Affordable public access Heaven: where is it?

[Phil Benedict]

Westchester County, where I reside, is public golf Hell.  I am spending the weekend in Minneapolis\St Paul and I can't help but notice how many public courses there are as I drive around. Not sure about the quality but there is plenty to choose from.

What's the best place to live if you want to play affordable golf?

[Adam Clayman]

I wouldn't have a clue.

[Cliff Hamm]

The northeast is absolutely horrible for the price of public golf.  At the same time one of the benefits, so to speak, of the recession has been the many specials being offered.  I am on numerous email lists and continually am getting specials.  I also use sites such as golfnow, egolfcertificates, playerspass, among others to keep golf affordable.  I recently posted about Connecticut National, a new Mark Mungeam design, which is offering greens fee, cart and lunch for $29.  That to me is nirvana if not heaven

[Tim Gavrich]

Connecticut is not at all bad in terms of decent, affordable public golf.  I can name you 15 or so perfectly decent public courses within 70 minutes of Hartford that will not break the bank and will be perfectly satisfactory.  I have posted on my two favorite low price range CT courses, Pequabuck GC in Bristol and Shennecossett in Groton.  Manchester CC in Manchester is a Emmet/Tillinghast-infused hidden gem as well.

[Jim_Kennedy]

Phil,
Charlotte, NC, is a great place for affordable golf, and if you can play on weekdays it's not too busy. There has been something like 20 or more courses built there in the past decade and a half. There are some good and inexpensive courses just over the border in SC, and the Asheville and Pinehurst(pricey) areas are only a couple of hours away, along with a multitude of  other courses in the smaller towns within a two hour radius in any direction.  

[George Pazin]

If cost is your sole criterion, I suspect most areas other than a handful of major metropolitan areas - NY, Boston, DC, Chicago, Cali - would yield many many affordable public courses. My home muni was $15 weekdays, $18 weekends, last time I played there (don't ask when...). There is a plethora of similarly priced golf within 30 or so minutes of my home.

Even so, I'm tempted to move to Nebraska or go back to school at Texas Tech.

 

[Doug Ralston]

For high quality public golf with prices ranging from $29 to $250, there may be no place like Michigan. Great courses almost beyond count.

Doug

[John_Conley]

Orlando is pretty solid if you don't mind playing in the summer heat.  Very few "dog tracks" and rates seldom above $40 weekend or $30 weekday.

I just got back from a 3-day jaunt west and can tell you the Brooksville, FL area is pretty hard to beat.  There are great courses (Pine Barrens, Rolling Oaks, Seville), good courses (like Brooksville CC), and several I have yet to see that come recommended (Sherman Oaks, Hernando Oaks).  An hour north in Ocala you have nice municipals and an awfully good 'championship' course about to host a USGA event - Golden Hills.

Your answer depends on how you weight the criteria.  Cost, quality, and number of choices vary.  The Twin Cities has a very high number of daily-fee courses, but their best courses are almost entirely all private.

[Jason McNamara]

ABQ would qualify; certainly it's more than affordable by Westchester County standards.  

Also Myrtle Beach, though some might want to avoid high season.


And here's a possible double-sleeper:  Birmingham.  Yeah, both the one by Sean Arble and the one not by him.


EDIT:  I'm assuming from the original post that the idea is to have multiple courses of reasonable GCA interest at a decent price, as opposed to one super-cheap scruffy track.

[Mark Pearce]

Kelly nailed this one.  It's the UK, by a country mile.  All but a handful of courses in the entire country are public access and you can play some truly excellent courses for very reasonable prices.

[Phil Benedict]

Tim,

I grew up 10 minutes from Pequabuck in Thomaston.  My step-grandfather had a hand in creating Pequabuck.  He was a well-off industrialist who got together with some of his cohorts to build a course for their workers.  Pequabuck has been through a number of transitions - including being a private club for a while.

Based on my father's golfing model, Connecticut is pretty good for affordable golf.  He and his group used to travel in a radius of about 45 minutes every Saturday during the golf season.  Courses included Simsbury Farms, Timberlin, Lyman Meadows among others.  Don't know the status of these courses now but it was a pretty good way to play.

[K. Krahenbuhl]

Green Lake, WI

[Ronald Montesano]

British Isles may be an answer, but it's not the only one.  The Hartford area has a bunch, as Phil, Cliff and Tim mention.  All those courses are alive and well.  Other, formerly private, courses have opened their doors to the public.

HOWEVER, my brother-in-law from Insurance-Land just spent a week here in western New York and played four rounds at an RTJ, Sr., Hurdzan, and Muirhead (along with Links at Ivy Ridge) for half of what he would pay in CT.  Buffalo has six legitimate upscale public courses that can be had for less than $35 on weekdays.  Throw in at least 15 municipal courses and about 10 mom-and-pop designs and we stand up well against all comers.  Rochester, NY has Ravenwood, Mill Creek, Greystone and at least 20 more privately-owned, public-access courses.  All are economically priced and conditions are fine to excellent, especially given all the rain this Summer.

