I am horrified that Pine Needles is remodeling the Midpines Inn. This place has the aroma of history and you feel like a titan of industry from the world war II era when you stay there. There are plenty/too many "nice" comfy resort type hotels in the area. This place has class and character! Sure the pipes creek and asbestos floats through the air, who cares . . . We need less good amenities and more places that are interesting/unique. Bah humbug!

I wonder if construction will be underway when we visit this October for the FE event? I was fortunate enough to go to the Hoot in '23 not long after OB opened up. The pro shop was a trailer and there was no range. Was kicking myself for not getting back last year, but can't wait to see it again. WHAT A PLACE! I love how it's walking only and I hope they keep it that way. Anyone else on here who is signed up and hasn't seen Old Barnwell yet, get ready. Also, it's one of the coolest logos around, so save some $ for swag in the pro shop.

I like it. They seem to make a lot of sense on a generally workable property where the goal is returning 9s. It allows for adjacent holes to always play in opposite directions which I think is more important than sequenced holes playing in different directions.

As a former Chicago resident, I greatly miss the close access to (Pure) Michigan. Also bummed to be missing the Kingsley/Belvedere event this year, hope to go in '26 (if offered!). That said, last week I got to enjoy a trip to the great state! Played American Dunes, Forest Dunes, Loop, Arcadia--Bluffs & South. Loved everything, but the highlight was Arcadia for me. Incredible setting overlooking the lake with all the elevation change. Capped by a 4:15pm tee time finishing around 9:30pm was the cherry on top and not something a west-coaster has access to!

I am interested to hear and see more about Childress Hall, mostly because it’s not far from where I reside. To my knowledge, Doak has spoken about his course there only a few times, but he has offered extremely high praise. I haven’t seen Hanse talk about his course there at all. It sounds like a very exclusive hunting/golf destination that 99.9% of us may never see or hear about again, but I sincerely hope that is not the case if it’s as special as Doak says it is.

I think it's important to remember that, as busy as the golf course construction industry is right now, it's still nowhere near the highs of the 90s and early 00s. Most of the activity is concentrated in specific regions and specific segments of the market. Could those regions and market segments become oversaturated? Sure. But that correction wouldn't be anything like the extinction-level event of the late 00s and early 10s.If anything, the current rate of golf course construction and renovation is failing to keep up with demand, at least in the lower- to mid-price daily-fee world. But costs are what they are.

Great article - I have thought about this before and I think another course of note to add to your list is Harding Park in SF. The front 9 stays in the interior of the property, while the back nine quite literally encircles the property and stays on the boundary line the entire time.

The site plan / architect drawings are starting to look like album art. I'm here for it.

The sheer volume of new courses is overwhelming currently, I wonder when the music will stop and what happens when it does? Will be interesting to see with places like Contentment, High Grove and Tepetonka.

I’m excited to see Brian Schneider’s work on Woodhill Country Club west of Minneapolis, which begins this summer. The classic Donald Ross course is one of my favorites in the MSP metro area.