• Home
  • Introduction
  • Personalities
    • Roger Biehn
    • Bill Cunerty
    • Charles Draper
    • Nick Karnazes
    • Brenda Kemball
    • Connie and Owen Lease
    • Jim Mercer
    • Emil Scodeller
    • Randy Youngman
• Get Out of Town
  • Cruises
  • 7-14 Day Outings
• State Websites
• Summer Trips
  • Summer 2000
  • Summer 2003
  • Summer 2005
  • Summer 2006
  • Summer 2007
  • Summer 2008
  • Summer 2009
  • Summer 2010
  • Summer 2011
  • Summer 2012
  • Summer 2014
  • Summer 2015
  • Summer 2016
  • Summer 2017
  • Summer 2019
  • Summer 2021
• Things of Interest
  • Greatest Courses
  • Hickory Shaft Tournaments
  • Longest Golf Holes in US
  • Learning to Play Golf
  • Courses Played
• Acknowledgement
• Golf Trivia and Jokes

Introduction.

Regarding the states, keep in mind we all have our regional prides and prejudices. What follows are a list of web sites that you can use to access golf courses on a national level. This is followed by the states, listed in alphabetical order and their web sites. The comments are of a personal matter or experience and can be ignored, considering their source. This is by no means a complete list of sites, just an inkling of what is truly available on line. It might even be more advantageous for you to just type in the locations where you may have an interest in visiting followed by or preceded by the word golf. Another tremendous source of information is to contact the state, area, or city chamber of commerce or visitor recreation center. If you can come across a copy of Fodor's Best Places to Play, it will open worlds of golf destinations.

golfnow.com    golflink.com    golfmax.com    golfzoo.com   golfcoursesguide.com    thegolfcourses.net    thelocalgolfer.com  worldgolf.com    click4teetimes.com   golfingcoupons.com

ALABAMA – golfalabama.com    rtjgolf.com

The Robert Trent Jones golf trail is a nationally renowned destination for those making the pilgrimage to Alabama. Montgomery (capital), Birmingham, Mobile where the battleship Alabama is on display, Selma, Huntsville, Tuskegee and Auburn all offer insights into the states place in history.

ALASKA – alaskagolflinks.com

Extreme golf in the sense that two courses here are at the northern and western most extremities when it comes to golfing in the United States! Also Fairbanks offers 24 hour golf in the summer. So by playing here you could kill two birds with one club. The state is still rugged wilderness , so if you get a chance to get up to Denali and see Mt. McKinley, the highest point in North America, you will get a sense of its majesty.

ARIZONA – golfarizona.com   arizonagolfcourses.com    arizonaguide.com

Phoenix and Tucson are replete with courses. However the ranked courses are private, but snowbirds and retirees don’t come here not to play golf. Side trips to Sedona, Prescott, Payson and Show Low are worth the ride.

ARKANSAS – arkansasgolf.com    arkansas.com

There is good reason the Ozarks became a national forest. Hot Springs is and was a health spa destination for many famous Americans, also home to Mrs. Clintons little boy Billy, and there is a building downtown where Clark Kent worked out of the Daily Planet.

CALIFORNIA – golfcalifornia.com    california-golf.org    scga.org    golfguideweb.com

What with 12% of the population of America you’d expect to find the occasional golf course. Well, San Diego, Los Angeles, Palm Springs, Orange County, the Valley, Sacramento, San Jose, and San Francisco probably account for in excess of a thousand courses. The coast and Sierra Mountains have some really desirable spots to play. Twelve of the Golf Digest top 100 courses are in California two of which are public and just a tad on the expensive side.

COLORADO - golfcolorado.com    colorado.com    coloradoavidgolfer.com

The Colorado Golf Guide listed 253 courses, it seems about half around the Denver area. The ski resorts must double as golf resorts looking at the concentrations on their map. Check out the Broncos or Rockies if the timing is right, or maybe even the Coors plant.

CONNECTICUT – ctgolfer.com    connecticutsgolf.com    connecticutgolf.com   

Mystic Sea Port    Groton    The Coast Guard Academy    National Submarine Memorial, and don’t forget to pick up your Yale sweat shirt. The state capital is in Hartford.

DELAWARE – dsga.org    publicgolfcourses.net

Wilmington, Dover (the capital) and Rehoboth Beach would be our golfing destinations.

FLORIDA – floridagolf.com   fgolf.com   floridagolferguide.com

I’ve heard tell Florida has a few attractive holes to play. Not only is St Augustine the oldest city in America, but it is the home of the national golf museum and world golf hall of fame. So many cities, so many courses, so little time!

