Pacific Dunes

Outside of Michigan, what's the first great golf course you got to play? That's a good question.

The first great golf course outside of Michigan I probably played, which actually kind of set the tone for the rest of my life, was Pacific Dunes.

I ended up moving to Oregon after college because my wife was transferring out there to finish school after I was done.

We weren't married yet, but we knew we were going to be.

Like we're going to abandon.

And she said, okay, great, let's do it.

So I went down there and I played Pacific dunes and I had the local football coach on my bag as a caddy.

And by the third hole, he could club me.

Oh, boy.

I'll pick Pacific Dunes, abandoned dunes, and I would take my grandfather who in- introduced me to the game- My father, my wife, and my boys, so I've got a fivesome.

[laughs] Actually, I got a sixsome.

It's your dream.

I mean, if any of your listeners haven't played it, I would encourage you to go and play it.

I think Pacific Dunes is outstanding as well.

They abandoned trails, which is a core crunch on course.

I think you have three top hundred courses there.

I can't stand it when people- I'm like, you're just saying that to be cool 'cause it's different.

No, the best course there is Pacific Dunes.

W- what are we talking about?

Yeah, that's true.

You can keep going." [laughs] And he did for another, a couple of years, and then he said, "George, I can't do it now.

I just designed a course called Pacific Dunes out in Oregon." I said, "Yeah, okay, you're fired." But, uh, so yes.

I have some long story, but I, uh, have some experience, and we adopted kind of the same methodology, uh, that we used with the panel there, which again, in contrast to Golf Digest, which had very specific criteria and hard and fast rating, I think they went one to 10 on, on a half different criteria, um, we said, "Look, uh, we're not gonna have a big panel.

We're gonna have a very elite panel, and we're, we're gonna trust, um, your own definition of what is great.

They just want another outlet to, you know, play a little more golf.

Having worked at Pacific Dunes, you know, I used to set up their putting course, the Punchbowl.

uh, on a daily basis.

And like, I had so much fun setting that up and, and just knowing that I was going to test the golfers out there.

Dunes.

Pacific Dunes.

Yeah.

So I've got Pine Valley, Seminole, Pacific Dunes on my list.

And I have three others.

Do you want me to guess them? I want to see if you can guess them.