Golf Top 18 Recent Courses Blog - Golf Top 18

Another Top 18 Adjustment

2/1/2020

It's been well over a year since any of the Top18 lists has been altered as being on any of them has become relatively tough. That being said, #3 at the Kidd Course at Kananaskis has made the Second 18 Listing.

All of this has got me thinking that now that I've played over 300 different golf courses in my life, it is probably time to think through expansion of each of the lists. So, sometime in 2020, look for each of the lists to be amended to allow for another set of "greats".

golf top 18 list Picture

Going "Straits" to the Top

6/8/2018

Top 100 Golf Picture

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).

Kauai Golf: Still High on the List

9/25/2014

Top Kauai Golf Photo

I just recently returned from a Kauai trip sans children (first week away from kids ever). Some golfing friends joined us and I got to share my love of two courses on the Garden Isle with them, both of which had been altered since my last visit. First, the redesigned Kauai Lagoons course had a few new holes along the way. I think they stayed faithful to the design even if the course did slip one stop on the Top18 Course listing to #3. I still get giddy thinking about playing the final six holes on that course. Secondly, the Prince Course underwent a renovation that replaced greens and cleared away some of the jungle overgrowth. This tough track remained at #6 on my listing and my friend declared it to be the best course he's ever played (which my brother-in-law also declared a few years ago.) So, it was nice to re-confirm how awesome the Kauai Courses are and update my reviews with some new pictures and the new course dimensions.

Kauai Golf Course Review Picture

A Picture Tells a Thousand Words

9/12/2014

On a recent trip to Chicago, I was able to get in a round of golf at the well-respected Glen Club, which I've now added to the website. Having only my smart phone, it takes good pictures but not of golfers in motion, so i needed to time the shots for before or after the swing. On the 15th hole, my buddy hit a poor drive and I inadvertently captured his response, which golfers all over the world can relate to when you don't execute on what you want. The good news is that my friend rallied and made pars on the last three holes to end up scoring pretty well, but at this moment, I know he felt it all slipping away.

Saying Goodbye to an Old Friend

7/6/2014

Incline Village Golf Picture

Sadly, the condo in Incline Village that has been in our family for about a dozen years was recently sold. Although that in no way means an end to my Lake Tahoe trips, it does signal the finish of my "gravy train" deal that came with the resident card at Incline Village Championship course. Still one of my favorites, it'll be hard to swallow paying full fees after having years of discounts. So, I added one more photo / hole to my review and bid adieu to the chapter of discounted golf at Incline. However, stay tuned for a new post within the next week about two new golf course reviews in the Lake Tahoe area.

Red Rock Replacement

4/10/2014

Top Utah Golf Hole Picture

The amazing 12th hole at the Sand Hollow Championship Course has bumped a couple of holes to the Honorable Mentions list. See the updates to the Par Four and Second 18 lists courtesy of this amazing hole. As a side note, I played this round in 2-3 club wind and the surrounding mountains were receiving flurries of snow, but the course somehow magically stayed free of moisture and the temps even stayed in the 50s for me long enough to finish my round.

Sol'd On Los Cabos Golf

12/6/2013

cabo del sol golf review Picture

On my first ever vacation to Mexico, I played in Los Cabos and hit both the Desert Course (pictured above) and Ocean Course at Cabo del Sol (pictured below). Both were enjoyable, but the Ocean course really lived up to all the hype I had heard and balanced desert golf with ocean golf in a rare and fascinating combination. I also took my family out with me and my wife mentioned it is her favorite course to ride along on due to the amazing tacos at the halfway point, with fresh salsa, slaw (for the shrimp/fish tacos) & guacamole.

It is the first course to newly crack the GolfTop18 Course listing since the advent of the website in 2012. it also contributed new holes to the Par Fours and Par Threes listings. So, please check out the reviews and all the shake up.

top mexico golf 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.

East of the Rockies

9/21/2013

It should be obvious to any followers of this website (and all casual observers as well) that the vast majority of the courses featured are west of the Rockies. As the author is a SoCal inhabitant, this should not be surprising. Although I love travelling, my focus has not been overtly on areas east of the Rockies, even though many of the golf courses I've played in those regions are superb. However, we have gone back into the Central U.S. and Eastern U.S. sections of the website and updated the reviews, adding quite a few more pictures and re-vamping them to also be quicker to load. So, although there aren't many for now, please enjoy the reviews that are there.

Open Rota Course Memories

7/19/2013

Inspired by watching the Open Championship at Muirfield earlier today, I dug through my picture archives and found a couple of new ones to put on my reviews of various Scotland courses. Although there are many great courses left to play in Scotland, I feel very happy to have played the ones I did thus far, including three that have been on the Open Rota over the years. I am even more proud to have broken 80 on all three of those courses, although not from the same Championship tees as the pros.

Scotland Golf Picture, Top Scotland Golf Photo