1. The Bridges at Rancho Santa Fe Course Review
The Bridges at Rancho Santa Fe golf course features dramatic elevation changes, loads of bunkers and a few forced carries, not to mention a stunning 35,000 sq ft clubhouse which can deal with basically any type of golfing event the club chooses to host. The Bridges at Rancho Santa Fe is an 18 hole 71 par regulation golf course, boasting 5 sets of tees and playing 7,000 yards from its tips. Its also worth mentioning the courses signature bridges and the dramatic terrain upon which it was built, features basically unmatched by any other golfing facility in San Diego and that speaks volumes in this writers opinion. Regardless of your skill level, youll find playing the Bridges at Rancho Santa Fe being both memorable and challenging and I must emphasize the deep canyons and the steep cliffs all around, evoking thoughts of award-winning courses, like Princeville and Pebble Beach. If Id have to describe it shortly, Id say that the Bridges at Rancho Santa Fe is a tale of two nines, making for a bridge between the drama and the beauty of its surroundings.
2. The Country Club Golf Course Review
Currently, the Country Clubs golf course is ranked 24th by the prestigious magazine Golf Digest in its 2013 2014 Top 100 Greatest Golf Courses in America and first in its home state. Despite its venerable age, the Country Clubs golf course will really spin your wheels, especially if youre a golf-architecture junky, as both the quality of the property and the individual hole-design will definitely exceed your expectations. If youd be inclined to think that the Country Clubs Top 100 ranking is due mostly to its impressive history rather than to its sheer design/overall quality, youd be dead wrong. This is a golf course that has it all: an incredible history and a long tradition, its built over a beautiful piece of real estate and it boasts memorable holes that are both challenging and hugely enjoyable. The Country Club has hosted no less than fifteen USGA events, including three US Opens and the Ryder Cup in 1999. Bottom line, the Country Clubs golf course is spectacular in every way and if youll be lucky enough to play it, it will make it on your short list of all-time favorites, I have no doubts about that.
3. The Club at Carlton Woods Course Review
These 2 golf design titans did a fantastic job at the Carlton Woods. The Nicklaus designed course was the first one built on the property and obviously the first opened for players, featuring its own clubhouse, i.e. being separated from the Fazio course. The design is a parkland style golf course and it weaves through the old trees scattered on the property, alongside a few water hazards. The Jack Nicklaus course is well known for its challenging par fours together with the water hazards which come into play on half of its holes. The Tom Fazio course is a rare bird in Houston as it boasts its undulating terrain and an amazing variety of hole shapes, lengths and strategies. Another memorable feature of the Fazio course is its par 3 16th, where a bunker runs from tee to green tying the flow of the course together. Both golf courses at the Carlton Woods are generally acclaimed as among of Houstons best, with solid routings; some folks say that the Fazio is marginally better than Nicklauss, but youll have to play them both and decide for yourself.
4. The Concession Golf Club Course Review
The Concessions golf course spreads over 520 acres of beautiful real estate, among majestic oaks and towering pines, being perfectly maintained and in fabulous conditions all year round, being arguably Jack Nicklauss best design in the Sunshine State, standing proudly among the finest golfing facilities in Florida.The service staff members are excellently trained and they provide stellar service for members and also forecaddies are provided. Truth be told, the Concession makes it easily in Floridas top 5 best courses by basically any standard. Some may argue that only the Seminole is better, but thats a matter of personal preference to be honest. The course conditions, the private setting and the excellent layout work together seamlessly for providing the player with a unique golf experience, as theres not a single weak hole on this baby and the facilities are world-class.
5. The Course at Yale Club Course Review
The course spreads over 700 acres of real estate, the Griest Estate respectively, and the architects had to clear the land of gnarly underbrush, stones and trees, which was a considerable and costly effort. The end result of all that blasting, clearing and digging was a modern and very fine whilst classic/traditional lookin golf course, featuring Charles B. Banks design philosophy and also his specialty: very deep bunkers. There was a man back in the day who once said: The Course at Yale Club makes for eighteen good reasons to send your son to attend Harvard. Well, he was dead wrong. The Course at Yale Club boasts 6749 yards of golf from its longest tees for a 70 par and it comes with a 72.9 course rating and an 132 slope rating. To put it simply, this baby makes for one of the golfs classic designs if it ever was one, being a treat and a privilege to play. The architects used the land masterfully and the Course at Yale Club has many memorable holes, with perfect and delightfully undulated greens which almost unrivaled in terms of contour and size.
