Top 100 Courses

Merion Golf Club (East Course)

Merion Golf Club . . . so much history has happened here that a book could be written on that alone. With a current count of 17 USGA events having been contested over Merion’s East Course that is more than any other course in the United States. Bobby Jones’ first major was the 1916 US Amateur played here, he won the US Amateur here in 1924 and of course his historic US Amateur win for the Grand Slam in 1930. Ben Hogan executed a miraculous comeback to the game here at the 1950 US Open after a near death automobile accident just 1 year earlier.

The Preserve Golf Club

The Preserve is the fifth and final round of my Monterey Peninsula trip. I was very excited to see this course that is set in a wildlife preserve. It was designed by Tom Fazio who, in my opinion, is heads and shoulders above the other modern day architects. My trip to the Preserve started with a dry run two days prior.

Pebble Beach Golf Links

There’s not a whole lot I can say about Pebble Beach that has not already been said. The course has been photographed, written about and reviewed at length. Below are a couple of notes and photos from my game here. I originally had a tee time at 8:20AM, but changed it to 1PM so that I could play with Steve, who I had met when we played Spyglass Hill together on Monday. We were paired up with Scott from Arkansas and Keith from Chicago who were there together for a conference in Monterey.

Monterey Peninsula Country Club (Shore Course)

This was my second round of the day. When someone asks for your best 36 hole day I’m not sure it gets much better than Cypress Point in the morning and Monterey Peninsula Country Club’s Shore course in the afternoon. Some days are pretty good. The Monterey Peninsula Country Club is an old club dating back to the 20s.

Cypress Point Club

I’ve just knocked my ball onto the green at perhaps the most famous hole in golf and my caddie has walked ahead while I enjoy the long walk to the green with my putter in hand. As I stroll around the path to the fairway watching the seals play in the inlet below I can’t help but get a little overwhelmed by the moment. The color of the day is yellow – I’m playing a yellow ball and wearing a yellow shirt and hat – in memory of Donna Briley the generous and kind woman who granted me the keys to the kingdom for a day.

Spyglass Hill Golf Course

This was my first of 5 rounds this week on the Monterey Peninsula. Spyglass Hill is ranked #52 on the list, but a lot of folks told me I’d like it better than Pebble Beach. Spyglass Hill is a nod to Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic novel Treasure Island. Apparently Mr. Stevenson spent a lot of time in this area and was inspired by the landscape when he wrote the book. The holes at Spyglass Hill are named after characters in Treasure Island.

TPC Sawgrass (Stadium Course)

TPC Sawgrass’ Stadium course has been the home of the Players Championship Tournament every year since 1982. The course is a Pete Dye design and was built in 1979. It has probably the most famous hole in golf, the 17th hole with its island green . . . I’ll talk more about that later.

Apparently a theme for this trip was new clubhouses. There was a new clubhouse at the Ocean Course on Kiawah Island as well as TPC Sawgrass.

National Golf Links of America

National Golf Links is the low key next door neighbor to Shinnecock Hills in Southampton, NY. It has historically been the domain of Wall Street financiers and was founded by the heads of several large financial institutions. Our caddy did tell us that mixed in among the well heeled Wall Streeters was Roger Waters, founding member of Pink Floyd. He said that Waters likes to come out late in the afternoon once the caddies finish their loops for the day and play with them.

Kinloch Golf Club

Just outside of Richmond, VA is a little known golf club called Kinloch. Though the club only opened in 2001 it has had acclaim lavished upon it since the day it opened its gates. Along with a few other key players, Kinloch was the brainchild of Marvin “Vinny” Giles who is widely considered the 2nd best amateur golfer to ever play the game . . . second only to Mr. Robert Tyre Jones Jr.

Arcadia Bluffs Golf Club

In many ways Northern Michigan is still a rugged and rustic place. I was surprised on my first trip to the area to see roads that were not paved. This is all part of the regions charm . . . as is Arcadia Bluffs. This doozy of a course sits right on Lake Michigan as you can see in the photo below taken from the clubhouse.