News:

Welcome to the Golf Club Atlas Discussion Group!

Each user is approved by the Golf Club Atlas editorial staff. For any new inquiries, please contact us.


Howard Riefs

  • Karma: +0/-0
Matt Ginella's Ultimate Guide to Value Golf in the U.S.
« on: February 27, 2013, 09:12:12 AM »
Nice guide to value golf in the U.S. from Matt Ginella at Golf Channel.

http://www.golfchannel.com/news/travel-insider/list-of-value-courses-in-the-us/

He describes it:

"Value is obviously relative. And a 'value golf course' is an assessment of history, design, condition, service, fun factor, charm and cost relative to other courses in the area. I'll continue to add to the list below until it becomes The Ultimate Guide to Value Golf in the U.S. (I'll stop at 50 courses, and continue to tweak the list accordingly.) The order will start with Coronado, the least expensive, and no course on this list will be over $99; $100 is a fair ceiling to what most cost-conscious avid amateurs would consider 'ultimate' value."

He's adding five courses to the list each day (I'll accordingly update the thread), and they're in order based on peak-season prices on a weekend. Good to already see some GCA favorites included thus far.

1    Coronado GC in Coronado, Calif. ($35)
2    Wachusett CC in West Boylston, Mass. ($40)
3    Peninsula Golf Resort in Lancaster, Ky. ($42)
4    Warren Golf Course in Notre Dame, Ind. ($45)
5    The Highlands in Elgin, Ill. ($46)
6    Wild Horse G.C. in Gothenburg, Neb. ($48.50)
7    Pacific Grove in Pacific Grove, Calif. ($52)
8    CommonGround in Denver, Colo. ($52)
9    Delray Beach Golf Club in Delray Beach, Fla. ($52)
10  Brackenridge Park Golf Course in San Antonio, Texas ($55)


"Golf combines two favorite American pastimes: Taking long walks and hitting things with a stick."  ~P.J. O'Rourke

Cliff Hamm

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Matt Ginella's Ultimate Guide to Value Golf in the U.S.
« Reply #1 on: February 27, 2013, 09:25:21 AM »
Wachusett is a bit of an odd choice.  The 'Big 3' of Donald Ross munis in SE New England are Triggs in Providence, Shennecossett in Ct. and George Wright in Boston.  Any and all 3 belong on any value list.  Caveat - I have not played Wachusett.  A course I've meant to get to but not a burning desire as I have not heard much about it.  If anyone feels it is better than the other 3 please inform me.

John McCarthy

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Matt Ginella's Ultimate Guide to Value Golf in the U.S.
« Reply #2 on: February 27, 2013, 09:34:31 AM »
I've only played Warren and Elgin but both are excellent.  Elgin has a few clunkers (15th) but the operation is very well run.  I am going back to Warren next summer - it was $35 to walk! 
The only way of really finding out a man's true character is to play golf with him. In no other walk of life does the cloven hoof so quickly display itself.
 PG Wodehouse

Adam Clayman

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Matt Ginella's Ultimate Guide to Value Golf in the U.S.
« Reply #3 on: February 27, 2013, 09:55:21 AM »
Pinon Hills absence is clearly an oversight.
"It's unbelievable how much you don't know about the game you've been playing your whole life." - Mickey Mantle

Mark Pearce

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Matt Ginella's Ultimate Guide to Value Golf in the U.S.
« Reply #4 on: February 27, 2013, 09:56:55 AM »
I have very limited experience of US golf.  However, if Pacific Grove belongs on this list then so does George Wright in Boston.
In June I will be riding the first three stages of this year's Tour de France route for charity.  630km (394 miles) in three days, with 7800m (25,600 feet) of climbing for the William Wates Memorial Trust (https://rideleloop.org/the-charity/) which supports underprivileged young people.

Jud_T

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Matt Ginella's Ultimate Guide to Value Golf in the U.S.
« Reply #5 on: February 27, 2013, 09:58:18 AM »
He obviously stole the idea from me.. 8)  I still can't believe I haven't played the Warren.  Other obvious additions:  Spring Valley, The Mines, Shepherd's Crook, Lawsonia Links, Harrison Hills, Rustic Canyon and Ravisloe.
« Last Edit: February 27, 2013, 10:05:02 AM by Jud Tigerman »
Golf is a game. We play it. Somewhere along the way we took the fun out of it and charged a premium to be punished.- - Ron Sirak

Howard Riefs

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Matt Ginella's Ultimate Guide to Value Golf in the U.S.
« Reply #6 on: February 27, 2013, 10:07:08 AM »
Other obvious additions:  Spring Valley, The Mines, Shepherd's Crook, Lawsonia Links, Harrison Hills, Rustic Canyon and Ravisloe.

He's adding five courses a day until the list reaches 50 courses. Stay tuned.

