Given my profession (I know, it's surprising that I'm not a professional "blogger"), this time of year sees my usual golfing drought.  That is not due to bad weather, and, usually, SoCal, where I reside, has quite good weather, in large part due to the real dry and drought-like conditions we live with half of our collective lives.  Ironically, this year, the last planned golf was actually rained out, but the sole round played in February, was done on a classic SoCal February day with temperatures in the 70s.  This allowed for an update to the Vineyard Course at River Ridge in my original home town of Ventura.  Here's to the upcoming "golfing" season, which draws near.

The last update from New Zealand is to mention that the amazing 5th hole from the Nicklaus designed Kinloch has cracked a few lists.  First, it has made the Dream 18 holes list and is the first update to that in two years.  Second, it's also on the Par 4 Listing.  Last, it dislodged a worthy opponent from both lists onto the Honorable Mention page.

The final two golf courses that I played on my recent trip to New Zealand have now been added: Cape Kidnappers and Kinloch.  This duo of golf courses, more than any other I can remember, illustrated the difference between the cerebral golfing experience and the emotional one.

On paper, Cape Kidnappers is one of the Top 100 courses in the world, and folks will carve out an entire day in New Zealand to find it and play it.  Kinloch is far less famous, brand new, and in a small town north of Lake Taupo.  I didn't know about Kinloch until 2 weeks before my trip when I randomly found that it was 20 minutes from where we were staying.  I was looking for an option to play with my son and this seemed to fit the bill.  Cape Kidnappers I had researched, planned and "drooled" over playing for well over a year and knew it was too pricey and tough for my son to join. 

I must say that neither golf course disappointed, but Cape Kidnappers I played by myself on a dreary day.  This ended up being fortunate for my golf score as the normally blustery winds that make scoring so challenging laid low to a light breeze and I was able to squeeze in a round in the 70s.  However, the stunning vistas that help make the course so memorable were hampered by a horizon that melted grey sky into grey ocean.  So, I knew I was playing a great golf course, which it is, but I can't say I fell in love with it.

Kinloch, on the other hand, I played on a sunny day, in the morning, with very few clouds and very little wind.  My son was with me, was granted a great junior discount by the nice staff, and off we went as a father-son duo on a nearly empty course.  We did not wait for any golfers and none waited on us.  I played very well (breaking 80) and my son had his second best score ever, breaking 100 as a nine year old.  In my mind, yes, the course exceeded expectations, even if it is not as spectacular or heralded course as Cape Kidnappers, but the joy of playing Kinloch was so complete from the perfect weather to the bonding with my son, to the scoring, that it actually went down as one of my favorite memories from the trip as a whole, and possibly one of the best all around golfing experiences of my life.

For the first time in my life, and, thus, in the history of this website, the Southern Hemisphere has been visited by the author.  A rather amazing tour of New Zealand and a quick stop in Fiji allowed for new reviews of courses in the "lower half" of the world.  A few golf courses have been added and a couple more are on the way.

Puerto Los Cabos has been added to the list of Mexico courses played.  As mentioned in the review, the current routing will likely be altered with more holes being added in 2018 and beyond as part of the master plan for this community on the east side of San Jose del Cabo, but it was a fun one to play as is nonetheless.

I was able to go back and play both the El Cardonal and Dunes golf courses at Diamante in November.  I was amazed how much more I learned about the golf  courses in the second visit.  For both golf courses, the more you get to know them, the better they seem.  The service and amenities at the private resort is top notch.  See updated reviews.

I made a minor update to the Crossings at Carlsbad review after playing it for the first time in 5 years this fall; three holes/pictures were added by my overall assessment of the course remains unchanged.

2017 has marked another year where the number of my golf rounds played has dropped, but the percentage of good/new courses remains decently high.  I do have some great rounds from November/December that will show up in the next two months, so stay tuned...

One thing about trying to always improve the golf course reviews on this site is when I play a golf course I like a lot and have played a lot, I have to balance taking pictures and reviewing more golf holes just because I can versus adding holes that I don't consider "worthy" of the recognition.  On a recent golf trip with my buddies, I visited a couple of my favorites in this regard and was able to justify adding in a few more holes.  Both Rustic Canyon and La Purisima definitely have robust golf course reviews on this site, if you count the # of golf holes represented.

On a recent trip to Sonoma County, known for its wines, I was able to play Windsor Golf Course, which is a relatively short, but fun and challenging golf course.  The staff was especially courteous and I recommend the course for those going to the area who want a nice, relaxed golf experience.

To say that golfing in the Monterey area is one of my favorite things to do would be a strong understatement.  Not only do I have three of my GolfTop18 List Courses right there, but there are also other great courses nearby in Carmel and around the bay in Santa Cruz (as well as my dream course, Cypress Point, which I can only drool at as I drive by on the 17 mile drive).  This time around I was able to go out and play a round with my family at Pacific Grove, which i contend is still one of the best golf values in the entire world.  I then, (less than 24 hours later) played at Spanish Bay, which remains one of my very favorite golf courses on earth.