Top Ten Courses I’d Love to Play

Of course there are more than ten, but I thought about this the other day and it got me going. One can only hope to play just a few of the great golf courses in their life. I have a few that are realistic and a few that are not but this is a list of those I’d like to play, not a list of those that I can play.

This week in The Numbers Game, it’s a top ten list of courses I want to play. (By the way, any help in playing these courses is appreciated… <grin>).

10. Quail Hollow (7,442 – 74.9/139)
I’ve been to this course numerous times to watch the Wachovia Championship. Every year I come away more and more impressed. It is easy to see why the pros rave about it.

The setting is gorgeous and includes one of the most beautiful holes I’ve ever seen. The seventh has a winding creek along the right-hand side and is adorned with a rock wall that forces even the best players to bail left. It doesn’t always play that hard; birdies come relatively easy. Some may not like the houses on the other side of the creek, but when these turn the heads of guys like Davis Love III and Justin Leonard, they are OK with me.

Quail Hollow will host a major. You can bank on it. It’s got great finishing holes and can provide the necessary elements to a U.S. Open or a PGA Championship.

9. Pacific Dunes (6,557 – 72.6/138)
I’ve read about both Pacific Dunes and Bandon Dunes and wouldn’t care which one I would get to play. It is hard to imagine putting such a new course on this list, but all of the reviews and pictures I’ve seen of the Dunes courses makes me want to play them more and more. It might not be the most challenging course on the list, but it could be the most picturesque.

If any golfer is ever in Oregon for any reason, it would be a tragic mistake not to make plans to play either of the Dunes courses. If I ever visit the left coast, I already know that this is an area I have to visit and a golf course I have to play. Perhaps I could meet up with our Olympia, WA correspondent, Jeff Smith out there sometime. I think we, and anyone else for that matter, would both want to see highly acclaimed results of Mike Keiser’s passion.

Nobody will ever think that Oregon is the #1 destination for golf, but it might have the #1 golf destination.

8. Pine Valley (6,853 – 73.5/152)
Pine Valley is routinely on the top of Golf Digest’s Top 100 golf courses list. I almost hesitated putting it on the list because I have never seen it and probably never will (being a private course and all). Also, it has and probably never will host a major due to inability to hold the massive amount of spectators.

So why Pine Valley?

Any course that has trademarks called “Hell’s Half Acre” and “The Devil’s Asshole” is ok with me. On a more serious note, Pine Valley has a hole for every club in your bag and has the reputation of being one of the most difficult courses (notice the 152 slope). Along with the challenge, Pine Valley still has (at least in pictures and from numerous accounts) a timeless feel that you only get with very few courses.

7. St. Andrews (6,840 – 73.3/139)
There had to be at least one of the old courses on the list. You knew that didn’t you? If you had the choice to play any course in England, Scotland, Wales or anywhere in the British Isles, where would it be?

It has to be St. Andrews. It has to be.

It may not be the hardest and it may not be the best, but it is the one course all true golfers should play. Sometime in my life I will make the trip over there to hit it over the hotel and to walk over the bridge on 18. When it comes to tradition, Augusta might be the only other course that comes close. Tradition has to stand for something, doesn’t it?

6. TPC at Sawgrass (7,093 – 75.0/149)
Not only is this is a great looking course on TV, it’s one that anyone can play. The cost is a bit higher than the muni course down the street, but Sawgrass is special.

I’ve played TPC course before and haven’t been blown away. They have some character, big greens, and are usually well maintained. I just haven’t been blown away by any of them. Sawgrass is different, though. Even if you have 15 holes that are above average, the final three make the course. I’m not saying holes 1-15 at Sawgrass suck, but if you put 16, 17 and 18 on any other course it would shoot up any golf course rankings in any golf magazine.

Watching the pros struggle to hit such a large green (the 17th) amazes me. I know they are aiming for the hole on a firm part of the green and don’t have much to work with, but if my competitors were pouring ball after ball into the drink, I’d think twice about going at the flag. A course that can humble tour pros gets a big nod in my book.

5. Oakmont Country Club (7,229 – 76.8/144)
This is one of the few golf courses in the country that have been on the U.S. Open rota for a long time now. I grew up about two hours away and had only one chance to play this course… and it fell through.

I had a friend who was a caddy there and he had three of us come down to play as “caddies” on a Monday. We plucked down $20 or so bucks for a few shirts to appear like official Oakmont caddies, whatever that means, and met him just outside the club. We all arrived at the caddy shack and got some strange looks while my buddy went up to find out when we could play. He promptly came back and said that they had re-scheduled a tournament and that it wasn’t going to be over for a while.

So, disgustedly, we trodded back to our cars and left. All I got to see was the range and down a couple holes. That left a bitter taste in my mouth that, to this day, makes me want to play Oakmont even more. The Open is coming back soon and I might go north to watch it, but that won’t satisfy me.

4. Bethpage Black (7,065 – 75.4/144)
This is probably the most realistic option on the list. While you might have to camp out to play, Bethpage is one course that is well worth it… at least from what I’ve heard.

Many of our readers and forum members call Bethpage their home course. We could all be so lucky. Now you don’t want to be a 36 handicapper and play there because you might not make it back to the clubhouse. Your bag might be a bit lighter after losing some balls though. Bethpage Black is not for the faint of heart.

I love a good test and a course that gives you more than one option off the tee. Bethpage Black does both. A course like that will only help you become a better golfer. Yes it will frustrate you, but in the end you’ll be better for it.

And many say the Red course is even better… so while I was in the area, I’d have to check it out as well.

3. Pinehurst #2 (7,252 – 74.1/131)
Next to Bethpage, this is the second most likely course I’ll play in the near future given that I now only live a little over an hour from the resort. I spent a few days down there last June and loved it. I’m a big fan of the Donald Ross style courses. They just look beautiful.

The closest I’ve come to #2 is Pine Needles at last year’s Newport Cup. It’s only a few minutes away and was also designed by Donald Ross. For less than half the cost, it isn’t a bad option… but it isn’t #2. The course plays longer, the greens are faster, and the slopes are more severe. Because of those slopes, positioning around the course is a premium and can drive a golfer crazy.

Pinehurst was created as a destination for northerners to “get away from it all.” It still remains that way today, but not just for northerners. People from across the world flock to this area of the globe to play golf… and not just for #2. Pinehurst #2 is simply the center of it all. It created the North American golf mecca.

2. Pebble Beach (6,816 – 75.0/144)
I can’t imagine a more beautiful setting for golf… the Pacific Ocean roaring in the background and a cool breeze blowing in the salty air and a light mist gently lifting in the morning. I’ve dreamt about such serenity for a round of golf at Pebble Beach.

If Pinehurst is the center of golf on the east coast, Pebble Beach might be the center on the west coast. If you ask people to name a golf destination west of the Mississippi, I’m betting the majority will name Pebble… including myself. The only problem is that you’ll have to stay a night at the resort to get on the course unless you know someone. It might cost you a few pennies.

It might be worth it to play the most recognized finishing hole in golf.

1. Augusta National (7,445 – 76.2/148)

Did you expect anything else? There simply isn’t any other course I want to play more than Augusta National. The history, the tradition, the pristine conditions, the ugly green jackets… Augusta has it all.

I know it is boring to pick this course. I won’t apologize though. It’s just a dream that someone like me would even think about getting a chance to play Augusta. Perhaps a dream is all it will ever be, but that makes the allure of Augusta even stronger. I’ll probably only play it when I die, but that’s OK… so long as I don’t have a tee time for next month!

Please leave a comment and hammer away at my list. I’m sure there will be more than a few people chomping at the bit to post their list.