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SAN JOSE - I gave away my cheap two-wheeled pull cart while moving from Michigan to California nearly a decade ago.
I was just tired of having so much stuff and was cleaning house - literally. Little did I know it was maybe the most serious packing blunder I made during my move from the Midwest out West.
I soon learned that I had bought a house just across the street from one of the most active walking munis in America - the Santa Clara County-owned Santa Teresa Golf Club. I could have used that pull cart until it fell apart. Thankfully, not having it forced me to upgrade my walking game. In just a few years, I've gone from carrying a Jones bag to pushing a BagBoy Nitron cart before a major upgrade recently to a motorized Q Follow from Stewart Golf.
I'm so glad I moved to a golf destination where walking is the norm. Michigan had many courses I could have walked, but I didn't because other golfers weren't walking, either. Walking wasn't part of the culture of public golf. Sure, country-clubbers did it on their historic courses (often accompanied by caddies), but many of Michigan's top public courses were built during the golf boom in the 1990s when real estate trumped routing every time.
Are you a walking golfer at heart who's been forced to ride? Do what I did and find a destination where legions of walking golfers rule the fairways. Your fitness and your golf game will thank you. Revealing America's five best walking golf destinations is the last story in our season-long series of articles surrounding walking the golf course. We hope you've been educated - and inspired - to walk a little more.
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North Carolina's Sandhills
A popular option for Pinehurst No. 2 is to take a caddie. Brandon Tucker/GolfPass Best walking golf courses: Pinehurst No. 2, Pinehurst No. 4, Mid Pines, Southern Pines.
We awarded the Sandhills the top spot because golfers have been walking its hills among the pines for more than a century. There's also a little more variety in terms of price point, too. From a U.S. Open anchor site in Pinehurst No. 2 by Donald Ross, to The Cradle and Tom Doak's Pinehurst No. 10 scheduled to open next year, Sandhills golfers will keep walking for generations to come.15 Min ReadJune 30, 2023Our Top 100 walking courses in America culminates with our top 25, an illustrious group among the country's most coveted, public tee times.![Tim Gavrich]()
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Bandon Dunes, Oregon
Golfers cherish the walk together on Old Macdonald. Mike Bailey/GolfPass Best walking golf courses: Pacific Dunes, Bandon Trails, Bandon Dunes, Sheep Ranch, Old MacDonald.
With five regulation links and soon-to-be two short courses, Bandon Dunes is the remote destination that pioneered today's walking-only resort experience. You can also walk the nearby Bandon Crossings, an inland gem that's much more affordable. -
Northern California
The Quail Lodge & Golf Club unfurls in a beautiful setting in the Carmel Valley. Jason Scott Deegan/GolfPass Best walking golf courses: TPC Harding Park, Pebble Beach Golf Links, Pasatiempo, Baylands Golf Links, Corica Park, Quail Lodge, Bayonet/Black Horse, Poppy Hills.
Northern California's mostly mild coastal climate makes year-round walking possible. NorCal delivers some spectacular strolls, including the journey along the Pacific at Pebble Beach and past Alister MacKenzie's old house at Pasatiempo. -
Wisconsin
Golfers walk to the 15th fairway at Erin Hills. Jason Scott Deegan/GolfPass Best walking golf courses: Sand Valley Golf Resort, Erin Hills, Whistling Straits, Lawsonia Links, Washington County.
We gave the entire state a nod here because the serious golf traveler can cut a pretty straight-forward path from Kohler to tiny Nekoosa in the center of the state to play two major championship venues and more Top-100 caliber golf on one trip. -
Southern California
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A golfer wanders down the par-5 10th hole at Torrey Pines North. Brandon Tucker/GolfPass Best walking golf courses: Torrey Pines, Rustic Canyon, Coronado, Tustin Ranch, San Vicente, Omni La Costa.
Both Central Florida (Streamsong) and South Florida (The Park West Palm) make a strong case here, but the active lifestyle and better walking weather delivers the win for Southern California. SoCal would actually be an even better walking destination if it had more good public golf courses to walk than just the hardscrabble LA munis and the courses listed above.
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