[A.G._Crockett]

Here is the Golf Magazine list of the 50 best U.S. courses that you can play for $50 or less.

1. Old Works, Anaconda, MT
2. Hawktree, Bismarck, ND
3. Gray Plantation, Lake Charles, LA
4. Wild Horse, Gothenburg, NE
5. Willinger's GC, Northfield, MN
6. Pinon Hills, Farmington, NM
7. Santa Ana (Tamaya/Cheena course) Santa Ana Pueblo, NM
8. Rock Hollow, Peru, IN
9. The Links of North Dakota, Williston, ND
10. Gold Mt., Olympic Course, Bremerton WA
11. Black Mesa, La Mesilla, NM
12. Big Mountain, Kalispell, MT
13. The Links at Hiawatha Landing, Apalachin, NY
14. Texarkana Golf Ranch, Texarkana, TX
15. Valley View, Layton, UT
16. Northwood, Rhinelander, WI
17. Old Silo, Mt. Sterling, KY
18. Red Hawk Run, Findlay, OH
19. Chickasaw Pointe, Kingston, OK
20. The Summit, Cannon Falls, MN
21. Piper Glen, Springfield, IL
22. Twisted Gun, Wharncliffe, WV
23. The Rawls Course, Lubbock, TX
24. Amana Colonies, Amana, IA
25. The GC at Fleming Island, Orange Park, FL
26. Oglebay Resort (Jones Course), Wheeling, WV
27. Riverdale (Dunes), Brighton, CO
28. Rustic Canyon, Moorpark, CA
29. Prairie Highlands, Olathe, KS
30. Lassing Pointe, Union, KY
31. The Moors, Milton, FL
32. The Tennessean, Paris, TN
33. Tokatee, McKenzie Bridge, OR
34. Devil's Thumb, Delta, CO
35. Spirit Hollow, Burlington, IA
36. Buffalo Dunes, Garden City, KS
37. Draper Valley, Draper, VA
38. Aldeen, Rockford, IL
39. The Fort, Indianapolis, IN
40. Eaglesticks, Zanesville, OH
41. Yankee Trace (Championship Course), Centerville, OH
42. Pacific Grove, Pacific Grove, CA
43. Southern Hills, Hawkinsville, GA
44. Buffalo Run, Commerce City, CO
45. Wailua, Lihue, HI
46. Radisson Greens, Baldwinsville, NY
47. Stonebridge, Rome, GA
48. Big Creek, Mountain Home, AK
49. Papago, Phoenix, AZ
50. Shennecossett, Groton, CT

Thanks to Golf Magazine the list of affordable places to play.  Several questions for the treehouse:

1. How many have you played?  (Only two in my case   )

2. Name one course you would add (no need to delete one!).
     (Cateechee, $39 to walk, $50 to ride weekdays LEAPS to mind here in GA.)

3. Are any close enough to you that you can't believe you haven't played them yet?
 (Southern Hills in Hawkinsville, GA, but I already have an angle figured out to get there next March.)

[Mike_Cirba]

Grand total of 3 here, due mostly to the fact that the list is made of courses in the Midwest/Western states.  Of the list, I've played Hiawatha Landing, Rustic Canyon, and Valley View.  

I'd recommend any of them if you're in the area, particularly RC.  

[Dale_McCallon]

I actually played the Tennesseean today (#32).  Course opened about 5 years ago to some very high praise, so I guess that is why it is on the list.  I think if Golf Mag saw the condition of the course today, no way it makes any list.

If maintained at all, course could be really special.  Great greens (that are still actually in good shape), deep bunkering, and some really funky fairway bumps and mounding.  But is in serious need of TLC.  Keith Foster was the architect of the course.

[David Kelly]

I've played six of those courses but the majority of them are in states I have never even golfed in.

I would definitely add Lawsonia.  Other than Rustic Canyon  the closest course to me is 355 miles away.

[Brian_Gracely]

again, where is Tobacco Road??  $29-49 right now.  And how much does a plane ticket & rental car cost to get to some of these places??

[A.G._Crockett]

again, where is Tobacco Road??  $29-49 right now.  And how much does a plane ticket & rental car cost to get to some of these places??

Brian,
Is TR really that cheap still?  I haven't been there in several years, and just assumed that it was more expensive.  If it is $50 or less, it goes immediately to the top of the list.

[Brian_Gracely]

A.G. those are summer rates, but yes, they are still in effect.
I sit at work most days debating if I should skip a 2pm meeting or make the 40min. drive down to TR for the $29/rate.

If you can stand the heat, golf in the Sandhills in the summers is VERY affordable (except Pinehurst....)

[Andy Hughes]

Brian/AG
That's amazing.  One of the easily most fun courses on the planet, and it's only $29 right now!!
Brian, skip that 2 PM meeting  

[A_Clay_Man]

I've got 8 of those notches. Additions that come to mind are the El Diablo in  Citrus co. Fl.

The respective placements, I could take issue with, but won't.

[Don_Mahaffey]

Adam,
First thing I thought of when I saw the list was to ask you if PH is really that much better then the Rawls course. But, I really don't know if it's just a list or is supposed to be some sort of ranking. If it is a true ranking there's some very high quality courses out there for under $50, with 27 of 'em better then RC.

[Bill_McBride]

I've got four -- Black Mesa 11, Rustic Canyon 28, The Moors (right here next to Pensacola, good call) 31, Tokatee 33.

