18 Holes a Week!

I'm a recently graduated college student without a job so naturally my number one goal for the summer is to play and review a different golf course every week (or as long as my very limited funds last). Because it's golf, the ratings will be in reverse - the lower the better. I've decided on the areas I will be focusing on:

• Condition

No one likes playing Plinko on the greens. When a ball-mark keeps your birdie putt out of the hole it's pretty frustrating. When the course upkeep is good the golfing experience is just plain better. The lower the condition score the better the course condition.

• Forgiveness

It's hard to enjoy your round when you're losing golf balls left and right. Some courses penalize wayward shots much more than others. However, some courses don't penalize you enough, offering way too much open space that makes a course feel too easy. The closer to a happy median a course is, the lower its score in this area.

• Diversity

Some courses require a diversity of shots, whereas others seem to produce the same shots over and over again. The lower the diversity score the less monotonous the round will seem.

• Uniqueness

We all know those signature holes, or stretch of holes. Augusta has Amen Corner, Sawgrass has the island green on #17, and so on. Some holes are just cool and some experiences are only available at a small number of courses. The lower the uniqueness score the more likely you are to experience something original during your round.

• Cost

Sometimes the cost is the number one factor in deciding where to golf. A low score in this area means the greenfees are low (cart not included).