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Post by Richie3Jack on Mar 5, 2010 12:26:05 GMT -5
For me it's easy. Wellsville CC in Wellsville, NY. Played a jr. tournament there and finished 3rd, which wasn't bad since we had been hit by a snow storm a month earlier and only got 1 week to practice before the tournament. Those greens rolled as smooth as could be and this was back in the day of steel spikes. They also held perfectly. A few years later a friend of mine played in that tournament and said the same thing...hands down the best greens he ever played. Problem is now it's obsolete, playing only 6,200 yards or so. But I wonder if the greens have held up. If so, it may be worth checking it out just to play the greens.
3JACK
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Post by chunkylover77 on Mar 5, 2010 15:21:58 GMT -5
Bethpage Black had the best greens I've ever played. Played there the first day it was open after the 2002 US Open was held there.
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Post by gmbtempe on Mar 5, 2010 18:53:06 GMT -5
Best greens for me were the TPC Scottsdale, played there the last day they were open before the Phoenix Open and the were pure. A close second is Troon North in Scottsdale.
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Post by tightdraw on Jan 4, 2011 2:54:31 GMT -5
Played quite a few courses with excellent greens, very few of which, however, had great greens almost all the time. I was a member at New Haven CC and the greens there were the best I had played in CT, but I cannot attest to their current condition. I played many tournaments at Westchester area courses with great greens. I thought Winged Foot had great greens when fast and Oak Hill in Rochester had excellent greens. So much of it is conditioning and substructure. I like the architecture of a lot of Donald Ross greens but never played a course of his where the greens were in great shape. A friend of mine who played in a lot of the same tournaments I did when we were younger and therefore played a number of teh same courses recently played at Seminole in Palm Beach and said they were heads and shoulders the best greens he had played.
A more interesting question for me is bunkering.
What are the best designed and maintained bunkers you've ever played
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Post by secondary on Jan 4, 2011 11:54:24 GMT -5
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Post by tightdraw on Jan 6, 2011 23:09:40 GMT -5
the reason i asked about bunkers is that in my experience -- even in tournaments -- the conditioning of bunkers is problematic. keeping bunkers in good condition is an amazing amount of work. you see the impact of that in modern course design. the greenside bunkers are now closer to the green and not nearly as deep with deep grass along their sides. That's one of the reasons I love the old courses. The bunkers are so much more demanding but not as well maintained because so much has to be done by hand. very very labor intensive
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Post by Richie3Jack on Jan 7, 2011 9:06:31 GMT -5
I agree on the bunkers.
I know quite a few superintendents and worked on courses for years (although mostly in the pro shop and at the bag drop). One thing you never get any volunteers for is the bunkers. They avoid working on the bunkers at all costs.
World Woods - Pine Barrens in Brooksville, FL is designed by Tom Fazio and he modeled it mostly after Pine Valley. They claim it's 'Pine Valley meets Augusta National.' It's really an awesome golf course with bunkers everywhere. But every bunker is considered a waste bunker and there are no rakes.
From a design of the bunkers perspective, phenomenal. And really they do a darn good job maintaining those things..but if you're playing a round of golf, there's a decent chance you'll wind up in a footprint because there's no rakes. Of course, you can ground the club, but I don't think that helps me much.
As far as manicured bunkers, I'd probably go with the Dunes Club in Myrtle Beach. I believe that they imported their sand from leftover sand from Augusta National. When I worked at Man O'War in Myrtle Beach, they certainly put in the effort to keep the bunkers nice, but the slopes of the bunker would cause the top layer of sand to run to the bottom. So if you were on the slope, the sand was very thin and if you were on the bottom part of the bunker, it would get too thick.
They really worked hard on those bunkers every day when I was there, but they would have to work on them every other day to keep them in shape.
The only way to really do it is to have one guy go over them with the mower-thingy and then another get one of those aluminum rakes and a shovel to make sure the sand is dispersed properly.
Bunker condition is something that should be appreciated more by the golfing public.
3JACK
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jerryg
'88 Apex Redlines
Posts: 100
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Post by jerryg on Jan 8, 2011 18:59:21 GMT -5
Interlachen in Mpls., MN. It was like putting on very tight velvet. We used the caddies for all they were worth and that was a lot. Tough to read, putted very true, rolled beautifully.
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jerryg
'88 Apex Redlines
Posts: 100
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Post by jerryg on Mar 27, 2011 21:08:14 GMT -5
Now I have a new one. The Golf Club of Kansas has the best greens I've ever played on. I just returned from a trip to KC and that course is absolutely wonderful. I just wish it was walkable. That would be the only change I'd make.
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Post by cwdlaw223 on Mar 28, 2011 6:30:37 GMT -5
Any good course in Pittsburgh. They don't have as much of a problem with humidity like the rest of the Northeast. Fast and true. I like putting on bent grass (mainly poa where I play). Bermuda grass sucks compared to bent IMO.
Seven Springs near Pittsburgh had incredibly fast greens.
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Post by Richie3Jack on Mar 28, 2011 8:24:39 GMT -5
Bermuda grass sucks compared to bent IMO. I don't think there's a golfer on planet earth that would disagree with you. 3JACK |
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Post by cwdlaw223 on Mar 28, 2011 8:32:39 GMT -5
I always struggle with the bermuda greens in the South because of my expectations coming from generally bent/poa based greens. I haven't played out West so I can't comment on the type of grass that they use.
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Post by iamzodia on Mar 29, 2011 21:09:01 GMT -5
Ridgeview Country Club in Duluth MN. Firm, fast and smooth. Ball never hops. Funky hilltop course with six par threes. Predominately poa but no issue due to climate.
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Post by jonnygrouville on Mar 30, 2011 2:08:37 GMT -5
Having played Open and US Open courses, the best greens I have ever played on are still Hunstanton in Norfolk. Pure. A friend of mine played Augusta (as part of the Palmer Cup trip, so it was set up properly) and said Hunstanton were quicker. The assistant pros sit in the shop betting on whether visitors will keep their first practice putt on the putting green.
My home course, Walton Heath, also gets the greens in great shape, especially for the US Open qualifying. Brutal. No idea what type of grass it is, but pretty sure you couldn't get stoned to the be'jesus belt on the stuff.
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Post by 94monarch on Nov 13, 2011 17:59:18 GMT -5
Oakmont, followed by Caves Valley
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