My Most Memorable Golf Experiences Part I

Before I get started, please understand this list is NOT a golf ranking, which is a staple with many blogs, websites, magazines and newsletters. I consider most rankings too unscientific and marketing driven and essentially worthless.

Months or years after a round, however, most players remember the total experience, not just the course. Oftentimes, friendly starters and rangers, ice cold beer on the beverage cart, well-maintained course conditions, an exotic setting, phenomenal weather, scoring low, camaraderie and other factors are main contributors to the total golf experience.

That said, here are my most memorable golf experiences:

Kingsbarns Golf Links, Kingsbarns, Fife, Scotland

Located 15 minutes from St. Andrews, Kingsbarns is Scotland’s answer to Pebble Beach. What do I remember: Wide fairways, fantastic greens with great movement and contours, the smell of the sea air and the sound of the waves on the rocks and beach. A man-made links course designed by Mark Parsinnen and Kyle Phillips in 2000, Kingsbarns has a special place in my heart. I’ll always remember standing on the 2^nd hole, a 190-yard par-3, and high-fiving my playing partners: my teenage son and 11-year old daughter. We were all thinking the same thing: Can you believe we’re standing here? Are we lucky or what?

Mission Hills Resort Course, Shenzhen, China

I scored a hole-in-one on no. 13 on the Olazabal course. Or at least I think it was the Olazabal course. Geez, this sprawling, mega golf complex has twelve golf courses so it’s hard to keep up with all of them. Yes, I just checked my hole-in-one certificate and it was the Olazabal. It was at the end of a long day and we were playing in the dark and could barely see the flag. While my playing partners insist a player from the group ahead dropped one through his pant leg into the hole, I strongly dispute that story as they were under the influence of a few too many Tsingtao Chinese beers. Regardless, the resort rewarded me and my group with a fabulous bottle of champagne after the round and every time I see Jose Maria on T.V. I make a silent toast and thank him for designing the course that has made me infamous with several other golf writers.

Eden Course, St. Andrews, Scotland

What about the Old Course? The truth is I’ve been to St. Andrews three times in my life and I’ve never played the Old Course. On previous trips, a series of schedule changes and snafus have denied me the opportunity to play what many rate as the best course in the world.  I’ll never forget the misty morning my son and I played the Eden Course, however. While most golfers pay passing interest to the Eden because of its short yardages (only 6,250 yards), it was a thoroughly enjoyable links golf experience. I’m a struggling mid-handicapper and I had a great round by staying in play and putting well. My son, who was 17 at the time and an accomplished junior player, absolutely loved all the shotmaking opportunities. If you can’t play the Old, play the Eden for a fun challenge where you can score well on this par 70 gem. It’s more forgiving than the three courses on the seaward side. It opened for play in 1914 and was designed by Harry S. Colt and later received some alterations by Donald Steele

 

 

Random Thoughts on 2010

TIGER EFFECT-Whether you’re disgusted with Tiger and never want to watch him play again or you’re ready to forgive and forget, the fact remains the “Tiger Woods Cocktail Waitress Tour Across America” has hurt the game of golf. No other professional sport had a player with Woods’ previous gold standard image. Woods’ fall from grace will affect the PGA Tour with attendance and sponsors, junior golf, which has lost a role model, and other aspects of the game. The bottom line is the golf industry has lost some of its luster. Hopefully, the adversity will only make the game stronger and less reliant on one dominant personality.

MICKELSON’S TIME—The person who stands to gain from Wood’s fall is Phil Mickelson. I just can’t wait for golf broadcasters to wax poetic about Lefty the same way they’ve done for Tiger the past 13 years. Hopefully Phil can deliver and live up to the hype that is sure to come. After all, the talking heads have to fill up airtime with something and you know they’re going to ramp down on the heroic Tiger speech.

