Press Release

For Immediate Release December 3, 2013

The Western Golf Alliance releases next generation of regional golf course rankings

"Where You Can Rip It" 2014 identifies best courses for public access golf

LONG BEACH, California. The Western Golf Alliance today published its biennial ranking of golf courses. Designated as the "Where You Can Rip It" rankings, this effort identifies the best public access golf courses in the western United States.

In some cases, the Where You Can Rip It rankings have changed significantly since 2012. These changes include several new courses making the 2014 rankings. "As the U.S. economy has recovered, we have seen several of the major golf course management firms reinvesting into properties, and acquiring and upgrading others," said Mark Taylor, chairman of the course ranking task force. "As a result, our members have been thrilled to reassess many courses, and are excited to advise others about the quality of these tracks," continued Taylor.

The Where You Can Rip It rankings identify 100 great golf courses. The courses were evaluated within the nine regions of the WGA, with members subjectively assessing the quality, playability, and overall value of each course. Members then nominated courses and discussed the merits of each. Finally, within each region they selected and ranked the 11 best courses.

"Our members play thousands of rounds every year at public access golf courses," explained Peter McGarry, WGA president. "We are officially a golf club without real estate, and most of our members prefer playing public courses, so we are uniquely positioned to assess golf courses in the western U.S."

Courses that have undergone upgrades due to either acquisition or reinvestment by its ownership group - and thus were either added, re-added, or greatly upgraded in this year's rankings - are all over the west coast. They include TPC Harking Park (TPC), The Crossings at Carlsbad (Kemper Sports), Newcastle (Oki Golf), Angel Park (OB Sports), and Aliante (Troon). Another trend is resorts and casinos now reinvesting in their golf properties, such as at White Horse (Clearwater Casino), The Dragon (Nakoma Resort), Southern Dunes (Ak-Chin Casino), and Black Butte Ranch. Overall, there were substantial changes between the 2012 and 2014 rankings, as trends and practices in course conditioning and services have also changed at specific locations.

In the past, the Where You Can Rip It golf course rankings have been quoted by The Golf Channel, and referenced on numerous industry websites including Worldgolf.com, Golf.com, GolfDigest.com. The 2012 rankings we viewed by tens of thousands of golfers, and have been quoted in at least three dozen media sources.

"We are very confident that our rankings provide great insight that golfers will appreciate when deciding where to play" concluded McGarry. "As part of our mission to promote the great game of golf, we hope this public service is well received by all."

The Western Golf Alliance updates the Where You Can Rip It rankings biennially. The 2014 rankings are available at this web site.

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About the Western Golf Alliance: The Western Golf Alliance is the premier golf organization in the United States. The WGA exists to further the greatness of this grand sport of golf through the improvement of golf play by its members, the promotion of golf rules, etiquette, and tradition, and the ability to gather together from time to time for golf events and tournaments. The regional organization spans five western states, and is organized into nine geographic regions. Further information is available at http://www.westerngolf.org/.

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