Favorite Golf Courses

54 in one day is just too much golf for me. The last 18-27 are just more of a grind than they are enjoyable.

I’m a glutton for punishment :)

This same buddy and I played 86 holes in one day down on some **** hole course in Siloam Springs, AR. Anyone ever heard of Dawn Hill?? I doubt it!

Anyway...86 in one day is definitely tooooo much.
 
I’m a glutton for punishment :)

This same buddy and I played 86 holes in one day down on some **** hole course in Siloam Springs, AR. Anyone ever heard of Dawn Hill?? I doubt it!

Anyway...86 in one day is definitely tooooo much.

How are your hands not just absolutely raw at the end of that? Holy crap. You guys are nuts. Plus I would be so hammered at the of a day like that.
 
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How are your hands not just absolutely raw at the end of that? Holy crap. You guys are nuts. Plus I would be so hammered at the of a day like that.

Did I mention I just started using a glove last year, and I only started because I completely split the nail on my left thumb. Didn’t use one that day. I don’t care for the glove.

It was quite something. We killed the cart on the 72nd hole (which I honestly thought was very impressive cart life), and decided to push it to the clubhouse. Young kid came running down to help us and said “Wow. You guys are finally done, huh”? I said “Uhhh. No. Will you please grab us another cart while we putt out down there”? He laughed and did. We only stopped because we simply couldn’t see anything anymore. Oh yeah...we were smashed.

Probably due to the drinks, I felt great that evening. The morning, however, was a different story. My back was shredded and I literally couldn’t open my hands all the way from a fist. Everything hurt, and we had to be on the 1st tee again at 8:00 AM (group trip that requires everyone to play a round each morning. Don’t have to play anymore than that, but must play 18. Long story). Needless to say...I did not play well that morning.
 
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No Reward? I've hit as low as an 8 iron on my second shot on that hole. If the course is dry I always take driver off the tee but if it the course is soft I will just lay up. I hate that layup shot though I don't know what it is but it just messes with me.
You must be playing from forward tees (not ladies) or something, because without a favorable wind there is no way in hell I can carry the water (or land it on the narrow strip between ponds along the cart path). Probably doesn't help that we've usually played it as a par 4...

Hate that hole.
 
Just catching up:

Local courses -
Did not enjoy Waveland the one and only time I've played it. Blind shots and awkward lies galore. But I'm the guy that didn't know about Broheims until this thread, so who am I to judge? (Have played at the new Range + Grill, as been to several Top Golf locations.)

Veenker is my home course, although I'd blow up #7 and start over (or at least move the green up to just across the creek, and move the tee back by #6 green and still keep it a manageable par 5).

Stoked to hear Jester may finally be fixing what may be the worst designed golf hole I've ever played. Some mentioned it as a par 5, but I thought it we always played it as a 4 which is insane the way it is set up.

Beaver Creek is too gimmicky for my taste. Prefer Legacy in Norwalk if I'm ever down there. Done Harvester, TCI, Otter Creek, Coldwater, bunch of other muni's and CC's in the region.

Always hear good things about Finkbine, never been due to proximity to TOE. Also want to try Riverside.

Destination courses:
Haven't played too many that would be consider bucket list. When I play during work trips it usually seems to be at places most people wouldn't know (Del Monte, for example). Most memorable I would say has been Wolf Creek in Mesquite, AZ and Mississippi National in Red Wing, MN. Iron Horse in NE was pretty cool, as was Phantom Horse near Phoenix. Have been to (but not played) Augusta, Torrey Pines, Pebble Beach / Spyglass / Monterey 17-mile drive, Hazeltine. Want to get to Hawaii someday.

Man, now I'm jonesing to play!

