Long-neglected Cobbs Creek Golf Course is the most ambitious municipal golf renovation project in history, bringing a world-class course, TGR Learning Lab and more to West Philadelphia. Presented by Lincoln Financial.
Experience the best San Francisco golf has to offer over a long weekend! Editor-at-Large Matt Ginella shares the best courses to play around the bay area in this three-day Ultimate Itinerary.
The Refuge Hotel & Conference Center is scheduled to open in 2021 adjacent to a newly redesigned municipal golf course. The hotel will house 200 rooms, spa, culinary school, dining and lounge areas and a 54,000-square-foot conference center. A resort pool, 15-acre lake with walking paths and event lawn add outdoor amenities.
Black Butte Ranch is located in Sisters near Bend in Central Oregon in the Cascade Mountains and home to abundant wildlife. This 1,800-acre resort community heralds from its ranch history. For golf, Black Butte Ranch features two 18-hole championship golf courses, Big Meadow and Glaze Meadow, and a new putting course. Accommodations range from…
Both the Westin Carlsbad Resort & Spa and Sheraton Carlsbad Resort & Spa are part of the same large resort complex across the street from the Crossings at Carlsbad Golf Course, a municipal course that's a high-end attraction for locals and traveling golfers alike. The prime location is ideal for guests wanting to experience all that Southern…
The Goose Pond Colony Resort cozies up to the Tennessee River's Lake Guntersville in the heart of the scenic Cumberland Mountains. This 314-acre municipally owned resort features two golf courses, 11 lakesides cottages, a six-room lodge, waterfront campground with one-bedroom tiny cabins, a two-mile walking trail, marina, meeting rooms, The Docks…
Municipal golf courses have had a shaky reputation over the years. Will the trend of renovation rejuvenate golf at the local level and help grow the game?
The eight golf courses of the Cleveland Metroparks aren't the best collection of municipal courses in the country, but they're probably a close second. While nobody can compete with Bethpage, none offer the variety and history of the courses of the Cleveland Metroparks. Jason Scott Deegan has more from Ohio.
With places like SilverRock Resort, Indian Wells Golf Resort and Desert Willow Golf Resort, the Coachella Valley can easily claim to be the municipal golf capital of the world. All three clubs feature courses ranked among the top 50 "munis" in the U.S. by Golfweek, and you can play one former PGA Tour venue for less than $60. That's amazing, as is muni golf in the Coachella Valley. Jason Deegan has more from southern California.
An Austin group, Save Muny, is hoping to save Lions Municipal Golf Course, nominating it for placement on the National Register of Historic Places. It was the first de-segregated course in the South.
The Dallas-Fort Worth area has a wealth of good to really good public golf courses. But what may surprise you is that it has one of the best collections of municipals courses in the country. Both Dallas and Fort Worth proper have some pretty good munis, but even better are that many of the suburbs have some outstanding municipal layouts by some pretty good designers. Best of all, they're all very affordable. Here's a rundown of some my favorites.
For anyone who appreciates the need to save historic, public courses, it's great to see a national, non-golf entity highlight the importance of the Lions muni in Austin.
San Antonio is one of Texas' best golf cities, so it's no surprise that the Alamo City sports one of the best municipal systems in the U.S. When outsiders think of San Antonio municipal golf, they no doubt think of Brackenridge Park, which once hosted the PGA Tour's Texas Open. But Old Brack's not the only game in town when it comes to San Antonio munis, Mike Bailey writes.
It's no secret that golf in Miami can be expensive. But there is affordable golf, very affordable, if you know where to look. One place to start would be with Miami's municipals, of which there are four 18-hole courses and a couple of pretty good short courses. The jewel of the lot is Crandon Park at Key Biscayne, just a few minutes from downtown Miami. Here is a look at the Miami munis.
'The Patch,' a nearly century-old city facility that has been reworked by Tom Fazio, Beau Welling and Tiger Woods, will open its doors to public play after the 2026 Masters.
Like The Country Club at Brookline, there's plenty of history at the Robert T. Lynch Municipal Golf Course at Putterham. But as a pure golf experience, Robert T. Lynch holds its own. The holes have all kinds of interesting angles and greens complexes, plus there's been an effort of late to restore the course, undoubtedly better than it's ever been.
New York City has more municipal golf beyond Bethpage State Park. Westchester County, north of New York City, has a collection of great municipal courses of their own.
The phrase "municipal golf" often conjures up images of patchy or bald fairways and greens - not plush, PGA Tour-ready conditions. But your muni probably isn't in the Coachella Valley city of Indian Wells, Calif. At the heart of it all are two municipal courses that fit right in among the area's top resort courses: the Indian Wells Golf Resort's Players and Celebrity courses.
