Rating:*
- Layout: 10
- Conditions: 10
- Staff: 8
- Value: 5
TCS™: 8.25
— Not counted in TCS™, but just as important (imo):
- Pace of Play: FAST!
*All ratings are out of 10 possible points.
Commentary:
This is a very difficult golf course! It ate my lunch. Neither of the Promontory courses are loaded into my golf app (go figure!) so, no shot by shot round analysis from me.
I was playing with about half of the women’s golf team from DSU, plus the coach. I had a great time, despite not playing very well.
Setting aside the difficulty, and Jack created a true test of golf with this design, the layout is very impressive and beautiful to behold. I think Jack gets a bit carried away with some of the guarded greens, but the setting and design worked better than many of the holes I’ve played with Jack’s stamp on them (thinking of Breckenridge as I type this, some of the bunkers around the greens in Colorado felt…unnecessary, but I digress). Conditions were perfect, to the point that the fairways felt like you were walking on plush carpeting that gave a little as you walked. I’ve played on other courses at elevation where lots of moisture rests on the turf for long periods of time (again, Breckenridge comes to mind), but these fairways were insanely perfect. Wow!
Staff were nice, but also carried that “air” about them conveying the idea that somehow I was a tourist walking on holy ground. The course is nice, a great test of golf, but at the end of the day, this is a game that–to me–should be open to everyone; especially, if golf is going to last. Any wiff of that snobbish nature that can be a part of the golf world always turns me off a bit; said scent was in the air with some of the staff I interacted with. I get it, this is your private test of golf. Fine. Regardless, I love this game too, and spend time everyday working on it, so, I wouldn’t mind my love for the game to be respected even in the lofty heights of private golf.
Value. My last point also suggests why I rate this a 5. For most people this course is inaccessible. To have access is a million dollar affair, and again, this is my bias, something about that rankles me. Value: 5.
But, but, if it was open to everyone then you wouldn’t have the grandeur that you find in your description above. To that I say: Pebble Beach, Torrey Pines, Pinehurst, et cetera et cetera.
That being said, I loved playing here! Thanks for making it possible; you know who you are.