publics you would travel for...

[Brad Fleischer]

Allan,

Glad you were not disappointed after your 4 hour drive. I will eventually make it to wild horse but it will be for more than one day!! I actually think it might might be worth it on it's own but will hold out on that untill I finally play it.

Andy,
Seven hours is def in my opinion a long drive to take for two courses so cheers on that. Of the courses you mentioned would you go back just for one of them ? Like your pick of greywalls by the way and I agree. You do however sound like most of my friends ,which is how this argument started in the first place and why I started this thread. Than again you did say greywalls so I guess that kind off makes my point valid.

Sean,
Man me and you have to have a heart to heart over some scotch. Granted you are in london so I will cut you some slack  Now I know it really does not pertain to my group but from where you are on that side of the globe you can't tell me there is not a course that is public (access wise) that you would not go to. If i'm wrong than please give me your definition of "holiday". I'm starting to think it has nothing to do with golf, not that that's a bad thing just not my thing   .. Having just enjoyed my first trip to Ireland I know if I was in london I would hop on a plane to shannon for lahinch or belfast for ballylifin even if it was just for one of them. So again if you want to stick to your side of the pond be my guest and renew my faith in you and give me something, anything!!! lol.....

[Brad Fleischer]

Everyone just to clarify..... By one course that does not mean you play it once and aidios!! Received some emails on play it once and split not a chance etc etc. If there is a course that you would travel to that is public and as long as you got to play it for more than one day let me know because that counts. So let me hear it if you have one.

Brad

[Brad Fleischer]

Mark,

Of the courses you named would you travel back to Indiana just to see one of them.

Brad

[Sean_A]

Sean,
Man me and you have to have a heart to heart over some scotch. Granted you are in london so I will cut you some slack  Now I know it really does not pertain to my group but from where you are on that side of the globe you can't tell me there is not a course that is public (access wise) that you would not go to. If i'm wrong than please give me your definition of "holiday". I'm starting to think it has nothing to do with golf, not that that's a bad thing just not my thing   .. Having just enjoyed my first trip to Ireland I know if I was in london I would hop on a plane to shannon for lahinch or belfast for ballylifin even if it was just for one of them. So again if you want to stick to your side of the pond be my guest and renew my faith in you and give me something, anything!!! lol.....

Brad

You changed the goal posts a bit by including privates that allow visitor play.  To me this isn't the same thing at all because the atmosphere at a private course even if it allows visitors is very, very different from a public course.

To throw you a bone, I could definitely see driving up to St Andrews only to play TOC for a few days, but chucking in access to the Royal & Ancient would certainly seal the deal.  Offhand, I can't think of another public in the UK I would do that for.  Having said that, and despite my hatred of flying, I would take a trip up to Dornoch to play in the Carnegie Shield, but I digress as Dornoch is not a public course.

Stateside, even though Pasa is probably the single biggest pull for me as a stand alone public, I wouldn't go there without at the very least having some tourista stuff scheduled as well.  It just isn't worth the hassle for me to fly out there to play one course a handful of times.  Besides, I promised myself many moons ago that I wouldn't go to California (I have never been) unless CPC was on the cards!  I have been told that this is very possible a few years back and I still have made no moves - call me lazy, call me crazy, just don't call me Masie. 

In a very real way I am spoiled for choice where I live.  Using my general rule of thumb not to travel more than the time it takes to play golf, have a few drinks and a bite to eat (call it 6 hours round trip), for a day trip, I can reach places like Saunton, Brancaster, Birkdale, any London area course and many, many more great courses.  So perhaps I don't feel a need to go through the hassle of getting on a plane to play golf.  As I said earlier, if I am going to seriously travel, with few exceptions in the public arena (actually one - TOC) there has to be a more compelling reason other than a single golf course.  Its only a game dude.

Ciao

 

[Andy Troeger]

Brad,
I guess my point even with Greywalls is that I'd find something else to play just about wherever I went. I'm not someone to take a long trip to one course just to play it 4-5 times to study the nuances. That would be fun, but not as fun as seeing a few different courses for me.

I'd drive back to Lakota for sure, but not just for the sake of playing it. There are too many other good courses in the area to skip them all.

[PCCraig]

Just played newport national this morning and it would be a nice public to tie in with a round at newport and wanumetonomy although both are private. It has been a warm october and first week of november in newport.

Newport National is a good public option for most in NE. I used to drive down there from Boston, play, then grab a good seafood lunch.

[PCCraig]

Kauri Cliffs
Cape Kidnappers
Paraparaumu
Wairakei
Kinloch

Then onto
New South Wales
Royal Melbourne West and East
Kingston Heath
Others on the Sandbelt
Courses on the Mornington Peninsula
Barnbougle Dunes

Some from the Northern Hemisphere have done parts of this.  You would not be disappointed.

Ash-

Could you elaborate on the best way for someone from the North Hemisphere to do this trip? I have always been interested in doing a trip down there, but never know where to start.

Would a "Tour Guide"-Company be the best way?

[Jason Topp]

Pat:

I found Australia to be real easy to schedule.  I worked with the clubs directly for tee times.  Flights between cities are pretty cheap and can be purchased one way through two airlines - Jetstar and Virgin Blue. 

One hotel, rental house or room in Melbourne yields about 10 -12 excellent golf course options within driving distance.  I would spend a week there if you can.

New South Wales is the primary course in Sydney. Sneak it in if you want to visit the city.  Add Newcastle if you want a second round from that base.  I would spend a couple nights there.

Barnbougle is a pretty easy trip from either Syndey or Melbourne.  I would spend one or two nights there.  Go because it is cool to be in Tasmania but skip it if your primary focus is golf and you have already played a lot of links golf.  I found Barnbougle to be similar to the Bandon Dunes courses.  High praise but I would rather focus on something uniquely australian - sandbelt golf - than travel to the opposite end of the world to play something very similar to what you can find in the UA at Bandon Dunes or in Scotland or Ireland. 


