first golf course

[Brian Ross]

Cedar Hill Country Club - Jonesville, VA. Nope, you've never heard of it! 

[Steve Salmen]

Ukiah Golf Course  Ukiah, Ca.. First hole ever, made a 12
First Lesson/Driving Range was in Ooty, India 1982

[Rich Goodale]

Candlewood Golf Club, Ipswich, MA c. 1956

[Dan Kelly]

Braemar Golf Course, Edina, Minnesota (now at the intersection of streets named after hometowners John Harris and Hillary Homeyer Lunke).

11 or 12 years old, I think.

Almost aced the drop-shot, 125-yard 12th, with a driver.

Two-foot comebacker for birdie.

Missed it.

I was hooked.

[BHoover]

Bob O' Link in North Canton, Ohio.

It was the very epitome of a dog track--we called it "The Rock" (for the hardpan fairways) or "Bob O' Stink" or "Bob O' Shit". It truly was a dump and, looking back now, it had zero architectural merit (beyond thefact that it resembled a golf course more than, say, a parking lot would).

But it had 36 holes and my friends and I played 36/day every weekday until our parents made us get summer jobs. We each bought a $200 season pass and probably got 20 times that in the amount of golf we played. I have no idea how many rounds I played there, but I got to know every feature of the place. It was the first course I played, and it was where I had my first birdie, first broke 100, 90, 80 and par.

[Chris Luce]

Mariah Hills in Dodge City, Kansas.
11 years old on Spring Break. Fired a pair of 72's first time out...for a smooth 144.
Not a bad course considering how far in the middle of nowhere it's located and always in decent to good condition.
Superintendent  was the late Stan George  who ultimately ended up @ Prairie Dunes.

[Rick Shefchik]

Northland Country Club, ca. 1958.

Like Jeff Warne, I had no idea how good I had it.

[Pat Burke]

My dad was the head pro at Deal GC in New Jersey.
I remember playing there (cross handed).
There was a picture in a NY paper of me putting on the practice green
at the Knoll in 1966 State Open.  I was about 4!

Funny I started out cross handed until I was about 6 or 7

[Colin Macqueen]

Gentlemen,

My first game on a golf course was at Burnside cheek by jowl with Carnoustie. My first stroke was a whopper of a slice onto the Aberdeen-Edinburgh railway line!  "Goodbye to All That" springs to mind!

The first course I played on a regular basis was Ashludie part of The Monifieth Links courses. At just over 5000 yards 'twas ideal for a 12 year old and at sixpence a round affordable. Coupled with the fact that the bike ride was 7 miles shorter than that to Burnside many happy hours were idled  away. Halcyon days!

Cheers Colin

[Matthew Rose]

First course: Jim Ager Junior in Lincoln, Nebraska, summer 1983

First regulation course: Riverside Municipal, Janesville, WI, June 1985

In a rather common occurrence developing here.... yes, I took them both for granted, especially the latter. It's been more than 15 years now since I've set foot on either.

[Matt Osborne]

My first course was Mill River on Prince Edward Island (they hosted a series of the Big Break there a few years back).

I was about 10 and my Dad took me out there and I played the entire round right handed and he said it took well over 5 hours....


.....he then went out and bought me a set of left handed clubs.  

Great course on the west side of the island (although some of the renovations have taken out some of the quirkiest and fun holes IMO).  I still try to get back there once a year.  

[Mark Fedeli]

Kresson Golf Course in Voorhees, NJ.

4800 fantastic yards and a par of 68. I remember when my dad took me out there for the first time, must have been 6 or 7 years old, and I was shocked that I couldn't tee up ALL my shots. Who knew? Continued to play there with friends probably up until I was about 14-15, as it was within walking distance of my house.

Wow, I never thought about this before, but in hindsight, had that course not existed, I would not have played 90% of the golf I played as a child. Crazy.

[Bill Seitz]

First course: Arcadia (CA) Par 3.
First regulation course: Pretty sure it was the Palm Springs Muni.  I think I played that before I played Santa Anita, but within a few years, I had played Santa Anita what seemed like a couple hundred times.

[Joey Chase]

Escanaba C.C. in the U.P. of Michigan.  It was a nine hole course laid out by Tom Bendelow.  My Dad was the greenskeeper here when I was growing up.  Unfortunately they have since added 9 holes that do not match the old nine.  It was a fun, quirky nine on sandy soil. 

[Ian Mackenzie]

Sconset Golf Course in Nantucket, Massachusetts.
Great 9-holer. Is still only $35.00 today. I think I paid $5.00 - $7.00 in 1975.

[Jim Sherma]

With my dad on a nine-hole course somewhere in the Wisconsin Dells. My dad was speaking at a conference at the hotel/resort and it was the day that Thurman Munson died. I remember the news reports as we got back to the room. Don't remember the course at all but never really took any sport seriously after that day.

[Paul OConnor]

Jackson Park

[Terry Lavin]

Hickory Hills. My dad dropped me and my two brothers off at 5:30 a.m. a couple days a week and we'd throw our clubs over the fence, climb over and play for free. Unless we got caught. As a judge, I happened to write an opinion denying their insurance claim for the loss of a few dozen trees in a storm. I quoted H.J. Which am: Every tree on the links should be ruthlessly destroyed.

[Tim Gavrich]

Hop Meadow Country Club--G. Cornish, 1961--in Simsbury, CT. I was 6 and I think there were a few range/putting green sessions with my Dad before we went onto the course. I think I double-bogeyed the first hole I played. Been addicted ever since.

It's been about eight or nine years since I last played "The Hop," since my family gave up membership there when I was still in high school. I miss that place and, like others, took for granted how solid a course is is.

[Michael Wharton-Palmer]

The Gymkhana Club on the island of Mauritius where we were living at the time.
Where I first started to play many moons agao

[Bill_McBride]

Iberia Golf and Country Club - New Iberia, LA. I wish the 9-hole course still existed, but now there subdivision behind my parents house.

Please tell me that Dave Robicheaux and Clete Purcell completed your threesome.....

+1.      Cletus wearing his pork pie hat. 

[Mark Provenzano]

Sinnissippi Golf Course in Rockford IL. Probably played played my 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th rounds there as well. No sand, no water, but plenty of interest. Still holds up pretty well today, and at $9 for 9 holes, I'm sure it's serving the youth of my hometown quite well these days...

[Dwight Phelps]

1st course: Arroyo Seco Par 3
1st regulation course: Brookside #2

[Doug Wright]

1st course:  Seaview Playland Pitch and Putt on Cape Cod in Dennisport
Ist regulation course: St, Bonaventure Univ. GC (9 holes) in Allegany, NY
Age: 10

[Joel Pear]

The 9-hole course on the property of the Naval Ordinance Lab in White Oak, MD. many, many, many years ago.