One course before you die

[jkd9977]

Cypress Point

[WouldRatherBePlaying]

Augusta. I tend to "favor" going left.

[dpb5031]

I care less and less about this as I get older. My home course with my buddies, or my daughter, which is a good test and a fun course when it's in great condition, is good enough for me. Doesn't mean I'd turn down an invitation to play a great historic course, but it's just not nearly as important to me as it used to be.

That said, I've played some great ones including Pine Valley, Merion, Shinnecock, Congressional, etc., so perhaps that's why I don't care so much anymore, but I think it's more than that...

I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't love to play Augusta National once before the "end of the road," especially if I could play there with my daughter who is becoming a strong junior player. Such great history there, plus watching The Masters over all of these years just makes it all the more appealing.

[2bGood]

Augusta no question.

It is a course I will likely never get to play but I feel like I know every inch of it.

[donniesp]

Augusta obviously comes to mind. However, I think I'd choose Royal County Down.

[WaltonW]

St Andrews Links

[KYMAR]

Anywhere our Dad's not playing that day! The guys a tyrant!!

Sincerely, Davepelz5 and 6



I read the title of the thread earlier without opening it and mentioned it to a friend I was with the first I said to her was Augusta with my son. Tournament conditions, Sunday pins, and see if either of us can break 100.

[prsgtrman]

i walked around st andrews(played the new course). the history makes it awesome but take that away and i think most ppl would be under whelmed with the course.

for me id like to play muirfield bandon or sandhills gc

[Capitalist!]

Augusta...

Played all the non-privates...

Cypress has elements of the courses near it... Augusta is unique...

Augusta has the Masters history...

Got to be Augusta...

[Joe85]

How do you get on Pine Valley? I met a Fortune 500 senior VP a couple years back and he said you have to be like a prince or king, literally, to get on that course.

[Gauchograd99]

Well, I have already played the Stadium Course at PGA West, Pinehurst #2, 3, and 7 (I want revenge on #7 big time... that course is IMPOSSIBLE from the tips given the nasty deep rough and tight fairways!), both Troon North courses, and both courses at TPC Scottsdale, I would have to go with history and say Old Course at St. Andrews. More practical would be Bandon Dunes... but St. Andrews would be amazing.

[ckates7]

this thread reminds me when I would spend HOURS on "The Itinerant Golfer" website. that guy has played em all. It's unreal! Has tons of pictures for most, except for courses like Seminole, Augusta, and Pine Valley for pure respect of the clubs.

I'm gonna throw a curve ball out there and be the first to say Thracian Cliffs in Bulgaria. Just google image it if you haven't seen pictures. Gary Player even says Pebble has nothing on that course

[Joe85]

That Cape Kidnappers place is crazy - looks almost fake,

[kevcav2006]

I think I'd have to go with Cypress. I'd consider Merion, but the scenery at Cypress is greater than the history at Merion for me.

[Sir Larry Wildman]

[quote name='Joe85' timestamp='1423881934' post='10949829']
How do you get on Pine Valley? I met a Fortune 500 senior VP a couple years back and he said you have to be like a prince or king, literally, to get on that course.
[/quote]

I don't think that's true. At all. Furthermore, I don't think a "Fortune 500 senior VP" is anything all that special; maybe a CEO, but even then it's not a golden ticket to anything.

I know members of PV who are your "run-of-the-mill" lawyers and doctors in the Philadelphia area. It's not about your occupation, although that plays a part of it. It's more about the social circles that you run in, around the Philadelphia area. Do you belong to the right first and second club? (Usually a PV guy belongs to Merion too if he's from the area). Do you belong to any of the right social clubs? (Union League, The Rabbit) Can you afford it without asking the price? I would say that a lawyer at a Center City white shoe law firm, a surgeon at UPenn, or a PE guy have a much better shot than most of the CEOs (aside from Brian Roberts from Comcast, who is a Merion and ANGC guy for certain, and possibly a PV guy although I do not know for sure) have, and certainly a way better shot than any of the corporate senior management have.

And to answer the question posed in this thread: ANGC

[Noyes26]

[quote name='Joe85' timestamp='1423881934' post='10949829']
How do you get on Pine Valley? I met a Fortune 500 senior VP a couple years back and he said you have to be like a prince or king, literally, to get on that course.
[/quote]

Pine Valley is not all that difficult to get on. Not that it's easy... but let's just say I know it will be crossed off the bucket list sooner then later. And I am not a prince.

[Qqq123xx]

It would have to be one that is private hence I could not get on. So Augusta is the winner. I don't know any CEO's.

[dpb5031]

[quote name='Joe85' timestamp='1423881934' post='10949829']
How do you get on Pine Valley? I met a Fortune 500 senior VP a couple years back and he said you have to be like a prince or king, literally, to get on that course.
[/quote]

I live in NJ, kind of in-between Philadelphia and NYC. I'm sure PV is a very difficult ticket for most, especially those from outside of the Philly area. I just happened to be friends with and play regularly with a guy (scratch player) who was close friends with a member, so much so that he was invited to PV's member-guest every year. I got the invite a few times through this buddy of mine.

