It's the last What's Burning at the Killhouse of 2024, but we're still keeping it just as random as always. We've slotted plenty of room in here for stick-your-neck-out worthy predictions for 2025 — but there was a variety of experiences and fun to reflect on from 2024. Time to dive in.
Let’s start with golf. What was a course you played for the first time this year that was memorable, either because it was good or because it was bad?
Tron - I played 45 total courses this year, about half for the first time. So, needless to say, a lot of different directions we can go with this one. The obvious choice is probably the Old Course Reversed, but I’ve written and spoken a lot on that. But in terms of not being able to stop thinking about a course and continually yearning to return, it’s Royal Adelaide. I adored the layout, the atmosphere, and the entire experience. It’s the sort of course that makes you consider (even just for a brief second) moving to the opposite side of the world so I could play this golf course every single day. That good. Irvine Bogside (Weird!!! Wonderful! Affordable!), Prestwick, Dunbar, Western Gailes, Lido, Brambles, Shorty’s, and Colorado Golf Club are other notable first loops from ‘24 that I think about often.
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Soly - Many different ways we could go with this, but I’m gonna say Ocean Dunes on King Island. I hadn’t heard the best things about the course and had low expectations going in, but had such a freaking blast playing that place. Some of the best views of any golf course I’d ever played, and it had so many high points. There was definitely an added element of being about as far away from home as physically possible, and having the course to ourselves which made it much more special. The ocean holes were ridiculous, and the inland holes were thought-provoking and inspiring. Man that place rules.
D.J. – The one I keep thinking about is Sedge Valley, the newest course at Sand Valley Resort here in Wisconsin. Sedge is a par 68 that only played about 5,200 yards from the tees we played, but every single hole presented such a fun challenge and kept a smile of joy or frustration on your face the entire day. One funny thing about most “strategic” golf courses is that most resort players (myself included much of the time) aren’t good enough to keep their drives in play and get the full effect of dynamic second shots on every hole. At Sedge, the whole scale is shrunken down, allowing bad players to feel like they have a fighting chance on every hole, while great players can’t help but try to hit heroic shots all day (and suffer mixed results). I can’t wait to play it again.
Neil - I’m not a top 100 chaser, but I had a good year on this front: Cypress, Fishers, RM West, Cal Club, and San Francisco Golf Club. All of them were fantastic, but my most memorable round was a Friday afternoon loop with friends back in July at the recently renovated Golden Gate Par 3 in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. This 9-hole course out by Ocen Beach was in AWFUL shape when I lived in San Francisco. It’s now an interesting short course with tee shots ranging from 60 yards to 180 yards in the middle of one of my favorite cities. I was blown away by the thoughtful design and routing on a small plot of land, and I’d recommend anyone visiting San Francisco make a field trip out to Golden Gate Park to see it.
Randy - How is it possible that Tourist Sauce was just this year? Legitimately, every single track we played for that series is memorable. I still dream of Royal Adelaide and Royal Melbourne–what a delight those were, in every sense. But it was the course I played for fun on the back end of the trip that is the most memorable for me. Tara Iti, north of Auckland, New Zealand, is my pick. I played it on an absolute bluebird day, with winds that were pretty tame. Not only is it one of (the most?) beautiful settings I’ve had the pleasure to play golf in, but the good mood carried over to my game that day too. Vibes were high as I broke 80. As for the course, I found it interesting, stimulating, and ultimately very fair–not things I say after playing each and every Tom Doak design. There’s a reason it’s one of the best courses in the world and I feel like I got to play it on a day that couldn’t have been any better.
Cody - This is always the hardest question for me to answer because I get to “see” but not “play” a bunch of really cool golf courses. We travel the world for golf and most of the time I do it behind the lens of a camera. But this year, I ventured off on my own quite a bit and experienced some once-in-a-lifetime spots. NGLA, Shinny, and Southampton are all in the running. But they are all great and I hate splitting hairs. I could nitpick North Berwick vs Dunbar, but someone else will do that. The Schuster Brothers and I got to play Cypress during a perfect weather day in February. But for me, it was The Old Course with Big. I carried great shame for a long time because I have been to St Andrews multiple times, but I have never played golf. That changed this year during the AIG Women's Open week. I walked the golf course while calling Open Radio all four days of the competition. You end up in spots most rarely do because they are just slightly off of regular target lines (mostly 45 degrees off a player and preferably downwind, so your voice doesn't travel as far). You spend a lot of time ahead of the group you are calling, so most shots are coming towards you and not away. Every course I walk, I try to do my best to look at it backward or from green to tee. But calling live radio forces you to do it. It also revealed a lot about the Old Course that most people do not understand their first time through. There is a dream list of partners that I would have loved to share the experience with, and Big is always at the top. There is no better partner to make you stay in the moment, realize how fortunate we are to be there, and take some extra moments to let it all sink in. It is an experience that I will always cherish and a memory I will never forget.
Casey - How can I pick just one? I was lucky to play many new-to-me courses this year, including my first overseas ones. I am going to have to go with Carne. It was the one I had been thinking about the most leading up to playing, and it lived up to the hype. The scale of that place cannot be overstated. The drive up from Westport was gorgeous. The wind was not blowing a zillion KPH. The Guinness at the end of the round was phenomenal. Just a perfect day of golf on the edge of western Ireland!
Ben - Colorado Golf Club. A modern (read: wide) course with parkland vibes and firm conditions is just about perfection for me. A true nature walk with intrigue on every swing. It answered the question “what would you do if you had all the money” for me. I am buying 600 acres in the foothills of the Rockies and hiring Bill and Ben to build me CGC 2.0.
KVV — Dunbar. It just nudges out North Berwick and Prestwick, perhaps in part because it’s a bit more off the beaten path. I got to play it on one of the nicest days of the year in East Lothian, and there was barely a breath of wind. I loved the routing, how it hugs the old wall on the way out, then weaves toward the sea and back like a figure eight. Just a delightful walk with tons of fun shots and no pretension.
Jordan (laughs and cries in IR)
A number of stars — Viktor Hovland, Jordan Spieth, Will Zalatoris, Patrick Reed, Allisen Corpuz, Minjee Lee, Leona Maguire — had disappointing years in 2024. Who are you hoping, or predicting, will bounce back in 2025? (You don’t have to pick someone on this list.)
Tron - It’s Zalatoris for me. He’s really really good, he might just lack the most important ability…availability. He’s an authentic, well-adjusted dude, and American pro golf gets more interesting if he’s involved, especially in a Ryder Cup year, even if just for making picks more difficult for Keegan. He strung together some positive results toward the end of the tour season, so hoping he can carry it forward. Obviously, my colleagues are going to go with Linksmaster Jord, which, listen, I hope so, for my sanity and for Greller’s sake.
Soly - It has to be Spieth, right? (paints on clown makeup)
D.J. – My portfolio is full of so much Spieth stock that I desperately need a 2025 bounceback if I ever hope to retire.
Neil - From the list above, Hovland is the most likely to bounce back. He has the talent, yo
Source: https://nolayingup.com/blog/whats-burning-at-the-killhouse-2024-round-up