"You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream."- C.S. Lewis

#890 North West GC, Ireland

One of the founding members of the GUI in 1891, North West GC was designed by the pro from nearby Royal Portrush, Charles Thompson. It is located on the Inishowen Penisula in Lisfannon, Ireland. North West has been called by some the Old Course of Ireland. It is very flat and on a somewhat narrow parcel of true links land that is threatened by erosion from the North Atlantic. The turf here is firm and fast and produces the bounce that I've found on only a few great links courses. It took me a few holes of approach shots that ended up off the back of the greens to start playing short and enjoy the ground game on this very well conditioned course. The green complexes are mostly very challenging with bunkers that play much larger than the eye perceives from the fairway with many green edges that runoff into swales that makes for difficult recovery shots. Even though the course is fairly level it has many humps, bumps, and hollows in the fairways that provides interesting terrain to play from. NW produced the highest score I posted on this trip.

North West wins my award for the "Most friendly golf club in County Donegal" and the grounds crew does a wonderful job here in maintaining the fun, firm, and fast conditions. It exceeded my expectations and is very underrated in my opinion. Be sure and take a look at my photo's below which show you the contours and great design that squeezed in 18 holes on the limited acreage available for this course. BLUE

https://photos.app.goo.gl/kMmnCGtgrAsd7KC37 Copy link to view photos

#889 Cruit Island GC, Ireland

Cruit Island GC, pronounced Critch, located in Kincasslagh was designed by Michael Doherty in 1986. On my epic 2011 trip I could not locate Cruit Island and moved on to windy Narin and Portnoo. Fortunately, this trip I found the single track road that winds you 4km back to the very remote clubhouse. What I discovered was one of the most rugged, risk reward, blind shot courses I could have ever imagined.

This course is 9 holes, Par 34, 2800 yards, no par 5's and every hole except the two par 3's have a blindshot. The only mundane, level hole is the 213 yd Par 3 #8, everything else is a rollicking, exciting, ball of Fun. The marquis hole is the dramatic 160 yd Par 3 #6, with a spectacular tee location that hugs the Atlantic Ocean and requires a shot over two salt water filled chasms to an uphill green. BLUE

What a year it has been too have played two of the top 9 hole courses in the world, Culver Academy and Cruit Island.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/Hjsk41jyKzoLphL99 Copy link to view photos

#888 Gweedore GC, Ireland

It was great to be back in County Donegal, Ireland on the firm and fast conditions of a True Links course. Gweedore GC was originally a 9 hole course when it was designed by James Breslin in 1923. Eddie Hackett had his hand in doing some changes to the course and over the years they acquired more land. In 2014 they added 5 more holes to make it 14 holes, but now you replay 1,2,3,and 9 to make it an 18 hole course.

It was a slow day of play so Peter kindly came out and greeted us and got us on our way. Several interesting holes on the F9 with the blind Par 5 #6 being my favorite. You repeat three holes to start the B9 with the number one handicap Par 4 14th starting a nice finishing stretch. The short 118 yd, uphill #15 is one of the better Par 3's I played on the trip. The tee is jutted out into the ocean and you need at least two extra clubs for the steep inclination. The weather was very nice compared to my trip 11 years ago in this part of the world. GOLD

https://photos.app.goo.gl/AQz2F51bCB9qDpgQ7 Copy link to view photo gallery

You may not be able to change the people around you, but you sure can change the people you choose to be around.

County Donegal Course Color Ratings

County Donegal presents a strong contingent of courses which you can access from the worldclass Rosapenna and Harvey's Point Resorts. I played 5 courses in 2011 and 9 new ones in 2022. There are two Black rated courses followed by 10 Blue courses. In my world of rating you get at least a half color boost if you qualify as a TRUE LINKS golf course, which these 14 do.

St.Patricks Links Bk**
Sandy Hills Links Bk**
Ballyliffin Glashedy B
Narin and Portnoo B
Ballyliffin Old B
Old Tom Morris Links B
Port Salon B
Donegal B
Cruit Island (9) B
North West B
Bundoran B
Dunfanaghy B
Gweedore G
Coastguard Nine (9) W

Return from County Donegal Ireland

"If you have men who will only come if they know there is a good road, I don't want them. I want men who will come if there is no road at all."-- David Livingstone.

