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I evaluated my 44th course for Golf Digest yesterday

RichardPeterJohnson

RichardPeterJohnson

All-American
Dec 7, 2010
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Santa Cruz, CA
Linville Ridge GC in NC. What a beautiful place at 5000 ft of elevation. Highest golf course east of the Mississippi they say. This gig has been unbelievable fun so far. Some of the courses I've evaluated since I started a little over a year ago include Congressional, Valhalla, Cypress Point, Pebble Beach, Spyglass, Chambers Bay, Poppy Hills, Monterey Peninsula CC Shore, Cascades, Kiawah Ocean, Sahalee, Peachtree, Wade Hampton, Muirfield Village, Scioto, Kinloch, Shoal Creek, Honor, Diamond Creek, Mountaintop..... I feel like I've hit the lottery.
 
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What a dick. I think I've played 45 holes this summer. It f'n rains every day. All these crappy local courses around here are ruined for the summer, so I think I'll just take up hipster golf for the rest of the year. I'll start posting my reviews of those courses.
 
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If it wasn't for the fact that I know your golfing pedigree, I would be insanely pissed with jealousy. But I know you are the type of golfer that should be doing this so I am only jealous I am not in the same type of position as you. But if you don't mind, how did you get the gig. If I retire early, I would like to do something like this.
 
WVUBRU said:
If it wasn't for the fact that I know your golfing pedigree, I would be insanely pissed with jealousy. But I know you are the type of golfer that should be doing this so I am only jealous I am not in the same type of position as you. But if you don't mind, how did you get the gig. If I retire early, I would like to do something like this.
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I was nominated by a USGA official who I've played and traveled with. GD then sent me an application which asked a lot of questions about competitive experience and how many top 100 courses I've played as well as how many states and Canadian provinces I've played over the last 5 years or so. And they require a maximum 5 handicap. It took almost a year before I made the cut. I think there are about 900 panelists nationally. 30 here in TN. I think they add new ones when some retire or get kicked off.
 
RichardPeterJohnson said:
Linville Ridge GC in NC. What a beautiful place at 5000 ft of elevation. Highest golf course east of the Mississippi they say. This gig has been unbelievable fun so far. Some of the courses I've evaluated since I started a little over a year ago include Congressional, Valhalla, Cypress Point, Pebble Beach, Spyglass, Chambers Bay, Poppy Hills, Monterey Peninsula CC Shore, Cascades, Kiawah Ocean, Sahalee, Peachtree, Wade Hampton, Muirfield Village, Scioto, Kinloch, Shoal Creek, Honor, Diamond Creek, Mountaintop..... I feel like I've hit the lottery.
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That is a great gig....... any data on the value of a rating?
 
bornaneer said:
If a course gets a high rating, I would think it would benefit the club. I would assume that a high rating would attract more players.
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Yes. Every 2 years, Golf Digest publishes America's Greatest 100 Courses, America's Second 100 Greatest, America's Best 100 Public, Best in State, and Canada's Top 30. Members at private clubs love their courses to be ranked. Adds an element of prestige. Many clubs go to great lengths to attract panelists and to impress them. Some clubs like Augusta National don't give a chit. Public courses also want to be ranked highly. A top 100 means more demand to play and higher greens fees etc. And best in State is a big deal for clubs too. It's hard to crack the top 200 but many clubs cherish their Best in State ranking. Here's a link to all the rankings:
http://www.golfdigest.com/golf-courses/2015-02/americas-100-greatest-golf-courses-ranking
 
RichardPeterJohnson said:
Yes. Every 2 years, Golf Digest publishes America's Greatest 100 Courses, America's Second 100 Greatest, America's Best 100 Public, Best in State, and Canada's Top 30. Members at private clubs love their courses to be ranked. Adds an element of prestige. Many clubs go to great lengths to attract panelists and to impress them. Some clubs like Augusta National don't give a chit. Public courses also want to be ranked highly. A top 100 means more demand to play and higher greens fees etc. And best in State is a big deal for clubs too. It's hard to crack the top 200 but many clubs cherish their Best in State ranking. Here's a link to all the rankings:
http://www.golfdigest.com/golf-courses/2015-02/americas-100-greatest-golf-courses-ranking
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I would say you wielded a high degree of power. I know from experience that those of us in that position tend to get special attention.
 
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