Jump to content
Check out the Spin Axis Podcast! ×
Check out the Spin Axis Podcast!
IGNORED

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

The LoneStar

By The LoneStar
in Golf Talk

 Share
Note: This thread is 5393 days old. We appreciate that you found this thread instead of starting a new one, but if you plan to post here please make sure it's still relevant. If not, please start a new topic. Thank you!

Recommended Posts

BuckeyeNut Great Member

BuckeyeNut

Posted
Posted


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.  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.


I think we have a winner....hands down.  Congrats on a fine outing.  I've played many fine private courses over the years, but none that I'd consider exclusive.  I'd argue the above is as exclusive as it gets...........thanks for sharing your story.

What's in Paul's Bag:
- Callaway Big Bertha Alpha Driver
- Big Bertha Alpha 815 3-wood
- Callaway Razr Fit 5-wood
- Callaway Big Bertha 4-5 Rescue Clubs
-- Mizuno Mx-25 six iron-gap wedge
- Mizuno Mp-T4 56degree SW
- Mizuno Mp-T11 60degree SW
- Putter- Ping Cadence Ketsch


BuckeyeNut Great Member

BuckeyeNut

Posted
Posted


Originally Posted by FLOG4

I have been fortunate to play many great courses.  Pine Valley was the ultimate.


Wow..........interesting read!!!!  No yardage markers?  really??  LOL

Augusta, Seminole and Pine Valley..........easily the 3 most exclusive in this thread.  Thanks for sharing!!

PS...Olympic Club, Valhalla, and colonial deserve special mention too!!  Very nice!!!

What's in Paul's Bag:
- Callaway Big Bertha Alpha Driver
- Big Bertha Alpha 815 3-wood
- Callaway Razr Fit 5-wood
- Callaway Big Bertha 4-5 Rescue Clubs
-- Mizuno Mx-25 six iron-gap wedge
- Mizuno Mp-T4 56degree SW
- Mizuno Mp-T11 60degree SW
- Putter- Ping Cadence Ketsch


NM Golf Super Member

NM Golf

Posted
Posted

I played the Eldorado in Cabo San Lucas. I also played Sanctuary and Castle Pines CC in Denver CO.

Danny    In my :ping: Hoofer Tour golf bag on my :clicgear: 8.0 Cart

Driver:   :pxg: 0311 Gen 5  X-Stiff.                        Irons:  :callaway: 4-PW APEX TCB Irons 
3 Wood: :callaway: Mavrik SZ Rogue X-Stiff                            Nippon Pro Modus 130 X-Stiff
3 Hybrid: :callaway: Mavrik Pro KBS Tour Proto X   Wedges: :vokey:  50°, 54°, 60° 
Putter: :odyssey:  2-Ball Ten Arm Lock        Ball: :titleist: ProV 1

 

 

 

 

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades
1
1
1
1
1

Note: This thread is 5393 days old. We appreciate that you found this thread instead of starting a new one, but if you plan to post here please make sure it's still relevant. If not, please start a new topic. Thank you!

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing


  • Want to join this community?

    We'd love to have you!

    Sign Up

  • TST Partners

    Carl's Place
    PlayBetter
    Golfer's Journal
    ShotScope
    The Stack System
    FitForGolf
    FlightScope Mevo

    Coupon Codes (save 10-20%): "IACAS" for Mevo/Stack/FitForGolf, "IACASPLUS" for Mevo+/Pro Package, and "THESANDTRAP" for ShotScope. 15% off TourStriker (no code).

  • Posts

    • 5amZ
      "5 Minutes Daily" Practice Challenge

      By 5amZ · Posted

      Day 254 5-4 Arms off chest in backswing and downswing. Short swing, pause and then hit.  Hit foam balls. Keeping arching of wrist a focus as well. 
    • saevel25
      Width at P4 Has Downstream Effects on P6 and P7

      By saevel25 · Posted

      I would think of it in terms of time. The time it takes to get the arm angle into a good position to deliver the club with proper shaft lean. Another component is rotation, but that is also a matter of timing. It relates to how the body stalls to give the golfer time to hit the ball. If you have to get 80+ degrees out of that right elbow in one third of a second versus 50 degrees in the same time then you have to steal time from somewhere. It is usually body rotation. That does not help with shaft lean.  I agree in that amateurs tend to make the swing more complicated than pro golfers. 
    • saevel25
      My Swing (saevel25)

      By saevel25 · Posted

      I haven't been able to practice like I wanted and won't for the next week.  1. The weather sucks in Ohio this year. I have been mostly inside hitting foam balls. Just kind of my basic stuff.  2. I woke up last Saturday with a left side rib muscle on fire. If I turned or leaned a certain way it would spasm that almost buckled my knees. I have been taking a break to let that settle. I don't want to get a long term injury. I think I pinched a nerve or just aggravated a muscles.   3. I am going on a mini-vacation to Florida (screw you Ohio weather) with a friend, and rolling that into a work conference I have next week. I will be with out my clubs for a week.  I will be back next in two Fridays to hit the ground running with some warmer temps and better weather in Ohio, hopefully. I would really like to get more out on the course and the range.     
    • iacas
      "5 Minutes Daily" Practice Challenge

      By iacas · Posted

      Day 580 - 2026-05-04 Played eight holes. Sometimes golf kicks you in the nuts. 😉 
    • iacas
      Width at P4 Has Downstream Effects on P6 and P7

      By iacas · Posted

      I work with a lot of golfers who want more shaft lean at impact, who currently have AoAs that range from +2° to -2°, and who love to see the handle lower and more "in front of their trail thigh" from face-on at P6. And a lot of these golfers try to solve the issue by working on the downswing. They do something to drag the handle forward. Or they just leave their right thigh farther back so the same handle location "looks" farther forward. Or they move the ball back in their stance. Or they push themselves down into the ground to get the handle lower and increase (decrease?) their AoA (to be more negative). The real fix is often to get wider in the backswing. To do LESS in the backswing. To hinge less, fold the trail arm less, abduct the trail arm less. I had a case of this over the weekend. Before, the player had 110° of trail elbow bend, "lifted" his trail humerus only a few degrees, etc. The club traveled quite a bit around him, and he tended to "pick" the ball from the fairways. In the "after" swings below (which are mild exaggerations — this golfer does not need to end up at < 70° of elbow bend. These were slower backswings with "hit it as hard as you normally would" intent downswings), you can see that he bent his elbow about 70° instead of 110° and lifted his right arm an extra ~15° or more. You can't see how much less this moved his hands across his chest (right arm abduction), but it was also decreased. His hands stayed more "in front of" his right shoulder rather than traveling "beside" them so much. The two swings look like this: The change at P6, without talking about the downswing one little bit (outside of him telling me that he tends to pick the ball), is remarkable: Without 110° of elbow bend to get out (which he gets to 80°, a loss of 30°), the golfer actually loses slightly less elbow bend (70 - 50 = 20), but delivers 30° less elbow bend, lowering the handle and letting the elbow get "in front of" the rib cage… because it never got "behind" or "beside" the rib cage. If you look at this video showing the before/afters of P6, you'll note the handle location (both vertically and horizontally) and the shoulders (the ball is in the same place in these frames). This golfer's path was largely unaffected (still pretty straight into the ball, < 3° path and often < 1.5°), but his AoA jumped to -5° ± 2°. I've always said, and in talking with other instructors they agree and feel similarly, that we spend a lot of time working on the backswing. This is another example of why.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Welcome to TST! Signing up is free, and you'll see fewer ads and can talk with fellow golf enthusiasts! By using TST, you agree to our Terms of Use, our Privacy Policy, and our Guidelines.

  I accept