Overrated West Coast Courses

[sillybizz]

I saw the thread of the overrated east coast courses and I thought I would start one for the west coast. I've only played in Oregon and Washington so I don't know much about California. Here is my top five overrated for WA and OR:

1: Fort Steilacoom Park in Lakewood (Tacoma) WA - Unfriendly to players who don't know the course with 14 different layouts and little signage. The land there is good but I've heard many call it the best in the state and it's not even in my top 10 for Washington.

2: Milo Mciver State Park in Estacada OR - A great course indeed but again not much signage and people play it the 27 hole layout and the 18 west/9 east layout as well, very confusing for a first timer. Anyone other than 950 and above rated players will find it frustrating.

3: Seatac DGC in Seatac WA - A very hard course and a good course, it's overrated because there really is nothing else as challenging or as good in the Seattle area.

4: Lakewood DGC in Seattle WA - 5 minutes from Seatac and a good course but it's full of people on nice days and it's hyped up a ton.

5: Whitsler's Bend in Roseburg OR - A great course but not top 5 in the country. The first 6 holes are all short and the back 3 or 4 holes are long, open and boring. It gets hyped up because of he big 'top of the world' shot.

 

[Cgkdisc]

What do you think of Hornings Hideout courses?

 

[discRabbit]

I think that none of the courses mentioned thus far would compete with those mentioned on the east side thread. Stafford Lake is up there though and I could see an argument for Milo, but I think its only in the top 10 because its the best for this coast.

The Hornings courses are excellent but not the cream of the crop that we are talking about here.

 

[JR Stengele]

^^^^ That is his favorite course. However, he sniffs glue so I wouldn't listen to him regarding half those courses, especially Milo. = )

 

[JR Stengele]

I think that none of the courses mentioned thus far would compete with those mentioned on the east side thread. Stafford Lake is up there though and I could see an argument for Milo, but overall its only in the top 10 because its the best for this coast.

With the exception of DeLa Veaga, as I know it is in your top 30 and my top 5!:clap::hfive:

 

[discRabbit]

I'm hoping that the timing of your post indicates that you did not read the ultimate wisdom of the preceding post before you posted your post...

and sadly, Deblah is no longer in my top 30.

 

[JR Stengele]

Watch it pal! I know where you live and so does Kermit!

 

[sillybizz]

What do you think of Hornings Hideout courses?

Horning's are my favorite courses I've ever played. I enjoy them more than any of the almost 90 courses I have played on the west coast.

 

[JR Stengele]

Your still a glue sniffer and are yet to play Cali so more like ALMOST 90 in the NW...SUCKER.

 

[sillybizz]

OH I forgot to mention how overrated Delavega is, worst course ever. lol @ Johnny.

 

[DutchViking]

Are people seriously saying Dela Veaga is overrated? It's only the best course I have ever played. Beautiful, Challenging, and uncompromising. Might be a tad tough to navigate sometimes, but just ask one of the hundred other people playing the course, who know that this is not only one of the best courses on the left coast, but one of the world's best.

Stafford Lake in Novato is awesome, but a LITTLE overrated.

 

[Countchunkula]

I liked Stafford a little better than DeLa. To qualify this statement, I have only played these courses once each while on vacation. So I am no expert. I loved them both, but had more fun at Stafford. To be fair though, Dela was packed when we played. We only saw one other group at Stafford, beautiful weather too.

 

[Cgkdisc]

No course can ever be considered World Class with crossing fairways and unsafe interference (Top of the World to parking lot) which should drop Dela out of any "top courses" list no matter how fun it might be to play. Most designers could take about any course and "improve" the coolness of its holes if they are allowed to change some of them so at least two sets of fairways cross.

 

[optidiscic]

I still want to play Dela seems like one of those courses everyone should play one time....I do wonder if it will live up to the hype........so many great courses have sprung up in the last 7 years..makes me wonder if the older courses can keep their place or if they are getting by on reputation? I do really wanna get out on the Pacific Coast and see for myself about these places.

