Friday, September 11, 2009

The Artful Best

Like many golfers, my dream would be to travel the world and play the world's best golf courses (and break 80 on every one). However, I lack the time, the money, and the connections to realistically pursue this dream (but I could do the break 80 part!). I've happily accepted the fact that I'm fortunate simply to play a few new good courses each year on vacation, along with some pretty nice courses right here on the Central Coast.


Alister MacKenzie's Cypress Point

But, it doesn't hurt to dream. And if you're going to dream, you need to know what courses to dream about. Well, I think I've just discovered the best, and perhaps most impartial, list of top courses!

Jim Colton recently launched Golf Blog 100, a new website with its very own Top 100 list, compiled by some very artful golf bloggers who cover golf courses and golf course design. I want their job!

Each selected panelist rated golf courses they've played from a list of 540 eligible courses around the world. There was no set criteria or scale, allowing each panelist to use their expertise in evaluating golf courses and defining what makes a golf course great. The final ranking is the result of a sophisticated modeling technique that ensures that the output is the best representation of the collective view of the panelists.

So far, Jim's released the Top 100 U.S. Courses. Top Public Courses and Top World Courses are coming soon.

Jim plans to profile a few of these courses each week, as well as link to blog posts from its contributors. This should become a valuable resource for anyone interested in playing these top courses and for learning more about golf course design. Jim's goal is to make Golf Blog 100 the first and only stop for golfers looking for comprehensive information of the top golf courses in the world.

The list of panelists include the following golf bloggers:

Jim Colton, Wegoblogger31
Will Smith, Punchbowl Golf
Chip Gaskins, Golf Course Classics
Anonymous, Top 100 Golfer
Anonymous, The Itinerant Golfer
Tom Dunne, Out and Back
Rob Rigg, The Walking Golfer
Gary D'Amato, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel Golf Beat
Jim Tang, Vagabond Golfer
Matt Bosela, Now on the Tee
Bill Satterfield, Golf Course Gurus
Mike Sutorius, Golf Course Gurus
Dean Sivara, A Golfer's Quest: A Journey to Play America's Top 100 Golf Courses
Jay Flemma, A Walk In The Park
Anonymous, The London Golfer

Maybe I'll see you on one of these courses one day!

Top 100 Golf - www.golfblog100.com

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Visit: San Luis Obispo Golf Guide

Posted at 6:47 PM : 1 Comments

Golf as Art

When you disappear, Golf as Art shows up. The resulting void is where all the important discoveries, personal development, satisfaction, joy and fulfillment take place.
–Fred Shoemaker, Extraordinary Golf

Swing motion at its highest level is the uninterrupted flow of natural rhythm from within.
–Tom Woods, True Golf

Your enemy is expectation. Your ally is detachment. The game isn't the process, the game is the dream.
–Kris Barkway, The Magician's Way

A great golf shot is a thing of beauty. Repeating it is an art.
–Mark Guadagnoli, Practice to Win

Golf is performance art and there's no right and wrong in art. You're free to play however you want.
–Grayden Provis, Golf = Life

Artful Milestones

  • Mar 05 - Started playing (1 rd/week)
  • Jun 05 - Broke 80 (21st round)
  • Nov 05 - Increased play (2 rds/week)
  • Jan 06 - Under 10 Index (54th round)
  • Jan 06 - 10 GIR (62nd round)
  • Mar 06 - Less than 30 Putts (75th round)
  • Aug 06 - First Eagle (124th round)
  • Aug 06 - 5 Birdies (138th round)
  • Sep 06 - Broke 76 (146th round)
  • Oct 06 - First ACE (161st round)
  • Oct 06 - Under 5 Index (166th round)
  • Oct 06 - 13 Fairways (169th round)
  • Dec 06 - Broke 72 (184th round)
  • Dec 06 - 70's Streak (9/10 rounds)
  • Feb 07 - Under 4 Index (219th round)
  • Feb 07 - 15 GIR (219th round)
  • Oct 07 - 24 Putts (298th round)
  • Jan 08 - 70's Streak (12 rounds)
  • Jan 08 - Second ACE (332nd round)
  • Apr 08 - Par from Tips (370th round)
  • May 08 - Under 3 Index (382nd round)
  • Aug 08 - 50th Course (420th round)
  • Nov 08 - Broke 70 (460th round)
  • Dec 08 - 16 GIR (472nd round)
  • May 09 - 60th Course (510th round)
  • May 09 - 7 Birdies (511th round)
  • May 09 - Broke 70 (511th round)
  • May 09 - Under Par Streak (2 rounds)
  • May 09 - Under 80 Streak (13 rounds)
  • May 09 - Broke 70 (520th round)
  • May 09 - Under 2 Index (520th round)
  • Jun 09 - 70th Course (538th round)
  • Aug 09 - Third ACE (556th round)
  • Aug 09 - Broke 70 (559th round)
  • Jul 10 - 100 Holes at Even-Par (670th round)

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