The golf in County Donegal, which is part of the province of Ulster and is located in the far NW corner of Ireland is fun and exciting. The accomodations at Rosapenna Resort and Harvey's Point are worldclass. Livingstone would have loved most of the roads in Donegal as they are remote, very difficult to access, and stressful to negotiate. The Wild Atlantic Way is a tour route of the rugged coast that is true to its name. There were several incidents of roads I needed to traverse to get to my destination being only a single track. The worst stretch was on the way back to Dublin, when we had 18 km of single track that we shared with sheep and cattle. There are very few roads that two cars can pass each other without the possibility of being side swiped. So my suggestion if you want to experience this great golf region of the world would be to hire a driver, and close your eyes until you arrive at your destination.

Eleven years ago, after being inspired by Tom Coyne's book "A Course called Ireland" I embarked on a 23 course tour around the top of Ireland from Dublin to Carne. I got a little taste of Donegal by playing 5 of its courses, so the roads were not a surprise. As I stated previously, three of those rounds I played in the worst weather of my life. If I hadn't prepaid I would have NEVER gone out in that severe of weather. This trip of 11 rounds in County Donegal the weather was fantastic, 12 days and NO rain!! I actually prefer to play in wind, cool temps, overcast weather and planned accordingly for that attire. I could have played in shorts on several days but didn't pack a single pair.

I have now played every TRUE LINKS course in Donegal, 14 courses in all which is a third of all my Irish golf experience. My second trip, 10 years ago, I played the 12 top courses around the South of Ireland where the roads are very good. Once I return to Florida I will start editing the over 1000 photos and write the accompanying articles.

"If you see what is right and fail to act on it, you lack courage."- Confucius

#887 Vienna Greens

Vienna Greens is located in Clio, MI, it was built in 1969 by Loren Millette. It is well conditioned and has a left to right rotation of each nine. There is OB on the left of seven holes, so if you are a fader/slicer it is almost impossible to lose any balls here. The par3's are a strong group with the 186 yd #3 a challenge with its semi-blind carry over cattails. The B9 is delightful with its interesting stretch of holes. Vienna Greens with its friendly staff, affordable rates, and pace of play far exceeded my expectations. WHITE+

#886 Timbers GC

Timbers GC in Vassar, MI was designed in 1996 by Lorrie Viola. Viola has designed 2 other courses and I have played one of those near me in Florida. Timbers has several interesting holes but the diseased fairways detracts from its nice layout. For the second day in a row I missed an ace by less than a foot. The 135 yd #12 was today's thrill. The sharp dogleg left 375 yd 7th was my favorite hole. You have to be careful not to hit it through the FW on your drive into the junk, so a 3W would be the club of choice off the tee. On the B9 the 13th plays very similar. The most challenging hole is the dogleg left par5 563 yd cape hole. Off the tee you are encountered with a pond if you want to play an aggressive line. Next is another pond that fronts the green on your approach. Of the 6 doglegs, 3 are sharply left. The B9 plays considerabbly easier than the front. GOLD-

"Sooner or later, the man who wins is the man who thinks he can."- Vince Lombardi

#885 Burke Course(9) at Notre Dame

The Burke Course at Notre Dame, in South Bend, IN, was designed in 1929 by Chuck Kelly and was orginally 18 holes. In 1966 Dick Nugent also contributed. Due to expansion of the campus, 9 holes were eliminated and the remaining on football weekends are used for parking. The course is a Par 35 and at 3200 yds is an easily walkable, playable track to come out for a quick game. The conditioning is good and the variety of holes is interesting. I want to thank the budding golf star, Carlos, for allowing me to join in. WHITE

#884 Warren GC at Notre Dame

Warren GC at Notre Dame was designed in 1999 by Coore and Crenshaw, in South Bend, IN. The course is well conditioned but with very little elevation changes. It is not as pancake flat as another C and C design I played, Talking Stick North in Scottsdale. With the minimalist philosophy of Bill and Ben it makes for a visually, challenging template. Notice in my photo's how the fairways are lifeless without any contours. Ideally, the terrain needs to be rolling to make a Coore/Crenshaw most interesting for me. Warren is very playable for every skill level and an easy walk but after playing Culver it was a very mundane experience. The B9 is more interesting with the creek winding its way through it on three holes. The #16 short Par4 was my favorite hole and the 18th was a real challenging finisher. Of the 12 Coore/Crenshaw courses I have played this ranks near the bottom. I did have perfect weather and an enjoyable foursome to play with on this day.BLUE-

https://photos.app.goo.gl/VyiHB5bDXtPjfbZGA

#883 Culver Academy GC (9)

Culver Military Academy was founded in 1894 in Culver, Indiana. Wm Langford and Theodore Moreau laid out a 27 hole complex but only completed 9 holes of it in 1926. In 2015 Bobby Weed restored the course back to its original intent. These are all orginal holes, most L/M courses were built with 9 holes orginally and then added on and reconfigured. The only other complete L/M course I have played is the 18 hole Lawsonia Links(view course under slideshow tab}. Culver is a more dramatic property than Lawsonia and ranks right at the top of the list of the 9 courses by L/M I have played.

