Best Course vs Favorite Course

When people learn that I have a gig playing and writing about golf, they almost immediately ask “What’s your favorite course?”

My standard initial response is “My favorite course? Or the best course? Because I think the two are different.”

I’ll make a book analogy. My favorite book is The Hobbit. I have read it dozens of times, and it always makes me smile. It is comfort food for my mind. Honorable mention goes to Mark Twain’s Life On The Mississippi.

However, I recognize that The Hobbit is not going to be at the top of any critical list of the best books ever written. I looked at several lists of “best books” and saw many that I have read, among them: Anna Karenia, To Kill A Mockingbird, The Great Gatsby, Middlemarch, Huckleberry FInn, Moby Dick, Great Expectations, War and Peace, Crime and Punishment, The Grapes of Wrath, Les Miserables, Heart of Darkness, The Sun Also Rises, Alice In Wonderland, Slaughterhouse Five and For Whom The Bell Tolls.

All are undeniably great. My vote for best would be Les Miserables. But it’s not my favorite (I have, however, read it more than once).

I find myself in a similar position with the notion of “favorite course” versus “best course.”

My favorite courses are Washtenaw Golf Club and Indian River Golf Club. They have held my interest after many, many playings; I will never turn down the opportunity to play a round at either one. Like The Hobbit, they are comfort food. Both have great designs and good conditions. I’ve never had a bad time on either, regardless of how poorly I played.

Neither of those, however, appears in the usual top ten lists of golf courses in Michigan, let alone the United States or the World.

My vote for Best Public Course In Michigan is the Forest Dunes Weiskopf. I try to play it once a year, and each time I am reminded of the greatness of Weiskopf’s design. I find that every hole makes me think; it holds my interest and concentration from first tee to the last green (which is actually a 19th hole — a par 3). Conditions are always terrific.

After Forest Dunes, my Best Public Course in Michigan list includes Belvedere, The Heather, Sweetgrass, Greywalls, Stoatin Brae, The Loop, The Hills at The Highlands, Diamond Springs, Arcadia South, Black Lake, Washtenaw, Indian River, The Medalist, Pierce Lake, The Fortress, Shepherd’s Hollow, Moose Ridge, Lyon Oaks and the University of Michigan Golf Course.

(Here is a list of all 300 golf courses I’ve played and reviewed in Michigan)

I am never able to figure out the order after Forest Dunes. I’m also not inclined to make clickbait lists … Here are the best courses in Michigan. You won’t believe #14.

Not my style.

I usually restrict my list to public courses because I don’t feel as though I’ve played enough private clubs to judge. I might put Oakland Hills North or Flint Golf Club as favorites. I would play either of those any day of the week. Oakland Hills South, Muskegon Country Club and Kingsley Club would be in strong consideration for best.

I haven’t had a chance to play the legendary Crystal Downs.

Outside Michigan, the best course I’ve ever played just might be Pacific Dunes. Or maybe Pinehurst No. 2 or No. 4. To be fair, though, I’ve only played 44 courses outside Michigan.

My favorite, however, is probably Caledonia Golf and Fish Club. I only played once, and still occasionally play it in my mind. I’d go back to South Carolina to play it again in a heartbeat. I think I could play that course a hundred times and not get bored.

Have a favorite? Is it the same as your “best”? Leave a comment.