Best new Public Courses

photo credit: dhilgart   The following is a list of GOLF DIGEST”S best new public courses:  (1.)  French Lick Resort, French Lick, Indiana $350  (888 936-9360) www.Frenchlick.com.  (2.)  Palouse Ridge G.C. at Wash. State Univ., $89  (509 335-4342) www.palouseridge.com.  (3.)  Tetherow G.C., Bend, Ore., $175  (866 948-2582)  www.tetherow.com.  (4.)  Pound Ridge, Pound Ridge, NY. $235  (914 764-5771)  www.poundridgegolf.com.  (5.)  Blue Top Ridge at Riverside, Riverside, Iowa $80  (877 677-3456)  www.riversidecasinoandresort.com.  (6.)  Wild Rock G.C., Wisconsin Dells, Wis. $99  (608 253-4653)  www.wildrockgolf.com.  (7.)  Sand Hollow Resort (Championship), Hurricane, Utah$125   (435 656-4653)  www.sandhollowresort.com.  

Some of the best architects and designers were incorporated to design and build these courses including Pete Dye, John Harbottle, David Mclay Kidd, Perry Dye, Rees Jones, Michael Hurdzan, Dana Fry, John Fought and Andrew Staples.  All of the above courses are over 7,000 yards in length.

Grasses Part ll

Fescues (grasses) are often found in coastal areas and thus on links courses.  Fescue is a hardy grass.  It can be used for roughs or even be used for fairways.  Cultivation of fescue requires excellent drainage, low fertility, and light traffic.  Heavy rain will out-compete fescue.  Also, heavy cart usage compromises fescues and makes it nearly impossible for the turf to thrive. 

Sand Hills golf course was designed by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw.  It is located on the plains of Nebraska and originally contained fescue fairways, but were converted to bluegrass because the ferocious and icy winds that blew across the flat-lands of Nebraska burned it badly.  The fescue grass just wasn’t hardy enough to withstand Nebraska’s harsh weather.

Grasses Part 1

photo credit: danperry.com   Turfgrasses are divided according to whether they thrive under cool or warm conditions.  Cool-season grasses grow best in temperature ranges between 55 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit.  Warm-season grasses grow best between 75 and 95 degrees.  In the US, cool-season grasses are usually bentgrasses, bluegrasses or fescues.  Warm weather grasses are usually Bermuda grasses.

Cool-season grasses tolerate cold but not heat; the reason northern courses favor bentgrasses for greens.  They can be closely mown to create lightning fast greens.  Bentgrass is of a fine texture and the ball rolls smoothly, seemingly on top of the turf, rather than through the blades which tour players love.

Warm-season grasses have thicker blades than bentgrasses.  There is more grain in Bermuda grass.  With modern methods,  it is now possible to cut Bermuda grass closely for faster greens.

Augusta Golf Holes

photo credit: Ryan Somma   Each hole at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia, is named for a tree or plant that is predominant along its fringes, a practice that recalls the property’s prior life as a commercial nursery.  They are as follows:  Hole No.1)  Tea Olive  2)  Pink Dogwood  3)  Flowering Peach  4)  Flowering Crab-apple  5)  Magnolia  6)  Juniper  7)  Pampas  8)  Yellow Jasmine  9)  Carolina Cherry  10)  Camellia  11)  White Dogwood  12)  Golden Bell  13)  Azalea  14)  Chinese Fir  15)  Fire Thorn  16)  Red Bud  17)  Nandina  18)  Holly.

Augusta National is also known for its Azaleas and Magnolia trees.  During the tournament, Amen corner is bursting with color from the Azalea bushes surrounding the fairway.  One of the most famous drives in all of golf is Magnolia Lane, which is the main entrance-way to the course.

GOLF MAGAZINE’S Top 10 Courses

photo credit: Caveman 92223 — Great to be Home   Top 10 U.S. Courses:  #1  Pine Valley, Pine Valley, N.J.  #2  Cypress Point, Pebble Beach, CA.  #3  Augusta National, Augusta, GA.  #4  Shinnecock Hills, Southhampton, N.Y.  #5  Pebble Beach Golf Links, Pebble Beach, CA.  #6  Oakmont, Oakmont, PA.  #7  Merion (East), Ardmore, PA.  #8  Sand Hills, Mullen, Neb.  #9  National Golf Links of America, Southhampton, N.Y.  #10  Pacific Dunes, Bandon, Ore.

Top 10 World Courses:  #1  Pine Valley, Pine Valley, N.J.  #2  Cypress Point, Pebble Beach, CA.  #3  Augusta National, Augusta, GA.  #4  St. Andrews (Old Course), St. Andrews, Scottland.  #5  Royal County Down, Newcastle, N. Ireland.  #6  Shinnecock Hills, Southhampton, N.J.  #7  Pebble Beach Golf Links, Pebble Beach, CA.  #8  Oakmont, Oakmont, PA.  #9  Muirfield, Gullans, Scottland.  #10  Merion (East), Ardmore, PA.

Golf Digest’s #1 Rated Golf Course

photo credit: SD Dirk Every year since 1985 GOLF DIGEST MAGAZINE produces a list of America’s 100 Greatest Golf Courses. Since 1985, Pine Valley Golf Club has been number 1. Pebble Beach Golf Links made the top of the list in 2001.

Pine Valley Golf Club is located in Camden County, New Jersey. Founded in 1913, Pine Valley included 184 acres of rolling pinelands. The course is a private country club which only allows women to play after 1:00pm on Sundays.

Pine Valley is so popular that recently two club members were suspended for charging their guests for their rounds. The fee they charged was $10,000.00. In spite of it’s number 1 rating there were only two major tournaments held there, the 1936 and 1985 Amateur Walker Cup championships.