FILLING THE TIGER VOID—I’m hoping for a breakout year from Michelle Wie or for a youngster like Rickie Fowler to have a great year to offset the Tiger scandal. Please, please, somebody step up and give us something positive to follow in golf. Enough about mistresses, wedge swings on SUV windows, $300 million pre-nups and sponsors jumping ship. What we need in golf is a certifiable “feel good” story. If it’s not Rickie or Michelle, how about Camilo Villegas, Sergio Garcia, Boo Weekly, Anthony Kim, Rory Mcllroy or some other interesting personality? John Daly? He’s lost weight and is tan, rested and ready but he might not exactly be the replacement role model golf needs these days.

AIR TRAVEL MESS—The botched Christmas day terrorism attack by the “panty bomber” will reverberate the rest of the year and beyond. Get ready to wait, wait and wait some more at the airport security line. At some point, people are just going to throw their arms up and drive to their destination or stay at home.  As someone who has written about golf travel for more than two decades, I find the current environment very disconcerting. There are too many great resorts and courses begging for visitors that may never get out of the airport.

GREAT RYDER CUP VENUE—If you haven’t been paying attention, this year’s Ryder Cup venue, the Celtic Manor Resort in Newport, South Wales, is a phenomenal 1,400-acre luxurious complex with three championship golf courses. The Ryder Cup Matches will be staged September 27^th to October 3^rd. What really makes the venue unique is that the resort built a course, The Twenty Ten Course, which opened in 2007, specifically to host the Ryder Cup. It will be one of the year’s most anticipated events.

 

2009 Year in Review & Reader Comments

The 2009 golf picture of the year goes to Henrik Stenson, the professional Swedish golfer. For those not familiar with Henrik, he's no hack. In fact, when he hit this shot he was the #6 ranked player in the world and he stripped down to his underwear to play a shot out of the mud at Doral. My kind of guy.

It's hard to believe this is the four year anniversary of my first post, which was on January 1, 2006. I was again lucky in 2009 and was able to play eight new courses ranked in the top 100. I've completed 88 with only 12 to go! After only two weeks of 2009 I could have stopped golfing and still had one of my best golfing years ever. Playing world ranked #2 Cypress Point qualifies as one of the greatest golfing achievements of my lifetime. The weather I had at Cypress was as ridiculously good as the course.

The 15th at Cypress Point - The sexiest hole in golf

Reader Comments

One of the things that makes my year end review post my favorite of the year is that I get to summarize and highlight reader comments from my adoring fans. Thank you to all those who have sent me email or comments, I appreciate the feedback. 2009 was once again a good year for readers to comment, beginning with one who disagreed with my assessment of both Royal Birkdale, which I despise, and Royal Liverpool, which I love. His advice to me, "If you want to see the sea, go to the beach, if you want to play golf then Birkdale is it in the purist form. Royal Liverpool does not even come close to this beauty."

For those readers who have been trashing Carnoustie as a "dog track and waste of money," I say simply: humbug, you imbeciles!

I receive an equal amount of encouraging and vituperative feedback and am always happy to receive emails such as, "This is so addictive. We hackers and dreamers can all live our Walter Mitty lives through you."

I am also looking forward to my spring trip to Australia since all comments I receive from those down under are friendly, optimistic and full of good cheer.



It wouldn't be a year-end review post without fresh comments attacking me on my accurate and well thought-out Fishers Island write-up. The Fishers Island comments are always caustic. The latest, "I had to stop reading when you started describing the course, so I'm not sure if you mentioned your handicap, or when you started playing. I am 47 years old and have been playing for 40 of them, I am also a 3 handicap, and have played many of the great courses in the USA, Cypress, Pebble,Spy, Baltusrol, Winged Foot, Somerset,National, etc etc. I am going to bet you took up the game a little later in life, and you probably try to match your shoes with your shirt. Wake up, Fishers is on a par with Cypress, end of conversation!"

