Katieshack

Golf World lists Top 50 resorts, public and private layouts

Southern California resort properties are collecting the accolades lately, and Golf World Magazine's Top 50 Resort Courses in the Nation for 2010 offers no exception.

Pelican Hill Golf Club in Newport Coast placed 36, Marriott's Shadow Ridge Resort in Palm Desert placed 41, and Indian Wells Golf Resort (pictured right) placed 47 in the annual Reader's Choice Ranking, amidst a field that included such high-quality facilities as Bandon Dunes Golf Resort (2), Pebble Beach Golf Links (28), and seven top resorts in Hawaii. Kiawah Island Golf Resort in South Carolina came in at the No. 1 spot.

Golf World also conducted similar Top 50 polls for public facilities and private courses.

In the public sector, Trump National GC in Rancho Palos Verdes topped (or "trumped," pun intended) Southland listings at number 15, while Desert Willow Golf Resort in Palm Desert (which just underwent a renovation on its Mountain Course; read more in the January issue of FORE Magazine) placed 25th.

No private courses in Southern California made the private club ranking, although three Northern California courses — Cypress Point Club in Pebble Beach (10), San Francisco Golf Club (30) and The Olympic Club in Daly City (40) — made the list. Surprisingly, everyone's bucket-list club, Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia, took second place to Oak Hill Country Club in New York. Oak Hill, which has hosted The Ryder Cup, PGA, Senior PGA, U.S. Open, U.S. Amateur, and the U.S. Senior Open Championships, will host the 2013 PGA Championship as well.

More than 46,000 individual facility ratings and 600,000 criteria evaluations were collected, with results based on aspects including quality and condition of the course, reputation, hotel accommodations, food, off-course activities and overall value. Readers voted via an online poll through Golf World's website.

There's no better time of year to check out those Coachella Valley golf resorts than now, and Pelican Hill (which also placed in Golf Digest's similar ranking) is always spectacular.

Tim Hogarth and Howie Knodt are SCGA Players of the Year!

Kudos to Southern California's most decorated amateur, Tim Hogarth of Northridge. The owner of the Triple Crown title has earned 2009 SCGA Player of the Year honors! The SCGA Senior Player of the Year is Howie Knodt of Chula Vista, who also earned the title last year.

Hogarth (left), 42, has a portfolio of titles almost too long to list. He had quite a run in 2009 though, and the victories that went toward his Player of the Year award include first-place finishes in the SCGA Mid-Amateur Championship, SCGA Tournament of Club Champions and (for the third year in a row) Pasadena City Championship; second-place finishes in the SCGA Amateur Championship and Los Angeles City Championship; semifinalist at the SCGA Match Play Championship; Round of 32 at the California State Amateur Championship (an event he won in 1999); and a fifth-place tie at the SCGA Four-Ball Championship. Hogarth was also the medalist at U.S. Open Local Qualifying by shooting a course-record 65 at Annandale Golf Club, and earned co-medalist honors at U.S. Amateur Sectional Qualifying at El Caballero Country Club (he missed match play at the U.S. Amateur after being eliminated from a 27-man playoff).

Hogarth is also the only player in SCGA history to win the coveted Triple Crown title: SCGA Amateur (2004), SCGA Mid-Amateur (1999, 2007 and 2009) and California State Amateur (1999). If Hogarth can win the SCGA Four-Ball and Match Play events, he will have won every SCGA scratch event offered (excluding senior events, which he will likely dominate as well when he turns 55!).

Knodt, 56, had a magical 2009 season with several notable victories, including first place finishes in the SCGA Senior Amateur Championship, SCGA Senior Match Play Championship and (for the second year in a row) the San Diego Senior City Championship. He also took third place in the SCGA Tournament of Club Champions' Regular Gross Division.

Both of these guys are a lot of fun to watch and they'll be two to keep an eye on going into the fall tournament season!