A few worth a play:
Gibson Bay - Richmond, KY:
Probably the best value hole-for-hole that I've seen. Back when I was playing it you could walk for about $11. It's a very good Hurdzan and Fry design that has plenty of width and openness for the high handicapper while stretching to over 7000 yards for the low handicapper. A handful of very good holes, usually in very good condition, and a solid test of golf. Nothing too memorable, but a huge asset to the game in its community with a lighted par 3 course and a full practice facility too. This is what public golf should be.
Picadome and Kearney Hill - Lexington, KY:
Lexington has a very solid municipal golf system. The crown jewel of their four courses is Kearney Hill, a PB Dye design that has hosted the Publinks and the Senior Tour. It's a good course with an excellent set of par 3s and very tough. The stretch from 14-17 is about as good as it gets in Kentucky public golf. Picadome is a shorter course from the Golden Age on a much smaller property and very mundane tract of land. It's a tremendously elegant design with 18 good-to-excellent holes, though no world-beaters. It's a lesser course due to its property but a better design and probably more interesting for an architecture fan. Both can be walked for under $30 pretty much any time.
7 at Picadome
Approach to 14
Woodland Hills – Lincoln, NE:
Among the best residential courses I’ve played, It’s a Jeff Brauer design that overcomes a few long transitions between holes by using a limited property exceptionally well. The 9th, in particular, is one of the most interesting half par holes I’ve played. Nothing overwhelming, but a really pleasant and enjoyable round of golf in an unlikely setting.
The 266 yard par 4 9th
Approach to 14
Waveland – Des Moines, IA:
One of my personal favorites, it’s a rundown muni near the campus of Drake University. Like every course west of Ohio built before 1925, it bills itself as the oldest course west of the Mississippi river (late 1890s). The architecture has been terribly neglected but its bones remain. An absolute must-see for any architecture fan, as it’s an exceptional property that features stretches of tremendous holes that are handcuffed by poor conditioning, flat greens, and ridiculous overgrowth. A really interesting, fun, and slightly tragic golf course.
The 3rd hole shows off both the excellent terrain and the heinous tree encroachment
225-ish yard par 3 10th
Brilliant approach to the par 5 12th
The approach to 17 shows the typical ground movement at Waveland
