2021 Recap- 28 new courses

The Pandemic has slowed my progress to 1000 by at least one year. The past two years I have added 46 courses which was a normal years total. In 2021 I took four major trips to the Pinehurst region, Spokane, Bandon Dunes, and the Midwest.

Pinehurst trip allowed me to experience three more Mike Strantz courses plus the revitalized Pine Needles track host of this years Women's US Open. I also replayed Mid Pines and stopped by to play The Cradle at Pinehurst.

Spokane was in a record setting heat spell when I arrived and I only played three rounds before returning to the cool Florida temps. Gamble Sands was a real treat but the heat was too much for me to walk the short course in the afternoon.

It had been many years since my last visit to Bandon. With the Sheep Ranch newly opened and my old favorite Pacific Dunes calling I took a short trip to catch up on what is new there. Bandon Preserve is probably the best short course I have played and another option after a morning round.

As soon as I returned from Bandon I loaded up my SUV and headed north for three weeks. I added a DeVries and a couple of Langford courses but the highlight was the Big Cedar Lodge in Branson. I will be doing an article later in the year on the top Destinations I have played around the world and this will make my top 10.

"The man who asks a question is a fool for a minute, the man who does not ask is a fool for life."- Confucius

Silver Lake ( 9-exec) update

Silver Lake is one of the original 9 hole executive courses in The Villages. For the past eight months it was being restored and unavailable for play. I played it today and the conditioning is now very good, the additional landscaping is both aesthetic and adds much needed definition to several of the holes. The two par fours are the most challenging of any exec set in TV. The 285 yd #2 you must thread the needle with a fade to find the fairway and the 281 yd closing hole you are presented with a HUGE live oak at 150 yds to navigate over, under, or around. Silver Lake is now one of the better exec courses (Tier 2) in TV and will not disappoint you.
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For a complete ranking of the 42 executive courses (387 holes) in TV please go to my April 27, 2020 post.

"Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go."- T.S. Eliot