LINKS Mag's "Top 10 Under $50"

[Sean_A]

No love Lederach?  If all these courses are better I will eat my hat.

Ciao

[David_Tepper]

"No love Lederach?  If all these courses are better I will eat my hat."

Sean A. -

The Fri-Sat-Sun green fees there are well over $50.

DT

[Ken Fry]

Does anyone have information on Cacapon?  Anyone play it?  I'm surprised I've never heard of this course before.

Ken

[David_Tepper]

Ken -

Check it out:

http://www.cacaponresort.com/golf.htm

DT

[Sean_A]

"No love Lederach?  If all these courses are better I will eat my hat."

Sean A. -

The Fri-Sat-Sun green fees there are well over $50.

DT

While I think the highest rate should always be used for these sorts of lists, I was under the impression the list was using the cheaper fees as the criteria.  Hence al the talk of Rustic -  no?

Ciao

[Michael Whitaker]

Good to know there are courses out there that are better value than Aiken. There is definitely some great affordable golf to be had in pockets in the States.

But, are they "swag" worthy? For you it comes down to "would I buy the shirt" doesn't it? 

[Scott Warren]

Apparently this is what a "Scottish-style links" looks like...

[Greg Tallman]

Does anyone have information on Cacapon?  Anyone play it?  I'm surprised I've never heard of this course before.

Ken

Ken - Played it many times back in the day. Nice routing, thoughtful use of terrain. Greens lack any great interest and used to be pretty slow and infested with poa but it is a good track. Top 5 in WV for sure.

Cool double green serving the front 9 par threes at 4 and 8.

[Andrew Buck]

Another course with peak weekend walking rates at about 30 that I really enjoyed is Glen Erin in Janesville, WI.

Although I think northern illinois and Wisconsin lacks a ton of elite golf, there really are a lot of good value courses out there.

[Jim Sherma]

Need to have Mark Twain in Elmira NY on any list like this. 1927 Donald Ross that appears to be very close to original. In July I paid $23 to walk on a Thursday morning and $26 on Saturday morning. Great routing, very good condition and a set of greens that were wonderful. The pro and superintendent definitely take what they have seriously and I found it just a great place to play.

[Steve Kline]

Apparently this is what a "Scottish-style links" looks like...

I had to laugh at that too. And course described as a Scottish-style links pretty much gets crossed off of my "to play" list.

[Nigel Islam]

Jud or Phil, have you played Harrison Hills? That was a pretty good course for the money and less than $50 according to the website. I'd be interested to hear how it would compare to SV. I liked it better than Clovernook, but they were on the same playing field.

[Jud_T]

Nigel,

Good point.  Harrison Hills would definitely be in the running.  I can't believe I blanked on it.  Of course the original 9 would have dominated the list!

[Doug Wright]

Apparently this is what a "Scottish-style links" looks like...

I had to laugh at that too. And course described as a Scottish-style links pretty much gets crossed off of my "to play" list.

Scott/Steve,

Actually there are some  very good "links-style" holes at Riverdale Dunes--the holes that a young Tom Doak worked on while Perry Dye built the Dye-style holes as the one pictured (not surprising that a magazine would show a photo of a watery Dye-style hole vs. a relatively featureless links-style hole, right?). Riverdale Dunes is a solid course and an excellent under $50 value. Unfortunately it is (a) too schizoid as excellent links-style holes like 3, 5 (what a great early Doak green) and 6 are then followed by railroad tie-Dye holes 7 and 8; rinse and repeat on the back 9 and (b) too waterlogged to play like a links-style course vs. say Wild Horse. PS a very fun courre to play in January/February, though, when it is brown, firm, fast--and cheap.

[David Kelly]

The pictures look like they were probably supplied by the clubs themselves.  Course operators love to use clubhouses, lakes, bridges, outbuildings etc. to market their course.

[Steve Wilson]

There's no question that's a Scottish style links--it has a directional post.  Or maybe that's an awkwardly placed 150 yard marker--in which case this is just an Emily Littela moment.

[Phil McDade]

Jud or Phil, have you played Harrison Hills? That was a pretty good course for the money and less than $50 according to the website. I'd be interested to hear how it would compare to SV. I liked it better than Clovernook, but they were on the same playing field.

Nigel:

I have not -- it's on my Illinois-Indiana Langford tour (Kankakee, Culver Academies, Harrison Hills, a few others) that I'm contemplating some time to take. Some viewed the original nine at HHills as perhaps the best 9-holer in the country.

[Howard Riefs]

Jud or Phil, have you played Harrison Hills? That was a pretty good course for the money and less than $50 according to the website. I'd be interested to hear how it would compare to SV. I liked it better than Clovernook, but they were on the same playing field.

