LINKS Mag's "Top 10 Under $50"

[David_Tepper]

http://www.linksmagazine.com/golf_courses/bretwood

[Jud_T]

Shepherd's Crook is indeed good value and a nice Keith Foster Design, even if the final 3 holes leave a bit of a bad aftertaste.  Spring Valley CC, a Langford relic from the 20's just down the road in Salem, WI, is an even better course and an even better value however at $18 to walk all day...

[John Cowden]

Tokatee Golf Cub, Blue River, Oregon, at 3200' in the Cascades, mid-way between Eugene and Bend.  Ted Robinson.  $45 walking.

[Andrew Buck]

I'd nominate Mystic Hills, a simple Pete Dye course in Culver, IN.  You can walk during the week for $20 and I know I've paid $100 to play lesser courses.

[Bill_McBride]

How much is Rustic Canyon?

Agree on Tokatee, love that course. 

[Jud_T]

Rustic has a peak rate of $66 so while still great value for LA it probably doesn't qualify.

[Bill_McBride]

Rustic has a peak rate of $66 so while still great value for LA it probably doesn't qualify.

I think the rates on the list were lowest rates for those courses.  Rustic might never get under $50. 

[Jud_T]

Rustic is $36 midweek.  If it qualifies, it's a travesty that it's not included.

[Howard Riefs]

There should have been a third Keith Foster course on the list.  The Highlands of Elgin is only $46 to walk on weekends.

[David_Tepper]

http://highlandsofelgin.com/

[Jud_T]

There should have been a third Keith Foster course on the list.  The Highlands of Elgin is only $46 to walk on weekends.

Well, the front 9 at least.   Howard, HoE would be #3 just locally in my book.

[Jason Thurman]

It's definitely surprising not to see Rustic Canyon. Nice to see Wasioto Winds though. I haven't played that one, but I've enjoyed a few of Kentucky's other newer State Parks courses. Hidden Cove and Dale Hollow would both probably merit honorable mentions for me, as would The Trophy Club in Indianapolis.

Keith Foster does some very good and affordable work. I've heard great things about the Tennessean, and really enjoyed Dark Horse just north of Sacramento. The Harvester in Iowa is a little too pricey for this list but another excellent value considering the quality of the course. It's about as good as any public I've played for under $100.

Jud, do you really believe Spring Valley should be on this list or are you just pointing out that you like it more than Shepherd's Crook?

[Jud_T]

Jason,

Yes I think Spring Valley should be on the list but understand why it isn't.  It would be near the top of any <$25 list nationally.  No sand bunkers and minimal irrigation doesn't sell a lot of magazines, even if it's a great piece of property and routing.

[Matthew Sander]

Interesting list, and difficult to find fault with unless you've played them all.

Personally, I really enjoy The Trophy Club in Indy and it is under $50 except for weekend mornings. I put it a bit ahead of Shepherd's Crook, which I also think very highly of. Actually, I think you can find some similarities in these two and their variety.

I've mentioned it before, but I'd also throw out Gibson Bay in Richmond, KY as a suggestion. Weekdays are $15 (!) with a $10 afternoon rate.

[Tom_Doak]

I wonder how a couple of the golf courses were included in the list, when they couldn't even find a decent photo of them.  It makes me wonder whether the person(s) who wrote the list actually saw the courses in question.

[Jason Thurman]

Jason,

Yes I think Spring Valley should be on the list but understand why it isn't.  It would be near the top of any <$25 list nationally.  No sand bunkers and minimal irrigation doesn't sell a lot of magazines, even if it's a great piece of property and routing.

To each their own I guess. I love Langford, and Spring Valley is a neat relic for an architecture nerd. But I can think of plenty of better courses for under $25. You just have to venture pretty far outside of Chicagoland to find them.

Matthew, I'm totally with you on Gibson Bay. Good course. Wonderful facility. Amazing bargain. Picadome in Lexington is really cool too, and was $18 to walk last I heard. Kentucky's not full of great golf, but it is full of good bargains.

Hawthorne Hills in Lima, OH might deserve consideration on an under $25 list. A little tight in spots, but some really cool holes. The 6th has one of the best green complexes I've ever seen - almost a Road Hole green but reverse-oriented and with a mound instead of a bunker. It's a far more effective feature on clay soil in the Midwest, as even a wedge shot that gets within 30 feet of the peak of that mound is going to get sent flying away from the green. And I really love Waveland in Des Moines, which can't be much over $18 to walk either.

[Phil McDade]

Jason,

Yes I think Spring Valley should be on the list but understand why it isn't.  It would be near the top of any <$25 list nationally.  No sand bunkers and minimal irrigation doesn't sell a lot of magazines, even if it's a great piece of property and routing.

To each their own I guess. I love Langford, and Spring Valley is a neat relic for an architecture nerd. But I can think of plenty of better courses for under $25. You just have to venture pretty far outside of Chicagoland to find them.

Matthew, I'm totally with you on Gibson Bay. Good course. Wonderful facility. Amazing bargain. Picadome in Lexington is really cool too, and was $18 to walk last I heard. Kentucky's not full of great golf, but it is full of good bargains.

Hawthorne Hills in Lima, OH might deserve consideration on an under $25 list. A little tight in spots, but some really cool holes. The 6th has one of the best green complexes I've ever seen - almost a Road Hole green but reverse-oriented and with a mound instead of a bunker. It's a far more effective feature on clay soil in the Midwest, as even a wedge shot that gets within 30 feet of the peak of that mound is going to get sent flying away from the green. And I really love Waveland in Des Moines, which can't be much over $18 to walk either.

