Most Fun Golf Course in America

[garyt]

On 8/3/2021 at 9:27 PM, sabram said:

 Click on the photo below to see pix of all 18 at Sand Hollow. They'll give you a flavor of the course.

 

Sand Hollow is incredible. 

[Mde103]

I’m surprised Sweetens Cove hasn’t been mentioned more. Tobacco Road is really fun, but Sweetens was just that good to me. It’s certainly not the best course that I have played, but it has so much width that you can hit it VERY poorly and still have fun.   The greens are unlike anything else that I have seen. 

[ode]

Interesting topic.  All of my favorite courses are the ones that are the most fun (to me anyways)

 

Lawsonia Links

Wild Rock

Sage Run

Sand Valley

Giants Ridge - Quarry

Big Fish

Washington County

 

I'd have no problem putting Greywalls and Mammoth Dunes on the list as well but have only played them x1 .  

 

Honorable Mention= Glen Erin, Glacier Wood, Timberstone, Sweetgrass, Morningstar, Old Hickory, Bullseye, Spring Valley....Giants Ridge - Legends, Fortune Bay, and Horseshoe Bay would also be on the list but have only played them x1.

[golfday]

Private:

Sleepy Hollow

Creek Club

Roaring Gap

 

Public:

Harbor Town

Streamsong Black

TPS Sawgrass

 

Wildcard budget friendly selection:

Jeffersonville (this one less for the golf and more for the vibes)

 

[pb_n_joe]

Repping NorCal here:

Pasatiempo

Spyglass

[Golferpaul]

On 7/26/2021 at 9:47 PM, mci711 said:

Mammoth Dunes!!! 

Mammoth Dunes is possibly the most over rated course in America, IMHO.   Yes, it's fun like playing Putt Putt.  The fairways are so wide you can swing out of your shoes and still hit the fairway.  

 

I have much more fun playing visually exciting courses like Wolf Creek.  To each his own.

[Primo1868]

Most fun I’ve had is at Belgrade Lakes, ME! 

[mci711]

On 9/12/2021 at 5:42 PM, Golferpaul said:

Mammoth Dunes is possibly the most over rated course in America, IMHO.   Yes, it's fun like playing Putt Putt.  The fairways are so wide you can swing out of your shoes and still hit the fairway.  

 

I have much more fun playing visually exciting courses like Wolf Creek.  To each his own.

 

I take it you scored a few shots under your course handicap then?

Edited September 17, 2021 by mci711

[aenemated]

Stoked that at least 3 of the courses I'm playing this week on vacation are mentioned in this thread. 🙂

[Golferpaul]

On 9/17/2021 at 2:25 PM, mci711 said:

 

I take it you scored a few shots under your course handicap then?

Our group of eight golfers played six courses that week (SV, MD, Blackwolf, The Bull, Straits, Irish).  The average scores at Sand Valley and Mammoth Dunes were the two lowest of the week even with the huge green undulations.  We had more birdies on SV than any other course.  SV was the only course that week that we had two player shoot below net par. 

 

When you have 100 yard wide fairways you take penalties out of play and reduce the big numbers.

[Maroon_19]

Just my list of my most fun courses...
Cabot Cliffs - Inverness, Nova Scotia (heading said AMERICA, not the United States)
Sand Hollow Championship Course - Hurricane, UT

Caledonia - Pawley' Island, SC
Cottonwood Valley - Las Colinas, TX
Any course I'm on with my brother and/or my buddies.

[Austincountyag]

On 8/30/2021 at 6:59 PM, Mde103 said:

I’m surprised Sweetens Cove hasn’t been mentioned more. Tobacco Road is really fun, but Sweetens was just that good to me. It’s certainly not the best course that I have played, but it has so much width that you can hit it VERY poorly and still have fun.   The greens are unlike anything else that I have seen. 

came here to post this. Sweetens is the definition of fun on a golf course. Not sure how it is now since it is more famous/commercialized, but several years ago when I played it (when the shed was still in the culdasac) it was pure golf. Timed our trip out a week before the course was hosting an owners tournament so it was in top tier shape. Super laid back vibe, not crowded at all and just pure fun. The wide fairways and huge mounding greens is what makes it cool. Super playable off the times, but when you get close you can get creative as you want. f*** I wanna go back now.

[CougarRed]

Bluejack National

Wee Ko Pa Saguaro

Pasatiempo

 

 

 

Edited October 4, 2021 by CougarRed
spelling

[JNewsted]

Check out Greywalls in Marquette, MI.  

 

Friggin roller coaster and absurdly fun.