Good call on Harrison Hills.  We played it on a pre-Mashie round last year; believe that we paid less than $50 for two rounds (although we didn't finish on the account of rain).  A few photos:

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,52173.msg1233141.html#msg1233141

[Andrew Buck]

Jud or Phil, have you played Harrison Hills? That was a pretty good course for the money and less than $50 according to the website. I'd be interested to hear how it would compare to SV. I liked it better than Clovernook, but they were on the same playing field.

Nigel:

I have not -- it's on my Illinois-Indiana Langford tour (Kankakee, Culver Academies, Harrison Hills, a few others) that I'm contemplating some time to take. Some viewed the original nine at HHills as perhaps the best 9-holer in the country.

I had no idea Kankakee Elks was Langford as I played there a fair amount growing up.  First course I broke 70 on in an event. 

Looking at other Langford designs, I can certainly see some of the features.

[Mark Smolens]

+1 for Nigel's mention of Kankakee Elks. I played there last Friday with some folks from my semi-regular Saturday game. $20 including a cart is their regular rate on Mondays and Fridays, and there's a coupon in one of those Chicagoland golf magazines for that same rate the rest of the week. Not the longest course out there, but a bunch of stout par 4s, mixed in with some cool short ones, and the set of par-3s is nothing short of fabulous. Greens were firm, quick if not lightning fast, and undulating. Short side misses were death. Can't wait to go back down there.

[Howard Riefs]

+1 for Nigel's mention of Kankakee Elks. I played there last Friday with some folks from my semi-regular Saturday game. $20 including a cart is their regular rate on Mondays and Fridays, and there's a coupon in one of those Chicagoland golf magazines for that same rate the rest of the week. Not the longest course out there, but a bunch of stout par 4s, mixed in with some cool short ones, and the set of par-3s is nothing short of fabulous. Greens were firm, quick if not lightning fast, and undulating. Short side misses were death. Can't wait to go back down there.

High praise.  Is it deserving of its #8 spot on Golfweek's list of best public/resort courses in Illinois?  
http://golfweek.com/news/2013/mar/07/2013-golfweeks-best-courses-state-state/

I've been interested in getting down to this course.  An early candidate for the "late fall Chicago GCA outing."

[Jud_T]

+1 for Nigel's mention of Kankakee Elks. I played there last Friday with some folks from my semi-regular Saturday game. $20 including a cart is their regular rate on Mondays and Fridays, and there's a coupon in one of those Chicagoland golf magazines for that same rate the rest of the week. Not the longest course out there, but a bunch of stout par 4s, mixed in with some cool short ones, and the set of par-3s is nothing short of fabulous. Greens were firm, quick if not lightning fast, and undulating. Short side misses were death. Can't wait to go back down there.

High praise.  Is it deserving of its #8 spot on Golfweek's list of best public/resort courses in Illinois?  
http://golfweek.com/news/2013/mar/07/2013-golfweeks-best-courses-state-state/

I've been interested in getting down to this course.  An early candidate for the "late fall Chicago GCA outing."

IN!  book it....

[Andrew Buck]

+1 for Nigel's mention of Kankakee Elks. I played there last Friday with some folks from my semi-regular Saturday game. $20 including a cart is their regular rate on Mondays and Fridays, and there's a coupon in one of those Chicagoland golf magazines for that same rate the rest of the week. Not the longest course out there, but a bunch of stout par 4s, mixed in with some cool short ones, and the set of par-3s is nothing short of fabulous. Greens were firm, quick if not lightning fast, and undulating. Short side misses were death. Can't wait to go back down there.

High praise.  Is it deserving of its #8 spot on Golfweek's list of best public/resort courses in Illinois?  
http://golfweek.com/news/2013/mar/07/2013-golfweeks-best-courses-state-state/

I've been interested in getting down to this course.  An early candidate for the "late fall Chicago GCA outing."

Wow, I hadn't seen that.  It's certainly different from every other course on that list.  

Personally, I'd have a really hard time putting it ahead of Thunderhawk, Cantigny or Pine Meadow in an absolute sense, but it's certainly a better value.  I'd prefer it to Stonewall Orchard.  Greens were always good, as they are at most courses I've played in that region and west of there (Dwight, Pontiac, Wolf Creek).  

Having not been in 15 years, I'd be a little concerned about some of the tree growth, and I suspect the 9th is not an original.  That said, the par 3's are really good, and it does have some very neat green complexes without sand.  I'd like to play it again today with more of an eye for the course design.

[Mark Smolens]

The late fall outing sounds good, but I'd echo Andrew's concerns about the trees -- the "leaf rule" had better be in effect. . . I'm betting they don't have the staff to remove them and there a ton of trees out there.

[Andrew Buck]

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php?topic=30665.0

Here are some pictures from the Elks from an earlier thread.  You can see there was barely a tree on the property when built.