GEORGIA – golfgeorgia.com georgiagolf.com

Augusta National is probably the most highly touted club on the PGA tour. It is certainly the easiest on the eyes to watch, but the surrounding community leaves a little to be desired. The islands along the inter-coastal waterway and Savannah are something to behold. Be sure to tour Savannah and Atlanta. Stone Mountain east of the capital comes highly recommended.

HAWAII – hawaiiteetimes.com    golfhawaii.com   hawaiigolf.com

There’s a reason it’s called an island paradise, what with everything being as close to perfect as possible, surrounded by the ocean, weather, locals and atmosphere. The only thing to make it absolutely perfect would to be to pay resident rates. Play the military and municipal courses or be sure your credit limit is commensurate with the fees for your tee times.

IDAHO – idahogolfcourses.com    visitidaho.org   idahosgolf.com

There are a whole lot more than potatoes grown here, Sun Valley and Coeur’d Alene have raised absolute gems, but once again look, but don’t touch. Refer to your web sites for just as nice replicas.

ILLINOIS – golfillinois.com   golfcourseportal.com   golfguideweb.com

The top six courses are probably all tour stops and not available to the general public, but Chicago has a publication of places to play. Poor old Abe must be spinning in his grave, with embarrassment, down there in Springfield, what with the political goings on upstate. Da Bears, White Sox and Cubs could be used as an excuse to be about town.

INDIANA - visitindianagolf.com    indianagolf.com    twoguyswhogolf.com

If you don’t need to watch the time trials for the Indy 500, there are a ton of places to play. South Bend has a number of courses if you’re in town for an early fall Notre Dame game.

IOWA – iowagolf.com

I’m sure you’ve all familiar with Tug-fest, a tug of war between Le Clare, Iowa and Fort Byron, Illinois. The Mississippi is closed to all river traffic for a few hours while a rope is pulled across the river. Each town is represented by 25 of its local strong men. Whoever gets the most slack wins, four different teams participate. Le Clare also home of American Pickers has the largest fireworks display on the river bigger even than New Orleans, St. Louis, Memphis, Minneapolis, Baton Rouge and St. Paul, believe it!

KANSAS – kansasgolf.com

What trip through the prairies is complete without a visit to Boot Hill in Dodge City, Fort Riley home to the 1st Armored and 24th Infantry Divisions, Abilene home to Dwight D Eisenhower, a man who achieved Supreme Allied Commander, President of the United States, and not a bad football player in his own right at West Point. Manhattan, Topeka, Lawrence and Wichita all have a lot of golf to offer too.

KENTUCKY - golfkentuckylinks.com    kentuckygolf.com    parks.ky.gov/golf   kygolf.org

My Old Kentucky Home is right up there with Scotland The Brave and Old Danny Boy, don’t know why but they always make me emotional. The best view of the state capital in Frankfort is from the Daniel Boone grave site. Wonder why Kentucky State University had a name change from Frankfort University of Central Kentucky. Oh well! In addition to the tourist attractions of Louisville and Lexington they have courses you’ve just got to play.

LOUISIANA – localguides.org   louisianatravel.com   louisianagolfer.com

Bourbon Street and the environs of the French Quarter are a culinary delight and drink fest. Take a tour of New Orleans, any tour, they are all worthwhile. Club up as the air can be thick, beware the alligators at Gray Plantation or other bayou courses.

MAINE – golfme.com    visitmaine.net    golfinmaine.com   mainegolf.com

Every village along the Maine coast is fascinating: Kennebunk port, Booth Bay, Rockland, Belfast, Bar Harbor (a great place to stay and visit Acadia National Park), and just out of Eastport is the western hemispheres largest whirlpool. I would recommend you leave your surfboard at home for this ride. We attempted to put the lobster on the endangered species list and why not, the menu actually has prices, not whatever the market will bear.

MARYLAND– golfmaryland.com   marylandgolf.com

All the major professional sports you could ever hope for, and, oh yeah, the nations’ capital is right in its back yard. The United States Naval Academy at Annapolis! This city also doubles as the state capital. Crab cakes! Crab cakes, I need more crab cakes!

MASSACHUSETTS – publicgolfcourses.net   golfcourseportal.com

Being accepted to M.I.T. or Harvard is a piece of cake just walk into the bookstore hand them your Visa card, get your sweat shirt, and be done with it all. Yeah, that’s right, I went to Harvard! Someday when I grow up I’d like to visit Nantucket, Martha’s Vineyard and Cape Cod and maybe play a little golf there. Boston and its environs offer some historical perspective on why the New England team is called the Patriots.

