LINKS Mag's "Top 10 Under $50"

[Philip Caccamise]

It's definitely surprising not to see Rustic Canyon. Nice to see Wasioto Winds though. I haven't played that one, but I've enjoyed a few of Kentucky's other newer State Parks courses. Hidden Cove and Dale Hollow would both probably merit honorable mentions for me, as would The Trophy Club in Indianapolis.

Keith Foster does some very good and affordable work. I've heard great things about the Tennessean, and really enjoyed Dark Horse just north of Sacramento. The Harvester in Iowa is a little too pricey for this list but another excellent value considering the quality of the course. It's about as good as any public I've played for under $100.

Jud, do you really believe Spring Valley should be on this list or are you just pointing out that you like it more than Shepherd's Crook?

I'd put Dale Hollow over Wasioto Winds. Lots of birdie holes but lots of potential big numbers. It's VERY remote though which probably hurts its rating.

Also in Kentucky, I think Old Silo deserves to be on this list. In Tennessee, I'm a big fan of Greystone, but I don't know if their top rate is over or under $50. And of course, even though it misses by a whole $2 for walkers, CommonGround by our very own Mr. Doak deserves an honorable mention.

I do have a bit of an issue with "less than" lists though, since rates in metro areas are universally higher than more rural areas which excludes most urban area courses. While it could be a tricky calculation, why not a best-of list that are cheaper than the average of the area?

[Ross Harmon]

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.

Early in the year is definitely the best time to play Riverdale Dunes - the long grass is alot thinner then and you actually have a chance to find your ball in it! Great course all around though, taking some GCA guys there next month on our way out to Ballyneal.

[Ross Harmon]

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.

Phil - let me know when you make this trip and perhaps we can also tee it up at Maxinkuckee Country Club too.

I was just there over the weekend... They have a great original drawing of the course in the clubhouse. Would have been a very different (definitely better) course if they didn't end up getting the north parcel of land where holes 1 and 2 are today.

[Jason Thurman]

I'd put Dale Hollow over Wasioto Winds. Lots of birdie holes but lots of potential big numbers. It's VERY remote though which probably hurts its rating.

Also in Kentucky, I think Old Silo deserves to be on this list. In Tennessee, I'm a big fan of Greystone, but I don't know if their top rate is over or under $50. And of course, even though it misses by a whole $2 for walkers, CommonGround by our very own Mr. Doak deserves an honorable mention.

Agree on all counts. is there a single public course in Kentucky with a minimum rate above $50? Maybe Griffin Gate, but they always used to have cheaper times on GolfNow. The golf is admittedly fairly weak overall, but the prices are pretty low.

I do have a bit of an issue with "less than" lists though, since rates in metro areas are universally higher than more rural areas which excludes most urban area courses. While it could be a tricky calculation, why not a best-of list that are cheaper than the average of the area?

I agree again, though I prefer to see these types of lists not as a definitive "best of the cheapest," but as a list of decent choices that highlight courses that might not get any attention otherwise.

[Josh Tarble]

I saw Trophy Club mentioned and Harrison Hills...in the Indy market there are a couple other good ones as well.

Bear Slide in Cicero is typically under $50 and a really fun round, nothing earth shatteringly good, but solid all the way around.

Rock Hollow is in Peru (about an 75 minutes north of Indy) and is REALLY good.  I can't remember the exact rate, but I'm pretty sure we payed $45 for all day play.

Heartland Crossing south of town is really good.  Steve Smyers design with some really fun holes and few challenging ones.  It's typically less than $40

[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.

Phil - let me know when you make this trip and perhaps we can also tee it up at Maxinkuckee Country Club too.

I was just there over the weekend... They have a great original drawing of the course in the clubhouse. Would have been a very different (definitely better) course if they didn't end up getting the north parcel of land where holes 1 and 2 are today.

Isn't this the course Pete Dye grew up on?

[Andrew Buck]

Rock Hollow is in Peru (about an 75 minutes north of Indy) and is REALLY good.  I can't remember the exact rate, but I'm pretty sure we payed $45 for all day play.

I liked Rock Hollow, it had some very good risk-reward par 4's and some neat par 3's.  It also had a few stereotypical Pete Dye holes that seem to be cloned around a pond.

It would certainly be worth a look, but for my money I'd drive up the extra half hour and play his Mystic Hills layout.  It may have been luck on timing, but when I played each, the Mystic Hills layout was slightly more minimal, and played very F&F.  Either way, it's a credit to Dye that he built several newer courses that can be played for very reasonable amounts (and you can hold annual playing privileges for under $1,000).  

[Matthew Sander]

Andrew,

Rock Hollow was designed by fellow GCAer Tim Liddy. He spent many years as a lead associate for Pete Dye, so it isn't terribly uncommon to see some similarities in his work.

[Andrew Buck]

Andrew,

Rock Hollow was designed by fellow GCAer Tim Liddy. He spent many years as a lead associate for Pete Dye, so it isn't terribly uncommon to see some similarities in his work.

Thanks for the insight.  For some reason I had thought it was a Pete Dye course. 

[Josh Tarble]

Andrew,
I still need to get up to Mystic Hills.  So can't say which is better.  

I don't disagree with you on some of the holes at Rock Hollow, but I think it may have been an old quarry, so there were definitely some lakes in play.  I thought the use of the lakes was, for the most part, varied and very creative.  A couple of the standard cape style holes but a couple very interesting, if not unforgiving holes.  All in all a very fun course in my opinion.

And thanks Matt, Rock Hollow is a Tim Liddy course, but you can definitely see a bit of the Dye influence.

[John Nixon]

Isn't this the course Pete Dye grew up on?

Pete grew up in Ohio, didn't he?

[Josh Tarble]

Phil,
I believe Maxinkuckee is the course Alice Dye grew up on.  I think Pete grew up on a course in Urbana Ohio

[Nigel Islam]

I still kick myself for never playing Rock Hollow when I lived up there. I think they charge the same thing now that they charged in the 90s.

[Ross Harmon]

Phil,
I believe Maxinkuckee is the course Alice Dye grew up on.  I think Pete grew up on a course in Urbana Ohio

Alice Dye - Maxinkuckee Country Club, Culver, IN (originally called East Shore Country Club as you'll occassionally see it referred to)
Pete Dye - Urbana Country Club, Urbana, OH (back when it was only 9 holes)

Interesting that they both grew up playing at 9 hole courses... never really thought about that.

[Andrew Buck]

Phil,
I believe Maxinkuckee is the course Alice Dye grew up on.  I think Pete grew up on a course in Urbana Ohio

Alice Dye - Maxinkuckee Country Club, Culver, IN (originally called East Shore Country Club as you'll occassionally see it referred to)
Pete Dye - Urbana Country Club, Urbana, OH (back when it was only 9 holes)

Interesting that they both grew up playing at 9 hole courses... never really thought about that.

Hmm, I guess that may be the reason Dye did such an affordable course in a community as small as Culver.