Where are the good courses on the Robert Trent Jones Trail in Alabama?  Sherling/Canyon at Greenville, super stuff.  Links and Lake at Auburn-Opelika, poor man's Augusta.  These are solid courses, not goofy like some on the RTJ Trail, and what a bargain!

Glad to see Tokatee on there, even if it IS a T Robinson!

[APBernstein]

22. Twisted Gun, Wharncliffe, WV http://www.twistedgungolf.com

Twisted Gun is a project of Arch Coal in McDowell County, West Virginia.  The site of the golf course is a reclaimed strip mine and has the honor of becoming the first golf course in easily the poorest, most undulating county in West Virginia.  Really a great addition to the state.

[Brad Klein]

Eight courses for me. This is a pretty good list and certainly diverse geographically.

Bill McBride, I think they got the RTJ Trail just about right. Of course by NASCAR standards those layouts do have great cart paths.

[Brian_Gracely]

Where is Southern Pines GC?  It's something like $28 in season and there's always the outside chance that you'll get paired with Golf's Most Beloved.

[Steve_ Shaffer]

Re: Papago in PHX at #49

www.azcentral.com/sports/golf/reviews/0404papago0404.html

This muni course is need of serious work. It's a great value but the city has let this course deteriorate. It's high rating must be based solely on reputation. There is a civic movement to put private money into this course to restore it. Let's see what happens.

Papago and Cobbs Creek in Philadelphia are 2 munis that need a serious influx of money a la Bethpage, Harding Park, Torrey Pines, Houston Memorial, etc.

Steve

[Brad Swanson]

Its good to see "fly over" country get its props.  Heck, most of these could be considered hidden gems to this group, as I'm not sure that most of the regulars here can even name a state not on a coast let alone have actually played golf in one.


Cheers,
Brad Swanson

[Mike_Young]

AG,
Being we designed and built both Cateechee and Southern Hills, I would agree that Cateechee should be on the list if Southern Hills is.  It iis a definite bargain considering clubhouse and all amenities.  They just don't promote it.
Mike

[Pete Buczkowski]

Just a clarification...this list is for courses anyone can play for $50 or less at peak green fee.  That's why Bethpage, Tobacco Road, World Woods, Southern Pines, Paa-Ko Ridge, Grand National, etc. are not on the list.

[A.G._Crockett]

Pete,
Thanks for the clarification; I should have read more carefully, obviously!

[Tony_Chapman]

Of the list, I have played Wild Horse and Hawktree. I would put them in that order also. No way HT is a better golf course than WH.

Brian does make great mention about cheap golf in NC during the summer, though. When we went in June, we played Legacy, MidPines, Tobacco Road, Southern Pines and Raliegh CC for just over $200 total. Pretty good considering the TWILIGHT fee at #1 is $80. Rediculous!!  

Some really good courses in NE that should get mention here are Woodland Hills and Highlands (both Brauer, near Lincoln) and Arbor Links in Nebraska City.

[Cory Lewis]

I've played one, Tokatee, from when I lived in Oregon, basically what this list is saying is that if you live in the Middle Atlantic and don't feel like driving 200 miles to WV you are pretty much screwed, maybe there should be regional lists of 25 courses to provide guides to people in specific sections of the country, it seems the Mid-Atlantic got left out of this one.  

[Martin Del Vecchio]

Just one for me, The Links at Hiawatha Landing.  An excellent Brian Silva course with some holes along the Susquehanna river.  Not a lot of river views, but it's really a gorgeous setting.

The name and the web site play up the "links" nature of the course.  I'll leave that argument for another thread, but I will say that the setting is different than your average US course.  When I played there in the summer of 2002, the fescue had grown so tall that they were considering declaring it all a hazard.

They have some nice photos on their web site.  This is the 10th hole:



This is the "signature" 17th hole, a par 3 with water on the left:



The 18th is a great par 5; a sharp dogleg left with water all along the left.  

As a bonus, you can visit the famous "mob house" while you're there:

[Mike Hendren]

Dale,  

Sorry this post didn't appear sooner or I could have saved you the time/effort/expense of playing The Tennessean.  Easily the worse conditioned course I've played in recent years - no doubt owing to the fact that it is extremely remote and appears to be the cornerstone of a housing development that was ill-conceived (I counted two new homes, total).

That's a shame because the green contours are fantastic fun and some of the fairway contouring, while bold, is well done.  I thought the work spoke highly for Foster, but absent some good money chasing bad, conditions are unlikely to improve.

Mike

Mike

[Phil_the_Author]

This article has a major glaring mistake that Matt Ward certainly views as vindication.

Any course that can be played for $38 by over 10 million local residents should be included, especially when it is ranked as the #3 course on the top 100 - Bethpage Black.

Both articles and the list cite the cost at $78 and up - it isn't. Residents of New York State can play it for $38 & so it should be valued as such. I know I will be in the minority in this issue because the article is written towards all in the U.S., but I feel there is a real difference in this case. This isn't a course where those in the village play it for next to nothing. It is the vast majority of rounds that are played at $38 because of the dumb reservation system. Without it I would say list it at the higher number; as it is, it is cklearly the greatest course that can be played for under $50!

[A_Clay_Man]

Any course that can be played for $38 by over 10 million local residents should be included, especially when it is ranked as the #3 course on the top 100 - Bethpage Black.

Philip- I've been under the impression that because of the srewed-up system, those 10m couldn't play there.

However, the glaring statistical anomially is the sign that reads how one needs to be an accomplished golfer to play the Black.

 How many of those 10m fit that category?

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