Office Hours: Best Golf States
Office Hours returns as Michael Wolf welcomes Tron Carter to purchase/draft their best golf states.
Presented by Holderness & Bourne. Head over to hbgolf.com for all your holiday shopping.
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27 Comments
I think VA is better than the guys gave it credit for.
ballyhack
olde farm
kinlock
primland
golden horseshoe
Omni homestead
royal New kent
also think there's more hitters in GA that deserved mention
the keep at mclemore looks sweet
Athens CC classic Ross
old Toccoa farm
the farm
druid hills
Hawks ridge
sky valley
currahee
barnsley
kinderlou forest
Long Cove is SIIIIIIIIIIIICK. Had a reciprocal there this year and played it on a 100 degree day for $70. One of my favorite courses of 2024.
Nice to see Wolfie back, well done. I like the veiled reference to the HCPD Junior Golf Program. “I’ll take the New Guy” 😂
Love that ya took Iowa. Top 3 private are fantastic. Public we have quantity but not much quality. Veenker and Waveland could be special if resto/renoed. The Loess Hills on the west side and bluffs on the east could be special. Just need to find a billionaire now to do it all. We do have a couole great sand green courses still that are a blast.
How do you not consider weather!? I play golf all 12 months in Texas
TC, with all due respect my friend, you're way off if you think public golf "stinks" in Illinois. While it's not as top heavy as some, the list of really good golf is extensive: Cog Dubs, Prairie Landing, Cantigny, Thunderhawk, Shepherds Crook, Highlands of Elgin, Hickory Ridge, The Glen Club, The General at Eagle Ridge, Harborside, etc…
OMG, Minnesota crushes Iowa in both private and public golf. Not even close. Michael, you need to visit and see for yourself.
Somebody please buy Lake Wales CC!!!
Somebody please buy Lake Wales CC!!!
I have no idea what we’re doing. Job well done TC, on brand
I think you guys are out of your minds. CA should be everybody’s #1 pick; but clearly I’m biased as lifetime SF Bay Area native. Sure it’s gonna cost you 39 units BUT you are effectively getting 6 distinct incredible golfing regions for that price: Southern CA, Palm Springs Desert style golf, Central Coast, SF Bay Area, North CA (north of Santa Rosa and Sacramento all the way to the Oregon border) and Sierra Nevada foothills and mountains. The amount of incredible and distinct styles of courses make the 39 units a steal. Incredible public golf (Pebble Beach Golf Links, Pasatiempo, Spyglass, Links at Spanish Bay, Half Moon Bay Golf Links are all public although ridiculously expensive) and for private you’d have to chose between: Riviera, LACC, Bel Air, Cypress Point, SFCC, Olympic Club, CordeValle, TPC Stonebrae. For me CA is easily my #1 pick.
Okay I drafted my list:
1) California 39 units
2) Hawaii 2 units
3) Nebraska 2 units
4) Maine 2 units
5) Montana 2 units
6) Rhode Island 2 units
7) Vermont 1 unit
For 50 units I’m getting 6 district regions of incredible golfing in CA; and 6 other gorgeous states that have great golf too. No brainer for me.
Feel like Utah would have been a great value pick. Maybe doesn’t have the big name private clubs, but there’s some gems out there
We need a listing of all the courses they mention
Indiana – Victoria National, Pete Dye French Lick, Crooked stick, sycamore Hills, Purgatory, Bear slide, Brickyard, chariot run, rock hollow, Purdue golf courses, IUs PFAU,Holiday farms – so many more excellent courses. I haven't seen the crew even come to Indiana to golf. Home of Pete Dye
Also in Wisconsin for the public, the BEST muni: Washington County just outside of Milwaukee 🤌🏻🤌🏻🤌🏻
Bar Run is in Roseburg, Oregon – just over an hour south of Eugene. Can be on the way to Bandon if you take the southern route over. Tons of fun and not very expensive.
Not surprised that my adopted home of Kentucky was excluded. Shockingly bad golf state considering how beautiful the land is in central Kentucky. Local municipals are either boring, in poor shape, or both—though at least they're cheap. (Kearney Hill is a cool public Dye course that's refreshingly un-Dye-like, but it's not in great shape these days). Private courses are nothing special, apart from some exceptions (like the Ross-designed Idle Hour). Otherwise it's a lot of bad 70s/80s/90s stuff. It's not a good sign when Valhalla and Keene Trace are held up as among the very best private courses in the state.
I'm not sure this is as much due to agronomy reasons (obviously we don't have sandy soil, but Lexington and Louisville are the same climate as Cincinnati, which has great courses) as just a lack of golden age courses and no investment from the modern brand-name architects.
Wolfie is back! Need one of these a quarter, Tell the Czar to sponsor this.
No mention of Kiawah with SC?
Should not consider private courses at all. Not a great golf state if you encourage elitism.
Pittsburgh Field Club might be one of the most underrated courses I've ever played. So so good!
Tron, Diamond Creek is a 3.5 hour drive from Cashiers!
Wolfie's argument that you can't round down because some states would be zero makes no sense! As you said, the smallest state has 584,000 people.
tc won. Thank you. I need more. Love you both.
Minnesota has bangers, gotta know where to look.