Top 10: New Courses I Played In 2017

The golf itself was often mediocre, but there's no denying I had a great year when it came to seeing new golf courses. Ten courses. I'm almost positive I've never played more new courses in a year than I did in 2017. And we're not talking about bitter dregs here either, I played some really good golf courses this year. So, I thought, hey, we all love rankings, right? Let's rank all those golf courses! I've done reviews for most of these, even if you haven't seen them yet. I could wait, but this list would be kind of silly in March of 2018, now wouldn't it?

The one caveat I have is that I had to have played it for the first time in 2017. That eliminates the Greens at Hamilton Run, Clearwater (both of which I have reviewed), and Dunedin (which you haven't seen yet). Now that we've established the rules, let's get to business!


10. The Landings Golf Club

Something had to be in last place. And suffice to say, a bit of land next to an airport is hardly going to make for compelling golf. Even by the standards of Floridian golf, this is incredibly flat land. The Landings is an 18 hole executive course (9 par 4s and 9 par 3s), that has not much going for it. I played here running on three hours of sleep after driving almost 18 hours from Maryland to Clearwater. All I was looking for was some golf to warm up on, and in that regard, The Landings delivered. That's about all it delivered.

9. Richland Golf Club

I thought about putting this one last. It's close, but The Landings really is so boring that Richland, a golf course where the golf course plays second fiddle to real estate, manages to edge it out. There's a couple decent holes here, price and conditions were good considering it was February when I played here, and I got a complimentary yardage book, which was nice. But in terms of thought-provoking, interesting golf? No, you won't find it here.

You can read my review of Richland here.

8. Inniscrone Golf Club

Now, to be fair, I freely acknowledge that Inniscrone was never going to be my cup of tea. It's a product of the modern age, running through severe terrain and environmentally sensitive areas. This is always going to lead to a disjointed course lacking a sense of flow and (more importantly to my sensibilities) places to miss. It's not a forgiving golf course. There were several places where I could see the strategy. But the identity of the course felt muddled to me, it felt like it wanted to be quirky and challenging at the same time, and it didn't pull either off. But the big thing that turned me off to Inniscrone wasn't the challenge, the lack of space and flow, it wasn't even the smell of mushrooms. It's such an absurdly easy thing to fix too. To the people who manage Inniscrone, water your course less! Not only is it making your course worse, it's actively bad for the grass. It's not healthy! I played during a dry spell, but the course felt like it had just gotten four inches of rain. The conditions cost Inniscrone at least two spots.

You can find my review of Inniscrone here.

7. Piney Apple Golf Course

This is a fun hole.

I'm sure even the people who run Piney Apple would be surprised to see it this high up the list. It's so much anything this course did well so much as the three below did wrong. It's definitely a better course than The Landings, but in terms of golf offered, of course Richland and Inniscrone are better. But because those courses are actual golf courses, rather than something some guy decided to cook up on his apple orchard, I'm less willing to forgive their mistakes. Also, Piney Apple has that one hole. The twelfth hole. I genuinely enjoyed playing it just as much as anything I played further down the list, and certainly I enjoyed it more than anything at Richland or Inniscrone. That alone was enough to elevate Piney Apple to seventh place.

You can find my review of Piney Apple here and here.

6. Glade Valley Golf Club

I haven't talked much about this place. I played it way back in February, and I didn't take any pictures, since I thought I'd be back. Well, I didn't get back. But it was a thoroughly average golf course. Nothing worth mentioning, really, but nothing offensive. Just a golf course. Moving on.

5. Wentworth Golf Club

This is the other new golf course I played in Florida, and I wish I could put this course higher up. The front nine was fantastic. Sure, it was narrow, but it was fun. The soil was sandy, and the design played this up to full advantage. There was strategy, and the aesthetic reminded me a bit of Sand Belt courses, or someplace like Pinehurst. Unfortunately, the back nine was far more Floridian. More houses, more water, more out of bounds. The front nine was narrow, but a miss would stay on the course. The mediocre back nine brings the course down a lot. Had the back nine been the same quality as the front, Wentworth would have been a solid third, and maybe could have snuck into second.


