What Makes A Great Golf Course? (My Opinion)

     What makes a great golf course? In my travels and career of playing golf, there have been many different courses that have been put on my "favorites" list. I am not talking about just the design of the course, but the operation and total experience of the course for the golfer. Here are some of my thoughts on the subject and if you have some other ideas or comments, please feel free to share them.

1.  Condition of the course is very important. The course can be in the best location--more about that later--and yet be a goat track. Believe me, I have run across many courses that seemed to be a beautiful course fit for my "Best Of" list and I wind up playing them only to discover that the place is totally trashed.  I get very upset about this one and will not name names.

2.  Customer service has to be the highest value to the management. I mentioned this in my Paso Robles post.  The course was in the tank and nobody wanted to play the course before the new management took over. The ideas was to make some key renovations to he course and totally stress customer service. Play is way up. People want to feel welcomed and appreciated.  If they don't get that sense of welcome, they will spend their money on some other course where they will feel welcomed.

3.  This one I say a bit tongue in cheek, but they are important. The course must have a great hamburger and a good price on a hot dog.  The beverages must be cold. Being a bit more serious on this, the course must have a good food and beverage facility. Good food and beverages need to be offered in the restaurant/coffee shop with a good variety of selections. They don't necessarily have to be gourmet, but there should be a good selection.  The beverage cart is also important. It should be well stocked and come around often with somebody who knows what they are doing including golf wise is working it.

4.  Most expensive is not always the best.  I have gone to a couple of courses and played because of the reputation of the course as far as beauty and location with the outing ending up being a total disappointment. In other words, I paid for a reputation and the place did not deliver. The course was overpriced and the staff was very rude and it was as if I was doing them a favor by playing the course.

5.  The location and setting of the course should be considered as to its greatness as well.  Where is the course located and what is the scenery around it. This is important and I prefer to play courses that are on or near the Pacific Ocean, but that is not a primary criteria for a course being great.  I think factor number six is much more important.

6.  The course needs to be fair and playable for the average golfer, with no gimicks thrown at the player.  I operate with my three ball principle.  If I lose three ball at a course, the course is not a great course.  There should be no forced carries over canyons or water that the average golfer can't get over safely. Landing areas should be reachable and not favor the longer hitter. The course should be enjoyable, not a short visit into the bowels of purgetory.  It doesn't have to be tough, just fair and a challenge.  It can be flat as well.

     I may think of a couple more things that contribute to a course being great, but I think this is enoug for today's post.  If you have a criteria that you like to use, please share it I would like to hear from you. There are a lot of great courses out there and I would like to get out there and play as many as I can.  I'll get back to you on my progress.    

Pacific Grove Golf Course is a prime good of a great course. It is always in great shape for the amount of play it gets and is a challenge with a fantastic location. Located in the Monterey Bay area it is far less expensive to play than Pebble Beach but is located across the street from the ocean.