Golf Top 18 Recent Courses Blog - Golf Top 18

End of 2016

12/31/2016

This was a very good year of golf where I got to play in four different countries and four states in the U.S., hitting up some of the most world renowned efforts. The last two months, however, is where I "came down" off the golfing highs and only played twice (both in December). Nonetheless, I was able to refresh the existing reviews of Terra Lago South and Camarillo Springs for my last effort of 2016.

What's on tap for 2017? There is less golf magic in the air but I'll return to Cabo San Lucas in Mexico and the Big Island of Hawaii, where I plan to visit some old haunts and also throw in a few new courses along the way.

Goodbye 2013

12/27/2013

Rustic Canyon Golf Picture

My golfing 2013 ended with a flurry...of bad golf shots! I wrapped up my efforts for this otherwise good year of golf with my worst scores at two courses i've played a decent amount of times. However, I was able to add in a few more photos and update the reviews of Rustic Canyon (above) and Sea Cliff (below). So, my pain is the reader's gain.

We look forward to adding more courses to the website in 2014 (plans include trips to Washington, Utah and Wyoming: all states with zero courses played/reviewed by GolfTop18 as of now).

Sea Cliff Golf Review Picture

The Honorable Mentions Have Arrived

11/24/2013

A new page (The Honorable Mentions) has been added to pay homage to the courses that either have been featured on one of the Golftop18 lists since the advent of the website in early 2012 or would have been if those courses still existed at that time. It features ex-holes and ex-courses from those lists that no longer find themselves in the upper echelons of this websites glory.

Score to Temperature Ratio

7/14/2013

I recently played Terra Lago North (see my updated review) during a massive heat wave and achieved what may be my lowest score to temperature ratio ever, which was 70.3%. Now...I realize that means nothing to anybody, but I can maybe claim to have created a new useless stat in the world of golf.

New Lake Tahoe Area Reviews

7/6/2013

As a follow-up to my last update in June, there are now updated or new reviews on five courses in the Lake Tahoe (including Reno and Carson City) area, bringing the total count to eleven. Any golfer planning a trip to beautiful Lake Tahoe now has a lot of options they can explore by viewing this website: ranging from the inexpensive, yet challenging Wolf Run above, to the wallet injuring, but amazing Edgewood below.

Also, it would be a shame not to thank my golfing partners pictured here for coming along and making our golfing trip such a success: and to staying strong for 72 holes in less than 48 hours, not to mention a lot of travel hours on both ends of the golf.

Shake Up at the Top

6/29/2013

Golftop18 Picture, Top Golf Photo, edgewood tahoe photo

My recent "official" annual golf trip (this time to Lake Tahoe) yielded a couple of adjustments to the GolfTop 18 Favorite Courses List. Both Edgewood Tahoe (I hadn't played it in nearly a decade) and Incline Village Championship Course (I have played it about a dozen times over the last 8 years) each jumped up in the rankings. Both have updated reviews with new holes and pictures added. Once again I'm amazed at how great both of these courses are. Edgewood offers one postcard-perfect-photograph-friendly (yes, my first ever attempt at a four way hyphenated term) hole after another, but while remaining fairly forgiving along the way (it is still the higher ranked of the two courses). Incline Village, on the other hand, requires one postcard-perfectly-played (only three hyphens this time) shot after another to master its tight confines without coming away emotionally bruised and battered. But, when the golfer is successful, the feeling of accomplishment is palpably stronger than most other courses.

Incline Golf Picture, Edgewood Picture, Tahoe Golf Photo

Pretty Don't Matter None

5/27/2013

ojai golf Picture, ventura golf picture, ojai golf review photo, santa barbara golf review photo

First, let me say congratulations to Boo Weekley on winning at Colonial this week and let me say that I love his down to earth style. So, the title of this blog is something I thought of when my wife took this picture, but something I think Boo might have also told me after witnessing my tee shot above (red circle shows where the ball was). The picture below is me posing for what a golf swing finish "should" look like, but, i'm not sure it would have ended up better as, believe it or not, the ugly swing above went about 265 with a high fade over the trees exactly as I had hoped it would, minus the ridiculous looking finish.

ojai golf Picture, ventura golf picture, ojai golf review photo, santa barbara golf review photo

Secondly, for those of you wondering, this awesome golf hole is #18 at Ojai Valley Inn, the review of which I've updated. This time I played on a perfect day and they let me bring along my wife, kids and mother (paid for a second cart). I want to reiterate how great the course is and, although we've never stayed at the resort because my mom lives so close when we visit this area, it looks awesome for a nice golf/spa weekend getaway from Los Angeles or a longer vacation from elsewhere, especially in spring or fall when the weather is ideal.

Tough in the Wind

5/10/2013

I recently played the Mountain Course at Robinson Ranch in heavy winds. Normally tough, it became pretty unbearable as even seemingly decent shots would end up in trouble. Added some pictures to my review as well. Still like the course even though it doesn't much like me.

a lIKEable course

4/27/2013

For the second time, I have played the Ike (Eisenhower) Course at Industry Hills and for the second time it bested me, although at least this time I had positive moments, such as a birdie at the 10th hole pictured here. Overall, this course requires the golfer to take advantage of the shorter / quirkier holes and survive the long, brutal ones. I enjoy both this one and the Babe course and find this to be one of the better 36 hole complexes for a full day of golf in SoCal.

What Happens In Vegas Golf Gets Posted

4/13/2013

Vegas golf review Picture, bali hai golf photo, vegas strip golf photo

The other Vegas golf / review on my recent trip was played at the Bali Hai Golf Club, just south of the strip. I played in the early morning with a nice gentleman on vacation from Indiana, who could bear witness to my story here. On the short par four 4th hole (the 15th is pictured here), I took out my 6 iron to hit the layup drive. After making good, solid contact (not hit fat or thin) my club snapped right in half. I've been playing golf for over 25 years and I've seen club heads flying off and people snapping clubs on purpose, but never seen one snap in half on a regular shot. In fact, my drive ended up just fine and even went about the right distance. So, now I have the dilemma of choosing to get a new shaft for my club or using the excuse to buy a whole new set of irons. Hmmmm...what shall I do?