 

[gottafixit]

I think that none of the courses mentioned thus far would compete with those mentioned on the east side thread. Stafford Lake is up there though and I could see an argument for Milo, but I think its only in the top 10 because its the best for this coast.

The Hornings courses are excellent but not the cream of the crop that we are talking about here.

I'll have a better view on this in a few weeks as I've played most of the East coast courses in question and I'm headed to seattle/portland in early May. I'll keep people posted.

 

[discNDav]

3: Seatac DGC in Seatac WA - A very hard course and a good course, it's overrated because there really is nothing else as challenging or as good in the Seattle area.
QUOTE]

I played Seatac in 2005, it has some good holes including pars 4's but is was very poorly marked. I had a hard time figuring out the layout while playing it.

 

[Peterb]

I still want to play Dela seems like one of those courses everyone should play one time....I do wonder if it will live up to the hype........so many great courses have sprung up in the last 7 years..makes me wonder if the older courses can keep their place or if they are getting by on reputation? I do really wanna get out on the Pacific Coast and see for myself about these places.

I hope people can keep their perspective on this. Delaveaga has been around since the mid 1980's, and frankly, course design was different then. Everyone should start with that fact. As someone who's played on both coasts (and I'll be back later this month to go to NYC and then Boston, where I'll be playing Maple Hill and Borderland), I know that every course has it's issues. Dela has crossing fairways and spray issues from 27, top of the world. It is crowded and the erosion has wreaked havoc with some areas, notably hole 25. But its heart remains true to form, and still tests everyone's game, especially with the short game. Putting there is difficult since the greens are incredibly fast, and there are gullies everywhere.

Stafford Lake is gorgeous, but people complain about a lack of wooded shots. There are several must birdies. The wind. I say whatever...people complain about all kinds of stuff when their game isn't going the right way.

 

[Danger]

No course can ever be considered World Class with crossing fairways and unsafe interference (Top of the World to parking lot) which should drop Dela out of any "top courses" list no matter how fun it might be to play. Most designers could take about any course and "improve" the coolness of its holes if they are allowed to change some of them so at least two sets of fairways cross.

The best course in Southern California is Lake Casitas. It has crossing fairways. The holes are back to back and there are very little issues regarding the crossing. People can see if others are driving or not, or on the fairway.

My point is, 'No course can ever be considered World Class blah blah blah blah.' According to who? Is there a PDGA rule that says 'If you are building a world class course, because you know ahead of time that it is going to be world class, you can't cross fairways.' Sure, its a little annoying, but the holes (at least at Casitas) need to be designed that way; they would be stupid if they were parallel.

I think little thinks like crossing fairways are (particularly DGCR) peoples way of saying 'Oh! I found something bad! Not 5 stars!' whoooooooo cares! As long as each hole is well thought out, you can navigate the course, you are challenged, and you have a good time, then its a good time!

I'm not saying I agree with crossing fairways all the time, but please realize that whoever designed the course probably considered it, and it was the best option at the time. These designers are usually NOT morons.

That being said, I have never played up in Northern California so I am actually defending a course I have never been to. To end the rant, though, you cant just rule out a course because it broke one of your precious 'its gotta be THIS way' rules.

 

[Cgkdisc]

My point is, 'No course can ever be considered World Class blah blah blah blah.' According to who? Is there a PDGA rule that says 'If you are building a world class course, because you know ahead of time that it is going to be world class, you can't cross fairways.'

This is from the PDGA Course Design guidelines found here: http://www.pdga.com/files/documents/PDGACourseDesignGuides2009.pdf

9. LAYOUT: Fairways should not cross one another and should be far enough apart so errant throws
aren't constantly in the wrong fairway.

 

[humchris85]

Stafford and DeLa are both great courses, but a little over-rated.