Coore Crenshaw Quest

Sand Valley resides in the middle of nowhere Wisconsin. Miles and miles of trees and corn and farm with nary a sand dune in sight. However, as you enter the resort, the sand seems to bubble out of the ground and golf comes to the forefront of your mind. The first and tenth holes of the Coore/Crenshaw course are elevated tee shots right below Craig's Porch (clearly modeled after Ben's Porch at Sand Hills) and you launch the balls into the stratosphere and watch them land in the various fairways or sandy blowouts around the course and you are off! The amount of elevation gain and losses at this course is impressive. There is an uphill par 5 modeled after the first hole at Sand Hills which just keeps going up and up. There are several holes (a very fun short par 4 and this incredible downhill par 3) that almost encourages you to job down the hill given the slope. The use of the natural sandy soil and Coore and Crenshaws shaggy bunkers is in full effect at Sand Valle...

The first half of 2017 has been a little quiet on the course-visiting front but on the course-planning front it has been full speed ahead! Here is what is going on for the second half of 2017: Up First- Hidden Creek : The only C&C course in New Jersey, I hopefully will be visiting this course as part of a trip back East to see family. The course is in Egg Harbor Township which is really close to the Atlantic Ocean but yet tucked in the Jersey pines which should give it a unique feel. Cross your fingers for me that the invite comes through!  Then- A ThreeFer : One thing about C&C courses is that they are spread out in out of the way places. As I don't have an unlimited amount of money, if I find myself in a certain part of the country I am going to make the rounds while I am there. In more or less proximity you have: Sand Valley (Wisconsin) Warren (Indiana) Colorado Golf Club (Colorado) I plan on hitting all three in a whirlwind trip and also...

At the end of 2016 when I played Trinity Forest, it was as new as you could get, having only opened in October of that year, and I had no idea what to expect. What I found was a fantastic inland links course that marries the best of Sand Hills and Ballyneal and birthed a challenging and super fun course. *Apologies in advance for only a few photos appearing of the course, both of my cameras went to the great beyond during this round so you may have to use your  imagination  for some of this.* The Front 9 : The front 9 (which may become the back 9 for tournament play) is a rock n rolling start to the course. Undulations abound on the fairways and on the greens. Often, I felt the greens were really oceans on a windy day. The tee boxes of TF are VERY similar to the style employed by Doak in Ballyneal, namely, the tee box is one continuous grassed area where tees can be easily set in interesting configurations each day. Hole 1 featuring plenty of fairway but with bunke...

I recently went on a trip deep into the ranch-land of America playing courses in Nebraska and Colorado. This is the last in a series of blog posts about the 99 holes I played at these amazing courses.  Sand Hills Golf Club is one of those courses that golfers have heard whispers of but don't really know much about it. They have heard tales that it is the best links course in America, but yet it resides in Nebraska. They have heard it is one of the most naturally sculpted golf courses ever with the construction of the greens only costing $300 a hole. It constantly appears in world rankings as a top 20 course but it doesn't appear on TV for any tournaments nor really shows up anywhere other than certain publications. Sand Hills is a mystery that I greatly wanted to see for myself and I was fortunate enough to gain an invitation to play and you better believe I rearranged my schedule to see what all the whispers were about. The course is in the middle of rolling sand ...

"Sting" is putting it mildly Ben. Set in the rolling Fountain Hills just outside of Scottsdale, We Ko Pa's Saguaro course has a LOT of bite to it and will test any amateur golfer. Almost every hole necessitates a carry over desert scrub brush and/or gullies. The only way to truly attack this course is to drive it long and straight, otherwise you will be picking cactus needles out of your ball all day. Since the course is set amongst rolling hills, you are often hitting to the tops of hills and if not, you are looking at blind second and third shots. Unlike its sister course "Cholla", the hole and all of its danger is clearly in front of you. It is one of the ultimate target/execution desert courses you could play in Arizona. There are zero houses surrounding the course (a rarity from what I learned from my Arizona playing companions) and you really are out in the middle of nowhere playing golf. Just like Talking Stick, my favorite Coore Cren...