MICHIGAN - michigangolf.com    michigan.org   golfmichigan.com

You think Bob Hope really played Cheboygan and Kalamazoo? The Mackinac Bridge is so long it appears not to be complete, which begs one to wonder where all those cars are going. What an inexpensive way to form a base for the other side. Check out Mackinac Island and the U.P. (Upper Peninsula) I’ve figured out why the Detroit auto industry was allowed to survive. Where else would we have our tanks and other military vehicles manufactured? In China?

MINNESOTA – minnesotagolf.com   golfminnesota.com   exploreminnesotagolf.com   mngolf.org

Alexandria has this huge statue of Big Ole, so all the girls have to peek up his skirt only to find that he is not too well endowed, which might account for why all manner of things keep getting attached to his leg. The rune stones found in this area explain how the Minnesota Vikings got their name. The Norse men arrived here via Hudson Bay and then south on Interstate 29, several hundred years before Columbus.

MISSISSIPPI – mississippigolf.com   visitmississippi.org

Another fantasy excursion would be one of those paddle wheelers up the Mississippi River stopping every day to play Natchez, Vicksburg, Greenville, Memphis and wherever the Queen stops and picking up a little history and culture along the way. The culture, not so much! Gulfport, Biloxi and Pascagoula took a beating from Katrina, but offer nice courses.

MISSOURI – golfmissouri.com   mogolf.org

Two huge cities book end Missouri offering football and baseball tradition galore. Rogers Hornsby and Stan Musial come to mind! Bet you don’t know the two teams that had the least distance to travel to play in a world series. St. Louis Cardinals and St. Louis Browns, 1944 Series; they shared Sportsman Park. Wonder how they decided who got the home locker room? If you are there, take the time to enjoy the entertainment in Branson and please don’t forget your clubs.

MONTANA – golfinginmontana.com

Another good excuse to invest in the National Park Eagle Pass would be Yellowstone and Glacier Parks. Flathead Lake, Kalispell, and the Fishhead areas not only offer the raw beauty of our national treasures, but the golfing is great too. If you have the time and passport run on up to Radium Hot Springs, Golden, Lake Louise, Banff and Calgary for the stampede, and oh yeah, the golf. Mr. Brown Bear let us play through on the 12th tee at Golden, after which there were no more ball searches or pee breaks in the forest.

NEBRASKA – golfnebraska.com   golfingnebraska.com

There is probably a good reason Warren Buffett lives in Omaha, I mean this guy is squared away. Who’d have figured, Bayside in Ogallala is a bit off Interstate 80, but worth every stroke of their links style course as is Wild Horse outside of Gothenburg. Get out your Rand McNally and see if you can find Mullen, home to Sand Hill the #12 course in America. The Miracle Hills Golf Club in Omaha, near Boys Town, until recently, claimed the longest hole in one at 444 yards.

NEVADA – travelnevada.com   nevadagolf.com

Laughlin, Reno and other towns throughout Nevada are smaller versions of Las Vegas, but their green fees are not so over the top. Incline and Stateline are two of Lake Tahoe’s jewels. The drive up to Ely, Jackpot, and along the eastern slope of the White Mountains is awesome. The signs, 50 miles to the next brothel, are a little unexpected.

NEW HAMPSHIRE - localguides.com golfnh.com nh.com/golf

Mt. Washington is recognized as having the most violent swings in temperature in very short periods of time. Wonder if you could tee it up during a northeaster and bounce one off the old man-in-the-mountain. Well, not any more.

NEW JERSEY - newjerseygolf.com    thelocalgolfer.com    njsga.org   njgolf.net

Good old Ft. Dix, where one learns not to volunteer after their first experience. “We need a volunteer for someone who knows something about woodworking.” Digging out stumps! Under the boardwalk, we’ll be having some fun! Atlantic City white fish!

NEW MEXICO– golfnewmexico.com    newmexicogolfdestinations.com   newmexicogolf.com

Get up in the San Juan Mountains around Taos, the art community and resting place of Kit Carson and you’ll find one of the best kept secrets is New Mexico, Pendaries. Further south in the Capitan Mountains is another great find, Inn of The Mountain Gods just outside Mescalero. This is perhaps one of the few places where you will find true American Indians. All the Indians I’ve ever come across are to be found mostly behind motel desks and 7-Eleven counters and they all hail from Calcutta.

NEW YORK - golfnnewyork.com

10 of America’s top 100 courses are limousine distance from the Big Apple. Apparently those doing the listing have never been upstate to the Adirondack or Catskill mountains or for that matter around the Finger Lakes. The United States Military Academy at West Point, Cooperstown and the Baseball Hall of Fame, Lake George and Ft. Ticonderoga are places you need to make time to visit if your golfing excursion takes you anywhere in the vicinity.

