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Designer Discounts
19 bargain tracks by big-name architects Americans love getting brand names at generic prices, and nobody relishes bargains more than the budget-conscious golfer. How about a Tillinghast track for 20 bucks? Or feasting on a Robert Trent Jones I-and-II combo for a mere $43. That's just $3 more than the average cost of a weekend round at a typical daily-fee, according to the National Golf Foundation.
Several famous architects have been bullish on public golf. "The development of municipal golf courses is the outstanding feature of the game in America today," wrote Donald Ross in 1922. "It is the greatest step ever taken to make it the game of the people, as it should be." Ross would have liked this list: 19 bargain tracks -- with an average greens fee of $30.58 -- built by the greats of American course design, including Donald Ross. Bethpage State Park (Red Course, Blue Course) Bethpage's four other courses benefited mightily from the Black's hosting of the 2002 U.S. Open. The Red Course is considerably less exacting than its imposing sibling, but less expensive, too. The Black Course these days costs out-of-state golfers $78; the Red Course is half the price. The Blue Course, designed by Tillinghast in 1935, was redesigned by Alfred Tull in 1960. The front nine is all Tillinghast and is as tough as any at this monument to public golf. Buncombe County Golf Course This convivial muni may soon appear on the National Register of Historic Places. It's a period piece of Ross ingenuity, particularly the inventive, hilly back nine, which admirably stands the test of time. The stout, downhill par-3 18th hole features a wonderful sleight of hand, a greenside bunker that is almost hidden from the tee. Cacapon Resort State Park At Cacapon Resort you'll discover a fine course by Trent Jones the elder amid the foothills of West Virginia's Cacapon Mountain. This 6,827-yard layout is muscular enough to host college conference championships, and the nearby parks offer enough stay-and-play packages to delight any coupon-clipper. One design quirk: The course sports a double green that is more than 100 yards wide. Forest Meadows Golf Resort The Sierra Nevada Mountains and Stanislaus River Canyon provide a rustic setting for this charming but challenging executive course. One par 5, four short par 4s and 13 par 3s -- ranging from 102 to 207 yards -- play around a lake, several ponds, towering pines and cedars and subtle elevation swings. Forest Meadows is living proof that a short course does not necessarily mean shortcomings. Graysburg Hills Golf Course A picturesque valley framed by two ridges in East Tennessee offered Jones a natural backdrop for his sterling contribution to this exceptional 27-hole facility. These three loops could easily command a $100-plus greens fee elsewhere. Jones designed the Knobs and Fodderstack nines; Packard did the Chimney Top loop. Hyde Park Golf Club You'll see more trees from the tees than in the old aerial photo in the pro shop. This cozy 6,468-yard Ross layout has grown up to be a Northeast Florida favorite. Visitors will find ample reminders that length never made a golf course. The Jacksonville Open was staged here in the 1940s and '50s, and Ben Hogan once carded an 11 at the 6th hole, a 151-yard par 3. Kearney Hill Golf Links Lyman Orchards Golf Club A thousand-acre Colonial orchard offers strawberries in June, blueberries in July, peaches in August and terrific golf all season. This 36-hole complex has long been considered among Connecticut's pay-and-play gems and is the only public RTJ Sr. facility in the state. Don't leave without gobbling down a piece of pie -- there are 28 varieties of apples grown right on the property. Mackenzie Golf Course at Haggin Oaks The discovery of Mackenzie's original plans helped guide the faithful transformation three years ago of this upscale muni near Governor Schwarzenegger's office. Risk and reward, illusion, and an abundance of choice from tee to green are all hallmarks of this public-access reminder of Mackenzie's genius.
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