I loved Finkbine. We took a trip down there to see a buddy and played Brown Deer, Finkbine and Blue Top. I liked all of them quite a bit, actually. Blue Top wasn't my favorite but the problem was we were massively hungover from the night before, got our brains kicked in by FInkbine, were half drunk then came out of it and by the time it was fun again, we were done. I thought that was a nice mix for the trip. Finkbine is that old CC feel where you have to hit it straight and the greens were super fast. The others were new age designs with a little more width.
 
It was mentioned a little earlier (not saying that to be a **** at all, just put it out there for those who have seen it), but here is a “stay & play” I would recommend. Did this last summer.

- Des Moines to Burlington to Riverside

Buddy and I did this and played 90 holes in 2 days. Left Des Moines really early and played 36 at Spirit Hollow. After Spirit, drove to Riverside and stayed at the casino. Woke up and played 54 at Blue Top Ridge.

Our original plan was to hit Amanas on the way back home, but they had an outing, so we just played extra at BTR instead.

Although exhausting, it’s a good time.

If you really want to have fun, go to Spirit Hollow as it's raining 2 inches and walk 27 of it. I don't ever care to go back to that place but I think it had much more to do with conditions than the course.

SOmeone mentioned poor hole designs. I generally think that Brooks in Okoboji is really well designed for it's purpose and the Yellow course is a great course for all levels, but #4 is stupid. It's a 580 yard par 5 where if you hit the ball moderately long, you can't hit driver. I hate long holes that take Driver out of your hand. Oh, and it plays into the wind a lot.
 
If you really want to have fun, go to Spirit Hollow as it's raining 2 inches and walk 27 of it. I don't ever care to go back to that place but I think it had much more to do with conditions than the course.

SOmeone mentioned poor hole designs. I generally think that Brooks in Okoboji is really well designed for it's purpose and the Yellow course is a great course for all levels, but #4 is stupid. It's a 580 yard par 5 where if you hit the ball moderately long, you can't hit driver. I hate long holes that take Driver out of your hand. Oh, and it plays into the wind a lot.

I wouldn’t want to walk Spirit Hollow, period. That would be a brutal walk.

Totally agree with you about long holes where driver isn’t an option.
 
I wouldn’t want to walk Spirit Hollow, period. That would be a brutal walk.

Totally agree with you about long holes where driver isn’t an option.

The other thing about 4 there, that I didn't even think about is if you hit it short, you have to lay up to get to about the 250 mark because of the hazard. If you're an average guy hitting it 250 or so, you have a long carry or a really narrow landing area, depending on how aggressive you are. We almost always played that course in college because the advantage was so great, and many a player played for 5. You play that hole for a 6 and anything better is gravy. I can't think of a hole, off the top of my head, that provided more opportunity to make 10.
 
Collison Par 3 in Marshalltown. All par 3's, but they have the best greens in town. Also, you can bring your own beer.

I recommend going with a group of buddies and playing "2's and 5's". If you get a 2, you pick somebody in your group to shotgun a beer. If you get a 5, you have to shotgun a beer.
 
Collison Par 3 in Marshalltown. All par 3's, but they have the best greens in town. Also, you can bring your own beer.

I recommend going with a group of buddies and playing "2's and 5's". If you get a 2, you pick somebody in your group to shotgun a beer. If you get a 5, you have to shotgun a beer.

Wait...what? No liquor license/BYOB’s still exist? Too bad it’s in Marshalltown. I don’t live THAT far away from M-Town, but unless I can walk home from a BYOB, it’s too far :)
 
Wait...what? No liquor license/BYOB’s still exist? Too bad it’s in Marshalltown. I don’t live THAT far away from M-Town, but unless I can walk home from a BYOB, it’s too far :)

There's no clubhouse either. You just show up and start golfing. The owner will see you and come collect green fees after a few holes. It's only like 7 bucks for 9 holes, or $11 for 18 i believe. Sounds bizarre, but it's a very well maintained course. Hole one is around 240 yards, but there's a couple holes that are around 80 yards.
 
How was estancia? I tried to use a connection to get on there recently and failed.

