KVV rallied up the crew for a check-in — a little bit of golf, a little bit of entertainment, and a little bit of life, too.
What’s your favorite MUNI in America and why? (This is different than public courses; resort courses don’t count for this answer.)
Cody - Lots of directions you could go with this one. Charleston Muni and Memorial Park are great examples of cities investing in their spaces. Gold Mountain and George Wright are examples of proud cities that do an excellent job of maintaining the excellence in front of them. I could talk about Marias Valley GC, the course that raised me, and the community that fearlessly backs it. But I will embrace my new home, and gush on the cities of Dallas and Fort Worth. Each is different in its own way, but to me, Rockwood (The Rock), Cedar Crest and Keeton stand above the rest. Design-wise, I personally enjoy The Rock the best. But feelings, both current and into the future bring me back to Cedar or Keeton nine times out of ten. Both are run by leaders not only in Texas but on a national level: Ira Mayo and Tony (and Ty) Martinez are leading their clubs into the future. They make golf cool again and encourage people from all different backgrounds just to come out and try the game. We need more Iras, Tonys, and Tys in golf.
DJ - It’s probably Jacksonville Beach Golf Club for me. Seeing what that course looked like when I first moved to Jacksonville in 2012 (BAD!) and seeing it today is truly inspiring and proof that municipal golf works and thrives with the right people around. Since moving, I’ve been delighted to see how many great munis there are here in Milwaukee and have to give a special shout-out to Brown Deer Park. Bo Van Pelt never won at Jax Beach.
Soly - First answer that comes to mind is Wilmington Muni in Wilmington, North Carolina. That place activated something within me, and I immediately wanted to go back out for more holes. A Donald Ross course that was challenging in all of the right ways, wonderfully maintained, yet accessible and inexpensive. It’s a unicorn. I still think about that place and it’s been 4.5 years since we were there.
But I also have to give a shoutout to what is now my hometown muni, which is Jacksonville Beach Golf Club. Watching that green space become the community meeting center during COVID taught me something about the importance of well-run municipal golf courses. In just six years of living in Jacksonville, I already have so many memories thanks to the fact that we have a well-maintained municipal golf course.
KVV - I like to make clear distinctions between “best” and “favorite.” I don’t think Old Works in Anaconda, MT is the “best” but in the United States, it’s definitely my favorite. I always felt in awe of the whole setting and story, a golf course built on the ruins of a copper and ore mine with elevation changes, black sand in the bunkers, and a creek that runs through the course. Anaconda is such an important town in Montana’s history, and I love driving into town, playing golf, and then having a beer at Club Moderne. The course has almost gone out of business a few times, but somehow it’s hung in there. I was in my 20s before I ever played a single round at a country club, so Old Works felt special, like I had graduated to the next level of golf.
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Tron - Upset of the year to not see Winter Park 9 chosen by anyone below - that place is unlike anything else in America…but it’s also in Orlando, which disqualifies it for me because playing it requires traveling to Orlando.
A bunch of different directions we could go here - George Wright in Boston, Wilmington, Chambers, Charleston, Memorial Park in Houston (slaps), Swope (shoutout to Ben), Keney Park in Hartford, Gold Mountain, even Corica in Alameda. And plenty I haven’t seen yet - The Park in West Palm, Buffalo Dunes, and gestures wildly at the munis in Cleveland.
But I’m gonna go with one that Neil and I played just once almost a decade ago that has stuck with me - Whitefish Lake Golf Club in Whitefish, Montana. A 36-hole facility owned by the city and leased out to the non-profit, volunteer-run Whitefish Lake Golf Association (which if that makes it not a muni…whatever), Neil and I played the South Course in late August 2016, and it was a delight. The south starts off in pretty standard fashion, then by the 6th hole, you’re down at the shores of Lost Coon Lake and play the next seven or eight holes down near the lake before working back up toward the clubhouse. The routing truly makes you feel like you’re on a journey, and reflects the patchwork set of tracts that were donated to the city by civic-minded individuals at various points for the construction of a golf course, and the views are wonderful. I have not played the North Course, but by all accounts, it is even more dynamic than the South and provides views out toward Glacier National Park. The land for both courses is dynamic and rolling but not to the point of feeling like up-and-down mountain golf. Further, the facility sits at 3,000 feet of elevation, which adds a half-club variable in there, the conditioning is dialed, there’s a nice driving range, it’s located a few blocks from town on the main drag, the restaurant is among the best in the area, the back deck is the golf is affordable (and strikes a good balance between using tourists to subsidize season pass holders, and nordic skiing and sledding on the grounds during the winter season). Probably not the best muni, but definitely my favorite and represents everything I’d ever want to see from a muni. And it warms my heart to see Torrey Pines and Bethpage omitted from everyone’s selections!
Casey - For me, this has to be Jeffersonville Golf Club in West Norriton, PA. Opened on what used to be an old horse track in 1931 and designed by Donal Ross, West Norriton Township purchased it in 1972. Superintendent Rich Shilling has done an amazing job of taking the 2000 restoration that was done and pushing it even further forward. A brand new clubhouse opens there this summer, and I can’t wait to see the new putting green and updated digs. It’s a favorite of almost every person in the Electric Phactory (Philly’s NLU Roost) for a reason. Affordable, fun, challenging, a wicked 18th hole green complex, great match play venue, pride in what they do, etc…checks all the boxes.
Ben - Homer pick here. I have to go with Swope Memorial Golf Course in Kansas City, MO. It is, in my opinion, the most architecturally interesting public in the city that also has pedigree. My favorite part about playing a muni is envisioning what it once was or could be. Swope gets my brain firing on all cylinders. It is my favorite because it is the one I think about most wanting to restore and is great fodder between friends.
Neil - Harding Park in San Francisco. It’s the perfect example of a historic parkland course in an urban area that checks all the boxes for me. It’s a championship course with history, fairly priced (I was able to play it for $50 as a city resident though I’m sure that price has gone up since I left S.F. in 2016), an easy walk, beautiful setting, and the pace was always good (I never felt like they stacked too many tee times). It’s also an example of how a successful public/private partnership can bring a historic course back from neglect.
Jordan - I’ll be the one to say Winter Park 9. It’s enchanting but so fleeting – in the best way. Similar to how I felt as a child toward its neighbor, Disney World.
Randy - Popular choice, but I have to go with Jax Beach. It’s the muni I’ve played the most, and I’ve also never tired of playing it. It has all the
Source: https://nolayingup.com/blog/whats-burning-at-the-killhouse-feb-2024-check-in