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The more golf courses and destinations I see, the more I view municipal golf courses as the key to welcoming people into the game and convincing them to make it a lifelong hobby, passion or obsession.
It's not that upscale resorts and flashy private clubs aren't fun to visit and write about (they are), or that they don't have their place in the evolution of golf (they certainly do), but any time I visit such a place, the experience is colored by the fact that those expensive forms of golf are only readily available to a relative few.
Municipal golf, however, is for everyone. When you drive up to a publicly-owned golf course, there's no one casting an eye in your direction to determine whether you're a member, guest or unauthorized interloper. You don't need a tee time to enjoy the amenities (remember - putting is free at municipal courses).
The best municipal golf courses are true public parks that reflect the personality of their locales. West Palm Beach's new upscale muni is literally called "The Park." Any visitor to Bethpage is overwhelmed by its vastness, much the way a first-timer in Central Park is amazed by its sheer size in the middle of a city of millions. TPC Harding Park's stunning cypress trees are native monuments to San Francisco's local ecology. Winter Park 9 is an important reminder of how beneath the gaudy layers of theme parks and expensive tourist traps, there is a "real" Orlando that is well worth discovering.
All three of these facilities - and dozens more - are part of an ongoing American golf "Munaissance" ("muni" + "renaissance"). Towns, cities, counties and states have been investing hundreds of millions of dollars to improve their golf courses, and that combination of vision and respect for rank-and-file golfers has helped feed the recent surge in participation that the COVID-19 pandemic catalyzed.
Why you need to play municipal golf courses on your next trip
Municipal golf has improved to the point where in many destinations, I would argue the truly curious traveling golfer should not consider a trip successful without stopping by one of these golf-cultural touchstones. While I loved playing We-Ko-Pa Golf Club's splendid Saguaro course, my favorite part of my first-ever golf trip to the Phoenix/Scottsdale area was partaking in the Monday Skins game at Papago Golf Course, mixing it up with locals and getting a real sense of why that area is unique.
Likewise, as much as I adore Kiawah Island's Ocean Course, the area's real gem is Charleston Municipal Golf Course, revamped by Troy Miller in 2020. A round on the Ocean Course can top $600 these days. At the Muni, out-of-town guests can walk 18 holes on a weekend for $60. Not only is it one of the best deals in golf, it's an authentic encounter with one of America's great cities.
Municipal golf courses sit at the heart of other underrated golf destinations. The city of Spokane, Washington is home to the fabulous Indian Canyon Golf Course, as well as three terrific County-owned courses in Liberty Lake, MeadowWood and Latah Creek (formerly Hangman Valley). Playing these courses in 2019 was like wandering into a locals-favorite bar and being immediately welcomed. If that doesn't sound like a worthwhile golf travel experience, I don't know what does.
6 New and renovated municipal golf courses to see in 2024
Several new and significantly overhauled golf courses are set to debut sometime in 2023, with other recent arrivals maturing nicely. In December 2023, I was part of the first group to play the fully restored Bobby Jones Golf Club in Sarasota, Fla., a Donald Ross original revived by architect and Ross expert Richard Mandell. What used to be something of an eyesore - two mediocre courses with decades of deferred maintenance and indifferent management - is now a local golf jewel.
Here are 5 other new municipal golf courses to be aware of:
Warmouth Sands Golf Course
Vidalia, Ga.
Mike Young is one of golf's most underrated course architects; he has laid out several clever and low-maintenance golf courses across Georgia and elsewhere in the Southeast, including The Fields Golf Club, which Young owns and oversees with his son, Ashley. The elder Young is currently building a brand-new municipal golf course for the city of Vidalia, under the umbrella of the "Sweet Onion Golf Authority." A majority of the site rambles over pure sand while other holes will play along a wetland area. Wall-to-wall short-grass areas will dissolve into native sandy and grassy surrounds, lending an unfussy look. The course is scheduled to be ready for play in the fall.
Old Bridge Golf Course
Old Bridge, N.J.
After a land swap earmarked the site of a local course to be turned into warehouses, the developer partnered with the Town to finance the construction of a brand-new course, which Stephen Kay laid out and will fully open this spring.
The Links at Audubon
Memphis, Tenn.
Architect Bill Bergin, who has touched dozens of courses throughout the Southeast, has revamped this city course on an L-shaped tract that elbows around the Memphis Botanic Garden. It is expected to fully reopen in the summer.
Wakulla Sands Golf Course
Crawfordville, Fla.
In overhauling an existing golf course for Wakulla County, architect Dan Schlegel has created not just an upgraded recreational amenity, but a way to replenish a valuable aquifer to the tune of millions of gallons of water per year.
Lake Oswego Golf Course
Lake Oswego, Ore.
Oregon-based architect Dan Hixson's batting average is as high as anyone's in the business; his creativity continues to delight golfers at all sorts of courses throughout the Pacific Northwest, from creative and sprawling semi-reversible courses at Silvies Valley Ranch to this 40-acre 9-hole executive layout converted from an 18-hole par-3 loop just south of Portland.
6 other notable municipal golf course projects to monitor
Golden Gate Park Golf Course
San Francisco, Calif.
Jay Blasi, who was part of the team that laid out Munaissance gem Chambers Bay, switched gears in a big way for this project, bringing his flair for drama and fun to a 9-hole par-3 loop in the heart of the city. Early returns- including from GolfPass managing editor Jason Deegan - have been positive.
Dunedin Golf Course
Dunedin, Fla.