I also played green valley ranch down there. That place reminded me of a CC straight out of the 70’s. Old, rich, white money. It was crazy. Course was super easy I thought, though. Short.

Estancia is incredible. It broke into the the Top 100 on Golf Digest this year. Great mix of par 3s, par 5s are tough, the elevation changes are dramatic at times and the greens are tough. Oh, the views are pretty amazing as well.
 
There's no clubhouse either. You just show up and start golfing. The owner will see you and come collect green fees after a few holes. It's only like 7 bucks for 9 holes, or $11 for 18 i believe. Sounds bizarre, but it's a very well maintained course. Hole one is around 240 yards, but there's a couple holes that are around 80 yards.

Sounds like the Wellman Golf Course, which has sand greens. I wanna play that course just to see what sand greens are like.
 
I know you know what you're talking about but, man, we have some wildly different opinions and some pretty close ones. I loved Maddens but did not like Deacons. I also don't think Harvester is overrated but I would probably put it behind BTR and Spirit Hollow. I am glad to see you didn't have TCI down. It's a fun course to play once in awhile, but it's not really a great course.

That said, I'm heading to the Waste Managment and we're playing some golf down there a few days. I know we're hitting Troon and We-ko-pa but outside of that we're trying to find 2-3 more rounds somewhere if you have any good recommendations for the little people. Your list for Scottsdale is all private stuff.

What didn't you like about Deacon's? I am heading back up that way this summer and will play Classic again, one of the Cragun's Legacy courses and one other...unless the fishing is good. Playing Interlachen with a buddy the day before we fly back to Phoenix. Can't wait to play that one!
 
What didn't you like about Deacon's? I am heading back up that way this summer and will play Classic again, one of the Cragun's Legacy courses and one other...unless the fishing is good. Playing Interlachen with a buddy the day before we fly back to Phoenix. Can't wait to play that one!

After I posted that, I looked it up and I don't think Deacons was the one I was thinking of. Deacon's I actually played in the rain, which took away from that course, but it was still good. It wasn't Maddens though.I searched for awhile and couldn't jog the ole memory of the one I didn't like.
 
After I posted that, I looked it up and I don't think Deacons was the one I was thinking of. Deacon's I actually played in the rain, which took away from that course, but it was still good. It wasn't Maddens though.I searched for awhile and couldn't jog the ole memory of the one I didn't like.

We're heading up in June to do a stay and play. We're playing Cragun's Dutch Legacy, Bobby's Legacy, and the Pines. This will be our first time up there.. Anyone else played any of these three? Thoughts?
 
We're heading up in June to do a stay and play. We're playing Cragun's Dutch Legacy, Bobby's Legacy, and the Pines. This will be our first time up there.. Anyone else played any of these three? Thoughts?

I played the Pines. Decent course. I think it was pretty tight with a lot of trouble but it was fun. I feel like Brainerd has a few really good courses and then it has a bunch of resort courses and you can find whatever type of course you're looking for. I should have written down what we did when we were there because the trip kind of ran together. There was one course that was a blast to play and I thought the design was great but it had some sort of agronomy issues and was in terrible shape around the greens but it was the first course we were playing when we arrived so we didn't have time or the desire to switch. I always wanted to go back to that one and play it in good conditions. Poor green surfaces really ruin things for me.
 
After I posted that, I looked it up and I don't think Deacons was the one I was thinking of. Deacon's I actually played in the rain, which took away from that course, but it was still good. It wasn't Maddens though.I searched for awhile and couldn't jog the ole memory of the one I didn't like.

Sounds like you play in the rain a lot (i.e. your post about Spirit Hollow too).
 
After I posted that, I looked it up and I don't think Deacons was the one I was thinking of. Deacon's I actually played in the rain, which took away from that course, but it was still good. It wasn't Maddens though.I searched for awhile and couldn't jog the ole memory of the one I didn't like.

Was it Pines at Grand View? That one is so/so.