I did not get to Adelaide but would have loved to go.

[Don Hyslop]

wwhitehead ,

I assumed we were talking about the one in novia scotia. Interesting you meant the one in virginia. I would love to see pics by the way. So you feel it is worth a trip by itself?

Now the one in novia scotia  is that to a course worth the effort to get to on it's own ? It's a course I have been trying to get to for some time now. Thoughts?

IMO, having played it a couple of times it is certainly worth playing on its own. I believe you would have a unique experience every round. That being said if you put off your trip to 2010 you could probably include a round at Cabot Links in Inverness. Cape Breton also has outstanding courses at Bell Bay in Baddeck and Le Portage in Cheticamp just to name a couple. There is a new course under construction at Ben Eoin- The Lakes, overlooking the beautiful Bras D'Or Lakes (Craham Cooke) and one planned for Louisburg being designed by Nick Faldo's team. So within a couple of years, Cape Breton will be somewhat of a golfers paradise although many of us just because of Highland Links already consider it as such. Also there is another located in Cape Breton's largest city, Sydney, that opened in 1908- Lingan Golf and Country Club. This course underwent some redesign by Stanley Thompson in 1922.

[Mark Pritchett]

Brad,

No, not for one course.  However, there are few courses public or private I would travel longer than a couple of hour's drive, to play individually.  Obviously there are exceptions.  

I think most people want to play multiple courses (how successful would Pebble, Bandon, Pinehurst, etc. be as destinations with one course?) when they go on a golf trip and to me Indiana seems to offer a lot of public options with a lot of good architects (Ross, Langford, Dye, Liddy, Rees, RTJ, Jr. and others) at reasonable prices.  

Mark

[Ash Towe]

Hi Pat,
There are tour companies in this part of the world but I have never used any.
When going to Australia I have organised it myself.
Once I get my travel dates I work out my route.  Then write to the clubs after using the internet to confirm access times, letters etc.  From there, fit the travel around the golf.  All the clubs listed have access of some kind.  There are restictions at some of the clubs.
Jason has also put some good ideas in his post.
Please contact me if I can be of help.

[PCCraig]

Jason / Ash-

Thanks for the great ideas.

This is a few years removed from me. But I think it would be so unique that it would be worth going to the opposite end of the Earth!

[Brad Fleischer]

Sean,

I really didn't "allow" privates,but when you get to that side of the world most of the"privates" allow for outside play while here it's unheard of. Your right of course they are private but if my humble ass can get a tee time than it's a public in my eyes. Could you imagine calling up cp or ngla or shinny and starting with I would like to book a tee time lol..... I guess the fact that you have so many options around you makes traveling out of the way less attractable. Me on the other hand I kind off have no choice but to travel and I love doing so anyway. I do however hear were your coming from. Just like my friends you have more options. One quick question could it be your fear of flying that holds you back  ........  lol.... j/k

[Brian Laurent]

As much fan-fare as Lawsonia receives on here, I can't believe it's only been mentioned a handfull of times.  After the recent photo tour posted, spring can't come fast enough!

Speaking of Indiana golf courses...it may not be worth making a special trip for, but if you're ever near Ft. Wayne/Warsaw, I would highly recommend Maxwelton.  It's a Langford course with some very cool holes and amazing green complexes.  For $30 and some change, it's worth every penny.

[Andy Troeger]

To me Indiana has a lot of really good public courses, but probably not any you make a long distance trip just to see. French Lick may change that--time will tell. You could make a very nice weekend or even full-week trip to the state and see a lot of golf without spending a lot of money.

Brian,
I never thought I'd see a day when Maxwelton was mentioned on GCA. Unless you're a Langford fan, I think one can do a bit better. Although, public golf in Fort Wayne is really pretty awful compared to the rest of the state, so it probably is about as good as anything in that area. I'd definitely go play Cobblestone in Kendallville first though.

[Sean_A]

Sean,

I really didn't "allow" privates,but when you get to that side of the world most of the"privates" allow for outside play while here it's unheard of. Your right of course they are private but if my humble ass can get a tee time than it's a public in my eyes. Could you imagine calling up cp or ngla or shinny and starting with I would like to book a tee time lol..... I guess the fact that you have so many options around you makes traveling out of the way less attractable. Me on the other hand I kind off have no choice but to travel and I love doing so anyway. I do however hear were your coming from. Just like my friends you have more options. One quick question could it be your fear of flying that holds you back  ........  lol.... j/k

Brad

A certain amount of fear is healthy!  Perhaps you are too young to know this.  However, my biggest fear is that I will start bahhhing or mooing.  I dread being treated like a barnyard animal and in this respect, flying seems to be getting worse with each passing year.

Ciao

[Gerry B]

 on my top 5 must play list -  Lawsonia Links

[Andy Shulman]

Allow me to make my first post and put in a bid for Bedford Springs.  The recently refurbished course scored very high on my fun-o-meter.  The par 3s offer great variety - there are five of them - and are all outstanding golf holes.

[Brad Fleischer]

Sean,

Lol I guess your right , just make sure they dont put a bell around your neck and u'll be fine 

Andy,
Congrats, that is surely one that did not cross my mind even though I have heard good things. I don't think my friends would agree with you but it does look fun from the pics I have seen.

Gerry B,
Your post has put lawsonia over the top. It has garnered enough talk that they now agree it might be worth the trip so thanks ...

[K. Krahenbuhl]

on my top 5 must play list -  Lawsonia Links

I made a trip up there from Houston earlier this summer and I can't wait to get back again.  It was everything that I hoped it would be and more.