Favorite hidden gem courses?

General Discussion
#21

I’ve played Gearheart and Hawktree. Both are extremely well manicured and a blast. The black sand And landscape around Hawktree was amazing.

My “hidden gem” isn’t really unknown, just a great course off the beeaten path and is one of the best public courses I have played…
Old Works in Annaconda, MT.
It was a superfund project that cleaned up an old copper mine/facility. Nicklaus design that used the beautiful landscape and some of the remains of the copper plant. It has black coal slag in the bunkers (very soft!). Just an amazing experience for a very reasonable price.

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#22

I am located in Central Iowa and we have a few courses that you could qualify as “Hidden Gem” mainly for the reason they are 30-60 minutes outside of the Des Moines Metro area.

Honey Creek is in Boone, IA and one of my favorites. The 11th hole is a severe down hill par 3 into a big valley. The rest of the back 9 you slowly work your way to the top with one of the best golf views in the state overlooking the back 9 valley from the 18th tee box. Playing in the fall is great with the leaves changing colors.

Bos Landon is in Pella and just an overall fantastic and fun course that can punch you in the mouth if you are not playing well, but scoreable at the same time.

Deer Run in Indianoloa (not the same as TPC Deere Run) is always in terrible condition but has some of the most fun holes in central Iowa. If they put some money into that course it would be fantastic.

#23

Awesome, great to hear about those two courses, now I want to play them even more!
Never heard of Old Works before but I am going to do a deep dive on it right now!

#24

I’ve played Panmure twice now, and I loved it. The first couple of holes are kind of bland, but then the course becomes brilliant. At one point you can see about 8 flagsticks, and not a bit of fairway or green, due to the small-scale undulations and dunes.
One that’s becoming less “hidden” is Southern Pines GC, not far from Pinehurst. Its a Donald Ross layout that’s been owned by the Elk’s Club for a long time, so conditions haven’t always been great. It was recently taken over by the group that owns Mid Pines and Pine Needles, so conditions will almost certainly improve.
@ReGripped mentioned Ram’s Hill, about an hour from Palm Springs, CA. It’is another great course that seems to have only a small cult following. Great layout, great conditions, and reasonably priced.

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#25

Glad we share a love of Panmure! Spread the word! Place is a total gem.

#26

I’ll hopefully be in Palm Springs for thanksgiving… will have to check it out.

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#27

Stumbled on Moccasin Wallow in Palmetto Florida back in January on a golf trip.

Used to be called something else, new owner is from Upstate NY.

It was in rough shape when they bought it, but they’re putting money in the right places to bring it back.
Something about this course suits my swing, and we had so much fun we went back two more times during the week.
Great people, challenging course in spots, and just super enjoyable.

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