Winners Include The Pete Dye Course at French Lick Resort, Pikewood National Golf Club, Sagebrush Golf & Sporting Club and Charlotte Country Club
NEW YORK, NY-Golf Digest has announced its list of America’s Best New Courses of 2009. The annual ranking, which is in its 27th year, will be featured in the January 2010 issue of Golf Digest, on newsstands today. The complete package can also be viewed online now at www.golfdigest.com/rankings/courses/new/2010/01/bestnewcourses.
According to Ron Whitten, Golf Digest Senior Editor, Architecture, “America’s Best New Courses of 2009 are all about old school. All four winners were designed by senior golfers with decades of experience…and all four courses built for the purest of reasons, the sheer enjoyment of the game.”
The Best New Public winner is The Pete Dye Course at French Lick Resort, a Pete Dye design in French Lick, Indiana. Pikewood National Golf Club in Morgantown, W.Va. is the top-ranked course in the Best New Private category. It was designed by two amateurs, John R. Raese and J. Robert Gwynne, with counsel from PGA Tour veterans Dow Finsterwald and Johnny Pott. The Best New Canadian winner is Sagebrush Golf & Sporting Club in Quilchena, B.C., a collaboration by Rod Whitman, two-time PGA Tour winner Richard Zokol and longtime superintendent Armen Suny. The Best Remodel of 2009 is Charlotte Country Club in Charlotte, N.C., a classic Donald Ross design restored and updated by architect Ron Prichard.
The survey was conducted using a panel of more than 900 panelists, who evaluated courses using five criteria: Shot Values, Design Variety, Resistance to Scoring, Memorability and Aesthetics. To be eligible, a course must have officially opened (or re-opened after a remodel) between May 1, 2008 and April 30, 2009.
The complete ranking in each of the four categories is listed below:
America’s Best New Public Courses of 2009
1. The Pete Dye Course at French Lick Resort, French Lick, Ind. (Pete Dye, designer)
2. Palouse Ridge G.C. at Washington State Univ., Pullman, Wash. (John Harbottle)
3. Tetherow G.C., Bend, Ore. (David McLay Kidd)
4. Pound Ridge G.C., Pound Ridge, N.Y. (Perry Dye and Pete Dye)
5. Blue Top Ridge at Riverside, Riverside, Iowa (Rees Jones)
6. Wild Rock G.C., Wisconsin Dells, Wis. (Michael Hurdzan and Dana Fry)
7. Sand Hollow Resort (Championship), Hurricane, Utah (John Fought and Andrew Staples)
8. Newport Dunes G.C., Port Aransas, Tex. (Arnold Palmer, Erik Larsen and Eric Wiltse)
9. Sweetgrass G.C., Harris, Mich. (Paul Albanese)
10. The Preserve on Rathbun Lake, Moravia, Iowa (Kevin Norby)
America’s Best New Private Courses of 2009
1. Pikewood National G.C., Morgantown, W. Va. (John R. Raese, J. Robert Gwynne with Johnny Pott & Dow Finsterwald, designers)
2. Rock Creek Cattle Company, Deer Lodge, Mont. (Tom Doak)
3. Martis Camp, Truckee, Calif. (Tom Fazio)
4. Cornerstone Club, Montrose, Colo. (Greg Norman)
5. Trump National G.C. Bedminster (New), Bedminster, N.J. (Tommy Fazio)
6. The Idaho Club, Sandpoint, Idaho (Jack Nicklaus)
7. The G.C. at Rainmakers, Alto, N.M. (Robert Trent Jones Jr. with Mark Voss)
8. The Cliffs at Keowee Springs, Six Mile, S.C. (Tom Fazio)
9. Innsbrook Golf & Boat Club, Merry Hill, N.C. (Arnold Palmer & Erik Larsen)
10. The Club at 12 Oaks, Holly Springs, N.C. (Michael Nicklaus with John Cope)
Best New Canadian Courses of 2009
1. Sagebrush Golf & Sporting Club, Quilchena, B.C. (Rod Whitman, Richard Zokol, Armen Suny, designers)
2. Otter Creek G.C., Otterville, Ont. (Dick Kirkpatrick)
3. The Club at Tower Ranch, Kelowna, B.C. (Thomas McBroom)
Best Remodels of 2009
1. Charlotte C.C., Charlotte, N.C. (Ron Prichard, re-designer)
2. Olympia Fields C.C. (South), Olympia Fields, Ill. (Steve Smyers)
3. California G.C. of San Francisco, South San Francisco, Calif. (Kyle Phillips)
4. Austin C.C., Austin, Tex. (Pete Dye)
5. Mississaugua Golf & C.C., Mississauga, Ont. (Doug Carrick)
6. Wilmington C.C. (South), Wilmington, Del. (Keith Foster)
7. Bayonet & Black Horse (Bayonet), Seaside, Calif. (Gene Bates)
8. Princess Anne C.C., Virginia Beach, Va. (Tim Liddy)
9. Willow Oaks C.C., Richmond, Va. (Lester George)
10. Bayonet & Black Horse (Black Horse), Seaside, Calif. (Gene Bates)
Contact:
Bret Hopman, 212-286-2059
Bret_Hopman@condenast.com