[Chilidog]

The most fun I’ve had on a golf course revolves around these 3 courses:

 

1) Bandon Preserve: honestly, I could just loop that for the day with 7 buddies just betting every hole. We had an app that picked a random club for each person per hole that you had to hit. It made for some hilariously good times. Nothing like having to hit a driver on a 170 yard par 3. We also had it  randomly pick us in an order to start and the first 4 people would play the last four people. Once you made it to #1, you would fall back to #8 the next hole so the people changed every hole. 
 

2) Trump International in Aberdeen, Scotland: The course is amazing number 1…such a big golf course and some of the highest dunes I’ve ever played. Once again, getting paired with some local Aberdeenians made it even better as we laughed our way telling stories through the whole round. 
 

3) Tara Iti: Just an absolutely special place and great course. I was like a kid in a candy store the entire time. 

[jerebear21]

love bandon but SV/MD is probably no.1 on our list for high AND low handicappers. I rather play bandon but if I'm hanging out with a bunch of high handicappers and having a good time, you can't argue with how much fun mammoth is for everyone.  And the foodtruck next to the sandbox just makes everyone smile.  

[ssf301]

Sand Hollow - visually stunning and fun for all levels of golfer

Mammoth Dunes - everyone in your group will probably shoot below their average score and no one will lose a ball

[allparz]

My 2cents

 

Tobacco Road is really pretty easy when you know where and how far to hit your tee shots - you should see the scores professionals or good Am's score in a tourney there  (i.e. - hit it x to there - the greens are then large and easy to hit - just a bunch of different tiers/levels/slopes) - so not on my list, especially at $250

 

Mid Pines/Pine Needles and now Southern Pines GC all more fun and way better values.

 

Pinehurst #2 is too precise - there are no easy shots, not a tee shot, approach, pitch, putt, anything)

 

Fun List - but good luck getting on these...

Yeamans Hall - the best golf experience

Eastward Ho!

Kittansett

Secession 

1st nine at Black Diamond Ranch

1st nine at New Seabury (Cape Cod)

Caledonia Golf and Fish

The Dunes Golf and Beach

Sakonnet GC

Newport CC

Taconic  (in the fall)

 

[Imp]

Played most those NE courses, was supposed to play Secession the week after Matthew hit. I wouldn't call Kittansett or Newport "fun". They are complete tests. Sakonnet is good, unless the wind is blowing (which is rare it isn't). 

 

Playing a bit here in HHI right now for vacation, and someone earlier mentioned Harbor Town, and again, that's target golf. Not much in the way of options for "fun".  But, if target golf is your thing.... I can see how it would be considered as such. 

 

Hilton Head National? That's fun. Shot options, allowing multiple ways to get to the green, but still requiring solid shots all around. Newport National? Same (if in Southern New England).

However, there's a couple more that I'll add to the list for "fun"... Virtues (used to be Longaberger) in OH, and Ballyowen in NJ. 

 

 

[Chilidog]

12 hours ago, Imp said:

Played most those NE courses, was supposed to play Secession the week after Matthew hit. I wouldn't call Kittansett or Newport "fun". They are complete tests. Sakonnet is good, unless the wind is blowing (which is rare it isn't). 

 

Playing a bit here in HHI right now for vacation, and someone earlier mentioned Harbor Town, and again, that's target golf. Not much in the way of options for "fun".  But, if target golf is your thing.... I can see how it would be considered as such. 

 

Hilton Head National? That's fun. Shot options, allowing multiple ways to get to the green, but still requiring solid shots all around. Newport National? Same (if in Southern New England).

However, there's a couple more that I'll add to the list for "fun"... Virtues (used to be Longaberger) in OH, and Ballyowen in NJ. 

 

 

Old South is a pretty fun golf course down there as well. Lots of views and not overly taxing on demanding shots. 

[Imp]

1 hour ago, Chilidog said:

Old South is a pretty fun golf course down there as well. Lots of views and not overly taxing on demanding shots. 

It is, but, I have a hard time there for some reason. Usually wet/soggy ground. 

[tiderider]

On 10/4/2021 at 7:07 PM, JNewsted said:

Check out Greywalls in Marquette, MI.  

 

Friggin roller coaster and absurdly fun.

played that three summers ago, and your description is spot on ... 

 

[BirdieRoll]

I see that back in July I mentioned Gamble Sands, but now having played a few rounds at Wine Valley, I think WV is the better overall course, including for "fun" if you're playing a course several times. If you're playing just one or two rounds then GS would be my pick.

 

Gamble has the better views and with flatter greens folks will probably score better there than Wine Valley. WV also has three ponds that are really out of place given it's inland links nature.

