West Links at North Berwick, Scotland

The West Links at North Berwick are a perfect mix of fun and challenge on a golf course. It's a top-notch golfing experience, and after the round you don't feel like the course sapped all your strength.

Favorite holes on the course for me are #2 (Firth of Forth and beach directly on the right), #11 (par-5 reachable in two), #13 (par-4 called "Pit" where you have to hit your approach shot over a short wall to the green), #14 (par-4 called "Perfection" where your approach shot is blind, other than a tall pole that you take aim at), and #15 (the original "Redan" par-3 hole).

All the holes are great fun, and the course is kept in great shape, plus the clubhouse is very old-school-cool. I definitely plan to play this course again when I visit in July!!

Crooked Tree Golf Course, Mason, Ohio

Crooked Tree Golf Course is a great course to hone your shotmaking skills on. You can't always just "grip it and rip it" on this golf course. Trees come into play on almost every hole of this course. Every hole has some unique character to it. All in all, a very memorable golf course.

The first hole is a tough par 4 of 430 yards. Both the tee and the green sit about 40 feet above the fairway. Left is dead, while right will eliminate any chance of reaching the green in regulation. Plus the approach shot requires a long carry over a large waste area.

After a short par-3, the third hole is a really fun par-5. If you hit your tee shot just right, you can reach the green in two if you want to risk the carry over a creek directly in front of the green. Then, after a short par-4, you come to #5, a challenging par-3 of 160 yards. It requires a carry over water, with trees on the left. Anything short or right is wet. Only a perfect shot will do.

After another par 5 with water on the right, you come to #7, another challenging par 3 of 171 yards. Anything right is wet, while anything left will trundle down into a gulley where par will be tough to get. The 8th hole is a dogleg right par 4 of 362 yards where you can blast directly over the fairway bunker. The green is rather large and can be tricky to putt on.

On the back nine, #10 is a zig-zag par 5 of 510 yards (not my favorite hole; seems kind of gimmicky), while #11 is an uphill par 3 of 171 yards where you can't see the green, so you feel like you are at the State Fair and trying to toss a quarter and keep it on the china plate! #12 is a tough, dogleg left par 4 of 427 yards.

The 14th hole is 412 yards, but most folks will have to lay up off the tee, as a creek awaits you at around 210-220 yards. Then of course, if you do elect to lay up, you still have a long iron approach shot to the green. The 15th is a fun, all-downhill par 3 of 150 yards, but it probably plays 25 yards shorter than that. #17 is only 357 yards, but requires a very accurate approach shot over a creek. And #18 is a great par-5 finishing hole of 513 yards that requires you to cross that same creek twice!

All in all, a very fun golf course that will encourage you to use most of the clubs in your bag.

The Old Course, St. Andrews, Scotland

The Old Course starts innocently enough; a 355 yard par 4, with a fairway wide enough to land a small plane on. There's only one catch: you're on the 1st tee of the most famous golf course in the world, and the starter actually announces your name on the loudspeaker before you tee off. And then there are the inevitable numbers of people watching you tee off, golfers waiting their turn for their tee time to arrive, along with the general bystanders and tourists just curious to get a look at the old lady.

Needless to say, I cold-yanked my 3-wood into the 18th fairway, dumped my second shot into Swilken Burn, and exited the 1st hole with a nice, tidy double bogey. Luckily it was my last double bogey until the 15th hole.

Many folks who have only played the Old Course once or twice will tell you that it's kind of hard to remember the differences between Holes 2 through 6, as they all run in the same direction. I tend to agree with that assessment. All of the holes in this stretch are par 4s with the exception of #5, which is a par 5. They are all good holes, they are just hard to remember.

That all changes with the 7th hole. After your drive, you are faced with an approach shot to a double green sitting up on a hill. Miss this green and you may find yourself in one of the gaping bunkers surrounding it. This green is also the location of the next very memorable hole, #11. It is a par 3 of 164 yards, and once again you are faced with a challenging shot to a green perched up on a hill, and this time you have to go directly over the Strath Bunker. This bunker is so deep that you may very well have to hit out of it backwards just to get out!

Another famous hole is the 14th hole, a par 5 that contains the Beardies fairway bunkers, the Elysian Fields, as well as Hell Bunker and Grave Bunker. The 16th hole finishes right by the Old Course Hotel, and then of course the 17th hole, the famous "Road" Hole, requires you to hit your drive while the hotel sits a little too close for comfort on your right. And whatever you do, don't get into the Road Hole bunker sitting directly in front of the green!