If anyone has ever visited Mackinaw Island you know the feeling when you step off the boat onto the island- a step back in time. When I walked to the first tee at Culver I felt the same way. Huge undulating greens, rollicking terrain with blind shots, and very firm and fast greens. There are three 3's, 4's, and 5's. The par 3's all play around 170 yards. The first #2 plays uphill to a redan style green, the second #3 is downhill, surrounded by flat bottom bunkers, the last #8 is farily level with all challenging.

The first Par four #4 is a magnificient, sharp DL left which you need to hit your tee shot about 265 yards to be in the best position for your uphill approach shot. Unfortantly, that distance left me quickly 6 years ago. The front left portion of the green can put you in some deep doodoo if you mess with it. This was one of my favorite holes at Culver. #6 and #7 are more conventional, long, par fours.

The three Par 5's all have a blind shot involoved and are the strongest group of holes here. #1 Is a dogleg left that you need to carry a 60' deep gorge to about 200 yds on the drive. Next you have a blind shot into the green if you have the length or play it to the right for your third. #5 is more strightforward and you may have a blind shot for your second to the largest back to front sloping green. The finishing hole you face a dogleg right off the tee to a blind second shot. These three holes are lots of fun and what is not to like about opening a Christmas present everytime you crest the top of hill and see your ball.

As I noted before these greens are as huge as most I have ever played, big undulations including false fronts, and every hole allows you to run your shots up on the putting surface. The conditioning is as firm and fast as you will want or you would running your ball of the greens. Of the 9 rounds on my trip North, this is by far the most memorable, that even I can recall every hole in detail. The only other 9 hole stretch that gave me this much enjoyment was the F9 at RCD. I want to thank Michael for the wonderful job he does keeping Culver in perfect playing conditions and for his generous hospitality. BLUE+

https://photos.app.goo.gl/Am11FQ5u59N8ytyu6

#882 Kampen Course at Purdue

Kampen was the original North course and has been totally recontructed in 1998 by Pete Dye at Purdue University. The two courses are totally different, which is what you want in a 36 hole complex. This is a flat, swampy, links style layout. Compared to the other course the holes here are very isolated and really not that pretty. The fairways are generous but you don't want to wander to far off or you will be in deep grass or wet. All the par 3's have water/swamp that come into play, which I found twice. My driver was also off a bit and I played Kampen 8 strokes higher than A-A. All the holes were interesting with no really great holes that jump out at you. I did like the short split FW #7 Par 4 with the pot bunker in front of the green, the blind #15 par 4, and the strong finishing Par 4 #18. If you have played as many Dye courses(25) as I have these type holes are usually characteristic of all of his designs. Kampen is also well conditioned and gets the nod over A-A and a BLUE rating.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/mH3JL8W97XkyggCV8

#881 Ackerman-Allen Course at Purdue

The Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex in West Layfayette, IN is home to two 18 hole courses at Purdue University. Purdue took full advantage of the naming rights here bringing in four donors to maximize their coffers. Ackerman-Allen was designed in 1934 by Bill Diddle and renovated in 1968 by Larry Packard. Pete Dye arrived in 1998 and again in 2016 for a redesign and addition of two new holes. My initial reaction was this is Pete Dye Lite. Most holes there are a bunker on one side of the green and a swale to bailout in on the the other side. The greens are pure and conditioning excellent. The terrain is rolling and provides a very nice variety of playable holes. The opening holes are very friendly, #6,8,9 are my faorites on the F9. On the B9, #11 feels alot like #9, the short Par3 #13 was my favorite one shotter. The interesting par 5's #14 and #16 are sandwiched around a brute of a par 4. This is the most popular and easiest of the two courses.BLUE

https://photos.app.goo.gl/nzNbnEo12bWSinXQ6

#880 Kokopelli GC

Kokopelli GC in Marion, ILL is a 1996 Steve Smymers design. One of the characteristics of a Smyers course is an extensive amount of bunkers. Aesthetically it is great but if you are the course owner it demands many manhours to maintain them. I was told the course was sold two years ago and the new owner has already removed half of the over 100 bunkers. Most of the remaining bunkers are in transition to new sand which has yet to arrive. So if you can get past the poor condition of the bunkers and the recent top dressing this actually is a pretty good course which next season I would hope presents itself better.