Between Clearwater and St. Petersburg on the Gulf Coast, this Donald Ross design long respected for its stern opening stretch of holes is being restored to its 1926 original plans. Leading the project is Kris Spence, whose restoration projects in North Carolina include private gems like Sedgefield and Roaring Gap, as well as publicly-owned courses like Mooresville Golf Club and Asheville Municipal (master plan ongoing), have earned him respect throughout the industry as a Ross expert. Reviving 87 bunkers across the layout will add considerable visual intimidation and appeal.
Gillespie Park Golf Course
Greensboro, N.C.
The PGA of America awarded one of its PGA REACH grants in the amount of $250,000 to the effort to update this gourse, significant in Civil Right history, as part of a $2-million master plan from Rees Jones.
Meadowbrook Golf Course
Fort Worth, Texas
A $13-million renovation project is planned for this Cowtown muni, with experienced Texas architects John Colligan and Trey Kemp helping the effort.
Augusta Municipal Golf Course
Augusta, Ga.
At his pre-2023 Masters press conference, Augusta National Golf Club chairman Fred Ridley announced the club would be helping to renovate "The Patch," Augusta's historic muni. I expect an update about this ahead of the 2024 Masters.
Corica Park Golf Course (North)
Alameda, Calif.
Several years after the renovation of this East Bay complex's South Course went relatively smoothly, the effort to redo the North Course has been anything but. According to most recent reports, things are back on track and Robert Trent Jones, II's firm will have the new-look North fully opened by the end of the year.
The Munaissance is not only about course architecture
While creative new builds and exciting improvements to existing designs are what spurs hunger to play golf - and play often - the facilities that compliment courses can act as another form of enticement, sometimes to community members who aren't even golfers. In Phoenix, Lou's Bar & Grill has become a local hang unto itself, and the fact that it resides within the clubhouse at Papago Golf Course means its patrons get exposed to the game in a soft and welcoming way, and come to regard the golf facility as a "third place" the whole community can utilize.
More than 800 miles to the east, the city of Edmond, Oklahoma has similar aspirations. Not only did they pour millions of dollars into overhauling their golf course, KickingBird, they hired architecture firm Bockus Payne to create a clubhouse compound of sorts, connecting discrete buildings with covered walkways, creating an indoor-outdoor experience. Their mission was to bring city residents and visitors a list of amenities as extensive as those offered at private country clubs. Strategically placed lawns surround the clubhouse complex.
"The city of Edmond was looking to provide a variety of social activities for patrons, from varied dining venues to indoor and outdoor lounge options to publicly available event spaces," said David Payne, president of Bockus Payne. "KickingBird Golf’s community-centered, club-minded design now offers each of these experiences, plus an amazing short-game practice area just off of a wide outdoor terrace."
Investment in KickingBird's off-course facilities has paid off immediately. In the six months after the course reopened, a new Events Center hosted two dozen non-golf events and meetings. The new Trackman Range-outfitted practice facility took in more than $310,000 in revenue - more than twice as much as it took in in the same period in 2021. Pro shop sales are also up more than 50% - a testament both to golf's popularity and to the golf community's embrace of KickingBird's new digs.
Two high-profile municipal golf course transformations still on the horizon
Two of America's founding cities are at the center of the next chapter of the Munaissance. In Washington, D.C., the National Links Trust continues to make progress in reviving the three golf facilities in its charge: East Potomac Links, Langston Golf Course and Rock Creek Park. The city is currently mulling over issuing up to $80 million in tax-exempt bonds to the NLT. If granted, this is another crucial step in bringing transformational changes and improvements to the three facilities and bring the Munaissance to the nation's capital.
In the meantime, the NLT continues to promote golf in D.C. through various programs, including the National Links Championship, a tournament for public-links golfers 25 years and older that will be played for the second time in the fall of 2024. Ten qualifiers at municipal courses around the country will be held throughout the summer for spots in the field, and those who gain entry will receive a travel stipend to make the trip up to the championship.
In Philadelphia, the ongoing multi-year project to restore Cobbs Creek Golf Course to its Golden Age splendor while bringing the surrounding facilities into the 21st century took a big step forward in March, when the Cobbs Creek Foundation selected Troon to manage facility operations going forward.
The overall Cobbs Creek Golf Campus will be about much more than golf. The project's benefactors include Tiger Woods' TGR Foundation, which will open a TGR Learning Lab at Cobbs Creek in 2025. Once up and running, more tham 4,000 students are expected to take advantage of the facilities STEAM education programs each year. The historic Olde Course, in the process of being restored by architects Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner, is scheduled to reopen in 2026.
"The new Cobbs Creek will represent more than a reborn golf course. It will be a model for introducing new golfers to the game, recreation, education, sustainability and community," said Troon president and CEO Tim Schantz. "We are thrilled and honored to collaborate with the Cobbs Creek Foundation, TGR Foundation, and other supporters who share this vision.”
Collaboration, community involvement and forward thinking are pillars of American golf's Munaissance. Long may it continue.
Comments (3)
We need the one in Kissimmee, right now it is close.
I wish it was like this in Bradenton, Fl. We keep losing public golf courses here to development.
Great article. So pleased that this revival of the municipal concept is thriving in the USA. The exact opposite is happening in the UK. Many municipal facilities are under threat including some very special historic venues. Allestree Park in Derby has been forced to close and abandoned to rewild by its local authority owners. this despite the fact that it was an original, unaltered, untouched Harry Colt design from 1929 with globally unique features. An exceptional golf course with direct contemporary links to Augusta National and the rebirth of Japanese golf in the 1930's. First professional was a Ryder Cup 13th man. First junior golfer played in 1955 Ryder Cup later captaining the side in 1963 against Arnold Palmer at East Lake. Not a bad provenance for a neglected and mismanaged local authority municipal . Never valued or historically assessed but shut down as a response to the 'climate emergency.' Happy to share more information if the story is of interest.