The Walking Scorer

They aren't kidding I played the Forward tees, 6220 yards, which is just about at the edge of my ability these days.  I don't know what Meg would do, who likes something around 5000 yards.  The two locals with me played the middle tees at 6704, and couldn't handle it at all.  I shot a higher score than I want to admit to, and they were worse. The rough is the main obstacle.  It wasn't at US Open length, only about 3" deep, which is 1/3" longer than the diameter of a golf ball.  And thick.  If you can hit a wedge 60 yards from the rough, and it goes where you aim it, that is a very good golf shot.  I guess the mild weather on Long Island is quite conducive to grass growing.  Farther out on the island, the following week, I volunteered at the US Open at Shinnecock, on a totally different kind of golf course, sandy, windswept dunes with sparse grass, and a totally different kind of impossible challenge. Some of the holes have a lot of sand traps...

It's Sentry for the Sentry Insurance company, headquartered across the street.  The CEO in the 1970's was a golfer, and hired Rees Jones to build him a course.  There's a nice clubhouse Fancy GPS systems And two "signature" holes.  The owner's is the 16th, a par 3 Which all proves that insurance is a nice business to be in. The designer's signature hole is a drivable par 5 only about 350 if you cut the corner, but it's all carry. This is a fun and interesting course to play, not one that beats you to death, and more reasonably priced, especially for the locals. More Pictures .

" The nickname "DUBSDREAD" is derived from the idea that a "dub" or poor golfer should beware and served as a warning of the challenges forthcoming." This course was the site of the Western Open from 1991-2006, and 4 times a FedEx Cup playoff venue.  The 2008 redesign by Rees Jones removed 40 or so bunkers ("only" 82 remain), but the removed ones must have been quite redundant, because those still around are very much in play, most of the large greens having 2-3 guarding the approach, and most of the fairways having one or both sides bunkered to frame the tee shot. There was a fair amount of water, too, including some subtle ones.  A stream crosses 4 of the front 9 fairways, but is underground in the actual fairway, only surfacing as a small pit in the rough on both sides of the landing area, usually under a bridge carrying the cart path.  Reachable, and in play if your drive isn't straight.  On the back 9 the water hazards w...

In northwest Montana, this course is within range of the smoke from a fire in British Columbia, so the beautiful scenery was somewhat obscured.  It's also close enough to Canada for American golfers to be in the minority.  I played with two RVers from Missoula, and we had the only two Montana license plates not in the employee parking lot. It's a Nick Faldo design.  He likes sand, both in large waste areas and collections of traditional bunkers. The greens are large and very contoured, smooth and true, but not inappropriately fast for the slopes. A lot of the holes are quite playable (I had 10 pars, only one of which was a near miracle - my Jacques Cousteau on #10, above) but others can bite you if you're not very careful (I had a 9 and two 7's). There are a couple of holes that include my favorite feature, a big downhill shot. Ernie and Caroline said I should play in the Spring, when the air is clear, the mountain peaks are...

This is a 2014 David McLay Kidd (Bandon Dunes) design.  I like it a lot.  It has a linksy feel to it, but not nearly as much contour on the fairways as Chambers Bay.  The fairways are very wide, although there are forced carries and challenge carries, and the greens are enormous.  The longest is 70 yards.  One of my playing partners had a number of 100-foot putts, and the short fairways allowed for putting from even further than that. Situated on top of a hill overlooking the Columbia River, and the snow-covered Cascades in the distance, the views are spectacular, but it is very exposed to the wind. It was windy all day, but the wind speed increased through the round as the storm approached.  This was the 17th green: The course has an outward 9 and inward 9, with the 10th tee at the furthest point from the clubhouse, and the prediction was for the rain to start in earnest 2 hours after our tee time.  The wind from the southeast ...

This is the controversial site of the 2015 US Open, won by Jordan Spieth.  Forget whatever you've heard, it's a fun and challenging course to play.  It's a links course, walking only (unless you have a note from your doctor).  You can take a pull cart or a caddy.  Tyler the caddy was great.  He works winters at Country Club Scottsdale, and knew all the courses I play in the Valley of the Sun. It's a beautiful location, great views of the bay, islands, and when the sun finally came out, the snow-topped Olympics on the peninsula. The greens were a disappointment, slow and bumpy.  They're letting the Poa Annua grow in before they mow them more closely.  But the price was right.  Due to a computer error, the greens fees posted on the web site for the last three days of May were $89 for everyone, the member rate, rather than $189 for non-residents (and various other prices in between).  That doesn't include the caddy, though. Many of the...