Wow. So much to respond to in that little screed. Let me take your arguments point by point. Maybe the writer is speaking of the golf course at Cypress High School, because Fishers certainly isn't on a par with Cypress Point Golf Club; they are as different as chalk and cheese. And let me make sure I understand this, because you took up the game at a young age and have a low handicap, you're a genius. Congratulations on being born with a silver spoon in your mouth. I'm sure you're the same variety of well-heeled character that went to Yale because grand-daddy did and that having a lot of money makes you better than those that don't. For the record, Alister Mackenzie took up golf when he was 28 and was never more than a mid-level handicapper. Let's see, he designed Cypress, Augusta, Royal Melbourne and more top 100 courses than anyone who has ever lived. Need I say more? Golf handicap and the ability to make an intelligent judgment about a course have no correlation. Good luck playing with your aristocratic, patrician friends in your little bubble. Be careful not to scratch your Patek Philippe watches.

And no, I don't wear Sergio Garcia style matching shoes, but I do wear pink shorts from time to time, because they really show off my legs to great affect. It's time for the charade about Fishers Island to end once and for all - it is over-rated as the #29th ranked course in the world.

I much prefer a shorter, to the point attack, such as this one from a former assistant pro at Fishers Island, "It is a legacy club meaning you have to be born into the club there are no 12 letters to get you in. I would appreciate that if you dont have the facts you don;t speak. By the way how in the hell did they let you play anyway." I wonder that myself, how the hell did they let me play without checking that my ancestors came across on the Mayflower?

Royal Troon remains one of the most commented on of my course write-ups (and has my favorite lead-off picture). There is a real art to politely telling someone to bugger off and I genuinely give credit to the Scots for elevating it to a high art, as in this comment, from a Troon caddy, speaking about the previous caddie master "...he detested New Yorkers, but at other times could be a fantastic character. As a caddy I will say that I've only ever fallen out with two players in over 20 years. Both were New Yorkers. Most New Yorkers are fine, but the North-East, ie New York and Boston, does seem to have a life-style that seems at odds with the Scottish outlook on life. Maybe it's a certain arrogance?" I honestly love the Scots.

Thank you as well to the Troon reader who compared me to Richard Nixon, something I've long aspired to.

'Charlie', remarking on Muirfield, criticized my comment that none of the holes are that memorable: "That made me LOL. Seriously? This course has incredible, world-class holes. I commend you for this blog and your efforts to play these courses, but I question whether you are a golfer or dilettante." I must admit I had to break out the dictionary for that one, a dilettante is "an amateur who engages in an activity without serious intentions and who pretends to have knowledge." I commend Charlie on his word choice but ask my readers to name one memorable hole at Muirfield off the top of their head. Pick almost any other course ranked in the top 50 and I can rattle off three or four holes at least, from memory. I can't, and I would argue most people can't, as it pertains to the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers.

I rest my case, which is based on Muirfield being over-rated as the #3 ranked course in the world. Having said that, any golf club founded before Mozart was born holds a revered position in the game. The Honourable Company occupies an unassailable position in the golf world for upholding tradition. That's a whole lot different than the course being memorable. So if Muirfield's world ranking is based on tradition and not the course, I can begin to understand it. Unlike Birkdale or Medinah, I actually look forward to returning to Muirfield one day, playing alternate shot and enjoying the atmosphere and clubhouse.

I would sleep better at night if Birkdale and Medinah were removed from the world rankings, and Muirfield and Fishers Island took on lower rankings, say #28 or #52, which would now be available in my bawdry little golf universe.

The Cabo del Sol (Ocean) course in Mexico doesn't get much notoriety. A commenter left the following, "If this course is number 68 in the world I'll eat my hat. Very average at best. I certainly wouldn't pay to play it again. If you must, just go straight to the champ tee at 17, hit your 6 iron, putt out and leave. You've seen the best this course has to offer. I'd rather have a long brunch with my mother-in-law. This place is strictly for hungover hacks on vacation." Although I like the course better than he does, I believe I have found a kindred spirit on the mother-in-law front.

