2005 Golf Digest Best New Awards

The 2005 Golf Digest Best New Course awards are now posted online.

Here's Ron Whitten's write up explaining the year of firsts (hint, you may wonder if only Midwest raters voted this year).

Here's the Best New Private article and list where Fazio's Alotian Club edged out Lohman and Benkusky's Canyata and Hanse's Boston GC.

Here's the Best New Upscale article and list where Brauer's The Wilderness at Fortune Bay edged out Lohman/Benkusky's Mattaponi Springs GC and DeVries's Marquette GC.

Here's the Best New Affordable article and list where Hurdzan's Bully Pulpit edged out Walker's Arrowhead Pointe at Richard B. Russell (!?) and Hills' and Forrest's Eagle Ridge.

Here's the Best New Canadian article and list where Cooke and Carleton's Dakota Dunes edged out Hurdzan and Fry's Georgian Bay Club.

And finally, the inaugural Best New Remodel article and list, where Silva's restoration of Brookside edged out Strantz's remodel of Monterey Peninsula Shore.

Comments

[Al]

Geoff
curious about your commment on Midwest voters.

I went thru the 4 lists (skipped Canadian) and only 12 courses were located in the Midwestern area.

30% certainly doesn't feel to me like an over abundance of Midwestern courses in the list.

We all know that the EastcoastSportsProgrammingNetwork has a huge bias against us, hope that you don't too.

Al

[Geoff]

Al,
I was looking more at the top spots than anything else. Definitely some surprises at the top. Believe me, living in the west, I know all about east cost bias!

[Robert Thompson]

Geoff: I think ranking golf courses is like ranking rock bands. It is a pointless exercise that is fun to participate in. I think the GD annual awards are the equivalent in terms of reliability and predictability of the Grammy's Best New Artist. That said, the Canadian Best New list is really strange for the second year in a row...

[Stan DeBarons Jr.]

Robert,
I also think Brian Adams was an below-average rocker at best. The Tom McBroom of Rock Muscians if-you-will.