[Rich Iwaszko]

Bay Hill is not an extremely difficult golf course, BUT, it plays so. The why of it is what makes any golf course difficult, Long Rough and Fast Greens. You shouldn't see any 20 under scores because of this. And if it rains it may soften up the greens, but, the rough will become more difficult.

So what make a great golf course???? It is very simple, its in the eye of the beholder.

I have seen a lot of so called great golf courses and have come to the conclusion that most are not so great. Just big hype and political connections.

My gauge for a great golf course, is one you would want to play everyday. And Bay Hill does satisfy that criteria for me. So when your judging golf courses, ask yourself, would I like to play this everyday?? In a lot of cases you wouldn't.

As an aside, I had a chance to play in a Pro-Am at Bayhill with some folks from the Villages. The driving range was full and I spotted an empty stall on the far right hand side of the range tee. I scurried down to it, dropped my clubs, and saw a man standing there. I asked if someone was using the space and he said YES. I saw no one! I asked him if he would be back soon and he said NO! I was stumped! He looked at me sternly and said, " Thats Mr. Palmers spot." I moved back down the range and smiled and thought, We owe Mr. Palmer at least that!

[Miboater]

I played Bay Hill in October 2021 and it was fantastic. The course was not playing hard as the greens were fairly slow (around 9.5 according to the starter) and the rough was not up. But the course was in beautiful condition and it was a very playable course. I'm a 9ish handicap and shot in the low 80's both rounds so I was happy. I'm sure it would be much higher in tournament conditions. I played the International course at Champions Gate between rounds at Bay Hill and that course kicked my butt as the greens were lightning fast and the pin positions were diabolical. I would think Bay Hill would have been just as hard if the conditions were in tournament shape.

The best thing about Bay Hill was walking around the clubhouse and looking at all the pictures on the walls. I believe Mr. Palmer met everyone! Movie stars, royalty, politicians, sports stars, etc. It was like taking a history lesson just walking around looking at everything.

[JGibson]

Originally Posted by Rich Iwaszko

Bay Hill is not an extremely difficult golf course, BUT, it plays so. The why of it is what makes any golf course difficult, Long Rough and Fast Greens. You shouldn't see any 20 under scores because of this. And if it rains it may soften up the greens, but, the rough will become more difficult.

So what make a great golf course???? It is very simple, its in the eye of the beholder.

I have seen a lot of so called great golf courses and have come to the conclusion that most are not so great. Just big hype and political connections.

My gauge for a great golf course, is one you would want to play everyday. And Bay Hill does satisfy that criteria for me. So when your judging golf courses, ask yourself, would I like to play this everyday?? In a lot of cases you wouldn't.

As an aside, I had a chance to play in a Pro-Am at Bayhill with some folks from the Villages. The driving range was full and I spotted an empty stall on the far right hand side of the range tee. I scurried down to it, dropped my clubs, and saw a man standing there. I asked if someone was using the space and he said YES. I saw no one! I asked him if he would be back soon and he said NO! I was stumped! He looked at me sternly and said, " Thats Mr. Palmers spot." I moved back down the range and smiled and thought, We owe Mr. Palmer at least that!

Are you attending this weekend?

[jebartle]

Enjoyed our stay at Bay Hill, Arnold Palmer greeted us in the dining room with his dog, wonderful course, especially from the ladies tees

[BrianL99]

Originally Posted by Rich Iwaszko

I have seen a lot of so called great golf courses and have come to the conclusion that most are not so great. Just big hype and political connections.

Go play Royal County Down, Waterville, Ballybunion, Lahinch ... you'll have a different opinion on "great".

[Rich Iwaszko]

Played some but not for a steady diet. Take away the non golf scenery and they are nothing to crow about, like Pebble Beach.

Originally Posted by BrianL99

Go play Royal County Down, Waterville, Ballybunion, Lahinch ... you'll have a different opinion on "great".

[BrianL99]

Originally Posted by Rich Iwaszko

Played some but not for a steady diet. Take away the non golf scenery and they are nothing to crow about, like Pebble Beach.

If you tell me you'd rather play Quashnet Valley than Royal County Down, I'm going to report you to the golf police.

[CoachKandSportsguy]

Originally Posted by BrianL99

Go play Royal County Down, Waterville, Ballybunion, Lahinch ... you'll have a different opinion on "great".

CoachK and I played Lahinch last summer, in 20 knots and occasionally driving rain. makes you appreciate how talented the professionals are. Caddies didn't have any rain gear on, and they hunted errant drives like bird dogs.

