CALIFORNIA
Sevillano Links at Rolling Hills, Corning (resort). Opening: September
The creators of this wide-open layout an hour and forty-five minutes north of Sacramento drew inspiration from the fabulous grassland sites of Sand Hills and Bandon Dunes, but the real story here is the course within the course. Or should we say the course beyond the course?Teaming up with John Daly, architect Mike Stark created a way-back set of tees and, on the par threes, a series of alternate fairways that converts Sevillano Links into a ten-thousand-yard monster composed entirely of par fives. That leaves more than enough room for Big John to swing away.
Architect: Mike Stark with John Daly. Yardage: 7,813. Par: 72. Greens Fees: $50– $60. Tee Times: 530-528-4600, rollinghills casino.com.
COLORADO
Adam's Mountain Country Club, Eagle (private). Opened: July (first nine; second nine scheduled to open in August)
Tom Weiskopf's design at the Yellowstone Club and other alpine courses convinced owner Fred Kummer, the founder of Adam's Mark Hotels, that he was the best architect for this job. The property, part of Kummer's Adam's Rib Ranch, lies high up in the Vail Valley at an altitude of more than 7,300 feet. Weiskopf's holes splay out like claws across terraces staggered at various elevations, with four holes playing through the cottonwoods along Brush Creek at the property's lowest point.
Architect: Tom Weiskopf. Yardage: 7,251. Par: 72. Membership Inquiries: 888-760-2326, discoveradamsribranch.com.
FLORIDA
Providence Golf & Country Club, Davenport (semiprivate). Scheduled to open: August
Though it begins modestly, this course along the burgeoning Interstate 4 corridor southwest of Orlando grabs attention with its short par-three eighth, a dainty jewel tucked deep amid stands of cypress heads and raw Florida wetlands. The holes on the second nine are even more expressive, especially the par-five fifteenth, which starts way up on a sand ridge and tumbles down through a grove of majestic live oaks. A flat, forgettable Florida layout this is not.
Architect: Mike Dasher. Yardage: 7,000. Par: 72. Greens Fees: $29–$70. Tee Times: 863-420-2652, providenceflorida.com.
IOWA
Blue Top Ridge at Riverside, Riverside (resort). Scheduled to open: August
For his first design in Iowa, Rees Jones transformed the landscape of a farm known as Blue Top (after the roofs of its buildings) in the southeastern corner of the state, forty-five minutes south of Cedar Rapids. The opening hole ascends a high ridge graced by five different species of oak. Later on the front nine, the layout plunges back into the flats for a three-hole stretch that skirts the Iowa River.
Architect: Rees Jones. Yardage: 7,500. Par: 72. Greens Fees: $70–$80. Tee Times: 877-677-3456, riversidecasinoandresort.com.
NEW YORK
Harvest Hill Golf Course, Orchard Park (public). Opened: July
Golf swings and life skills will be taught to youths at Harvest Hills, the headquarters of the First Tee of Western New York. This parkland complex fifteen miles south of Buffalo includes a few practice holes as well as a short-game center for players of all abilities. The course itself rambles through wetlands before wandering into a wooded corner of the property.
Architects: Michael Hurdzan and Dana Fry. Yardage: 7,010. Par: 72. Greens Fees: $37–$52. Tee Times: 716-662-1980, golfcenterwny.org.