"Golf combines two favorite American pastimes: Taking long walks and hitting things with a stick."  ~P.J. O'Rourke

Steve_ Shaffer

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Matt Ginella's Ultimate Guide to Value Golf in the U.S.
« Reply #7 on: February 27, 2013, 10:07:55 AM »
Delray Beach GC, although a Ross design from the 1920s, is quite boring with only a few holes of interest but none are memorable.
"Some of us worship in churches, some in synagogues, some on golf courses ... "  Adlai Stevenson
Hyman Roth to Michael Corleone: "We're bigger than US Steel."
Ben Hogan “The most important shot in golf is the next one”

Mark Saltzman

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Matt Ginella's Ultimate Guide to Value Golf in the U.S.
« Reply #8 on: February 27, 2013, 10:13:32 AM »
Delray Beach GC, although a Ross design from the 1920s, is quite boring with only a few holes of interest but none are memorable.

Agreed.  West Palm Beach Muni would be my choice in the area.  Not sure of the posted peak green fee on a weekend, but I played it for $22 in-season last year.

Mark Saltzman

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Matt Ginella's Ultimate Guide to Value Golf in the U.S.
« Reply #9 on: February 27, 2013, 10:15:41 AM »
Anyone else see Matty G on Golf Channel just now?  That sure as heck wasn't Wild Horse they were showing pictures of!

jeffwarne

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Matt Ginella's Ultimate Guide to Value Golf in the U.S.
« Reply #10 on: February 27, 2013, 10:24:11 AM »
Other obvious additions:  Spring Valley, The Mines, Shepherd's Crook, Lawsonia Links, Harrison Hills, Rustic Canyon and Ravisloe.

He's adding five courses a day until the list reaches 50 courses. Stay tuned.



Probably just lurking here waiting for us to complete the list ;)


It's a tricky thing to do, a course like Pacific Grove is indeed great value when compared to the prices of other offerings in the area.
That said, $52 ain't that cheap.

Going the other way, Aiken Golf Club is great value at $25, but everything around it public has gone to that even though it's remained static, and is great value for a good course, it's not the incredible value it once was.

I'd offer up Shennecosset(though the ferry ride is a bit pricey ;)) or Tallgrass in my area as well.
"Let's slow the damned greens down a bit, not take the character out of them." Tom Doak
"Take their focus off the grass and put it squarely on interesting golf." Don Mahaffey

Jason Topp

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Matt Ginella's Ultimate Guide to Value Golf in the U.S.
« Reply #11 on: February 27, 2013, 10:28:05 AM »
Wachusett is a bit of an odd choice.  The 'Big 3' of Donald Ross munis in SE New England are Triggs in Providence, Shennecossett in Ct. and George Wright in Boston.  Any and all 3 belong on any value list.  Caveat - I have not played Wachusett.  A course I've meant to get to but not a burning desire as I have not heard much about it.  If anyone feels it is better than the other 3 please inform me.

I have not played the other three but I can vouch that the course is quite good.  I chose to play there rather than George Wright because I anticipated pace of play and conditioning would be better.  I pretty much had the course to myself on a beautiful midsummer weekday and the course was in very good condition. 

I am guessing the course usually has more play than on the day I was there.

Jud_T

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Matt Ginella's Ultimate Guide to Value Golf in the U.S.
« Reply #12 on: February 27, 2013, 10:30:48 AM »
Oh,  Kingswood Golf Club, Wolfboro, NH   1915 Ross.  Old school and good value...
Golf is a game. We play it. Somewhere along the way we took the fun out of it and charged a premium to be punished.- - Ron Sirak

Richard Choi

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Matt Ginella's Ultimate Guide to Value Golf in the U.S.
« Reply #13 on: February 27, 2013, 12:43:44 PM »
There are a very few better values than Gold Mountain - Olympic Course at $60. Top 100 public worthy course with one memorable hole after another. I personally prefer it over CommonGround and Rustic Canyon.

Jason Topp

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Matt Ginella's Ultimate Guide to Value Golf in the U.S.
« Reply #14 on: February 27, 2013, 12:55:23 PM »
For those of you that have not clicked through to the original article, the courses are not numbered so I do not think there is any sort of ranking within this list.

Chuck Glowacki

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Matt Ginella's Ultimate Guide to Value Golf in the U.S.
« Reply #15 on: February 27, 2013, 01:13:38 PM »
At $43 for state residents, Montauk Downs is a great value

Howard Riefs

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Matt Ginella's Ultimate Guide to Value Golf in the U.S.
« Reply #16 on: February 27, 2013, 01:20:41 PM »
Anyone else see Matty G on Golf Channel just now?  That sure as heck wasn't Wild Horse they were showing pictures of!

Matt has heard that from others via Twitter.  Damn, producer.  

https://twitter.com/MattGinellaGC/status/306760509741481984
"Golf combines two favorite American pastimes: Taking long walks and hitting things with a stick."  ~P.J. O'Rourke

Alex Miller

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Matt Ginella's Ultimate Guide to Value Golf in the U.S.
« Reply #17 on: February 27, 2013, 02:02:44 PM »
There are a very few better values than Gold Mountain - Olympic Course at $60. Top 100 public worthy course with one memorable hole after another. I personally prefer it over CommonGround and Rustic Canyon.

gasp  ;)  I would have to think Rustic shows up soon, but the peak rates are now $66. Rustic does have great deals/opportunity to play twilight though with mid-day, twilight, and super-twilight rates. 36 holes can be had on a summer weekday for <$50.

