The Best Drive By

[Jason Blasberg]

Thinking about driving by GCGC got me to thinking about the best views of great or very good courses that one can see by driving by on PUBLIC, non-toll roadways.


Garden City is right up there with a nice place to park and eat a sandwich lunch overlooking the first green and a great view of the second hole too.

Maidstone is also right up there.  Although my local favorite is the short 5th hole at Rockaway Hunt where if you're not paying attention you can literally hit the out of bounds white iron guard rail that sits about 10 feet off the green.    

Other thoughts?

[Jason Blasberg]

BTW, I'm sure this thread has been had before but I don't have the patience to try and search it.

[Dan Herrmann]

There's a great view of Pine Valley #2 from Atlantic Ave in Clementon.  Of course, you need to know exactly where to look

[Chris Kane]

At Barwon Heads a public road goes between the clubhouse and the first tee.  Continue along that road and you have a wonderful view of the first six.

[mike_malone]

Hard to argue with Merion West and the wonderful drop shot par three which comes down towards the road,  the short par four along the road, and the short par four up the hill ending with a view of #18 green as a warmup for a few blocks later where you see the East's #2 and parts of other holes then #10 green and #12 green on your right with the short #13 and #1 on your left.

  Other parts can be seen but it requires reckless driving.

[rjsimper]

Locally Bell's Palos Verdes G.C. has the better part of the 3rd, 10th, 11th, and 12th along Via Campesina and another road whose name escapes me.

Gotta put Pinehurst #2 with the 2nd and 3rd holes right along the border driving in to the village - the 2nd green casts a watchful eye over every arriving visitor and has no doubt caused an accident or two in its time.

[Michael Goody]

if you turn right off ardmore avenue after the first green (i think it's golf house road), you are basically in play for the 14th and 15th on the east course. i do the merion (east and west) drive-bys every time i'm back in philadelphia.

in southampton, the shinnecock/national drive-bys are pretty tough to beat. it drives my wife crazy because it invariably extends our drive time each time we go by, i can't resist.

[Evan_Green]

St. Andrews Old (Especially #'s 1  & 18)

Very good call on Pinehurst No. 2

Pacific Grove (of course the views of those courses within 17 mile drive are pretty darn impressive  , but that is a toll road).

[Evan_Green]

You can also get quite am impressive view of SFGC if you park in the parking lot of the church adjacent to the 18th hole.

You can see the entire 6th hole of the Cal Club from the 280 freeway as well as catch glimpses of Olympic, SFGC and Lake Merced G&CC from said freeway. The there is a good view of Olympic Ocean from John Daly Boulevard.

Quite a good view of The Preserve if you go on the public and circuitous (and downright dangerous) Robinson Canyon Road in Carmel Valley.

Some pretty nice views of Bel Air CC if you drive into the hills surrounding it.

[wsmorrison]

Mike,

You forgot the view of the famous 11th at Merion East.  Also from Club House Road you drive by the 14th, 15th and have a great view of 16 tee and green off in the distance.

The road on the way to National through the 12th at Shinnecock offers some nice views of back of 11 green (what a falloff) and a bit of 13.

[Kyle Harris]

Paper Mill Road offers a wonderful view of a lot of Huntingdon Valley from across the valley. You can see a lot of the C Nine, and both finishes on the A and B nines. The Clubhouse perched at the top of the hill is my second favorite view in golf (my first being the view from the clubhouse).  

[redanman]

Best drive-by?

Bidermann

you just drive by three or four times before you find it!

[wsmorrison]

In contrast, what is the hardest golf course to see and find?  I think Swinely Forest is the most difficult I've encountered.  In the US, predating GPS, Huntingdon Valley isn't all that easy.  BillV, I didn't think Bidermann was difficult at all.

[redanman]

Maybe I was uning the "Tom Paul, just looking for my dog" entrance.  HVG&CC isn't that easy even with GPS.  

[peter_p]

I haven't been there but Pacific Grove should qualify. I tried to nominate it for best links course on the ocean, but someone said a road interceded. Wolf CReek in Mesquite has some good views of a few holes from the interstate, but probably not in the great class. Meadow Lakes in Prineville OR is totally viewable as you come down the escarpment from Redmond.

Wayne - Woking would also qualify as hard to find. One of the few times explicit directions didn't help me.

[wsmorrison]

Woking, too?  Surrey must just be tough for finding things.  Directions didn't help us with Swinley Forest and the neighbors didn't seem to have a clue either.  Some of the residents we asked never heard of it.

[ed_getka]

Yale isn't easy to find without directions. I figured it would be easy to find but when I started asking where it was people seemed to be unaware of its existence. Non-golfers I tell you, sheesh.
    Murcar was another one over in Scotland. Everybody I asked seemed to know where it was, but they all gave me different directions. It took me about an hour to find it, and I was never more than 3-4 miles away. Its not even hidden in a residential area.

[Scott Whitley]

Great drive by: Approaching Royal Portrush from the east on the main road from Portballintrae.

Hard to find: Many in Ireland fit this bill, but I'll choose one from each coast - The Island and Cruit Island.  Also Redtail, in Southern Ontario, is comprehensively hidden.

[Eric Franzen]

I'll don't see Trump National mentioned anywhere in this thread...

Peter: Yes, Pacific Grove qualifies.

If we stay on the public (well, semi private) path on the west coast I would also toss in Pasatiempo which has a couple of holes next to the road that passes by the club house.

[John Foley]

Suprised no mention of Kittansett. Then I guess if your driving down that road you are either going to play Kitansett or seeing how much of Kittansett you can see from the road!!!

NGLA & SHinney are amazing, the worst has got to see seminole. That place is locked up tight, they don't want nobody peering thru trees or over the hedges to see that place.

[wsmorrison]

John,

Or you live in one heck of a nice house on Buzzards Bay!  That is a nice drive down to the point with a lot of views of Kittansett's great golf course (Flynn 1923).  

Did you try and get a peek at that early George Thomas (1906) Marion GC?  That is one quirky little 9-holer!

[Jay Cox]

Yale isn't easy to find without directions.  

Sometimes, Yale isn't easy to find even if you've been there fifty times before.  I managed to get lost in the maze of streets leading up to it a couple of times during my sophomore year of college, even after having played on most of the spring and fall days my freshman year...

For the best drive by view, I would add Cape Breton Highlands, where you get a great view of the par 5 6th (and the marshes and ocean beyond) from the road leading up to the Keltic Lodge.  That was the view that most made me want to park the car immediately, take the clubs out of the trunk, and start playing.

[Chris Pike]

Yale doesn't have any good "drive-bys", but you can certainly do the "drive in".  

[Glenn Spencer]

If I am within 10 miles of Camargo, I usually swing by to see No.1 green and the second at 2, plus the green to tee visual of the 18th, one of my favorite holes in all the world.

[John Foley]

Wayne,

Yes, that is one sweet drive out to Butler point. Too bad I don't live on the water there myself. My bro-in-law (who is a lurker) lives in Marion, but a-lass he's land locked!

Have not see Marion GC yet, I do want to thought. Definetly this summer when we're back out there.