My Top 10 Courses Played

I play to an 11.3 Hdcp Index but I've never broken 80. I am also a public links golfer, but, as you will see, I have been lucky enough to have been invited to some swanky places. I'd like to think that I'm representative of the masses in that I am limited to public courses (and too broke to play Pebble, Whistling Straights, Bandon Dunes, Pinehurst, etc), but I've always got my ear to the ground for chances to play the great layouts. Here are the finest tracks I've enjoyed:

1. Shinnecock Hills- This place is #3 on the Golf Digest Top 100 for a reason. The scorecard has a quote from Ben Crenshaw who said that Shinnecock is the U.S. Open, The Masters, and The British Open all rolled into one. Need I say more? I'll only add that my caddie was amazing. Thanks to him I only had one or two three putts. I shot 88 from 6200 yds which in the Shinnecock wind is no short-course!
   
2. Bethpage Black- This place is harder than Shinnecock and the USGA's money has made the grass the nicest I've ever seen...anywhere.
   
3. Sleepy Hollow CC- What a treat it was to be invited to this C.B. McDonald masterpiece. The design of this course is world class as are the facilities.
   
4. Huntsville Golf Club, Shavertown, PA- I'm lucky to know a member at this Rees Jones original. Layed-out over 300 acres without a home in site, this place is golf at its finest.
   
5. Tobacco Road- what an awesome place! Hard to define, this Mike Strantz design is a break from any other golf course design mold. Make the journey to Tobacco Road.
   
6. Taconic Golf Club, Williams College, Williamstown, MA - If you live in the Northeast you have got to play this old-school course set in the Berkshire Mountains of Western Massachusetts.
   
7. Seven Oaks, Colgate University, Hamilton, NY - This RTJ layout is big and bold with beautiful greens. The Central New York breeze and the Colgate campus make this experience one of a kind.
   
8. Atlantic City Country Club - This is my favorite golf "discovery." Designed by Willie Flynn of Shinnecock fame, ACCC is steeped in tradition, traditions much older than the AC skyline which is well within view but which does not stop the ocean breeze! Make this trip.
   
9. Montauk Downs- My proud "home course." Home to many, in fact. Other than Bethpage, you won't find a finer State Park golf course in the whole country. Rees Jones is currently making it more visually appealing and harder...which is nice.
   
10. Soldier Hollow-Gold Course, Heber City, Utah - Home to my career-best 81...on my wedding day!

Honorable Mention: Shennecosset (Groton, CT), Thendara (Old Forge, NY), Bretwood (Keene, NH), Okemo Mountain Golf Course (Vermont)