2021 Year in Review

As I look back on 2021 I can't help but feel fortunate and grateful.  Fortunate that my wife and I have so far managed to stay Covid free despite the recent variant causing major issues in other parts of my life.  Grateful because I was able to play the #1 course on my bucket list in 2021.  Chicago Golf Club was everything I hoped it would be and as a devoted fan of the architecture of Charles Blair MacDonald and Seth Raynor, it really was a dream come true.

Chicago Golf Club. The highlight of 2021.

TEXAS TRIP

Memorial Park Golf Course, par three 15th hole

Travel in 2021 began with a trip to Texas.  This trip revolved around great golf courses in the Houston area, with a final day stop in Dallas.  Tom Doak's re-design of Memorial Park was the highlight of the trip. Trip profile is here: Texas Trip

Club at Houston Oaks, par three 5th hole

ARIZONA TRIP

Estancia Club, par three 11th hole

I had not played golf in Arizona since 2012 and was missing desert golf, so I decided to change that in early 2021 with a trip to the Scottsdale area, with a side trip to Palm Springs to play one of Fazio's best courses.  Check on my journey into the desert here: Arizona Trip

The Quarry at La Quinta, par three 8th hole

FLORIDA TRIP

Biltmore Golf Club, 8th green and 9th hole

I did a trip to central and South Florida in March, which for some reason I didn't do a write up for.  I blame the distraction of uprooting my life that occurred shortly after the trip.  The highlights of the trip were the Donald Ross designed Biltmore golf course in the Miami area, and the Tom Fazio designed Wannamaker course at the PGA Golf Club.  

PGA Golf Club, Wannamaker Course, par three 6th hole

NEW JOB

Yeamans Hall, 14th green looking at the river

If there is one theme to these year in reviews it is my fascination with un-certainty in life.  As a planner, I am always shocked when something happens that I didn't anticipate that takes my life in a direction I never expected.  One of these such events happened in 2021. In May, my wife and I moved to the Charleston, South Carolina area and I started working at Yeamans Hall Club, newly named by Golf Magazine as one of the top 100 golf courses in the world.  I had no idea when 2021 started that we would be moving to South Carolina, or that I had any chance at getting a job at one of the best clubs in the country.  

My wife's first round at Yeamans Hall was on her birthday in late May.  The eden par three 13th is pictured here.

In April I applied for, interviewed, and was offered a job in a very short time.  We packed up, sold our house, and moved to South Carolina in less than three weeks.  The results have been amazing.  Yeamans Hall is one of the most special places in all of golf.  As soon as you hit the entrance gate you know you are in for a very special experience.  

Yeamans Hall Entrance

The year concluded very appropriately with a round at Yeamans on Christmas day.

MISCELLANEOUS STATISTICS

Now that we're about at the halfway point of my golf year, let's talk about my favorite part of this blog post, the statistics.

New Courses Played:       154

States Played in:               12

9 Hole Courses played:    27

Top 10 Courses by Architect

16    Tom Fazio

6     Donald Ross
5     Jack Nicklaus

5     Rees Jones

4     Robert Trent Jones

3     Joe Lee

3     Seth Raynor

3     Arnold Palmer
3     Pete Dye

3    George Cobb

3    William Byrd

3    Tom Jackson

3    C.B. MacDonald

3    Robert Von Hagge

 

Top 10 Courses by State

39    South Carolina

19    California

18    Georgia

15    Illinois

14    Florida

13    North Carolina
12    Texas

7      Arizona

7     Virginia
4     Nevada


Milestones Reached

1.  150 golf courses played in SC

2.  100 golf courses played in GA
3.  100 golf courses played in MD

4.  50 golf courses played in CA
  

Favorite Course:                 Chicago Golf Club
Least Favorite Course:       Lombard
Most Overrated:                 Rich Harvest Farms
Most Underrated:               Quixote/US Naval Academy

Favorite Par 3:  11th Hole-Estancia
Favorite Par 4:  12th Hole-Chicago Golf Club
Favorite Par 5:  1st Hole-Quarry at La Quinta 

What's in a name

A fun breakdown of golf course names from 2021

(53)Landforms: Camp, Canyon, Cliff, Desert, Dunes, Farm, FieldForest, Grove, Harbor, Hill, Island, Mound, Mountain, Park, Point, Plantation, Quarry, Ridge, Rock, Trail, Village

(30)Water: Bay, Beach, Brook, Cove, Creek, Harbor, Lagoon, Lake, Pond, Reef, Sea

(13)Object/Man Made: Bridge, Crystal, Feather, Ferry, Hall, Horseshoe, Lights, Pearl, Rose, Saddle, Stone, Teeth, Well

(12)Colors: Blue, Emerald, Gold, Green, Indigo, Orange, Red, White

(11)Trees: Oak, Palmetto, Pine, Willow

(10)Animals: Cougar, Coyote, Crane, Deer, Hawk, Hound, Panther, Terrapin

(9)Directions: East, North, South, West

(6)The word "Links"

(3)The word "National"

(2)Food: Apple, Oyster

(1)States: Virginia

(1)The word "Old"

Best Scores

65-Yeamans Hall
67-Cabarrus, Kenmure

68-Farmstead, Kiawah Island(Oak Point), Plantation Course at Edisto, Ponte Vedra(Ocean), Quixote, Saddlebrook(Palmer)

Worst Scores

81-Wild Dunes(Harbor)
79-The Preserve, The Quarry at La Quinta

78-Rich Harvest Farms

          BEST AND MAYBE WORST SHOT?

