The Best Course in the World Is a Par 66

Jim Hartsell will tell you the best golf course in the world is 4,800 yards and a par 66. He is not being cute about it. He would like you to come after him.In this episode of The Bag Drop: Untold Stories in Golf, host Matt Considine and co‑host Dr. Kevin Moore (a.k.a. “The Professor”) sit down with Jim Hartsell — architect, three-time Bag Drop guest, and author of A Round of Scottish Courses — for a conversation about what thirty years of returning to the same small Scottish clubs teaches you about why golf places matter, and what a golfer owes a place once he starts telling everyone about it.The conversation dives into:Why Dunaverty — 4,800 yards, par 66 — is his answer to "best course in the world," and why he thinks the question is usually asked wrongWhat choosing eighteen favorites instead of eighteen best freed him to write — and how a chapter actually gets built, including the sheepdog trials that unlocked a lost course on ArranThe night the Old Course put a flag on the 18th green made from a drawing his nine-year-old son had left on his laptopThe green-fee trap: why North Berwick and Brora keep going up, and why tour operators refuse to take a £30 course seriouslyWhether writing about Dunaverty, Askernish and Isle of Harris is quietly changing them — and what the members themselves say about thatThree rules for being a good guest at a Scottish club, including the one about tipping too muchConnect with our guests📚 Jim Hartsell — https://jhartsellgolf.com — 🐦 X/Twitter: https://x.com/JimHHartsell](https://x.com/JimHHartsell) | 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jimhartsell/📕 A Round of Scottish Courses (Back Nine Press) — https://back9press.com/products/a-round-of-scottish-courses🎧 The Duffer's Literary Companion (Jim & Stephen Proctor) — https://tdlcpodcast.podbean.comJoin the NewClub community🌍 Website: https://www.newclub.golf📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/newclubgolf/🐦 X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/newclubgolf📺 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@newclubgolf💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/newclubLinks & Partners🐝 NewClub: https://www.newclub.golf🏌️ Titleist: https://www.titleist.com🌐 Golf Blueprint: https://www.golfblueprint.comListen to The Bag Drop🎧 Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-bag-drop-untold-stories-in-golf/id1430328006🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2xRWtUBJH8RazdLw14oaGH 🎧 Amazon: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/633c8703-5880-4522-bd6d-5967b45fc777/the-bag-drop-untold-stories-in-golfConnect with Matt & The Professor🎙️ Matt Considine — 🐦 X/Twitter: https://x.com/consequential85 | 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/consequence18/ | 💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-considine-103bb21/📚 Dr. Kevin Moore ("The Professor") — 🐦 X/Twitter: https://x.com/kevcmoore | 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kevcmoore | 💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-moore-177b30b3/🗣️Contribute to the show! — 📧 email: thebagdrop@newclub.golfChapters00:00 Cold open: the anticipation is half the fun00:41 Welcome, and the Professor's new office02:16 A love letter to the game: who your club introduces you to03:01 Ca