GOLF’s latest Prime 100 Programs within the U.S. rating contains 11 newcomers, which we’ll introduce you to right here. Meet Previous Barnwell in South Carolina.
Morgan Purvis/Previous Barnwell
GOLF lately launched its newest rating of the Prime 100 Programs within the U.S. (2024-25), a listing that features 11 newcomers. A few of them you would possibly know. Others you may not. Right here, in our newcomer spotlights, we’ll introduce you to those rookie Prime 100 gems.
Newcomer highlight: Previous Barnwell / Rank: 51st
Location: Aiken, S.C.
Kind: Personal
12 months opened: 2023
Architect: Brian Schneider, Blake Conant
What it’s worthwhile to learn about Previous Barnwell
Architects Brian Schneider and Blake Conant borrowed traditional design rules and utilized them in a recent approach on a sandy parcel of rolling land exterior of Aiken. The firmness of the turf that superintendent Davis Verner routinely achieves (thanks, partly, to an absence of overseeding) permits the nuances of this design to glitter. Half-par holes abound. Are you able to attain the open however lengthy inexperienced on the par-5 opener? Must you attempt to drive the 2nd or 14th greens? (In case you try to fail, the hunter rapidly turns into the hunted, as deep bunkers guard these two brief 4s.) Can you employ the mounds on the par-4 eighth to kick an strategy shut on the inverted L-shaped inexperienced? Or how about making an attempt to bounce one onto the rolling inexperienced on the 235-yard eleventh? In the meantime, the rust shade of the centipede tough lends this open course a heathland-like really feel. Finishing the best is the membership’s ethos of giving again to the sport and the neighborhood, as established by Previous Barnwell founder Nick Schreiber.
What our raters say
“A visually and strategically compelling course. It invitations you to guess with regard to focused strains of play, rewarding you with success or the quick want to attempt it once more with one other lap. The architectural creativity attracts the participant into the course. Some areas struck me as whimsical and others enjoyably strategic, giving gamers a way of North Berwick. Nicely finished with an excellent golf tradition that embeds an appreciation for each the structure and play.”
“Exterior of The Lido, Previous Barnwell is essentially the most strategic new design of the previous 30 years. It requires considerate play all through and is the form of course the place the direct line to the outlet is often not the right one. The bottom is a key factor and there are numerous holes the place the road off the tee adjustments dramatically each day based mostly on the place the outlet is lower. The greens are daring with out being too extreme. That is the form of course you can play each day with out losing interest, and it isn’t so tough that it could’t be loved by all ranges of gamers.”
