What are the Best Walking Courses in America?

[Shane Wright]

IMHO easy walking and best don't go together. In general, if you can golf it, it is walkable! The most demerits for walking should have to do with the connections between holes and any detours necessary to proceed from shot to shot.

For example, Black Mesa requires detours from most every tee to the landing area, because they went to the expense to allow for cart riders, but not walkers. It will be interesting to see Tom D's approach to this for his course there.

Many of you have not seen Forrest's Hideout in UT. The tees are relatively close to the greens. However, some of them require a severe uphill hike to the tee at perhaps 5000 ft in elevation.

Make me do the hike while playing a hole, no problem. Make me do such a hike between holes, demerits.

Then I am going to have to cast a HUGE vote for Royal County Down.  The 9th is a tough walk in the wind, but other than that, it is just a casual stroll thru one of greatest courses in the world with the Mountains of Mourne looking down upon you. 

[Shane Wright]

Ok, Sorry for the confusion, but I meant to respond with my last post to Sean's comment above about the views.

[Michael Wharton-Palmer]

My list reads like who's who of great courses...imagine that great architecture and walkable....hmmmmmm
Merion
CypressPoint
Sand Hills
Garden City
Austin Golf Club
Chcago Golf
Pine Valley
Ballyneal

All very walable and a wonderful walk to boot!

[Gene Greco]

My list reads like who's who of great courses...imagine that great architecture and walkable....hmmmmmm
Merion
CypressPoint
Sand Hills
Garden City
Austin Golf Club
Chcago Golf
Pine Valley
Ballyneal

All very walable and a wonderful walk to boot!

Michael:

     Indeed, Sand Hills is one of the most compelling walks in all of golf.


Shane:

      I agree with you re Royal County Down. My favorite walk with golf clubs in tow across the pond. The place is simply enchanting.


Patrick:

       If nothing else, one must admire your dogged persistence. 

       




   

[Lester George]

Seminole

Country Club of Florida

DuPont

Kinloch

Secession

Newport Bay (Ocean City)

Willow Oaks

Turtle Point

[Mike Bowline]

The walk at Pebble Beach is quite good and I am surprised no one has yet mentioned it. The longest green-to-tee walk is #5 up the hill to #6 tee. The rest of the tees are quite near the previous green, the terrain is not terribly hilly, the views are exceptional, and the golf is top-notch.

I also agree Prairie Dunes is a great walk and great golf.

[Mark Bourgeois]

Gene G

Looks like your beloved Sand Hills must compete directly against Newcastle, sand to sand (sano a sano?), as NIR lies in the Western Hemisphere, too!

Pedantically if geographically yours,

[Jay Carstens]

Wild Horse at Gothenburg, NE is no problem to walk and great golf!

[Ronald Montesano]

Old Town(...)  The one problem (if you can call it that) with all four of these courses is the lack of surrounding views which can really boost the quality of a walk.   

Sean, if you peek through the trees at Old Town, you can probably spy a Biscuitville or a Bojangles...does that count as a "surrounding view"?

[Dan Herrmann]

In Philly, Merion East and Gulph Mills come to mind.  And I agree with Hidden Creek at the Jersey Shore.

I think Highlands Links is very special in this category. 

For pure "walk the the park", I nominate Elkhorn Valley in Oregon.  Average golf course with world-class walking and views.   It reminds me of the trekking they do in Germany. 

[Gene Greco]

Mark:

     I stand corrected. Thank you.

         Gene

[David_Madison]

Baltusrol's Upper course was a wonderful walk. The first few holes along the hillside were simple and beautiful. The green to tee walks throughout are short and comfortable. And I thought it really neat how the short par-3 near the end had a deep bunker behind the green that transitioned perfectly into the tee for the next hole.

[MHiserman]

My votes-
Cypress Point Club
Fishers Island
Riviera (as long as I am carried up "cardiac hill")
Shinnecock
National Golf Links of America
Chicago Golf Club
Pacific Dunes
Bandon Dunes
Merion (East)
Meadow Club
St. Louis Country Club


Nine Holers
Aetna Springs

[Joel Zuckerman]

At Secession Club, walking is not only enjoyable, but mandatory!  (The only cart you ever see is that of the caddie master)

The Honors Course near Chattanooga is a superb walk in the park.

In my old hometown of Longmeadow, in western Massachusetts, the magnificent Ross-designed Longmeadow CC is another great walk.

[Doug Wright]

I'm not sure I'd call Pacific Dunes a great walking course. It's certainly a beautiful site but it's got some lengthy green to tee walks. Ballyneal is a fine walking course.