Waveland is $20 M-F; $30 on weekends/holiday. SV is $18 anytime.

"But I can think of plenty of better courses for under $25."

Before you click on this link from a few years ago, name a few (that are better), and my long-standing caveat is that the max. rate has to be $25 or under -- anytime of the week or year, no add-ons like carts required. Just walking 18 holes for $25 or less anytime:

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,31437.0.html

[Jud_T]

Jason,

For those of us who don't routinely pump it out there 250+,  SV isn't a relic at all, but rather a stone blast to play.  I'd love to hear of any course it's equal for $1/hole.

[Jason Topp]

The pictures are terrible.  I have played a few on the list and probably would come up with a different list.  Nonetheless, it is nice to see lower priced courses promoted.

[Jason Thurman]

Phil,

I prefer a few courses already mentioned:

Hawthorne Hills - Lima, OH (peak rate $25)
Picadome - Lexington, KY ($23)
Gibson Bay - Richmond, KY ($24 peak, best value I know of)

Honestly, I'd even take Tates Creek in Lexington over Spring Valley, which is an old muni of no pedigree but with a few fairly interesting holes and nothing offensive.

The truth is, I just don't like Spring Valley very much. It's the most overrated course on this site in my opinion. I think it gets a very inflated reputation around here because it checks every GCA-street-cred checkbox:

1. It's in poor condition
2. It's unheralded elsewhere
3. It was designed by an ODG
4. It was designed by an ODG who is less heralded than many of his contemporaries
5. It hasn't seen extensive remodeling
6. The architectural vision was never fully realized, so it's easy to speak hypothetically about "what might've been."

It has a few good holes, and it has some cool green contours on the tiny amount of putting surface that still exists. As a member of a Langford course, I'm glad I've seen it. I rate it about a 2.5/10. Pump a few million into it and there might be a 4 lurking in there somewhere. But in the meantime, it's no better or worse than the majority of courses you can play for $18 - an interesting moment here and there mostly surrounded by nothing all that significant. Remove the Langford and Moreau name from it and none of us would ever have any interest in playing it.

That's just how I see it. I know it has a cult following here that disagrees vehemently, but I think the average player who plunks down $18 for it will feel like it was fairly priced, while the average player who does one of the four courses I mentioned above will feel like they got a really nice deal.

[Andrew Buck]

Jason,

For those of us who don't routinely pump it out there 250+,  SV isn't a relic at all, but rather a stone blast to play.  I'd love to hear of any course it's equal for $1/hole.

I'll have to give this a try sometimes, as I suspect the website and aerial don't do it justice, but always interested in a neat track, even if 6,000 is a little short.

It looks like the rates at Spring Valley CC are $27/walk - $39/ride on weekends and $22/walk - $34/ride.

I would have to say Lick Creek in Pekin at $24 on a weekend to walk is probably close to it's equal, and certainly more of a test.

http://www.pekinparkdistrict.org/lickcreek.html

Mystic Hills, the Pete Dye design in Culver Indiana is cheaper to walk during week, but unfortunately only allows carts on weekends (for $1 more than Spring Valley).   Mystic Hills played very firm and fast in a great way when I played it.

http://mystichills.com/golf-photo-gallery/

I can think of quite a few very well conditioned courses in Central Illinois that are interesting, but probably nothing I'd suggest members of this site take a special trip for.


EDIT:  I JUST NOTICED THE FIRST SPRING VALLEY IN THE LINKED THREAD WAS THE WRONG SPRING VALLEY, AND THEREFORE IT IS $18/34 on both weekdays and weekend. 

[Rob Rigg]

You can get on Juniper in Redmond, OR for less than $50 most of the year (afternoon during the summer I think).

Papago in PHX is only $20 walking rate during the summer (it's a bit hot) - sub-$50 for a decent part of the year.

Of course most of the publics in PHX/Scottsdale get under $50 during the summer which is nice for TS-North and WKP-Saguaro.

Interesting list on Links.

[Jud_T]

Robb,

You can't call a course with a $165 peak rate a value proposition if the price only drops significantly when it's 105 out...

[Phil McDade]

Jason,

For those of us who don't routinely pump it out there 250+,  SV isn't a relic at all, but rather a stone blast to play.  I'd love to hear of any course it's equal for $1/hole.

I'll have to give this a try sometimes, as I suspect the website and aerial don't do it justice, but always interested in a neat track, even if 6,000 is a little short.

It looks like the rates at Spring Valley CC are $27/walk - $39/ride on weekends and $22/walk - $34/ride.

It also tips out at 6,450 at a par of 70 -- and it has some length to it: par 4s of 460, 450, 435 and 420 (for what's been characterized as a hacker's muni), two par 5s at 540 and 560, and par 3s that run 230, 190 and 180. It's not a driver/wedge course by any means.

Jason: SV is by no means Lawsonia. But SV is closer to Clovernook than Clovernook is to Lawsonia in terms of adhering to the canons and original design intent of Langford. (OK, that's probably a bit snarky, as I've only played two of the three -- but SV's shrunken green pads don't strike me as being any more onerous than the claustrophobia of what one encounters at Clovernook, something Langford would be rolling over in his grave to see now.)

[Steve_ Shaffer]

Since I'm escaping the desert heat- 111* now outside- once again, I'll be in Park City in about 10days and will try to play

www.linksmagazine.com/golf_courses/wasatch-mountain-state-park.

http://www.utah.com/golf/courses/wasatch_mtn.htm

Looks interesting.

I'll report back.