6. The Dunes Golf and Beach Club Course Review
The design has a parkland feel, as opposed to what people usually expect, i.e. a dunes/links feel, with several water hazards coming into play and gentle contours all over the course. While playing the courses signature hole youll notice a Beware of Alligators sign right next to the tee box, which is something youll never see while playing home in Oklahoma if you know what I mean. Overall, the Dunes Golf and Beach Club golf course is a pure joy from start to finish, featuring solid holes throughout the property and it definitely makes a strong argument for being the crme de la crme in Myrtle Beach. The parkland sitting feels very different, in a good way I mean, when compared to its upper end competitors in the region, while the conditioning is exemplary. Bottom line, the Dunes Golf and Beach Club is a challenging, championship grade golf course, designed and built on an ideal piece of real estate, boasting its sandy, rolling terrain along the ocean shore, with old and majestic trees framing its fairways.
7. The Dye Preserve Golf Club Course Review
When the Dye Preserve was first opened in 1988 is was originally called Cypress Links, but after Pete Dyes extensive renovation in 2002, the moniker was changed too and the course became more playable for the average golfer. The main features of the Dye Preserve golf course are its bald cypress trees (hence its original name) draped in Spanish moss and its unique pathways which were made using crushed coquina seashells. Also, playing the Dye Preserve youll enjoy the incredible abundance of wildlife, hence if youre an outdoors enthusiast, youll definitely feel like home. The 175 acres property upon which the course was built is rich in lakes, ponds and wetlands, making for a very interesting golfing experience and offering you the opportunity to admire the clubs emblematic osprey, among other exotic wildlife. Also, the Dye Preserve boasts an incredible variation in terms of bunker-styles, whilst the course is tightly routed, being designed with the ardent golfer in mind.
8. The Farm Golf Club Course Review
The 18 hole Farm Golf Clubs course is a private facility, available for its members and their guests only and it was first opened in 1988. The golf course features 7012 yards from its longest tees for a 72 par, with a slope rating of 151 and a USGA course rating of 75.1. There are five sets of tees available, for players of all skill levels. Even if the Farm Golf Club is not the most famous of Fazios designs, many folks are in for a big surprise when they play it for the first time, as the course is designed for delivering a unique and enjoyable experience and thats what youll get when you visit the Farm.
9. The Golf Club Course Review
Pete Dye complied with the clubs owned request and he designed a Golf Club as the complete opposite of the tree lined-manicured-bland parkland designs of the day and instead he went all in for a bold look which reminds of Englands famous heathland courses, using a variety of grasses and fescues in the rough. Also, the golf course has generous fairways emphasized by waving fields of native vegetation and beautiful tree lined corridors, together with Pete Dyes dramatic use of hazards throughout the property which are aimed to dictate the strategy, define holes and create angles. Also, this is the first time Pete Dye used its trademark pot bunkers and railroad ties which are inspired from Scottish courses. The main challenges at the The Golf Club are represented by its large bunkers and the acres of fescue, along with the particularly tough one shotters.
10. The Golf Club at Harbor Shores Course Review
This is a golf course which can be described as pro tour caliber conditions, with treacherous and massive green complexes that make for a significant challenge even for low handicappers. Everything has a rugged feel yet the variety is awesome, especially in par 4s and par 5s, which boast their devilish sand traps which engulf the golf course at every turn. The layout is very awkward as it winds between holes that take you over busy roads. Some of the Harbor Shoress greens (especially no. 10) are so outrageous that they seem to have been designed for a masochist. Bottom line, if you want to play the most difficult golf course in your life, one of the most challenging out there, a typical yet born again hard Nicklaus signature course, the Harbor Shores is very easy to recommend.
