[tlavin]

I love urban golf.  I'm a member of Beverly in Chicago, which is a terrific Ross course in the middle of the South Side of Chicago.  When it was built, of course, Beverly was in the middle of farm fields.

Which brings me to my thread: What are your favorite golf courses in undeniably urban settings?  I nominate Los Angeles Country Club, hard by the intersection of Sunset and Wilshire.  What a place!

[Brad Tufts]

I think the only course in Boston that fits this bill is Oakley, Ross's first layout in Watertown.  Views of the city from the top of the course, hemmed in by fences on all sides, 5950, par 70.

It feels a bit like you are David Ortiz hitting to a right field porch 250 feet away....

[John Kavanaugh]

Terry,

Is it important that the neighbors to the course are poor?  I think Riviera is as urban as Beverly with nicer homes.  St. Louis CC is urban to me but Norwood Hills feels more urban because of the neighborhood.  Do you factor in an OB to DOA quotient?

[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.

[rjsimper]

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.

However, of all of the LA courses, LACC along with Rancho Park/Hillcrest are probably the most "Urban" as the latter two have the same major street frontage (Pico).

[Peter_Herreid]

If we're aiming at a bit more urban, than upscale (wooded, high-end single family homes, etc.) suburban, a quick list might include Garden City GC, Inverness, East Lake and Wannamoisett.  Perhaps a bit more of a reach might include Lake Merced GCC and San Francisco GC...Daly City/SSF is pretty packed in on a couple of the sides of each...

[tlavin]

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.

However, of all of the LA courses, LACC along with Rancho Park/Hillcrest are probably the most "Urban" as the latter two have the same major street frontage (Pico).

This post reminds me of Wilshire CC, another gem in LA.  It has nine holes on one side of Beverly Ave., nine holes on the other, with a one-cart tunnel connecting them.  This is the exact same setup as Beverly CC in Chicago.  There's one hole where your aiming point is the El Royale Hotel sign.  Legend has it that Hogan asked where to aim and was told to aim at the sign.  His reply: "Which letter?"

[archie_struthers]

 


How about Augusta ?

[Gary Slatter]

St. George's in Toronto, when it was Royal York you took a train from the "city".  Now it's well into the city of Islington, as are Weston GC and Islington GC.  I would suspect that Scarboro GC is the most "urbanized" golf club, similar to Beverley, that I could nominate.  
And in Jamaica, my favorite 9-hole course, Manchester GC (1865), is completely surrounded by the city of Manderville.

We had a large radio show host here recently and when he and his entourage said "urban" it meant "black", I kept thinking they were talking about city-folk but they weren't.

[Philip Spogard]

Does Royal Melbourne qualify as urban?

[Phil Benedict]

While flying back from Chicago I noticed a course that was set within the street grid, so that the course is routed in a square.  How does this type of property affect routing options, if at all?

[Kirk Gill]

Denver Country Club is a beautiful oasis in the middle of Denver. Again, not adjacent to a bad neighborhood, but undeniably urban. The tees for both the 14th (a par 4 I like despite the man-made pond left of the fairway) and the terrific 16th are right up against University Boulevard, a very busy street. but for me that doesn't detract at all from the golf.

There's also Wellshire, a Ross design that would also be considered urban, although it's much further from the center of town. Pretty good municipal course.

[Brad Tufts]

A couple others in Boston:

Woodland CC in Auburndale, an outskirt of Newton, where Ouimet played his golf throughout his life.  This Ross-modified beauty is surrounded by Washington St. (4 lanes) and a hospital on one side, and 128 on the other (you can see the 6th hole through the trees on the northbound side after exit 16).  Also nearby is the end of the D-Line (Green) subway, and most fun is the fact that the subway tracks cut the course in two.  There is a tunnel under the tracks that you use twice during the round.  Seeing the T go back and forth during your round is a great Boston experience!

Franklin Park, the second oldest daily-fee course in the US, across from the FP zoo.  The course is a very nice muni with quite a bit of history (Willie Campbell was first pro, Ross renovations, Bobby Jones practiced here while at Harvard), but it lies on the edge of Dorchester, and part of the park is along Blue Hill Ave, one of Boston's less than desireable thoroughfares.  The course has been revamped and a new clubhouse was built about 5 years ago, making it a good experience, but something always happens during your round to remind that you are in the city.  Kids riding bikes through the bunkers, guys cleaning their cars and sipping brown bags in the parking lot (the only golf course parking lot I've ever seen patrolled by bicycle officers).  One day I played there and a few blocks over there was a guy on a megaphone telling the neighborhood to come join a 3-on-3 basketball tourney and fried chicken BBQ.  Apparently, in the 70s and 80s the course was completely abandoned, becoming a favorite place to abandon and burn cars...it was kept alive by a group of guys who came and mowed a few holes in the AM and played in the PM...

[David_Tepper]

Lincoln Park, San Francisco
Royal Lytham & St. Anne's
Claremont CC, Oakland

[D_Malley]

royal syndney

[Jim Sweeney]

East Lake would have to be on the list.

[Tom Ferrell]

Also in Atlanta - Ansley Golf Club.  9 holes, right in the city.

[plabatt]

Detroit Golf Club with two Donald Ross eighteens, The North (1916) and South (1916).  

[John Kavanaugh]

Remember back in the day when Wigs went ballistic about a guy who said Plum Hollow was in the slums.  Those were the days.

[SL_Solow]

Barney;  I was going to mention Plum Hollow.  I wonder if the course viewed from the air in Chicago was Shivas' beloved Peter Jans "National"?  While Beverly is better, Ridgemoor in Chicago is completely urban and hosted the famed "Victory Open" during WWII which some want to Count as an additional US Open victory for Hogan.

[John Kavanaugh]

It will be nice to hear from Wigler again.  St. Louis has a number of very fine courses under this heading.  Besides Norwood Hills we should mention Glen Echo.  Last time I was at Glen Echo I noticed the houses were starting to be reclaimed rather nicely.  Forrest Park is already there and is part of the larget urban park in the nation.  Once again let me thank my tax paying friends of St. Louis for the wonderful park and free zoo access provided for me and my friends across the river.

[cary lichtenstein]

How about St. Andrews , so Urban you have to hit over a hotel

[Bob_Huntley]

How about Brook Hollow in Dallas?

Bob

[John_Cullum]

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

[Ash Towe]

In New Zealand I would nominate The Grange Golf Club in Auckland.  This course has hosted the NZ Open and the old Air NZ Open.  It is surrounded by houses and on the flightpath for the main airport.  Some of the locals walk across the course at night as a shortcut, climbing over residents fences.
It is a good course with excellent putting surfaces.

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