I've been to Charlotte and agree on it as a candidate; also with northern Michigan's candidacy.

[Jim_Kennedy]

Phil,
I used to visit my grandparents and cousins (Kennedys and Everetts) in Thomaston on every other Sunday. They lived on Maple St. facing the green.

The courses you mention are all still in business and remain good values.

I always wondered why Thomaston never had a golf course.

Ronald,
Rochester has a bunch. You can find fun places to play all along the corridor.
I try to get over to the Northern Catskills every chance I get, or Berkshire Cnty., Ma.. Both areas have inexpensive golf.

[Dave Givnish]

With the economy's impact on rates, I would have to put in a vote for Phoenix/Scottsdale.

[Eric Smith]

I'll second you Doug. 

Take lower Michigan for instance. 

Grab a map, draw a sort of circle, connecting the cities (and the suburbs) of Grand Rapids, Lansing, Detroit and Kalamazoo.

Now do a little research, (hey GCA.com for example!) then take a look at all of the good to great affordable golf courses within your boundaries.

I am taking a buddy trip up there in September, staying and playing 5 or 6 very good affordable public courses within that circle. 

I can't wait.

"Come uncover the riches and bounty of PURE MICHIGAN."   

[Matt_Ward]

Have to mention in and around the Denver area you have a range of public course types from taxpayer-owned to those that are CCFAD's and those in-between. If one includes the greater Denver area and takes in nearby Fort Collins and the area south which includes Colorado Springs you have a solid array of course types that are quite good -- some are excellent -- that will keep one's attention.

One other area of note -- Albuquerque, NM. Plenty of public options that are also quite affordable and some that are really superb.

The Northeast area of the USA does have pockets where quality golf can be had without emptying your wallet and overcharging your credit card. Places like The Knoll in Parsippany, NJ are quite good. Ditto the likes of Heron Glen -- also in NJ and located in Hunterdon County. No doubt even Bethpage Black is still relatively affordable when you size up the competition.

Last place of note -- the greater Indianapolis area is also very good -- plenty of solid public options from different architects and fostering a spectrum of challenges -- see places like The Trophy Cllub, to name just one clear example.

[Brent Carlson]

Having lived in 6 states Michigan wins hands down.

Outside the US the UK wins.

[Criss Titschinger]

Last place of note -- the greater Indianapolis area is also very good -- plenty of solid public options from different architects and fostering a spectrum of challenges -- see places like The Trophy Club, to name just one clear example.

Second this.  Great public golf in and around Indianapolis, most of which won't break the bank.

[Cliff Hamm]

Places like The Knoll in Parsippany, NJ are quite good.

Matt...recently called the Knoll.  Weekdays shot gun only and $80 to walk.  This to me is not "affordable" golf.  Maybe worth it for the course but $80 is CCFAD rates.

[Phil Benedict]

Matt,

The issue with Bethpage is access.  Yes it's open to all but getting on isn't easy and has a cost, although not necessarily a monetary one. The time you have to invest to get a tee time. Last summer I tried to use the dial in system to get on the Red on a weekday.  The Black was closed.  After redialing for about a half hour I lost interest.  Lifes too short.

The problem with New York is the demand for quality, affordable golf way outstrips the supply; hence you get the phenomenon of people sleeping in their cars to get on the Black.

[Tim_Weiman]

Phil,

I've moved around quite a bit, but have never found anywhere better than Cleveland for $25 golf.

[RSLivingston_III]

Someone needs to step up and define affordable.

[Kalen Braley]

Gotta go with the Salt Lake City area on this one.

Very affordable, good to excellent courses, very easy to get on.....its a win-win-win situation.

[Chris_Clouser]

I agree with Ralph, what is affordable?  I'll say if you can't get on for less than $50 it isn't affordable.  I have seen threads like this several times on GCA with anyone ever coming up with a good consensus.  I know I'm biased but I'll put another vote in for Indy if we stick to a city/metro area.  

Just in the metro area you have the Trophy Club, Priarie View, Purgatory, Bear Slide, Heartland Crossing, The Fort, Hickory Stick and Brickyard Crossing as public access.  All of them have some affordable rates, mostly twilight rates, for the vast majority of players with the exception of Brickyard.  

I can't disagree with Michigan if you want to pick a whole state, but are there any regions that can be pinpointed as having good nulitple affordable public options?  I haven't played in Denver in a few years, so I can't speak to the current offerings there as well.  But it and Santa Fe sound like they have some really good options as well from what people have put on here.