Highland Links in Canada's National Park in Cape Breton got me thinking, Why aren't there golf courses in the National Parks in the US?

Great topography and good source of review, all positives.

I played the Yosemite course. Fun but not much.

I can think of two examples:

East Potomac Park Golf Course is on National Park Service property here in DC.  Great views of the monuments but mediocre course with horrible drainage.

For the Northern California guys, are any of the San Francisco courses (Presideo, etc) on land maintained by the Goldgen Gate National Recreation Area?

There are probably other examples.

Because they don't belong there. At least not in the major parks such as Yosemite, Yellowstone, Glacier, etc... There are plenty of great places to build golf courses, there aren't many places like the above mentioned parks.

Ed I agree with you. Our national Parks should have a different purpose. Canadas were built to be part of the draw for the railroads to get people out to see them.

Because they don't belong there. At least not in the major parks such as Yosemite, Yellowstone, Glacier, etc... There are plenty of great places to build golf courses, there aren't many places like the above mentioned parks.

Ed,

You mean you didn't see the course at Glacier Park just opposite the main lodge?

I played it once in my youth, but could not find it on golfcourse.com today.

Later addition: I found it on golflink with a google search. Glacier Park Golf Club at East Glacier, MT.

As I remember, you better hit it straight or perhaps own stock in Fortune Brands.

Flynn designed Yorktown CC on the Yorktown battlefield grounds using the earthworks as part of the design.  The failed resort development did stave off developers that wanted to maximize the build out so that when the place was finally purchased by the US government, the military sites and battlefields were intact.

BEST example of Parkland golf courses is the Kentucky State Park Signature Series. It is better than the rival RTJ Trail in Alabama! Sorry it is so obscure none of you have played these courses.

Doug

BTW, Great Smoky Mountains is the premier National park, not Yellowstone or Yosemite. Just so ya know.......

...
BTW, Great Smoky Mountains is the premier National park, not Yellowstone or Yosemite. Just so ya know.......

Define "premier".

Most overcrowded?
Closest to a really tacky tourist trap?

 

Not National but, there is a wonderful RTJ designed course at Cacapon State Park in West Virginia.  If they improved the condition it might even be in the hidden gem category, mountainous and stunningly beautiful in the fall.

Steve,

The park at Lincoln Homestead is a minor course. I am talking about the courses at Yateville Lake, Dale Hollow, Grayson, Lake, Pine Mountain, Kentucky Dam Village, and Mineral Mound. Four of these courses at least got much deservede recognition in Golf Digest Best New Lists the past few years. They are kept, for the most part, in immaculate condition, and are FAR better thaan the sad Bear [Nicklaus] Trail in Tennesse.

This is not just loyalty. I have played them all, and the two courses I have played that i most always want to return to, are The Yatesville Lake and Dale Hollow courses.

It is those six courses I have named above, plus at least two in progress, that are the Kentucky Signature Series. I have yet to meet anyone who played several of those and regretted it.

Do not take my word. Come here and play. You will save a ton of cash, play in some of the most beautiful natural areas, and I think the courses will not disappoint.

FYI: I do NOT work for the State of Kentucky ..... LOL.

Doug

Garland,
   I did see that course at Glacier now that you mention it. Technically it is "in" the park, but not really since it is nowhere near the main part of the park a la Wawona GC at Yosemite.
Doug,
   I haven't been to the Great Smoky Mountains, but I would be beyond shocked if they can hold a candle to Yosemite and Glacier. I certainly do look forward to seeing the area sometime in the future. National parks are like anything else, it just comes down to personal preference, there really isn't a right and wrong.

Garland,
   I did see that course at Glacier now that you mention it. Technically it is "in" the park, but not really since it is nowhere near the main part of the park a la Wawona GC at Yosemite.
...

The course a Glacier was built for the same reason the courses at Jasper and Banff were built. In the case of Glacier, the Great Northern railroad built it to generate passenger rail fares. According to what I found, it was the first all grass course in Montana. Unfortunately nothing I found online listed an architect.