Airport Golf

[Mark_Rowlinson]

TOC RAF Leuchars
Moray RAF Lossiemouth (maybe not a great course, but a jolly good one - sorry, two)
Royal Troon Prestwick
El Prat was so close to Barcelona Airport that when they extended the airport the courses were closed (one of them by Arana)
Taking off in a westerly direction from Heathrow you often fly over Swinley Forest and The Berkshire. Landing from the east you go right overhead Royal Mid-Surrey (the last time I saw Concord in flight was from Royal Mid).
Angelsey RAF Valley (not a great course - but worth a trip round - a true linke grazed by sheep)
 

[Tim Johnson]

Brett, Moray does have those signs and also has the landing lights going across the fairways. I played it on the weekend when there is a no fly rule but it would have been cool to see them land.
Royal Dornoch has jets flying all the time, doing passes just off the course. You can see explosions at night across the bay as they are doing target practice.

[Jud_T]

Butterfield Country Club and Butler National are both a short drive from O'Hare as well...

[Mike Cirba]

Now for a bonus question: How many golf courses have landing strips ON THE PREMISES? Heliports don't count. I'm talking working airports. I've played two. Hardly great courses but... I'm searching for the correct word... unique? In Pennsylvania, I count Farview Greens which I believe is extinct and which simply used the first fairway... predictably a straight, flat 410 yard par four. And then there is Butter Valley Golfport where the landing strip bisects 17, 18 and 10, 16. BUtter Valley has one of my all time favorite local rules, "Out of play - Aircraft landing strip - drop ball, without penalty, where ball initially crossed airstrip boundary (painted tires). That's an improvement on Farview where the tower (a.k.a. the shop) just made an announcement for players on the first hole to "... please stand aside as an aircraft landing on the first hole is imminent". 

Mark,

As perhaps the only other person on the planet who has played both Butter Valley and/or Farview Greens, I commend you on your fine dsecriptions of the aerial hazards inherent on both courses.   And yes, sadly, I believe Farview Greens is no longer with us.

[Anthony Gray]

Anthony!
Now that's cool! I have to get there and add to my collection. I've heard so much about Teeth of the Dog... I even played it on a simulator a couple times but they seemd not to highlight the airstrip. I did play Mullet Bay on St. Martin one time then drove the half mile to Sunset Beach... spectacular landings and take offs but not the same as sharing the links with aircraft!
M

  Mark.....this is what it looked like 2 months ago.

 

 

  Anthony

 

[JC Jones]

Ronald,

It's actually more along the Moor Course, and I don't know how functional it is currently.  The airstrip at Boyne Mountain gets a lot more action but is more away from the golf courses. 

How about Machrihanish?  Not major, but there.  And it's getting off topic, but one cannot ignore RAF Leuchers when at St Andrews.  With near daily jet practice, it is impossible.  And on that train of thought, how about Moray?  Don't they have a sign or something that says "beware of jet blasts?" 

I agree, I dont know how functional it is either.  Most of the private aircraft go into the Harbor Springs airport, 5 minutes away.

[Mark Molyneux]

Anthony-
That's about as close to the runway action as I'd ever want to get with a nine-iron in hand. I'm hoping to get to the Dominican Republic maybe as early as this summer. I hope they don't change a thing.

Island nations are probably more inclined to put golf courses close to airports, out of geographic necessity. I think of Wade International and Midocean Club in Bermuda and then Carambola hard by Hamilton International in St. Croix. Neither provide all the visual excitement of three planes, separated by no more than a mid-length par four, landing simultaneously at Butter Valley in Bally, PA though.

Then of course, wasn't it a bunch of GCA anthropologists who rediscovered AWT's lost gem at Poxono? As I recall, that island course had its own airstrip for Tillie and his friends.

Someday when I figure out how to post a photo on this forum, then I'll share a picture from the previously mentioned Farview Greens, where Mike Cirba and I once played. Playing down #9 there was a pair closet-sized structures in the right hand rough, near the OB cornfield, about 125 yards from the green. One was marked "toilet"; the other was marked "Control Tower".
Mark

[Ash Towe]

Kevin,

How far is NSW from Sydney airport?

Kingston Heath is very close to the local Melbourne one.

