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A golf riddle for you: What do golf purists loathe but many recreational golfers love?
Any guesses?
... a long and memorable cart ride.
Count me stuck somewhere in the middle - a sometime-purist who still enjoys a good cart ride when it leads to incredible golf holes or theme-park-like adventures like these do.
Golf course architecture gurus will tell you that most, if not all, courses should be walkable. The rise of modern golf courses built in severe, often mountainous, terrain has created the need for miles of paved paths and some epic journeys by cart. While a long cart ride is never ideal - it can disrupt a round's rhythm like the weirdly long ride to the 13th hole on the new Lehman 18 at Cragun's Hotel & Resort on Gull Lake in Brainerd, Minn. - it can be fun from time to time wondering where you'll eventually end up for your next tee shot.
Let's go for a ride! These are some of the longest, most memorable drives we've experienced in our travels:
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To the sixth hole at Quivira
The comfort stations stocked with food and drink help make Quivira Golf Club experience so special. Jason Scott Deegan/GolfPass The reward for the winding trek to the sixth tee box at Quivira in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, is this stunning view from the comfort station, where golfers can load up on all-inclusive food, snacks and drinks. It's views and amenities like these that make the Jack Nicklaus design one of the most popular in Cabo. The hole, a short par 4 that twists left and drops to a green hanging onto a cliff shelf, is quite controversial. Golfers either love or hate its hit-and-hope design (see the article's main photo for more perspective). I've played it three times and driven the green twice (and three-putted for par both times!), so it can be conquered with a little skill and a lot of luck.
![Quivira GC: #5]()
What are some other long, memorable cart rides you've experienced in your golf travels? Let us know in the comments below.
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To the first tee on the Saint-Laurent nine at Club de Golf Le Manoir Richelieu
The five-minute cart ride to the first tee of the Saint-Laurent nine at the 27-hole Golf Le Manoir Richelieu in Quebec is actually frightening at times. It's golf's version of Hawaii's Road to Hana, a narrow path of switch backs and hairpin turns. If you're driving, don't get caught staring at the mighty St. Lawrence River until you're at the top. There will be plenty of time to take in the panoramic vistas from the clubhouse, small range and the tee box. Forgive the old #GolfAdvisor branding of the video above, but it's worth a watch to get a taste of what it's like to traverse this trail and play this gettable par 5.
![Le Manoir Richelieu GC]()
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To the clubhouse at Payne's Valley at Big Cedar Lodge
This wild ride on Payne's Valley in Hollister, Mo., actually happens after golfers have tackled the famous island green of the 19th hole on the first U.S. resort course designed by Tiger Woods. Big Cedar Lodge Owner Johnny Morris has a flair for the dramatic, so this Disney-like ride up through rock caverns and under a waterfall is definitely a one-of-a-kind adventure.
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To the sixth tee on The Journey at Pechanga
![The Journey at Pechanga - hole 6]()
The tee shot on the sixth hole at The Journey at Pechanga is one of America's most thrilling drop-shot drives. Jason Scott Deegan/GolfPass Journey at Pechanga in Temecula, Calif., about an hour north of San Diego, was so named because of epic cart rides like the one climbing up a rocky mountain from the fifth green to the sixth tee. Golfers can blast away from there, watching their ball take up to 10 seconds to land 175 feet below, hopefully in the fairway.
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To the first tees at Boyne Mountain Resort's Alpine and Monument courses
![The Monument - First tee view]()
The first tee of The Monument at Boyne Mountain features a nice view from an elevated perch. Courtesy photo Boyne Mountain Resort in Boyne Falls, Mich., started out as a ski destination, which explains why the first tees of its Monument and Alpine courses are perched high atop a hill 1.2 miles from the clubhouse. These courses are the only ones in the world where the tee time is based on leaving the clubhouse for the 10-minute ride up the mountain, not the actual act of hitting a golf ball at your given time. Built in 1971, The Alpine is believed to be the first course in America to require a cart to play, but that fact can't be verified for certain. True or not, the journey by cart remains a nice way to build anticipation for the round.
Comments (2)
Boat ride to island green at Couer d’alene in Idaho is incredible.
Love Pechanga. 6th hole is great but the 18th at Glen Ivy has a longer drop. Taking on the barranca at Pechanga or the lake at Glen Ivy really tests one's nerves.