Wasn't about to stop although we were one of the last to finish in dwindling light.

Keeping score was impossible. . but it made for a great experience.

Sportsguy

[Rich Iwaszko]

The back 9 at Quashnet is a decent 9. With no cliffs and large elevations.......
The front 9 was designed by a 30 handicapper who walked his dog thru the woods while carrying a 5 iron to hit shots. Sad..............10 guys out of 80 in the mid amateur broke 80 on Quashnet, not their fault. At least Quashnet is not an 8 hour plane ride and bad food.
If it were in the states I would rather play RCD

Originally Posted by BrianL99

If you tell me you'd rather play Quashnet Valley than Royal County Down, I'm going to report you to the golf police.

[BrianL99]

Originally Posted by Rich Iwaszko

The back 9 at Quashnet is a decent 9. With no cliffs and large elevations.......
The front 9 was designed by a 30 handicapper who walked his dog thru the woods while carrying a 5 iron to hit shots. Sad..............10 guys out of 80 in the mid amateur broke 80 on Quashnet, not their fault. At least Quashnet is not an 8 hour plane ride and bad food.
If it were in the states I would rather play RCD

Well that explains it. I played it once, 35 years ago. A guy named "Sullivan" was there?

I walked away, shaking my head. It was like I was in a parallel universe, with the different 9's. One was atrocious, the other not so bad. I guess now I know why and I wasn't crazy.

[Rich Iwaszko]

You were not crazy!!! Tommy Sullivan was a good guy. The owner new nothing about golf and hired a college friend of his sons to manage and design the front 9. At one point behind hole #8 they hung a hangmens noose on one of the trees. Which summed up the front 9.

Tommy moved to the Orchards and in a freak lightening storm, he was out on the course getting members to safety, when a tree got struck and landed on him. it killed him. Again, he was a good guy.

And again, you were not crazy. Sometimes it is the fault of poor golf course design and not the golfer. The USGA Greens Sections review of the front 9 was, it needed a a lot of bull dozing to fix.

There is a good golf book on Amazon. Its titled, Golf Murder Mysteries-Breaking the Rules.
It tells of players being murdered at various clubs on Cape Cod, Disney and the Villages, for Breaking a rule of golf. Call it a golf whodunit. Interesting reading..............

Originally Posted by BrianL99

Well that explains it. I played it once, 35 years ago. A guy named "Sullivan" was there?

I walked away, shaking my head. It was like I was in a parallel universe, with the different 9's. One was atrocious, the other not so bad. I guess now I know why and I wasn't crazy.

[Two Bills]

Originally Posted by Rich Iwaszko

Bay Hill is not an extremely difficult golf course, BUT, it plays so. The why of it is what makes any golf course difficult, Long Rough and Fast Greens. You shouldn't see any 20 under scores because of this. And if it rains it may soften up the greens, but, the rough will become more difficult.

So what make a great golf course???? It is very simple, its in the eye of the beholder.

I have seen a lot of so called great golf courses and have come to the conclusion that most are not so great. Just big hype and political connections.

My gauge for a great golf course, is one you would want to play everyday. And Bay Hill does satisfy that criteria for me. So when your judging golf courses, ask yourself, would I like to play this everyday?? In a lot of cases you wouldn't.

As an aside, I had a chance to play in a Pro-Am at Bayhill with some folks from the Villages. The driving range was full and I spotted an empty stall on the far right hand side of the range tee. I scurried down to it, dropped my clubs, and saw a man standing there. I asked if someone was using the space and he said YES. I saw no one! I asked him if he would be back soon and he said NO! I was stumped! He looked at me sternly and said, " Thats Mr. Palmers spot." I moved back down the range and smiled and thought, We owe Mr. Palmer at least that!

Sometime around 2002-3 'ish, my wife and I were nosing around Nick Faldo golf course in Orlando, when we saw a gentleman hitting golf balls on the range.
Never seen anything like it.
He was hitting one-handed shots, either hand straight down the middle of the range, further than I could drive a ball with the wind behind me.
We had not long started to play golf and never knew one pro from the next one.
Anyway, he stopped to clean his club and spotted us, smiled and said "Hi."
I said that was amazing to watch, and said if he ever learned to hit the ball with two hands, he could go far.
He laughed gave a wave and carried on.
Saw some pro golf on television a while later, and there he was.It was Vijay Singh.
I always claim that it was my advice to use both hands, that made him the player he became!