The 18th hole provides a satisfying finish as you literally hit your way back into town. Don't go right as you could end up in the street. Again, you will probably find yourself being watched by curious onlookers, perhaps people playing the Old Course the next day, as you try to hole that 4-footer for par!

TPC Stadium Course, Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida

Home of the THE PLAYERS Championship, the TPC Stadium Course (as quoted on the scorecard) was "destined to be a special course. The culmination of a long-held dream to establish a home club for the members of the PGA Tour and a permanent site for THE PLAYERS Championship, the Tournament Players Club at Sawgrass became a reality in 1980."

The initial hole is rather ordinary, a shortish par-4, but the second hole is a challenging par-5 with water on the right. After a rather short and ordinary par-3 on the third, the fourth is an interesting par-4 where the green is greatly protected by water. The 8th hole is a challenging par-3 of 201 yards from the blue tees, and the 9th is an incredible par-5 where your second shot has to cross over water, and the green is small and rather hard to hit.

On the back nine, memorable holes include #11, another par-5 with lots of sand on the left and water on the right; #12, a nearly drivable par-4 that presents a decent birdie opportunity, and #13, a par-3 right by the Sawgrass Marriott Golf Resort & Spa. After a couple of tough par-4s, you enter the home stretch with three of the best finishing holes in golf: 16 is a par-5 with water on the right for your approach shot (my favorite hole on the course), 17 is of course the world-famous par-3 island green, and 18 is a very tough par-4 with water on the left from tee to green.

The course was in absolutely great shape the day I played it. Lots of sand and water on the entire course. If you get a chance, the TPC Valley Course right next door is also kept in great shape, and is well worth playing if you are in town for more than a day.

The Eden Course, St. Andrews, Scotland

We played the Eden Course at St. Andrews on a glorious Saturday morning in July. We had one of the very first tee times, and we pretty much had the course to ourselves. My golf was a little bit suspect, as evidenced by the wayward drive on #2 that ended up on the Old Course! But the day was just too nice to care. My first chance for birdie came on #4, a 251-yard par 4 that I drove, but then proceeded to 3-putt for par! This hole runs right next to the Eden Estuary, and is a lovely view. The next hole is also a real charmer, a short par-3 nestled amongst the sandhills; very picturesque!

All in all just a lovely course at a very reasonable price. If you come to St. Andrews to play the Old Course, and you also just want to have some fun on a very nice course, the Eden Course is for you!

Pine Grove Country Club, Iron Mountain, Michigan

Established in 1902, Pine Grove Country Club is a great course for all skill levels. There are some great birdie opportunities, as well as some very difficult holes. The terrain is fairly sloped, so there are some holes where it is very tough to get it close to the pin. My favorite hole on the course is #3, a dogleg right where you have to drive over the entrance road to the club, and then you are faced with a long approach shot to a green that is surrounded by (what else?) tall, stately pine trees. The fourth hole has a very slanted fairway that is tough to stay on, and the sixth hole is a big-dogleg-right, downhill par five.

Overall a very enjoyable golf course. It is semi-private, but a courteous phone call can usually get you on!

Burnside Golf Course, Carnoustie, Scotland

The first shot I ever struck in Scotland came at this course. We had just flown over from the United States, landed in Edinburgh, and drove straight up to Carnoustie. When we arrived at the course, a pipes and drums group was playing outside of the hotel. What a welcome to Scotland!! We walked down to the Burnside Course, checked in, and the starter even let us tee off a bit earlier than our appointed time. It was a glorious day, sunny and breezy. The course was in great shape. They were playing the Open on the Championship Course in about 3 weeks, so I suspect that the general care and feeding of the Championship Course probably carried over to the Burnside Course, seeing that the holes basically run over the same piece of land.

A good time was had by all. If you are ever in the area and want to play a perfectly lovely course at a very reasonable price, do not hesitate to tee it up on the Burnside Course.

Pasatiempo Golf Course, Santa Cruz, California

An absolute gem by Alister MacKenzie, lightning-fast greens the day I played there, interesting barrancas that you have to hit over on several approach shots. Much of the day you feel like you're playing on a tilted billiard table! I love the 18th hole, a little par-3. Number 1 (all downhill but with trees overhanging the fairway) and Number 9 (all uphill with a wicked-fast green) are also very memorable. Highly recommended if you ever get out that way.