Others that come to mind:

Oak Hill East
Taconic
Wilmington Municipal
Wild Horse
Cherry Hills
Every course on the Monterey Peninsula

[Rob Rigg]

OK - Here is a best efforts summary of the current list by number of votes with multiple votes in ( ):

- Pac Dunes (5)
- Merion (4), Ballyneal (4), Riviera CC (4)
- CPC (3), Sand Hills (3), Prarie Dunes (3), Old Town (3), SFGC (3), Garden City (3)
- NGLA (2). Hidden Creek (2), Seminole (2), Myopia Hunt,  Oak Hill CC (2), Colonial (2), Austin GC (2),  San Antonio CC (2),  Oakmont (2), The Ocean Course (2),  MPCC - Shore (2), Wild Horse (2),
- Winged Foot - East, Fishers Island, Atlantic City, Harbour Town, Maidstone, Arcadia Bluffs, Chicago GC, Pine Valley, Pebble Beach, Secession Club, The Honors Course, Taconic, Cherry Hills, Longmeadow CC, Baltusrol, Highlands Links, Gulph Hills, Shinnecock, Bandon Dunes, St Louis CC, Meadow Club, CC of Florida, Pumpkin Ridge, Newport, Southern Hills, RTJ GC, Mountain Lake, Old Sandwich, Chechesse Creek, WeKoPa Saguaro, Old Memorial, Black Sheep GC, Monroe GC, Lawsonia, Pine Needles, Shoreacres, East Hampton, Milwaukee CC, Crystal Downs, Kingsley Club, Pinehurst, Mid Pines

Obviously the Golden Age courses and private clubs tend to dominate, with a few modern courses thrown in to give us hope for the future.

This is quite a list of "Dream Golf" courses.

Some of you threw down a bunch of names that would make anyone jealous (MHiserman!) - Chapeau indeed.

[Rob Rigg]

Final bump - some members of the tree house with a lot of experience had not chimed in yet so just wanted to make sure they did not have anything to add.

[ChipOat]

Indian Creek gets my vote.  Flat, short, good course, short walk from green to next tee box.  Garden City and Maidstone get honorable mention.  Winged Foot West not bad, either - especially considering most of the neighboring courses in Westchester County.

Most Top 10 courses too hilly to be an easy walk including National, Shinnecock, Pine Valley, Merion, Seminole, Baltusrol, Pebble, Cypress.  Any changes in sea level greater than 10 feet wear me out; Nitroglycerin tablet required on the 18th green.

[Damon Groves]

In California......Pasatiempo, Rustic Canyon, Riviera and Los Angeles Country Club
In Oregon.......Bandon Dunes, Pacific Dunes and yes Bandon Trails.
In Colorada........Ballyneal

For me it is not simply they are enjoyable to walk but these are all courses where the experience would be greatly diminshed by taking a cart. Of course of these Pasatiempo is the only you could take a cart. But the point is the same.

[Mark Pritchett]

I had the good fortune to play Holston Hills this past weekend with some fellow GCAers and there is no doubt it is a superb walking course or perhaps I should say a superb course that is a great walk.  I carried my bag for 27 holes and could have easily played more.  Just a fantastic course and club.

 

[Mike Wagner]

In addition to the ones listed:

Broadmoor (Seattle)
Blue Mouund (Milwaukee)

[Chuck Brown]

As much as I like Geoff Shackelford and Rustic Canyon, it is not a particularly good walk, given the traverses through environmentally protecte areas.  Not the fault of Shckelford and Hanse, to be sure.  But not the best walk.

Based on my experience, my vote goes to Riviera.

Based upon reputation, my vote would go to Maidstone.

Best local walk in my area would probably be Country Club of Detroit.

[Eric Smith]

I had the good fortune to play Holston Hills this past weekend with some fellow GCAers and there is no doubt it is a superb walking course or perhaps I should say a superb course that is a great walk.  I carried my bag for 27 holes and could have easily played more.  Just a fantastic course and club.

  

The fireworks constantly booming from across the river during your third nine had to be a little distracting...

[Tom Bagley]

My all-time favorite walk is Kittansett:  relatively flat, seaside location, very short green-to-tee walks - and a great golf course to boot!

Although the course is essentially an out-and-back loop, it proceeds to the turn with many pleasing changes of direction to encounter the wind from different angles.  The return trip home provides more of the same.  The holes twist and turn and inevitably lead to surprises for the first-timer. 

An absolute treasure!

[Jud_T]

Westhampton