Pine Valley is a great experience. It's very understated and not the least bit pretentious or stuffy. The course is rugged and demanding, and on some beautifully diverse terrain in terms of elevation changes and what seems to be the perfect combination of evergreen and deciduous forest. It's playable and "score-able" as long as you avoid some of the more treacherous bunkers, and "take your medicine" if you find yourself in certain predicaments.

One interesting and funny trivia point about Pine Valley is that they actually have a "Suggestion Box," presumably seeking input from those who have the privilege of playing the course. Only problem is, it's what looks to be a residential mailbox perched on top of a 50 foot pole placed way out out in the middle of a lake...lol!

[CactusGolf]

I grew up caddying at a local country club in Milwaukee. Bluemound Golf and CC. It is a Seth Raynor design that held the 1933 PGA Championship.

Caddied from age 12-23. It was the happiest I've ever been and holds a lot of sentimental value. It offered a place of refuge when things weren't great at home.

Some of my best friends growing up I met on the caddy yard.

It saddens me to see so many caddy programs drying up.

I had the application in for membership, but had to relocate to North Carolina.

[Lexicographer]

Nanea

[callawayjay]

Sand Hills
Cypress Point

[Hakko]

[quote name='One_Putt_Blunder' timestamp='1423875643' post='10949119']
Cape Kidnappers, Play the round then do a triple lindy off one of the cliffs call it good.
[/quote]

This [size=5]⬆︎[/size]

[MaxBuck]

I'm tempted to say Oakmont, but probably Pine Valley.

[alexgmbh]

[quote name='Sir Larry Wildman' timestamp='1424116145' post='10964989']
[quote name='Joe85' timestamp='1423881934' post='10949829']
How do you get on Pine Valley? I met a Fortune 500 senior VP a couple years back and he said you have to be like a prince or king, literally, to get on that course.
[/quote]

I don't think that's true. At all. Furthermore, I don't think a "Fortune 500 senior VP" is anything all that special; maybe a CEO, but even then it's not a golden ticket to anything.

I know members of PV who are your "run-of-the-mill" lawyers and doctors in the Philadelphia area. It's not about your occupation, although that plays a part of it. It's more about the social circles that you run in, around the Philadelphia area. Do you belong to the right first and second club? (Usually a PV guy belongs to Merion too if he's from the area). Do you belong to any of the right social clubs? (Union League, The Rabbit) Can you afford it without asking the price? I would say that a lawyer at a Center City white shoe law firm, a surgeon at UPenn, or a PE guy have a much better shot than most of the CEOs (aside from Brian Roberts from Comcast, who is a Merion and ANGC guy for certain, and possibly a PV guy although I do not know for sure) have, and certainly a way better shot than any of the corporate senior management have.

And to answer the question posed in this thread: ANGC
[/quote]

This guy knows Philly.

See you at the GAP matches.

[Chomper]

My Bucket course is Pine Valley.
Second is Merion.
Third is Augusta.
Fourth is Cypress Point.

I will get on all of them, someday. Just a matter of time.

[Joe85]

[quote name='Sir Larry Wildman' timestamp='1424116145' post='10964989'][b] I don't think a "Fortune 500 senior VP" is anything all that special; [/b]
[/quote]


Oooooooo-kay. Mr. Gates.


The guy only oversees 6,000 employees.



Whatever. I'm not going to say he is or isn't a person of importance in the world but I do know he played PV. He said he never keeps score when he plays there (because he's not the best golfer).

[LivininCDM]

My one course that I want to play before I die is one I have already played but I must someday play it again. [u]Old Head[/u], in Kinsale Ireland the most amazing course you will probably ever play. I have been fortunate to play all over the world because of work and a bit of luck and I can tell you that there is something about Old Head that is almost spiritual. You aren't crammed on the course like Bethpage or Pebble, there are no carts, no roads, no people, it is quiet but fierce at the sametime. The wind will be blowing and the sea will be crashing on the cliffs below, forgetting the job, the wife, the kids, the bills, the rush of life will happen and you will enjoy this place.

[attachment=2626533:Old-Head-Kinsale-6.gif]

[Idris789]

For me it is a toss up between Augusta National and Oakmont Country Club, with my preference leaning slighty towards Augusta.

[mattmcg81]

As you can see from my profile pic I have already played it. Cypress would be my second choice

[Wooderson]

I know ANGC, cypress point, PV, Seminole, St. Andrews and many others are the obvious choice for many on here.

This Arkansas guy would just love the opportunity to play local elites like the Blessings or Pinnacle Country club. If I was shooting for the moon it would be the Alotian, Southern Hills, or Prairie Dunes.