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The Landings at Skidaway Island's six courses should be popular this weekend.   

 

    The southern U.S. will have plenty of clouds this weekend but, for the most part, will be rain free and warm enough everywhere for a round of golf (or two).  We've indicated high temperatures for today and Sunday in some of the most golfing rich areas of the southern U.S.  We have marked with an asterisk (*) those places we have visited and reviewed.  If you have any questions about golf communities or courses in these areas, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Today/Sunday, high temperatures in Fahrenheit (Centigrade), conditions

Aiken, SC*        

    76 (24), Partly Cloudy/79 (26), Partly Cloudy
Asheville, NC*   

    65 (18), Mostly Cloudy/64 (18), Mostly Cloudy
Austin, TX*        

    80 (27), Partly Cloudy/77 (25), Scattered T-Storms

Biloxi, MS       

    75 (24), Fog then sun/75 (24), Partly Cloudy
Charleston, SC*   

    74 (23), Partly Cloudy/77 (25), Partly Cloudy
Charlottesville, VA*   

    56 (13), Mostly Cloudy/47 ( 8),  Cloudy
Jacksonville, FL*   

    77 (25), Partly Cloudy/75 (24), Fog, then sun
Lexington, VA   

    54 (12), Mostly Cloudy/52 (11), Cloudy
Naples, FL       

    83 (28), Partly Cloudy/83 (28), Sunny
Pawleys Island, SC*   

    73 (23), Partly Cloudy/72 (22), Partly Cloudy
Savannah, GA*   

    78 (26), Partly Cloudy/79 (26), Fog then sun
Williamsburg, VA* 

    60 (16), Partly Cloudy/57 (14), Cloudy
Wilmington, NC*   

    72 (22), Partly Cloudy/70 (21), Partly Cloudy
St. Andrews, UK   

    41 (5), Cloudy/43 (6), Light Rain

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Tom Fazio's propensity to "bury" cart paths, as he does here in the woods at The Finley Golf Club in Chapel Hill, NC, earns him plaudits from those who review golf course designs.

 


    Tom Fazio has five layouts in the top 20 of Golfweek magazine's 2007 list of best residential community courses, more than any other designer.  It affirms my notion that Fazio is the most consistently good architect working today.
    Wade Hampton, Fazio's design in Cashiers, NC, earned top honors for the second year in a row.  Fourth place Black Diamond (Quarry) in Lecanto, FL, and sixth place Briggs Ranch in San Antonio were the other Fazio designs in the top 20.  Jack Nicklaus placed two courses in the top 20, both in the top five, including Castle Pines (#2) in Colorado and Mayacama (#5) in Santa Rosa, CA.
    Former top pick Golf Club at Cuscowilla, Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw's minimalist but arresting layout in Eatonton, GA, slipped to third place this year, not too shabby when you consider it placed ahead of the best Pete Dye had to offer - Long Cove on Hilton Head (#7) - and the Jay Moorish/Tom Weiskopf design at The Rim Golf Club (#9) in Payson, AZ.  Moorish, both on his own and with Weiskopf, racked up three courses in the top 20.
    The list of the top 100 residential courses is at Golfweek's web site.

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Cuscowilla, the Coore/Crenshaw design in rural Georgia, is stripped virtually all artifice, including homes, which are well away from the layout.