 

That being said, WV has a great director of golf in Chris I. who was awesome each day I visited. They have numerous combo tees so it fits anyone's game. You can keep the ball low or play the aerial game.

 

But most importantly, I think it's the green complexes. At first I thought they were a bit over the top, but I got used to them. Where at Gamble you could take a breath once you were on the green, not so at WV.

 

It's mentally exhilarating and a course I could play all the time with the humps and bumps throughout the course. And I like how the course just feels draped over the terrain. I can't wait to get back. 

Edited October 18, 2021 by BirdieRoll

[RmoorePE]

Most of my golf course experience is on the West coast. Fun means different things to different people. I like courses that allow you to imagine your routing from the tee (so Wine Valley as mentioned above) is a blast. I also agree it is more fun than Gamble Sands (I hit some really bad shots at GS that ended up really good -unfairly I thought). I am not a good shot shaper with my driver, but can cut or chase with most of my other clubs so I really enjoy running the ball down and onto slopey greens, much more than trying to dart soft greens.

 

I played Tetherow with some friends a month ago. My two buds hated it and I was grinning the whole time. I like to shape drives left to right and they hit draws. I played from the fairway and they played from first cut and desert. The thing I really like about Tetherow was the way the greens were built. The greens looked super intimidating, even when you were on them, but what I found out was that if you got the ball on the correct area of the green, your next put was not that hard. I.e. you might have a 50' putt or chip over 2 humps and off a sideboard, but if you got it within 8' or so the 8' putt was low stress (despite its length). So I got up and down much more than I thought I was going to.

 

Walking off I was talking about how it was one of the most fun courses I ever played and they thought I was crazy!

[DoughBack18]

Lots of great courses on here! I’ve played some goodies, but as far as most fun my pick is the American Legion Country Club in Mount Union, Pa. 

 

Think it was built in the mid 1920’s (love old golf course, just something about the character...). The course sits in a hook of the Juniata River and is completely surrounded by mountains. There is an elevation change of a few hundred feet from the high point on the 9th tee to the low area on # 2. The old Main Line canal that ran from Philly to Pittsburgh in the 1800’s is still visible around the course and fronts the green on hole 2. The course has 3- par 3’s, 3- par 5’s, and the oldest par 6 in Pa. 4 or 5 of the par 4’s are drive-able for bombers. Most of the greens have some crazy slopes and missing on the correct side is key. Then throw in some quirks like the bell hole 6th (ring the bell to signal you’re clear), a tank sitting behind the green on 11, and the pole hole 16th (any shot right of the pole must be replayed, 1 shot penalty). 
 

The course isn’t going to be on any lists of best conditioned or top layouts, but for a fun round you can’t beat it! Plus if you get it going out there you can go lowlow, and who doesn’t think that is fun?!?

[CapeCodGolf]

This thread is a great idea and an interesting read.

 

How do you define fun?

 

As the original poster stated, a "fun" course is highly subjective. Sometimes we are biased and have the most fun when we are traveling. Or when we are with good friends and golf companions. Or simply when we post a great score or get a memorable birdie / eagle / hole-in-one. An unusual course, scenic views, perfect weather, interesting layout, diversity of holes, awesome conditions, fast pace of play, a great hot dog at the turn, etc. 

 

Having said that, there are a significant number of members that mentioned both Tobacco Road and Mammoth Dunes. I will definitely put these on my bucket list.

 

If anyone is from Massachusetts or New England I'd love to hear what they think are the most fun courses in this region. I will put a vote in for Samoset Resort in Rockport, Maine. Beautiful ocean views and challenging, but fairly short and open to post a low score. 

 

https://www.samosetresort.com/golf/

 

 

 

[sabram]

57 minutes ago, CapeCodGolf said:

If anyone is from Massachusetts or New England I'd love to hear what they think are the most fun courses in this region.

I haven't played many New England courses. Off the top of my head, among the ones I've played, Redtail and the Ledges would be near the top of the fun list for me.

 

The Ledges

 

Redtail

[Octopus Golfer]

I don’t think I’ve seen Arcadia Bluffs or Chambers Bay mentioned. I found both to be unique and fun. 

[delftw]

Like many others have said, when I saw the title, first thing that popped into my head was Tobacco Road. Followed by Wolf Creek

[Jon Bates]

Tobacco Road is a fun course for me as is True Blue.  I was not impressed with Tot Hill Farms, just didn’t like it.  There was a course in Pinehurst area call The Pit that I have played probably a dozen times that I really enjoyed.  Sadly it is no longer in operation.  I also went to Scotland and one of the courses I played was Carnoustie which I found very enjoyable.