4. McCullough's Emerald Golf Links

Oddly, the quirky, offbeat golf course full of replica holes is slightly let down by not being quirky and offbeat enough. Still, this is the sort of golf course one expects from Atlantic City

The idea of replica courses is a tempting one, and it's a nice way to experience classic golf without knowing someone or spending huge amounts of money. This particular course replicated holes from Great Britain and Ireland, focusing on more lesser known courses. It's a good idea, and I appreciated the idea, but the entire time, I could tell the course was pulling its punches. It softened features to make them more accessible. It's a common trade-off in public golf. I wanted to like McCullough's more, and I already liked it quite a lot. And there were a couple instances where holes really did go for the gusto, and those were the best holes. I wanted more of that.

You can read my review of McCullough's here.

3. Cacapon State Park Golf Course

This is the point where we get to courses I would gladly play again. Specifically for this course, I'd like to play it in late October. There's some quality views on this course, and I imagine all the fall colors would make those views even better. Cacapon is let down by boring greens, but everything else is very enjoyable, the routing up and down the valley ensures that it's an easy walk despite being a mountain course, and the hole corridors are wide enough that most people won't encounter much in the way of tree trouble.

One thing though if you are considering a tee time here. At 2 PM in the summer, the price drops from something like $35 to $22. It's an incredible bargain. Unfortunately, I think everyone knows that, so if you try, you'll probably have an incredibly slow experience. It took me a little more than 5.5 hours to get around. So if you want my advice, shell out the extra money and don't get herded by foursomes that are moving at a pace glaciers would consider lazy.

Read my full review of Cacapon here.

2. P.B Dye Golf Club

This might be a bit contentious. When I played P.B Dye in early April, there were no native areas with long grass to lose golf balls in. According to my brothers, who played there in the summer, this had changed. So if I do play here in the summer, I'll be sure to update my thoughts about the course. But for now, we're sticking with the golf course that I actually played. And that golf course was fun. Difficult, yes, but never in an annoying, lose ten golf balls sort of way. And there's a sense of humor here as well. The greens are ridiculous, and the Dye aesthetic is in full display. A silly, over the top golf course is a lot easier to swallow when it knows just how silly and over the top it is. P.B. Dye is comfortable being the guy wearing clown makeup. Go in expecting a laugh, and you'll be just fine.

You can find my review of P.B Dye here.

1. Atlantic City Country Club

I like this one so much, it's my background on my work computer.

Without question or hesitation, Atlantic City Country Club was not only the best course I played in 2017, but the best golf course I have ever played. It's not even close. There's just something about playing a seaside course on a windy day that stirs the soul. More than any inland course, it feels like you're playing real golf. This isn't a links course, not by any means, but it's open, doesn't have a lot of trees, and is bursting with strategy and charm. There are a few weaker links, and I don't think I'd call any hole there truly great, but there's no hole I disliked, and the seaside holes are excellent. In terms of delivering sheer golfing pleasure, Atlantic City stands far above the rest, and I've wanted to go back from the moment I left.

Why yes, this was a nice excuse to bring out these pictures again.

You can find my ACCC review here and here. If you haven't, you should.

If you're curious, I'd put the Greens at Hamilton Run at the very bottom, Clearwater between Piney Apple and Glade Valley, and Dunedin between Wentworth and McCullough's. Dunedin is a good course, but you'll just have to be patient for that review.

Well, that was 2017! I imagine 2018's going to look pretty much the same, I'm aiming to bring out one course review a month, just like I've been doing. I hope I can hit 10 new courses again, and I also hope to play one special course. Something on the level of Atlantic City. No idea what that course will be, or when that'll happen, but stay tuned.