Cliff Hamm

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Matt Ginella's Ultimate Guide to Value Golf in the U.S.
« Reply #18 on: February 27, 2013, 02:27:53 PM »
There are a very few better values than Gold Mountain - Olympic Course at $60. Top 100 public worthy course with one memorable hole after another. I personally prefer it over CommonGround and Rustic Canyon.

On a trip out west played Gold Mountain and Chamber's Bay among others.  Only played Gold Mountain because of comments here - thanks!

I actually preferred Gold Mountain to Chamber's Bay at less than one third the price. My primary purpose in playing golf is enjoyment.  I found GM to rank very, very high in the fun factor with an excellent diversity of strategic holes.  On the other hand, I thought CB was a grind. 

John McCarthy

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Matt Ginella's Ultimate Guide to Value Golf in the U.S.
« Reply #19 on: February 27, 2013, 03:10:07 PM »
Anyone else see Matty G on Golf Channel just now?  That sure as heck wasn't Wild Horse they were showing pictures of!

Matt has heard that from others via Twitter.  Damn, producer.  

https://twitter.com/MattGinellaGC/status/306760509741481984


Yesterday they showed a hole at Chicago Highlands instead of Highlands of Elgin. 

The only way of really finding out a man's true character is to play golf with him. In no other walk of life does the cloven hoof so quickly display itself.
 PG Wodehouse

Howard Riefs

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Matt Ginella's Ultimate Guide to Value Golf in the U.S.
« Reply #20 on: February 27, 2013, 04:05:10 PM »
Anyone else see Matty G on Golf Channel just now?  That sure as heck wasn't Wild Horse they were showing pictures of!

Matt has heard that from others via Twitter.  Damn, producer.  

https://twitter.com/MattGinellaGC/status/306760509741481984


Yesterday they showed a hole at Chicago Highlands instead of Highlands of Elgin. 


$250,000 downstroke and Art Hills vs $46/round and Keith Foster. I'd much rather have Elgin.

"Golf combines two favorite American pastimes: Taking long walks and hitting things with a stick."  ~P.J. O'Rourke

Phil McDade

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Matt Ginella's Ultimate Guide to Value Golf in the U.S.
« Reply #21 on: February 27, 2013, 04:13:54 PM »
He obviously stole the idea from me.. 8)   Other obvious additions:   Lawsonia Links.

$90 under his criteria.....

Howard Riefs

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Matt Ginella's Ultimate Guide to Value Golf in the U.S.
« Reply #22 on: February 27, 2013, 05:08:10 PM »
He obviously stole the idea from me.. 8)   Other obvious additions:   Lawsonia Links.

$90 under his criteria.....

The site says the ceiling is $99:

"...no course on this list will be over $99; $100 is a fair ceiling to what most cost-conscious avid amateurs would consider "ultimate" value."

"Golf combines two favorite American pastimes: Taking long walks and hitting things with a stick."  ~P.J. O'Rourke

Jeff_Brauer

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Matt Ginella's Ultimate Guide to Value Golf in the U.S.
« Reply #23 on: February 27, 2013, 05:33:54 PM »
This actually seems crazy to me, now that most golf courses in America have lowered their greens fees substantially.  If $100 is your upper limit, there are courses galore out there that give you great bang for the buck, including many, if not most, under $50.  Seems like $50 or $75 ought to be the max, and you could still find more than 100 really good courses out there to play.

He could expand the list to modern/classic, or better yet put up 5-10 per state or even major city.

That would keep him busy for a while.....
Jeff Brauer, ASGCA Director of Outreach

Tim Martin

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Matt Ginella's Ultimate Guide to Value Golf in the U.S.
« Reply #24 on: February 27, 2013, 07:12:56 PM »
Other obvious additions:  Spring Valley, The Mines, Shepherd's Crook, Lawsonia Links, Harrison Hills, Rustic Canyon and Ravisloe.

He's adding five courses a day until the list reaches 50 courses. Stay tuned.



Probably just lurking here waiting for us to complete the list ;)


It's a tricky thing to do, a course like Pacific Grove is indeed great value when compared to the prices of other offerings in the area.
That said, $52 ain't that cheap.

Going the other way, Aiken Golf Club is great value at $25, but everything around it public has gone to that even though it's remained static, and is great value for a good course, it's not the incredible value it once was.

I'd offer up Shennecosset(though the ferry ride is a bit pricey ;)) or Tallgrass in my area as well.

Cliff and Jeff both have it right with Shenny. I have paid as little as $20 off season and $40 in the Summer when it is in pristine condition for the Connecticut Senior Open. One of the real municipal gems in New England.

Tags:
Tags:

An Error Has Occurred!

Call to undefined function theme_linktree()
Back