GolfWeek's Best Courses (You Can Play) - Are they Right for Your State?

[mcanadiens]

  On 6/8/2021 at 7:31 PM, The Flush said:

I have heard that Cooks Creek is now just about out of business.  They are down to only 9 holes and don't have carts because they weren't paying their bills and now no-one will lease carts to them. It is sad because the couple times I played there it seemed to be really nice.

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Yep That's what I hear.

My Columbus people say it isn't worth the gas to get there now.

[georgep]

Last time I played Cooks (2 years ago) the fairways and greens were still good but everything else was rundown. It’s a really good layout but it may soon join the list of good Cbus tracks that bit the dust.

[saevel25]

  On 6/9/2021 at 1:46 AM, georgep said:

Last time I played Cooks (2 years ago) the fairways and greens were still good but everything else was rundown. It’s a really good layout but it may soon join the list of good Cbus tracks that bit the dust.

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It's been at least 8 years since I played that course. It was in great shape back then. I enjoyed the course. I think I shot like an 85 with 4-5 lateral hazards. Every time I hit a ball in the water I hit the green and made the putt. It was just a weird round. 

[KMP]

Washington

Best Courses You Can Play

1. Gamble Sands, Brewster (No. 42 m)
2. Chambers Bay, University Place (No. 50 m)
3. Wine Valley, Walla Walla (m)
4. Salish Cliffs, Shelton, (m)
5. Olympic Course at Gold Mountain, Bremerton (m)
6. Palouse Ridge, Pullman (m)
7. White Horse, Kingston (m)
8. Trophy Lake Golf & Casting, Port Orchard (m)
9. Loomis Trail, Blaine (m)
10. Semiahmoo GC, Blaine (m)

 

Chambers is #1 IMO. What I don't understand is why The Home Course never appears on any list. 

[The Flush]

I played Eagle Sticks, #10 on the Ohio list, yesterday. It is a nice course. Greens and fairways were in good condition. Certainly not boring. As others have said, there are no flat lies on the course other than the tees. Beautiful terrain. 

My only real complaint is the the bunkers need a lot of attention. It was not just the standing water from all the recent rain, but it looked like they have not had fresh sand in a few years. They were mostly hard and compacted with no loose sand although I did end up in one green side bunker that someone raked before me and I was able to play a proper bunker shot (my only good shot of the day).

We had a GroupGolfer deal to play for $25 including cart and range balls.  So that was a good deal, although it was a 2 hour drive each way.  The forecast was good a week ago when we booked our tee time, but it started raining just before our 12:48 start and rained for over an hour.  We were soaked, but dried out after the rained stopped.  It took almost 5 hours to play with us and the group in front of us waiting on every hole. There were 2 groups waiting on #10 tee. My son almost drove the green on a short par 4 while the group in front was still putting and the group behind us did the same on another short par 4. Honest mistake both times. A course employee picked up my son's ball in the rough on one hole, that kind of sucked. I don't know how much of the slow pace was due to the rain, the difficulty of the course, 5 par 3s, or the skill or attitude of the players.

I would play again for $25, but don't think I would drive 2 hours for the regular rate.

[saevel25]

Ohio - Best Courses You Can Play

1. Manakiki, Willoughby (c)
2. Fowler’s Mill (Lake & River), Chesterland (m)
3. The Virtues, Nashport (m) - Played
4. Boulder Creek, Streetsboro (m) - Played
5. Sleepy Hollow, Brecksville (c) - Played
6. Stonelick Hills, Batavia (m)
7. The Quarry, Canton (m) - Played
8. Little Mountain, Painesville (m)
9. Cooks Creek, South Bloomfield (m) - Played
10. EagleSticks, Zanesville (m) - Played

I need to played the last remaining 4 courses. Especially when 3 out of 4 are with in a 1-1.5 hour drive of me. Stonelick is almost the furthest you can get away from Akron in Ohio. 

 

[iacas]

You haven't played Little Mountain?

[saevel25]

  On 6/21/2021 at 3:51 PM, iacas said:

You haven't played Little Mountain?

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Correct, I haven't had the chance to play that one yet. 

[mcanadiens]

  On 6/21/2021 at 3:06 PM, saevel25 said:

Ohio - Best Courses You Can Play

1. Manakiki, Willoughby (c)
2. Fowler’s Mill (Lake & River), Chesterland (m)
3. The Virtues, Nashport (m) - Played
4. Boulder Creek, Streetsboro (m) - Played
5. Sleepy Hollow, Brecksville (c) - Played
6. Stonelick Hills, Batavia (m)
7. The Quarry, Canton (m) - Played
8. Little Mountain, Painesville (m)
9. Cooks Creek, South Bloomfield (m) - Played
10. EagleSticks, Zanesville (m) - Played

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Dayton-area courses never make these sort of lists and, sadly, my traveling days are over.

Is The Virtues slipping? Thought they used to take the top spot all the time.

[saevel25]

  On 6/21/2021 at 4:10 PM, mcanadiens said:

Dayton-area courses never make these sort of lists and, sadly, my traveling days are over.