There are two golf courses on the property of Putterham in Brookline, both of them historic. Only one of them, though, is open to the public, the municipal Robert T. Lynch Municipal Course at Putterham. The course, which dates back to 1931, actually borders the famous Country Club at Brookline. It plays around 6,400 yards from the tips, but with elevated greens, doglegs and a variety of holes, it challenges players of every level.
Renovated and redesigned by Colligan Golf, Stevens Park is the jewel of Dallas' municipal system and is one of the best munis in the state. Check out our photo gallery.
Most golfers know about TPC Harding Park, a historic San Francisco municipal that has hosted several big-time events. Presidio Golf Course, another muni by the bay, is another San Francisco treat.
Thanks to its abundance, accessibility and long summer season, Dallas/Fort Worth is one of America's great golf metroplexes. It's also one with a storied history, thanks to courses such as Colonial and legends such as Byron Nelson and Ben Hogan having resided there. For the public golfer, many of the municipalities in the metroplex have great municipal courses, and the boom of golf and residential communities in the 1990s and 2000s created many more options, both private and public.
Rockwind Community Links in Hobbs, N.M. -- located in the High Plains near the New Mexico-Texas border -- opened as one of the finest municipal golf courses in the U.S., certainly among cities of less than 50,000 people.
There's only one championship-level course in the St. Petersburg municipal golf department, and it's very popular. Busy seven days a week, not only do locals and visitors flock to play Mangrove Bay Golf Course, but they love to take advantage of the extensive practice facilities as well. The course winds around natural mangroves just a few hundred yards from the bay.
The Port Course might be slightly tougher than the Starboard Course at The Captains Golf Course. The two municipal courses owned by the town of Brewster, Mass. in lower Cape Cod feel almost like mirror images. But there's little doubt that the best golf hole on the property is No. 8 on the Port Course. Jason Scott Deegan shows us no. 8 and much more of the Port Course in this photo gallery.
Located in the heart of Lihue, Hawaii, is Puakea Golf Course. Puakea dates back to 1991 and represents Kauai's golf course middle-ground. It's a shade less expensive than the island's premium resort courses while offering better conditions and experience than the island's municipal course and other daily fees.
Finding a golf course in the rapidly growing Hampton Roads area with no surrounding homes isn't easy. But Stumpy Lake Golf Course in Virginia Beach fits the description, and then some. Situated on a lake in a wooded, swampy wildlife preserve, Stumpy Lake is a secluded oasis amid the bustle of Virginia Beach. Opened in 1953, this Robert Trent Jones design is the oldest of the municipal courses under the umbrella of Hampton Roads Golf.
The Celebrity Course at Indian Wells Golf Resort features a little more topographical variance than the resort's Players Course and also has more tight holes lined with trees. There is a stretch of wide-open holes on the back nine, starting with the 12th hole through the 16th hole. The Celebrity is rated among the best municipal plays in the United States.
The South Course at Torrey Pines is one of the great municipal courses in the U.S. and hosted an epic 2008 U.S. Open. Tour the course with these photos.
The Players Course at Indian Wells was designed by John Fought and plays a brawny 7,376 yards from the back tees. Its terrain isn't as dramatic as the resort's Celebrity course, but it features beautification in every spot and there is no residential development lining any fairways. Both Indian Wells courses are rated among some of the best public and municipal courses in both California and the country.
Coyote Creek Golf Course in Fort Lupton, Colo. defers to hazards other than length to defend its honor. Water makes some cameo appearances throughout the round, but it's thick, club-twisting, ball-eating rough that rules the day at this solid city-owned municipal course northwest of Denver.
Flatirons Golf Course is located in the outdoors-happy city of Boulder, Colo. Originally built in the 1930s, the course sites on 130 acres near the heart of town. It's a traditional design with tree-lined gentle doglegs, small creeks and ponds. Boulder's parks and recreation department has added bunkers, rebuilt others and is in the process of building new tee boxes, including a forward set that will play close to 4,700 yards.
All the signs of downtown municipal golf are there at Park Hill Golf Club in Denver. The classic course, dating to 1931, is short by modern standard and can be a bit noisy, surrounded by train tracks and a major road. But a potential career round at an affordable price makes it worth a trip to Park Hill.
Pinon Hills Golf Course has legendary status, often ranked among the top five municipal courses in the country. Sure, it's close to $40 for outsiders to play, but that's still a bargain, and locals can play it on the cheap, especially seniors.
The Black Course at Bethpage State Park has a championship pedigree like no other municipal golf course in the country. Sheer length, bold bunkering and burly rough challenge anybody lucky enough to nab a tee time.
Don't just play golf at Vail Golf Club, the classic parkland muni located in the heart of the village. Add some exercise to your round. The 6,766-yard course is the rare layout in the Vail Valley where walking makes perfect sense. Riding is a great option, too: Not in a cart but on a golf bike.
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