not amongst the ranks of great courses. Tanglewood Championship may be.

Finally, I think Dave's scratch handicap at Tanglewood Championship means a whole lot more that were he a member at any of the other courses we played.

Dave: Looks like I owe you $10. Did you redo the numbers on the overall bet, since we're not tied anymore?

You're a great host and thanks for setting up the Newport Cup. I concur with you that both Tanglewood Championship and Greensboro National were far superior to the other two courses. In the future, I'd recommend that all five rounds be played at these two courses.

P.S. Both Josh and I were disappointed that we didn't have the opportunity to play a round with you.

Tanglewood Championship is a great course and deserves the top ranking. I really enjoyed the layout(of course having Dave telling you were to aim and how to play the holes helped out as well). I definately want another shot at this one as I played poorly and want to redeem myself.

Salem Glen is decent and that's about it. Nothing stood out to me (except Josh hitting a drive on 18 that is still in orbit somewhere).

Reynolds was well, tight. I had plenty of practice on punch out shots and that's about the nicest thing to say (it still gets a 5 due to some really interesting holes).

All in all, a great grouping of courses.

Overall, Tanglewood was a little better. It was probably the toughest course I've ever played, and the 101 I shot showed that. Still, if I would have been striking the ball well, I could have shot in the 80s. It was tough for me to give a full opinion of it because my mood was less than spectacular.

I actually enjoyed the Reynolds course more than Salem Glen, but once again, it's probably because I played better. I liked the short yardage and the interesting holes.

I've shot a few rounds in the 70s, but my 81 at Greensboro National was easily the best round of my golfing life. It was a tough course and narrow in places, but it was still fairly easy to hit driver a lot.

And it's not like you had Tanglewood and GN ranked far apart. A 9 and an 8 are both pretty darn good.

I'd give Reynolds a 6 as well along with a 6 for Salem Glen.

And you were definitely a great host. On a sidenote, you should have put the number 3 or 4 on your list for the number of balls I dumped in the water at Tanglewood Championship on par-3s alone. :-\

Personally I would rank the courses the same exact way Dave has. I give Tanglewood-Championship the slight nod because there are no houses to cloud the view. Condition wise these were also the best of the weekend. Even if the greens at Salem were in better shape I still would rank it lowest on the list just because I didn't like the layout as much (Although my eagle on 11 gives it some sentimental value)

My two best rounds were at Tanglewood-Championship and Greensboro National. Partly due to playing with Dave and he was the best yardage book I've ever had. Also those two courses just fit my eye the best and both were a solid challenge and made me think my way around the course. Playing smart seems to be the best approach to my game and these courses do just that.

The only complaint I ever hear about Tanglewood is that the bunkers are too thin or firm. The sand is different and you can bounce a wedge off of it easy.

I'm curious to hear what the other Newport Cup contestants have to say...and how they would rank the courses.

I like the ratings as is, and I think Tanglewood's Championship course is one of the best tests of golf I've ever played.