Returning to Long Island, a reader left the following comment and course rankings regarding my Friar's Head write-up, "You can't do a review of Friar's Head without commenting on the playground they have for a practice area. 2nd to none. NGLA > Shinny > Sebonack > BP Black > Garden City > Friar's Head > Fishers Island > Maidstone, Deepdale, Piping, Meadow Brook, The Creek, Gardiner's Bay." His ranking there with the brackets of Long Island courses isn't too dissimilar to mine, although I do rank Maidstone higher. Clearly he hasn't seen the practice area at Trump Bedminster, which is the best in the world ;)

Another Long Island reader left an extremely insightful comment, "Rather than say something disparaging about a course that can be beloved by many, many people, as Walter Hagen once said, "Its the best course of its kind I've ever played." He's right. I take back my rude comments about Medinah. Medinah is the best course of its kind I've ever played. Hopefully this will stop the hate mail from Chicago.

The most frequent question I get is: How do you get on all these courses? The simple answer is by networking and asking.

To the reader who stated, "you also fail to mention how the Winged Foot west course green complexes are the best in the world." Fuhgeddaboudit. I failed to mention it because the green "complexes" at Augusta, Pine Valley, Crystal Downs, Pinehurst #2, Cypress Point, Pacific Dunes, Sand Hills and the Old Course are all better. Winged Foot West has difficult greens; but they lack variety, they all basically slope back to front and are very fast. Hard and 'the best' are not the same thing.

The remainder of my golfing year

Playing any course after Cypress is going to be a letdown and playing the Rees Jones designed Ocean Forest in Sea Island Georgia didn't generate the excitement I expect from top ranked courses.

My globe trotting continued in the spring and found me back in Beverly Hills. I lusted to play Los Angeles Country Club but alas had no time. My visit to South Beach left no time for a trip up to Seminole and I lamented the fact that on my short trip to Tokyo I never left Roppongi Hills and was wistful to play Naruo and Hirono. My return trip to Spain did feature golf and Valderrama was a real treat. Playing among the cork trees proved a unique experience on the quest. My spontaneous second round there, playing a top ranked course with no one else in sight as the sun was setting, is hard to top. 2009 was also a year of new discoveries, especially the delightful below-the-radar Whippoorwill Club in Westchester County, NY.

The first fairway at Valderrama

I fell in love with Scotland once again after visiting Loch Lomond, one of the prettiest places on the planet.

Loch Lomond's clubhouse - Rossdhu House

My summer visit to Cherry Hills in Denver was ideal and I was very surprised at how much feedback I got about my comments on Eisenhower. Let the record reflect the fact that Ike was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame shortly after I mentioned his case. My summer visit to golf rich Columbus, Ohio featured more good weather with the double header of two top-fifty courses: the Pete Dye designed Golf Club and Jack Nicklaus's Muirfield Village. A recent commenter disagreed with my assessment of the course; he wrote: "Most over-rated notable course in America. Without Jack, TV and the Memorial, it would be just another housing track."

Considering that it rained almost every day in the New York area in 2009 I was lucky to have a return visit to the Tillinghast treasure Somerset Hills and I was reminded why it is unquestionably one of the best golf courses in the world. Tillinghast so effectively camoflauged the bunkers, you can't see many of them until you walk right up in front of them, and, it has one of the best routings in the world. I was stunned at the comment I received in 2009 about Somerset from a golfing heretic, "Played it twice and was disappointed both times. Sadly, it's nowhere near its Top 100 peers. The locker room is small, old, and underfurnished. The driving range is a mown tee box on a hillside overlooking some front 9 holes. The front 9 is wide open, short, and otherwise bland. Truth is "Redans" are more controversial than enjoyable when the green is running at 12. SHGC is a $40 muni, only in a quiet old money town with PJ Boatwright's name on the wall." A few more comments like that and I shall have to shut the site down!

I finished off the year at Camargo, completing my required five courses in Ohio. Unfortunately, my witty and discerning write-up of the course will have to wait for early next year.

All in all, it was another spectacular year. I look forward to continuing my pursuits next year and crashing the world's top courses with my cultivated air of modesty.

