ANATOMY OF A GREAT GOLF COURSE
SEMINOLE GOLF CLUB
Long ago, Golf Digest asked low-handicap male and female golfers to play and evaluate golf courses on a scale of 1 to 10 in seven different criteria. Those scores are then used to determine our biennial ranking of America’s 100 Greatest Golf Courses as well as other rankings. We now have nearly 2,000 panelists, and 183 of them have evaluated Seminole Golf Club over the past eight years. Their evaluations have placed it 12th among the 100 Greatest for 2019-2020. So what is it that ranks Seminole so high? Let’s look at the numbers.
SHOT VALUES
RESISTANCE TO SCORING
DESIGN VARIETY
MEMORABILITY
AESTHETICS
CONDITIONING
AMBIANCE
SHOT VALUES
The most important evaluation category is Shot Values, which judges how well a course tests a full range of shots using a variety of risk and rewards. Seminole’s par-5 15th is a perfect example. It offers two distinct fairways; the shorter right-hand route is a peninsula encircled by water. Successfully hitting it cuts 100 yards off the hole. The longer left-hand fairway is safer, but makes it a genuine three-shotter.
On our scale of 1 (Unacceptable) to 10 (Absolutely Perfect), Seminole’s average panelist score in Shot Values is 8.1067.
(A score of 8.00 is defined as Outstanding. A score of 9 is defined as Exceptional.)
10
8
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2
SHOT VALUES
RESISTANCE TO SCORING
Our Resistance to Scoring category focuses on amateur golfers, asking “How difficult yet fair is the course from the back tees for an average scratch player?” Seminole’s par-5 14th demonstrates “difficult yet fair.” Any attempt to reach the green in two must carry a nasty bunker that stretches across the front of the elevated green. The more conservative play is to lay up, but the landing area is flanked by water.
On our score of 1 to 10,
Seminole’s average score in
Resistance to Scoring is 8.0990.
SHOT VALUES
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8
6
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RESISTANCE
TO SCORING
Our Design Variety category analyzes the course routing as a whole, rewarding layouts like Seminole where holes constantly change direction and topography. Seminole is the rare Florida course with genuine uphill shots, as holes like the second and 11th play up a natural 40-foot-high sand ridge. Other holes, including the third, seventh, 12th and 15th, play down off the ridge. A variety of hazard placements is also important, and Seminole has some greens surrounded by bunkers, others guarded instead by water.
DESIGN VARIETY
On our score of 1 to 10,
Seminole’s average score in
Design Variety is 8.1609.
SHOT VALUES
RESISTANCE
TO SCORING
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8
6
4
2
DESIGN
VARIETY
On our score of 1 to 10,
Seminole’s average score in
Memorability is 8.3307
Our Memorability category judges the individuality of each hole, and the best scores go to courses where each hole has its own personality. Consider the differences in a pair of Seminole’s holes that sit side-by-side. The 495-yard fourth is a long par 4 with a fairway that twists and turns around deep bunkers to a crowned green atop the crest of the sand ridge. The par-4 sixth is nearly 100 yards shorter, with its fairway sloping significantly from left to right with acres of sand up the left side. Each hole is distinct, and each has been recognized at various times as among the greatest par 4s in America.
MEMORABILITY
SHOT VALUES
DESIGN
VARIETY
RESISTANCE
TO SCORING
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6
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MEMORABILITY
On our score of 1 to 10,
Seminole’s average score in
Aesthetics is 8.2093
Aesthetics asks how well the scenic values of the course and its surrounds add to the pleasure of the round. Seminole has a wide range of aesthetics, from the formal manicured look of holes like the long par-3 eighth to the more rugged look of the seaside par-4 18th. It always helps in this category if the course provides some stunning views of an ocean.
AESTHETICS
SHOT VALUES
DESIGN
VARIETY
MEMORABILITY
RESISTANCE
TO SCORING
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8
6
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2
AESTHETICS
On our score of 1 to 10,
Seminole’s average score in Conditioning is 8.2085.
CONDITIONING
SHOT VALUES
DESIGN
VARIETY
AESTHETICS
MEMORABILITY
RESISTANCE
TO SCORING
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Our criteria for Conditioning does not consider the color of turf, but its playing characteristics: “How firm, fast and rolling are the fairways, how firm yet receptive are the greens and how true are the roll of putts?” Seminole’s fairways are 419 Bermuda, long a standard for fairway grass in the Southeast, and at Seminole they’re normally dry and windblown, which can provide extra bounce on tee shots. Seminole’s greens are now state-of-the-art Champion ultradwarf Bermuda, mown to accentuate the subtle contours within the putting surfaces. They’re firm enough and fast enough that Seminole’s caddies keep a running tally of “Greens Visited in Regulation.”
CONDITIONING
Seminole’s average score in Ambiance is 8.7111, the
highest score it received
in any category.
AMBIANCE
SHOT VALUES
DESIGN
VARIETY
AESTHETICS
MEMORABILITY
CONDITIONING
RESISTANCE
TO SCORING
10
8
6
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2
The final evaluation category is Ambiance, which asks “How well does the overall feel and atmosphere of the course reflect or uphold traditional values of the game?” Golf Digest’s panelists have cited a number of items that make Seminole “timeless”; the fact that it’s a rare American course along the Atlantic, has an ingenious routing by the legendary architect Donald Ross, has no homesites along its holes and requires walking with caddies. Some applaud the recent restoration of sandy roughs by the team of Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw, as well as the removal of trees and vegetation to reveal long range views across the property. Many panelists mention the historical feel of Seminole’s clubhouse and its famed locker room.
AMBIANCE
To determine a total score, we double the average Shot Values score and add that to the average score in the other six categories. Seminole’s total score for 2019-2020 is 65.9329. At No. 12, it is one of just 22 golf courses that has appeared on every Golf Digest ranking since our surveys began in 1966, and it’s never been ranked lower than 19th.
America's 100 Greatest Golf Courses:
1) PINE VALLEY G.C.
2) AUGUSTA NATIONAL (Ga.) G.C.
3) CYPRESS POINT CLUB
4) SHINNECOCK HILLS G.C.
5) OAKMONT (Pa.) C.C
6) MERION G.C. (East)
7) PEBBLE BEACH G. LINKS
8) NATIONAL G. LINKS OF AMERICA
9) SAND HILLS G.C.
10) FISHERS ISLAND (N.Y.) CLUB
11) WINGED FOOT G.C. (West)
12) SEMINOLE G.C.
13) CRYSTAL DOWNS C.C.
14) CHICAGO G.C.
15) FRIAR'S HEAD G.C.