Yesterday's trip to the mailbox was eventful. The new Zagat guide to America's Top Golf Courses arrived. We were pleased to see a few old friends rated near the top of the list of the nation's best public-accessible courses.
The Zagat guide gives all of us golfers the opportunity to be a rater, just like the guys at Golf Digest. Zagat publishes its rankings based on four criteria -- the quality of the course, the facilities, services and perceived value - and also lists the average cost of greens fee.
Only two tracks rated perfect scores of 30 in the new 2007/08 edition -- the Pacific Dunes course at Bandon Dunes in Oregon, and the Whistling Straits course in Kohler, Wisconsin. One of our favorites, Caledonia Golf & Fish Club in Pawleys Island, South Carolina, finished at an overall rating of 29, joining such elite company as Pebble Beach, Bethpage Black, Spyglass Hill, The Ocean Course at Kiawah and Kapalua Plantation on Maui.
"Guide" is the operative word for the Zagat rankings. What accounts for a less-than-two-year old course in Connecticut, the well-regarded Lake of Isles North, rating the same as Pebble Beach, Bethpage Black and the others at 29? Perhaps those who have played it need to justify the $200 they paid. Also, Crumpin Fox, a much beloved course in Massachusetts that we have played, rates the same as Pinehurst #2 and the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass (a score of 28). Sorry. Crumpin Fox's loyal following has either lost its collective mind or never played Pinehurst #2 or Sawgrass (we're betting on the latter).
Also of note are the highly rated courses in golf course communities we intend to visit in the coming months, chief among them the Oconee and Great Waters courses at Reynolds Plantation, in rural Georgia which pulled in a rating of 28. Reynolds is just across Lake Oconee from Cuscowilla, the terrific Moore/Crenshaw layout we played last summer. It rates a 27 in the Zagat guide but, trust me, it is at least as good as Crumpin Fox.
The Zagat guide is $15.95 and can be ordered through the company's web site at www.zagat.com. If you participate in next year's survey, Zagat will send you a free copy. Details are at the web site.
Seeing red: Cuscowilla's traps are mentioned in the latest Zagat guide.