May 2014
1. Carnoustie: I Played here in a warm up round for the 2012 Payne Stewart Cup. In the 1953 British Open, Ben Hogan hit his drive on # 6 left of the fairway bunkers into a narrow gap of 20 yards on all four days. It was marked by a plaque after he won the tournament to show the difficulty of the shot.
Eyeglass Bunkers - you must lie up short of them.
Brett Grant knocked it to two feet from this impossible green side bunker.
2. Pasatiempo: a Northern California treasure designed by Alistair Mackenzie before he designed Cypress Point and Augusta National.
3. Spyglass: most golfers consider it the best of the Monterrey peninsula courses, though not as famous as it's neighbor, Pebble Beach. I played Pasatiempo and Spyglass back-to-back with Wayne Lott and Chuck Lott.
4. Plantation Course at Kapalua - a memorable place to break 90 for the first time. The views are amazing:
5. San Francisco Golf Club is an historic course now surrounded by the city and freeways. There is no sign announcing the entrance, and when you find it it is a throw back to an earlier time. The same clubhouse and locker room from 100 years ago. Hats off in the clubhouse, no cell phones on the course, and no cameras allowed. This photo leaving from the parking lot.
6. Castle Pines, Colorado. I was fortunate to play this gem twice with Jerry Pennington.
7. Crail, Scotland. After the Payne Stewart Cup Bill Rogers took a group of 20 two man teams for a day on what may have been a windswept farm before the Scots made it a course in 1786. It is the 7th oldest course in the world. Crail Golfing Society now includes three courses.
8. Shadow Creek was made legendary when Steve Wynn and Tom Fazio built it for Mirage hotel customers (read high roller gamblers). All players had a personal invitation from Mr. Wynn. Now owned by MGM Mirage, player must stay in one of their properties and travel via limo to play. Played with Jim Stafford, one of only three groups that day. Our locker was next to Oscar de la Hoya.
9. Eugene Country Club, Oregon. I attended a Links Players fellowship and played as guest of King Martin, Casey's Dad. Pure golf with over 200 species of trees on the course. Spectacular course in immaculate condition.
10. Jubilee, St. Andrews Scotland. This was the first day of the Payne Stewart Cup with high winds. We had our best caddies of the trip.
Brett Grant will attest to my career shot over this hill to 15 feet pin high; 4 wood into the wind.
10. Cascata, Boulder City, NV. MGM started the design to answer Steve Wynn's Shadow creek, but before it was completed MGM and Mirage merged, so they sold it to Caesars, which is now owned by Harrah's. It was a $ 500 green fee, like Shadow Creek, until the recession lowered demand. Still at $ 350 per round it gets more play from casino guests. Always in perfect condition with hard, fast greens and top-notch caddies. Cascata means waterfall in Italian, and several streams turn into waterfalls as the course winds up and down a mountain. They culminate in a roaring waterfall/stream that rushes through the clubhouse, a spectacular setting.
The best of the rest I've played include Coral Canyon in St. George UT, Soldier Hollow in Heber City UT, Dallas Athletic Club, Mission Viejo Country Club (aka Mission Impossible), Austin Golf Club, Barton Creek Fazio Foothills and Houston County Club.
