Best Golf Club in a completely Urban Setting

[BCrosby]

TOC
Carnoustie
Prestwick
N Berwick

In no particular order.

[tlavin]

The sound of gunfire and the roar of a jet engine, when combined with the thumping of hip-hop from a huge subwoofer on an adjacent picnic area is an absolute must.  It also helps if the road to the club is fraught with peril.  Sometimes the ride on 87th Street seems like the road to Tikrit, with the potholes and questionable business establishments.  My favorite is Lena's Beauty School, located next to Lena's Funeral Home.  I kid you not.

I wouldn't buy a wig from Lena

Oh, don't be a stiff!

[Steve Lapper]

I would certainly add Bayonne to the list for consideration. Unlike Beverly, East Lake and several others mentioned here, this gem is truly not within .075 mile from any residence.

[TEPaul]

Actually Sand Hills is.

Most all of you probably never realized it but the golf course is completely surrounded by downtown Mullen, Nebraska.

[PThomas]

How about St. Andrews

game , set and match Cary

[tlavin]

Harborside, on the South Side of Chicago, is built on a former sewage treatment facility and it has terrific views neighboring businesses like a landfill, a paint factory, a power plant, an oil tanker field, several super-elevated highway ramps, and yes, a stunning view of downtown.

[Gene Greco]

How about St. Andrews

game , set and match Cary

Undeniably, the winner.

[Michael Christensen]

East Lake - they have cleaned up that neighborhood (think they called it revitalization), but I still wouldn't wait for a bus around there

Brook Hollow - ditto, not a place to walk around after dark

The worst I have come around is Stevens Park in Dallas......heard gun shots, yelling, screaming, etc

Keney Park in Hartford is also in a "questionable" neighborhood

[Kalen Braley]

Is this thread about courses in the worst setting?  Or is by using the word "urban" center, is it to be assumed that its typical of many run down American inner-cities.

Or is this directed at golf courses in a urban area where the adventures to be found off the course outweigh the adventures to be found on it?  Because if it is, there is a little 9 holer in san fran I can think of.  

[Steve Pozaric]

Perhaps not the "best", but Gateway National is one of the best public courses in the St. Louis area and is surrounded by a landfill, a racetrack, stockyards and within mere minutes of some of the most interesting "gentleman's clubs" around in Brooklyn, IL.

John:

You are welcome for the Zoo and the park btw.  

[Kevin Pallier]

TOC gets my pick but it is bounded on virtually only one hole by residential / retail areas and I'd suggest Royal Melbourne (Composite) should be in the mix.

[Tim Gavrich]

Triggs Memorial GC is in a highly populated area of Providence, RI, and is a mighty fine golf course.  It's no TOC though, of course.

[JNC Lyon]

I'm glad someone mentioned St. George's in Toronto, or Islington.  Islington Avenue is an extremely busy street right behind the 18th green between the course and the clubhouse.  Lots of houses, some of suburban feel, some more urban.  Feels like golf could be in Central Park with a little more undulation.  Many views of city towers (even the CN Tower) and big city buses.  It's a totally enjoyable golf experience, serene but bustling, if that's possible.

[David Panzarasa]

I aree with Mr. Lapper on Bayonne. I cant think of a place that fits this question more.
 I dont know if you would classify Pine Valley's area "urban" but I thought it was a tad scary. certainly not where most people in the world would expect to find that course located.

[Ray Tennenbaum]

Must chime in with the obvious Van Cortlandt Park (the oldest etc.) and Moshulu, both a bit more urban than Dyker Beach, though the views of the Verrazano at Dyker are nice.  

A related rules conundrum: if the ball comes to rest on or near the finger of a gangland slaying victim, is that considered a movable obstruction or ground under repair?

[Tim_Cronin]

Harborside, on the South Side of Chicago, is built on a former sewage treatment facility and it has terrific views neighboring businesses like a landfill, a paint factory, a power plant, an oil tanker field, several super-elevated highway ramps, and yes, a stunning view of downtown.

Terry, don't forget there's more that sewage under Harborside. Plenty of rubble, too, including, on the course to the south, much of Chicago Stadium, deposited brick by brick. For me, much of the charm of the joint was lost when the smokestacks came down, but you can still aim at Sears Tower off the fifth tee on one course.

And Ray, you forgot the other rules option you could invoke: casual blood. Complete relief, always.

[W.H. Cosgrove]

Tillinghasts Golden Valley near Minneapolis cut by a road, a railroad track and a power line is certainly urban and a pretty good track.

[Marc Haring]

There are loads in London. Royal Mid Surrey, Roehampton, Richmond, Mill Hill, Dulwich & Sydenham, Mitchum, Ealing, West Middlesex, Barnet, Shooters Hill, Fulwell, Coombe Hill, London Scottish, Hampstead.

They are all in very urban areas. Best of the bunch I guess would be Coombe Hill.

[John Pflum]

Maketewah probably fits the defintion.  There isn't another group of trees for miles around this course.  It is in a fairly tough neighborhood, too.  

[Chris Kurzner]

Brook Hollow - ditto, not a place to walk around after dark

The worst I have come around is Stevens Park in Dallas......heard gun shots, yelling, screaming, etc

I don't know that I'd call Brook Hollow so much "urban" as "industrial".  It's right on the edge of Love Field but bordered on one edge by the Trinity River, so that takes out some of the urban nature of it.  Stevens Park and Tennison Park, on the other hand, are closer in and truly urban in-town courses.  My home course, Lakewood, is "urban" but fortunately surrounded by a nice neighborhood (though very close to some rougher streets).

[Ray Tennenbaum]

I always wondered about the one in Liverpool John Lennon grew up near --Allerton Park, is that it?  Anyone ever play it?

[David Stamm]

How about Cobbs Creek?

[Dan Moore]

I love these views of Harborside.  


The V-shaped aera at the top of the course is the Chicago auto pound.

[nandoal]

On most sides of the property, LACC North is not much more Urban than Riviera is...it just so happens that there are views of Century City from the course...though having Wilshire split the property certainly adds an element of..um...charm to the place.

No way should Riveria be considered "urban".  LACC is barely "urban". If you consider Beverly Hills urban.  

[RT]

When I was doing a summer internship at Congressional CC some years back, Chevy Chase CC struck me as such a wonderful course in an urban setting.

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