I am too young to have ever seen Toot Shores, but from what I have read it was always the place to be.  Nevertheless, I am sure that sometimes one preferred the draft and conversation in the neighborhood saloon in Brooklyn.  In Memphis, The Rendezvous is the place the tourist visit for good barbeque, and they will not be disappointed.  But, go south of downtown and I am sure there are places that look like they may not pass code, but probably have the best barbeque one will ever taste in a lifetime.

Every town has the public course which is "your country club for a day."  But, sometimes I find a more authentic golf experience at the local muni.  These courses may be unkempt, the tees a little hard, the greens not perfect, the sand minimal.  Yet, the golfers there all love the game no matter how it is presented.  The best of these munis will in spite of their shortcomings, still offer a good routing, some good design and a few holes that any fan of good golf course architecture will appreciate.

Some examples of these types of munis are:
George Wright in Boston,
Triggs in Providence,
Franconia, Springfield, MA
Cobbs Creek in Philly,
Van Cortland in NYC,
Forest Park in St. Louis,
Grand Marias in East St. Louis,
Swope Park in Kansas City,
Brackenridge in San Antonio,
Waveland in Des Moines.

I imagine this experience used to be encountered at Bethpage Black, Harding Park, and Pacific Grove before the out-of-towners discovered them.  (Perhaps this is the experience the locals still find with Bethpage Red?)  I have never been to Brown Creek in Milwaukee, so I do not know if this course fits in with this experience.

I even felt this experience playing St. Andrews New course.  I was a single, paired up with another single and a twosome.  We had a great time on a great course, but with no pressure of having too experience greatness.

What are the other local munis which have no pretensions.  Although the course may not be great, it is good and it does have some examples of great design on at least a few holes, but best of all can be a fun golfing experience?

I am too young to have ever seen Toot Shores, but from what I have read it was always the place to be.

It was if you were somebody.  If you weren't you didn't exist.

I would nominate Billy Bell's Brookside Golf Course both #1 and #2 in the shadow of the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.  Rancho Park in Los Angeles and Recreation Park in Long Beach are two others that come to mind in the Los Angeles area.  With carte blanche and millions of dollars the Harding and Wilson courses at Griffith Park by George Thomas could be something special.

Stettner, what the hell are you doing in Tuscaloosa?  Now we aren't that far apart!  My son is in the process of moving to Birmingham, I'll probably be up there sometime in the fall.

I played the front 9 recently at Geo Wright and echo what others have said that it has some very nice bones.  For how much everybody talks about Donald Ross, you would think they might show his course a little more respect.

Well have fun in St. Louis.  Come play in one of the GCA outings one of these days, although Palm Springs next weekend might be a bit toasty!

Keller in St. Paul
Gross in Minneapolis
Papago in Phoenix
Texarkana Golf Ranch in Texarkana


I definitely echo Waveland in Des Moines.  I lived about 12 blocks away as a kid.

Keller in St. Paul
Gross in Minneapolis
Papago in Phoenix
Texarkana Golf Ranch in Texarkana

Jason, is Keller in a municipal park, opens with a straightaway par 5, followed by a longish par 3?  I played a St. Paul muni once, and the name Keller rings some bells.  

Another example is Papago in Phoenix. William F. Bell's classic from the 1960s. The fairways were overseeded this past winter for the first time in a few years, the greens were in very good shape and the course was in relatively decent shape pending discussion for a planned renovation. If Thomas N. ever gets around to it, my pics will be posted here.

Charleston (SC) Municipal Golf Course, locally known as The Muni. A little scruffy around the edges in all the places that that don't matter but with the playing surfaces in good shape. No holes worthy of a GCA Masters thesis but a very solid series of challenges to the handicap golfer.

Whatever influence it did or did not receive from Seth Raynor many decades ago, The Muni is one of the better courses in the area in terms of a place to have a game.

It also posssess a friendly, bustling clubhouse and grill with reasonably-priced golfer's eats served expidiently. Oh, and now they have a tunnel under the road so you don't have to take your life in your hands to play the last few holes.