Is The Virtues slipping? Thought they used to take the top spot all the time.

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There is many more golf courses in NE than SW Ohio. Especially the Dayton area. 

Beavercreek is a fun course. I would put it up there with many courses I played in NE Ohio. 

[mcanadiens]

  On 6/21/2021 at 4:14 PM, saevel25 said:

Beavercreek is a fun course. I would put it up there with many courses I played in NE Ohio. 

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That's my old hometown. Got a friend that takes me out there once or twice a year and I agree that it is very nice. 

 

[SG11118]

Minnesota

1. Giants Ridge (Quarry), Biwabik (m) 
2. The Wilderness at Fortune Bay, Tower (m) 
3. Breezy Point Resort (Deacon’s Lodge), Brainerd (m) 
4. The Classic at Madden’s, Brainerd (m)
5. Chaska Town Course, Chaska (m)
6. Meadows at Mystic Lake, Prior Lake (m)
7. Jewel GC, Lake City (m)
8. Dacotah Ridge, Morton (m) 
9. Rush Creek, Maple Grove (m)
10. Giants Ridge (Legends), Biwabik (m) 
(m): modern
(c): classic

I've only played 1, 2, 8, and 10 from this list.  Kind of weird that not a single classic course shows up on this list, and only two in the Twin Cities area.  I guess most of the good classic courses in Minnesota are private...  I probably would have had a little different list taking off the ones I haven't played and putting on my favorite other 6 courses that I have played.  

 

[Belthrum]

  On 6/1/2019 at 4:01 PM, jamo said:

I've played Fox Hopyard (as @boogielicious mentioned), Mohegan Sun, and Shennecossett (cc @billchao). Fox Hopyard is excellent - I'm surprised it's not higher up. Mohegan was very meh (it's also a pretty good drive away from the actual Mohegan Sun casino - they just bought a somewhat-nearby golf course and slapped their name on it). Shennecossett is where I play in a men's league, so it's basically my home course. The layout there is mostly excellent, the bunkers suck, some parts of the rough could use a little grooming, and a few greens could be flattened out. But at this time of the year, when they let the fescue grow and it's not too wet and it hasn't baked out, it's a great course. 

I live very close to Lake of Isles but I've never played there. I have been to their driving range though, which is very nice. I'm planning on playing in the CT Public Links this year, which is at Wintonbury Hills. 

I also took a look at the Delaware one. When I was in college, Deerfield Golf & Tennis Club was our home course for the club team, and we got insane deals to play there. At the time I loved playing online poker here after a good match. Pretty sure it was free or nearly-free range balls and like $20 rounds (and I think the actual club team rounds were free). 

I looked at Rhode Island too, because I live pretty close to there and play there often. I played Meadow Brook for the first time recently - that was a nice course. I want to play Newport National, but it's like $175 or something. I'm surprised Richmond Country Club didn't make it. 

I've played Franklin Park and George Wright, but none of the others (though I'd like to see if I can find time to play Cape Cod National, Crumpin-Fox, Red Tail, and Pinehills this summer).

George Wright is one of my very favorite courses anywhere - I actually took a day trip up to play it last weekend. To me, Franklin Park is in between the George Wright level and more goat-tracky places like Ponkapoag, Leo J. Martin, Robert T. Lynch/Brookline, etc. The people at George Wright have done a great job improving the course over the past decade. If they figure out how to improve the transition between the rough and the wooded areas it would easily be one of the top courses in the state, the layout is that good. The greens, fairways, and bunkers are excellent. That area of the city has really improved recently too. 

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Wintonbury Hills hosting the CT Public Links sounds like an exciting challenge; good luck if you go for it!

[ChetlovesMer]

Ohio - Best Courses You Can Play

1. Manakiki, Willoughby - 
2. Fowler’s Mill (Lake & River), Chesterland - 
3. The Virtues, Nashport - Played 👍I only played it once. I'm thinking I should give it another day in court. 
4. Boulder Creek, Streetsboro - Played it a lot. 👍I give it a thumbs up. Having said that it is probably over-rated. 
5. Sleepy Hollow, Brecksville - 
6. Stonelick Hills, Batavia - 
7. The Quarry, Canton - Was supposed to play it. Got rained out. 
8. Little Mountain, Painesville - Played. 👍Might be my favorite on the list. Not sure why, but I enjoy this one. 
9. Cooks Creek, South Bloomfield - Played years ago. I've also heard it's fallen on hard times. 
10. EagleSticks, Zanesville - Played a few times. 👍I like it. Not perfect, but you can get it at a good value. For what ever reason Golf Websites are always running this one at value prices. 

So, I've only played half the courses on the list. In August I will have lived in Ohio for 10 years. So, I better get on it and knock a few more of these off the list. 

 

  On 6/21/2021 at 4:14 PM, saevel25 said:

Beavercreek is a fun course. I would put it up there with many courses I played in NE Ohio. 

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I second that. Beavercreek is a good one.