Spy on Golf: Tracking the Cup and Course Rankings
Written by In all honesty, football has captured a sizeable chunk of our meager attention span. We’re still focused intently on golf, though, as the PGA Tour season slips away faster than Tiger Woods’ world ranking points.
A few topics we’ve been pondering of late:
- Will the FedEx Cup deliver a worthy champion?
- What’s the best golf city in America?
- Which college golf courses pass Golfweek’s ratings test?
Luckily, we’ve already got the answers. Read on to find out for yourself:
Two down, two to go: Who’s the FedEx favorite? Is it current points leader Webb “Don’t Call Me Homer” Simpson? Uber-bomber Dustin Johnson? Steady-as-she-goes Luke Donald or Matt Kuchar?
They’re all in the mix, along with Brandt Snedeker, Jason Day, Nick Watney, even Phil Mickelson and his belly putter. While Tiger Woods is sorely missed, his absence has created quite a scrum for the title. And say this for the much-maligned Cup: It’s brought the cream to the top.
The race to the finish starts Thursday at Cog Hill GC outside Chicago, where 70 players will compete to advance to the final 30 and the Tour Championship. Based on the list of contenders, the Cup should indeed produce a champ to be proud of.
Dallas-Ft. Worth tops Golf Digest rankings: Great, just what DFW needed – another reason to puff out its chest.
Golf Digest recently surveyed America’s metro areas and determined that Dallas-Ft. Worth beats all comers for outstanding public golf. Criteria included climate as well as the cost and quality of public golf, and while DFW didn’t rank higher than seventh in any category, it scored well in all of them.
More surprising were some of the cities ranked right behind the Big D. For example, Pittsburgh and Cincinnati held down spot Nos. 2 and 3, and Tampa (T4 with Los Angeles) bested golf hotbed Orlando, which tied with Seattle – yes, Seattle -- for No. 6.
Having lived in Seattle pre-Chambers Bay, we can vouch for its public-golf bona fides. What we can’t understand, though, is the Emerald City’s ranking of No. 6 for climate. Was the survey conducted by rain frogs?
These college courses have class: While we’re on the subject of course rankings, Golfweek just published its list of the country’s top 30 college tracks. And the winner is… the Course at Yale, designed by the iconic pair of Charles Blair Macdonald and Seth Raynor.
The rundown features a nice blend of old and new. Behind Yale (circa 1926) comes Taconic GC in Williamstown, Mass., a 1927 gem that serves as the home course of Williams College. A pair of underclassmen follow: The Rawls Course at Texas Tech (2003) and Palouse Ridge GC (2008), headquarters for the Washington State golf teams.
Like any reputable course ranking, Golfweek’s is a who’s-who of architects. Alister MacKenzie, Donald Ross, William S. Flynn, Robert Trent Jones Sr., Pete Dye, Tom Fazio Tom Doak and Bill Coore/Ben Crenshaw are among the honorees.