Happy New Year.

Looking forward to a healthy and prosperous 2010 and keep your comments coming!

The Hardest Course to Get On

My learned readers have spoken and agree that Augusta National is the hardest course in the United States to get on because you have to play with member and only fifteen or so live locally. Also, a member can only have three guests on the property at one time. For added difficulty, take a look at the list of members, half are CEOs or ex-CEOs and it's not particularly easy to wiggle an invite from the likes of Warren Buffett, Bill Gates or Lou Gerstner, Jr. 61% voted Augusta National as the most difficult course to get on.

I'm still trying to get on Augusta and have two leads I am pursuing. A friend recently played and send me a long email about the experience, which sounds better everytime I hear a new story. "My bed in the Berckman's Cabin was merely a place to lay down, the ability to sleep was impossible," pretty much sums up the experience.

Cypress Point came in as the second most difficult at 15%. Again, a small membership of 250 members, only 75 of whom live locally. Chicago Golf Club came in third at 8%, because there are only 125 total members. Fishers Island came in 4th at 7%, Seminole at 4% and Shinnecock at 1%. Let's keep the list in perspective, though, all six courses are exceedingly difficult to get access to.

Thank you for all those that took the time to vote. A new poll question regarding the best architect of all time has just been launched.

My next post is my ever popular year and review with reader comments, followed by Camargo.

Tiger Woods Rumors Lure the Tabloids to Golf...

The tabloid media has grown in prominence dramatically over the last several years. Gossip around the private lives of celebrities has overtaken actually substantive topics across America's water coolers. Nothing is more telling than the simultaneous explosive growth of TMZ and PerezHilton.com in contrast with the near bankruptcies being faced by legitimate news stalwarts such as the New York Times.

But golf has seemed to be immune to this tabloid pandemic. Unfortunately, Tiger Woods' enormous popularity placed him under its greasy microscope. All it took was something minutely unusual in the petri dish for them to pounce. That indeed occurred over Thanksgiving when Tiger drove his Caddy around like a carnival bumper car with his wife going all Nicholson on it (let's just hope it wasn't with his priceless Scotty Cameron putter!). Like a herd of great whites drawn to a drop of blood, the media descended upon Tiger's Isleworth sanctuary with dollar signs in their eyes. Could this be evidence of a domestic issue?!

So friggin' what? A couple of years ago on my Bandon Dunes golf vacation, a friend of mine told us he knew a person close to Tiger's entourage. According to him, Tiger was quite the Casanova who was not opposed to "stepping out" and playing much more than just 18-holes. He also emphasized that it was more about quantity rather than quality. I didn't entertain the discussion because I didn't really care. Lots of people step out and it's almost a given amongst pro athletes. Big deal.

It turns out that it is a big deal to many. The Chinese have gone so far as to create a CGI re-enactment of the whole incident. Not quite Pixar, but way too polished than it should be and just another sign that the end is near (I wonder if they actually mocapped Elin swinging that club!):



But why all this attention? My guess is that people somehow build up a fanciful notion that famous people lead perfect lives. When anything surfaces to dispel these fantasies, it devastates them. It's just absurd. In the case of Tiger Woods, why should we think that he is better than us commoners at anything outside of playing golf? As a society, we need to come to the realization that all people suffer from faults. No amount of fame can make them go away. If anything, fame does the opposite. It would be naive to think otherwise. Accept it and move on. There are many more important things in the world be concerned.

To those who still think that most famous people stay on the straight and narrow, just remember that a wise man, Chris Rock, once said, "A man is only as faithful as his options." Ponder that for a minute. It's probably safe to assume that virtually all famous people are cheating. Certainly that's a better assumption for us as a whole than to deitize them if we want to put an end to the tabloid fascination. Lastly, for the record, I'm an extremely faithful guy by choice, not due to a lack of options!

P.S. Check out some of my blog friends' posts on this topic:

Hooked on Golf Blog

Mike Pederson Golf