 

I've made 2 hole in ones in my life but the shot I hit in April of this year was not that.  It was the infamous Hole in Three.  Fittingly on my last round at my old job I hit my tee shot on the par 3 5th hole over the green and into the hazard.  

I re-teed and the next shot went in the hole, 187 yards, 5 iron.  My wife and I didn't see it go in so when we discovered where it was she looked right at me and without hesitation said "Nice Par".  Possibly the best and yet worst par I've ever made!

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA TRIP

Clear Creek Tahoe, par three 2nd hole

In July I returned to Northern California sixteen years after my last visit.  The trip included my first visit to the Lake Tahoe, golf in the San Francisco area, plus a brief stop on the Monterey Peninsula.  Read all about it here: Northern California Trip

Monterey Peninsula, Dunes course, par three 10th hole

                       CHICAGO TRIP

Chicago Golf club, Punchbowl, par four 12th hole

I have been a lover of the architecture of Charles Blair MacDonald and Seth Raynor since I worked in New York in 2003 and was able to play some of their great courses like Yale and National Golf Links.  Over the years I have sought out their designs and have been able to play most of their best courses.  One design eluded me for years, Chicago Golf Club.  Many consider it to be their best.  It is a must visit for any student of golf course architecture because it's a very small, simple, and relatively flat piece of property that they transformed into one of the best courses in the world.  My trip to Chicago in September was all about playing Chicago but I also played many other great courses on the trip: Chicago Trip

Butler National, Par three 5th hole

MID-ATLANTIC TRIP

United States Naval Academy Golf Course, Par three 12th hole in foreground, 14th green in background

My wife and I took to the road in October to visit family since work would not allow me to get away during the holidays.  During the trip we played two amazing new courses that I'm sure we will be hearing more about in the future.  I also reached an important milestone during the trip.  More on that below.  Read about our road trip here: Mid Atlantic Road Trip

Cutalong at Lake Anna, Par four 10th hole

9 HOLE COURSES

Gibson Island Club, 8th green and 9th hole

Many years ago I set a goal of playing one hundred nine hole courses.  I reached that goal this year, and appropriately I reached the milestone at Gibson Island Club, a wonderful MacDonald/Raynor course in Maryland.  I played nine hole courses in seven states this year and continue to be impressed with the quality of these overlooked gems.

Downers Grove.  Wonderful nine hole course in Chicago

ECLECTIC EIGHTEENS

Always fun putting together the eclectics.  Some of these are my favorite 3rd or 8th or 15th hole I played this year, others are simply trying to get to 18 for the par 3, 4, and 5.

Par 3's 1 to 9

Par 3's 1 to 9.  From top L to R: Quarry at La Quinta Short, Clear Creek, Chicago, Bayonet, Houston Oaks, PGA Wannamaker, Gallery North, Desert Mountain, Kenmure

Par 3's 10 to 18

Par 3's 10 to 18:  From top L to R: Monterey Peninsula Dunes, Estancia, Cutalong at Lake Anna, Coyote Moon, Maridoe, Memorial Park, Royal Oaks, Quarry at La Quinta, Desert Mountain Seven

Par 4's 1 to 9

Par 4's 1 to 9:  From top L to R: Green Hills, Bob O' Link, High Hampton, Lake Merced, Clear Creek, USNA, Gibson Island, Gallery North, Quarry at La Quinta

Par 4's 10 to 18

Par 4's 10 to 18, From top L to R: Cutalong at Laka Anna, Biltmore, Stanford, Verrado, Chicago, Quixote, Martis Camp, Memorial Park, Estancia

Par 5's 1 to 9

Par 5's 1 to 9, from Top L to R: Quarry at La Quinta, Green Hills, Corde Valle, Houston Oaks, Reynolds Plantation, Knollwood, Berkeley Hall North, Butterfield, Desert Mountain Renegade

Par 5's 10 to 18

Par 5's 10 to 18:  From top L to R: Martis Camp, High Hampton, Cleveland, Trump National Jupiter, King & Prince, Monterey Peninsula Dunes, Gallery North, Estancia, Clear Creek Tahoe

SCORECARDS

A little inside look at what it's like trying to put this together when you have cats

FLAGS

White

Red

Yellow

Blue

Checkerboard

Miscellaneous

2022

Obviously the big thing that will happen in 2022 is that I will play my 2000th golf course.  Where that will be is still unknown.  There is one dream possibility that is still very unlikely.  Another outrageous possibility is flying to the UK.  It will most likely just be a random course in South Carolina.

What will definitely happen in 2022 is that I will be returning to Bandon Dunes after a 20 year absence and the wife and I will be taking our first trip to Hawaii.  Shaping up to be a great year!