| Golf Top 18 |
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On my recent trip to Kauai, I finally decided to play Puakea, which is the last 18 hole golf course on Kauai that is public and that I had not played (this was my 7th trip to the island). I took my son along and really enjoyed the golf course, which has a laid back feel and gives a blend of hole and environment types. It may not stand up to some of the true gems on the island, but bang for buck, this is a definite place to play. 
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 I have many memories of Rancho Park, most of which don't give me the warm fuzzies (to be fair, the golf course itself is decent, if one can ignore the distractions). In addition to being the site of my first 6 hour round well over a decade ago, it is also the golf course I used to drive by daily on the worst stretch of my professional career, wishing that I could play golf, even there, in place of doing what I was doing. But, worse of all is the all-consuming fear of having to play the dreaded 18th hole.
The closing par five is the most terrifying hole in the world, not for any golf shot value, but from the absolute fear that is generated by being on the fairway sitting next to of one of the most busy driving ranges in the world, where the nets are just not high enough. There are dozens of balls lining the fairway, and some "Johnny-can't-swing" is two beers deep and ready to pop one over the fence and brain the unsuspecting golfer, all for a laugh or for a cry (depending on the intention of the driving range resident). Although not an official local rule, if the player can get the ball in play on their second shot, I call for the player to take automatic par and walk up the hole away from the fairway, far to the left, leave your ball as a donation to the range demons, and live to play another day.  The first time I played the Makai course at Princeville, it was 2004 and it was tired and not in great shape; thus, I was not in love with it. In 2010, it was re-vamped, lengthened and generally improved drastically. Some golf holes I previously overlooked now seemed better and fit the overall golf course much better. Thus, the ranking improved along with it. Additionally, the 7th hole rightfully took it's place on the Second 18 list of amazing golf holes. When I first played it, the day was gloomy but this time around I was able to fully understand how special that tee shot really is. All in all, especially with the Prince Course being temporarily shut, this golf course is now a viable good place to play on the north shore of Kauai.
 It's always tough to find ways to update Ventura County golf courses since I've played there so many so many times. However, there were a couple more golf holes on the Victoria Lakes course at River Ridge in Oxnard that were added to that golf course review recently.
 Due to a computer upgrade at the house and a few other competing priorities, the last golf course review from the trip to Oregon in May of this year, Running Y Golf Course, is finally here.
 Reaching all new lows with my pun titles, this The Who reference is meant to point to my latest trip to Bandon Dunes in Oregon, where, this time I went with five friends and enjoyed the golfing related bounty that is Bandon. Beyond the flagship course mentioned before, I've also updated the reviews of the other courses there. The personal headline was that I FINALLY broke 80 on Pacific Dunes, on my 5th try. I also played a personal best (on any course) at Bandon with a 76 at Old MacDonald and, sadly, Bandon Trails, as usual, continues to prove to be the hardest course at the resort, kicking my butt twice.
 I first played Reflection Bay in the mid 2000s and then, after a couple of rounds there while vacationing with my wife, it closed in the Great Recession. It re-opened a few years back and I finally made it out there. Of course, they flipped the nines as well, which means there is a full re-do of the review and one of the holes (formerly #7 and now #16 got bumped from one of my lists, but stayed on another and it is still a fabulous golf hole and a great golf course).
 I am aware this is the second consecutive blog with a pun reference to "the top" but since both are about Wisconsin golf, I'm sticking to my guns. After playing both the Irish Course at Whistling Straits and the flagship Whistling Straits course, I knew there would be more to update than just referring everybody to the new reviews. I was not wrong; some havoc was set loose upon the top 18 listings; for those of you who have memorized the listings (he laughs at the prospect that there is more than zero who have done that) you will also note that there were some other pre-blog update changes also reflected beyond those added / moved due to the aforementioned Wisconsin trip. Due to another golfing trip recently taken, and an unexpected turn of events at an old course, a few other things jumped around, making this the most active month in Top18 listing movings since the inaugural month of the website (i think). Stay tuned for those updates (except for you list memorizers who clearly already know what they are).
 Kohler, Wisconsin has long been on my list of places to visit, and not for the cheese curds or solidly made sinks, but for the golf. On a recent business trip to Chicago, I met a friend there and we made the trek up to Kohler. The first place we played was the River Golf Course at Blackwolf Run. Playing in May meant start of the golfing season, which came with less leaves on the trees and lighter rough, even if the Sheboygan river was completely swollen and spilling onto the golf course, leaving less rough to find. Overall, I took advantage of the "easy" conditions on this very tough course, and broke 80, which is a feat I'm not sure I'll be able to ever repeat. The golf course has so many difficult shots and a wonderful mix of holes that it blasted it's way onto the GolfTop18 Course Listing, coming it at #13. The amazing, sweeping dogleg right 11th also cracked the "Par 5 Listing". As always, look for the displaced, but still wonderful golf courses that left the list on the "Honorable Mentions".
 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.
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