[Rory Connaughton]

Portmarnock, The Island and Portmarnock Links

[Roger Wolfe]

Carolina Golf Club... 2 miles from Charlotte-Douglas International Airport.

[Tony Weiler]

Anthony!
Now that's cool! I have to get there and add to my collection. I've heard so much about Teeth of the Dog... I even played it on a simulator a couple times but they seemd not to highlight the airstrip. I did play Mullet Bay on St. Martin one time then drove the half mile to Sunset Beach... spectacular landings and take offs but not the same as sharing the links with aircraft!
M

Mark, I've played Mullet as well!!  I also enjoyed Sunset Beach Bar, and the planes. 

[Kevin Pallier]

Thanks for all the tips guys

Kevin,

How far is NSW from Sydney airport?

Ash

About 20mins. - me thinks it would be worth the extra 5mins given the premise of the thread 

[Patrick_Mucci]

Kevin,

I believe that it's interesting to study these courses and their individual holes in conjunction with runway directions.

[Kevin Pallier]

Agree Patrick

It was just an overall comment re: the timing - nothing untoward intended by it. 

[Mark Molyneux]

Just a note to Tony-

When I played Mullet Bay, it was tragically parched, yet to recover from a significant hurricane. However, having said that, is there a more entertaining hazard on any course, anywhere than the right side of 16 and 17 at MB? In case you don't fade the ball and you never got to the edge, that right side was the topless beach, which as I recall was in play.

Mark 

[Padraig Dooley]

The Wild Coast Sun in South Africa has a landing strip on the premises, as the name suggests wouldn't be a great fan of landing there in a light aircraft if the opportunity arose.

[J_ Crisham]

Lochinvar in Houston,while not a great course, is surely a fun course/atmosphere as All Male clubs go. Very close to Bush International Airport. Very fun place to spend a day-probably a 5 as courses go, and 7or 8 as a fun place to hang out.
                                                                                                                             Jack

[Marty Bonnar]

When in Orlando, be sure to visit Kissimmee Golf Club which is rather neatly bisected by Kissimmee Municipal Airport's main runway. The Airport is/was home to The Flying Tigers who fly old WW2 planes. It's not unusual to get buzzed on the back nine by a low-flying fighter or two.
Thank Heavens for the safety of CARTS, MELVYN!!!
FBD.

[Jason McNamara]

Humewood and probably Royal Johannesburg.
Auckland, if it's "great"
R. Adelaide, if the traffic is good

Castletown
Ferndown, Stoneham, Moortown, (Alwoodley?), Northumberland (+ Copt Heath for Sean)
R. Aberdeen, Murcar, Castle Stuart

The Faro airport is right by the Algarve courses.
possibly Kennemer

Beaconsfield in MTL, St. George's (+ Weston & Islington) in Toronto.
Shaughnessy would be, but I think it's "can't get there from here"

Mid-Ocean perhaps, but I don't how BDA traffic restrictions would affect this

[Greg Tallman]

Just a note to Tony-

When I played Mullet Bay, it was tragically parched, yet to recover from a significant hurricane. However, having said that, is there a more entertaining hazard on any course, anywhere than the right side of 16 and 17 at MB? In case you don't fade the ball and you never got to the edge, that right side was the topless beach, which as I recall was in play.

Mark 

They have been using the "recovering from a significant hurricane" line now for about 18 years. The original hurricane to damage the course and surrounding housing that remianed in disrepair at least through 2000 was in 1993. The owner was Iranian and wante to transform the entire project into a gambling resort.

[mike_beene]

Sewickly in Pittsburgh is on an old airport.If you know the layout you can visualize where what seems like cross runways ran. Not sure if ever active.

[Jerry Kluger]

But for the traffic you could get to some really great courses within 15 minutes of Newark Airport.

[Greg Tallman]

Sewickly in Pittsburgh is on an old airport.If you know the layout you can visualize where what seems like cross runways ran. Not sure if ever active.

Sewickley or Allegheny?

[Matt Waterbury]

Fox Harb'r (Nova Scotia) has a 5,000 foot landing strip on site. Not too shabby...

[Bill Rocco]

Pine Valley is near Camden County Airport....