I have played several Smymers courses with the now defunct Wolf Run one of the most difficult I have ever experienced. Who could have thought that a course with a slope of 136 on the easiest set of tee's might have a problem? It was one of the most asethetic bunker designs I had played at the time. The major problem was once you got not far off the fairway the thick grass was up to your knees. My partner lost all their balls by the 17th hole and I finished with hardly a ball left. Go to the Slideshow section above and click on Wolf Run to view a beautiful golf course.

Kokopelli has several interesting holes, the 146 yd par3 5th is it's top one shot hole. It is adjacent to nice lodging options that a group of out of town golfers could stay in. #7 lives up to it #1 handicap rating and all the Par 5's are strong holes. The staff was very friendly and the clubhouse is able to host large receptions with a teaching center on the ground floor. GOLD rated

https://photos.app.goo.gl/RHEJTiQfJNSVQk6j8

Summer Golf Trip North 8/8-8/16

Kokopelli GC
Purdue-Ackerman/Allen Course
Purdue-Kampen Coourse
Culver Academy GC(9)
Warren GC
Notre Dame Burke(9)
Genesee Valley Meadows GC
Timbers GC
Vienna Greens GC

"The more we value things outside our control, the less control we have."- Marcus Aurelius

#879 Sherman Hills GC

I returned to the Brooksville area again this week to play another nice course, designed by Ted McAnlis in 1993. Conditioning was very good except, for the 13-15 holes, where I encountered temporay greens on 13, 14 and sparse turf in the FW of 15. This stretch is more heavyly treed and lower in elevation then the rest of the course which is probably the reason for the poor conditioning.

The opening five holes is an easy start to your round and I was a bit dissapointed, but starting on the 6th hole it became alot more challenging with just about every hole thereafter very interesting. #7 and #16 are brutes of par 3's. #8-11 is a nice stretch of par 4's with a lot of variety and the final three provide a strong par 3-4-5 finish. I hope to return next year after the holes are repaired and play it again.GOLD

"Continuous improvement is better than delayed perfection."- Mark Twain

#878 Hernando Oaks GC

Hernando Oaks GC is a 2003 Steve Pate design in Brooksville, FL. This is the only Steve Pate course that I can verify that he designed all by himself. I am venturing further out as I have played almost every course in a 40 mile radius of The Villages. The course had modern contouring of the FW's and green complexes (Tiff/Eagle). There was heavy rain the night before and most of the bunkers were flooded but without any rain they would have been bad. Lack of sand and weeds growing in them is the one major negative for this course.

I found eleven holes interesting, Front 9(1,4,5,7,8,9) and the Back 9(10,13,16,17,18) by far the most enjoyable as it is totally isolated from any development with a strong finishing stretch. Even with the poor bunkers I gave it a GOLD rating.

Learn to sit back and observe. Not everything needs a reaction .

"Golf is like a love affair: If you don't take it seriously, it's no fun. If you do, it breaks your heart."- Louise Suggs

Favorite Golf Destination #4- Pebble Beach

My first really classic golf trip was in 2006. We landed in SF and immediatly headed over to Harding Park, where we had to wait way past our tee time and were only able to get in 15 holes. The Cypress trees were very impressive and we could see our next days challenge across Lake Merced.
The Olympic Club at that time, the fairways were heavyly tree lined and it was a challenge to keep it on some of the sloping FW's. It has many memorable holes, the hamburger in a hot dog shape at the turn, and the worst caddie experience I had ever had (see 6/13/12-Lary the Sleepy Caddie). But my highlight was the short par four 18th hole. I hit my approach shot long as it was a front pin day and wanted to make sure I didn't fall short. So I am left with at least a 30'ft downhill putt. Anyone who has played it from there knows that putt is a screamer. Somehow I hit the back of the cup and dropped it in for a Birdie!
We next drove down to Pebble Beach and played the Big three there. We stayed at Spanish Bay for one night to quarantee a PB tee time, which is still probably the most I have ever paid for a room. I played great at Pebble Beach but it was in the process of a bunker renovation and there was either no sand in the traps or new sand which when you hit in totally ate up your ball. The best shot of my life was the approach to #8, from 193 yds I hit it three feet behind the stick and it stuck in place. At Spanish Bay we played in a heavy ocean layer and at the very challenging Spyglass Hill course the #4 ocean hole was sensational.1-831-574-5609
The last stop on this half of the trip was at the Alistar MacKenzie, Pasatiempo GC in Santa Cruz. This is one of the greatest USA public courses I have ever played and if I could ever get a chance to play Cypress Point I would make sure to return here again.1-831-459-9155
I borrowed a camera and took an occasional photo along the way, this was the start of my Photo tours. These six courses were the greatest stretch of top courses I had ever played. From here we drove up to Bandon Dunes for 8 rounds. What a trip!!