What's the Most Exclusive Course You've Ever Played?

[The LoneStar]

What was your experience?

[Grndslmhttr3]

The Ace Club. It's incredibly nice, and really damn difficult too.

http://www.theaceclubonline.com/golf/proto/theaceclubonline/

[Spyder]

Unfortunately I haven't had the pleasure of playing an exclusive course yet. The course that I do want to play very bad is Firestone Country Club in Akron, OH - aka Tiger Woods's Playground!

http://www.clubcorp.com/Clubs/Firestone-Country-Club

[carpediem4300]

havent played an exclusive course but played woburn in norhtamptonshire and it had hosted the senior masters the week before so was in really lush condition!

[xxsoultonesxx]

Not exactly exclusive, but the nicest and most expensive course I've played is Chambers Bay. I really enjoyed the freedom of the practice area there, which IMO was the main difference between other public courses. Unlimited baskets of nice range balls to fire all over their huge grass range and take to their mega short game area.

Playing experience was great, played absolutely terrible, but the views and experience were totally class.

[TourSpoon]

Seminole - aka Hogan's prep course for the Masters on the Atlantic Ocean in Juno/North Palm Beach.  I played there 3 years in a row at a stroke play event held the day after the official season was over. The place is heaven.

[saevel25]

Quote:

Unfortunately I haven't had the pleasure of playing an exclusive course yet. The course that I do want to play very bad is Firestone Country Club in Akron, OH - aka Tiger Woods's Playground

If you play Firestone, Play Firestone North. North course has alot more character than the south course.

The most exclusive club i have played has to be a tie between Firestone North and Brookside Country club. I have to say, Brookside is a better course by a mile, its an amazing piece of land.

[cdriver]

Not exclusive, but Dove Mountain is my personal best. It is home of the WGC Accenture Match Play. Actually, I got to play it 2 weeks before they had the first Match Play event there. It is brutally hard.

[LfSideStrngSide]

Not exclusive but I played Torrey Pines the year before the US Open. Kinda was disappointed though bc they were already in the middle of preparing the course. Fairways were punched, tees were being re-done, the retaining wall on 18 was taken out to prepare the false front, and there was hardly any water in the pond (provided not such a picturesque approach haha). BUT, it was all made great by the beauty of the land. Oh and not to mention I sunk a 35 foot birdie on 2 green as Phil stood on 6 tee and saw and applauded! He was getting a practice round in. I got to go over and watch him hit a tee shot from the farthest back tee on 6. Was just me and him back there. Awesome moment.

As for an exclusive club, I played the Keowee Springs Course at the Cliffs in North Carolina last year during our drive down to the Masters. Fantastic golf community! Course was in great condition and the practice facility was top notch.

[RayG]

Augusta... on my Wii.

[Duffy]

Riviera CC Los Angeles (Bel Air) actually. Ate lunch under the Bogey Tree and shot 79. Great day and great memories.

[LeftCoast]

I got to play Witch Hollow at Pumpkin Ridge which was pretty cool, its a beautiful course.  It is where Tiger won the 1996 US Ametuer.

[wmiller]

Riviera CC in LA, and Inverness in Toledo, OH are my most memorable.

When I lived in SoCal, we used to play Torrey Pines a couple times a month, so I just considered it a nice muni.

[nevets88]

I've taken lessons at some of the exclusive NY old money Westchester courses. Great golf experience, but so stuffy and probably some members who helped get us into the financial mess we're in. It's really another world. Did I say stuffy?

[Kieran123]

None really.

I've played nice tracks - but not exclusive.

Kokanee Springs in B.C was pretty nice and a resort course in the Dominican Republic - other than that - nothing much

[Elvisliveson]

Here in New Jersey, I've played in several awesome member-guests at Ridgewood CC where they played the Barclay's and the Senior U.S. Open. I've also played Montclair GC where course architect Rees Jones is a member and constantly tweeks the course and where Natalie Gulbis plays whenever she comes to New Jersey and stays with makeup artist Bobbi Brown. When I was on the Fordham University golf team back in the 1980s, our home course was Knolwood CC in Elmsford, NY, which was founded in 1894 and famous for it's 19 hole, which was an actual extra golf hole that you played to the clubhouse. But probably the most exlcusive course I've played as far as limited membership is Arcola CC in Paramus NJ. At the time I played there frequently as a guest back in the 1990s, there were only about 180 members consisting of captains of industry and state supreme court judges, etc.. The course appeared empty whenever I played. You couldn't wear shorts at all and hats inside, needed a jacket to enter the dining room and women weren't permitted. When they decided they needed a token black member, the chairman of Hertz put up OJ Simpson, and he got in over Lawrence Taylor who was deemed too controversial, lol. Of course, once his troubles began they kicked him to the curb immediately.

[Chief Broom]

I got to play the Augusta National this year during their end of season outing week for tournament volunteers, club employees, and other invitees who participate in some way with the tournament.  It was an awesome time.  It's an all day thing.  The gates open for invitees at 6:30AM and close at 8PM.  Pretty much everything is open to you from the practice facilites to the clubhouse and pro shop.  They serve a buffet lunch on the grounds behind the clubhouse that is top notch, beer, soft drinks, and light snacks are provided all day.  You can eat on the veranda of the clubhouse or on tables under the big oak tree.  You're given a tee time and can only play the big course once, but the par 3 course is also open for play.  Depending on your tee time you play the par 3 before or after and plan on having lunch some time inbetween.  I had a 8:52 AM tee time (the last tee time of the day was 3PM), so I played with a foursome (3 guys I'd never met, but who like me do business with the club during the tournament) after warming up on the range.  We ate lunch together afterward, then we played the par 3.  We then put up our gear and just hung out at the clubhouse drinking beer and touring the buildings.  It was fantastic made better by the fact that it didn't cost a cent.  I left about 5PM and just went home (I'm an Augusta native) and basked in the afterglow.  I preferred the par 3 course over the big course, but that was mainly because I was a nervous wreck for most of the front nine.  I played horribly with what has to be near a career high 41 putts.  A caddy would definitely be worth it, but with the number of people who go out on those outing days (I think they said about 250 that day) the course is full and they aren't offered. They provided golf carts and you were on your own.  It's funny because there are no ball washers on the course (that would be your caddy's job) and there are no hole markers.  We almost teed off on number 9 tee because the number 2 tee is a bit of a hike from the number 1 green.  Again your caddy would take care of that.  I nearly aced the second hole on the par 3 course and I wondered aloud to my partners why I was able to play so much better there rather than out on the big course, but of course there was no pressure there.  I did par the two par 3's on the back nine of the big course (12 and 16).  Should have birdied 12, but I never figured out how to putt those greens.  Another bright spot was teeing off on the first tee.  The tee was crowded because no one wanted to miss their tee time, and as I was about to hit a guy standing about 10' behind me dropped his fully loaded staff bag.  He began appologizing profusely, but I ignored him and took my swing and striped one down the center of the fairway to about 100 out from the green.  Everyone was really impressed and the honest truth was I was so nervous that there could have been an earthquake and I still was going to take a swipe at the ball.  All in all a good time and I hope to be able to do it again next year.

[1par2win]

This cannot be beat unless it was a two-day thing with lodging in Butler Cabin. I am not worthy.

But I have played Riveria CC and the TPC Twin Cities. Not all that exclusive but anytime you can't put your golf shoes in the parking lot and have to watch for members only signs is pretty exclusive to me.

Originally Posted by Chief Broom

I got to play the Augusta National this year during their end of season outing week for tournament volunteers, club employees, and other invitees who participate in some way with the tournament.  It was an awesome time.  It's an all day thing.