NORTH CAROLINA – golfnorthcarolina.com   northcarolinagolf.com   ncgolf.com

The Great Smokey Mountain National Park and Blue Ridge Mountains are spectacular, but don’t be in a rush. The Biltmore Estate in Ashville, while open to the touring public should find a great course designer and then be open to the touring public. They could accommodate 10 courses on the property and they would still hardly be noticed.

NORTH DAKOTA – ndgolf.org    ndtourism.com   publicgolfcourses.net

Miles and miles of nothing but miles and miles! There were actually wars with the Indians for their land, whatever the reason, but escapes me entirely. It’s just a wondrous expanse of open prairie with no buffalo to be seen. My understanding is that North Dakota is the only state with overemployment, so many new jobs in their recently discovered oil industry

OHIO – golfohio.com   ohiogolf.org    ohiogolfguide.com   ohiogolf.com

All those cities that begin with C, “Canton, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus” why for is that? Okay, so there’s a Holy Toledo and an Akron. Boy does this place have some recognizable national courses. Lots of pro sports here, a gazillion courses, and a fun time to be had by all along the lake shore.

OKLAHOMA - golfoklahoma.org   okgolf.org   oklahomagolf.com

Little known fact, but the Woolaroc Museum outside of Bartlesville has probably the most complete western art collection. One of those oil guys got into collecting paintings and bronzes early on in his fortune, instead of stamps. Will Rogers Home and Museum are located just outside of Tulsa. If you don’t own an oil well, you probably have no business being in Oklahoma City unless it’s to see the memorial.

OREGON – oregongolf.com   golforegon.com   oregon.com/golf

The Cascade Range is all the more impressive for its endless shades of green, which may have something to do with the annual rainfall. Mt. Hood, Crater Lake, Astoria, Portland, Salem, Eugene, Corvallis, Bend are all must see destinations not just for golf. Salmon Run in Brookings is an idyllic setting. Medford offers a summer Shakespeare festival, but you better have reservations.

PENNSYLVANIA – pennsylvaniagolf.com   pagolftrips.com

Driving across the state on Highway 80, which is completely forested, leads one to ask, where are all the people? Apparently Pittsburgh and Philadelphia account for the population and the rest has yet to be settled. Of course having a son-in-law who was born in Bethlehem makes for great conversation. Do not miss visiting Gettysburg, it’s a pretty emotional National Park, where so many here gave their lives that this nation might live.

RHODE ISLAND – visitrhodeisland.com   publicgolfcourses.net

Golf Digest lists the top courses in Rhode Island as being all private, so considering the size of the state that might suggest public courses are in the minority. Lots of old money mansions to tour.

SOUTH CAROLINA – discoversouthcarolina.com    golfsc.com   golfcarolina.com

No shortage of golf here, Hilton Head and Kiawah Islands offer resort golf at its finest, of which five are rated in the top 100 in America, all almost within walking distance of each other, that’s an exaggeration by the way. Just up the road Myrtle Beach sports more courses than you could play in a year. West of the state capital in Columbia is Golden Hills in Lexington. Don’t forget a tour of old Charleston, Ft. Sumter and Mt. Pleasant, where the venerable old aircraft carrier Hornet calls home.

SOUTH DAKOTA – travelsd.com   dakotagolf.com   sdga.org

You may not see too many bikers in Sturgis wearing golfing togs, but there are some gorgeous courses around the Black Hills. Mount Rushmore memorial is an achievement that is almost impossible to comprehend. How could one man do all the work necessary to build this magnificent creation? If you get the chance to see the Crazy Horse Memorial, which they have been working on since my childhood, then also be sure to leave some money in Deadwood, still a notorious western watering hole.

TENNESSEE - tennesseegolf.us   golftennessee.com

Memphis and Nashville are on our to do list, but if you get up around Knoxville, in addition to golf be sure to take in Dollywood. Gatlinburg has a course called Bent Creek which has one of the finest settings you will ever experience and a sizeable creek that comes into play on multiple occasions.

TEXAS – golftexas.com    texasgolferguide.com   texasgolf.com

An interesting aside during the tour, a lady asked, “Why did they put the Alamo right here in the middle of downtown San Antonio?” They walk among us! This place is truly huge, so many choices, so little time! But Tour 18 in Humble just north of Houston boasts 18 of golf’s finest signature holes from America’s most renowned courses.

UTAH – utah.com/golf   golfutah.com

Don’t know if old Brigham is or is not spinning in his grave what with all these wastrels spending their precious time golfing and skiing. But all us excuse makers can just say, “Hey you founded the place, and oh yeah, St. George, isn’t that where you wintered?” Be sure to take the tour of Salt Lake City, you will be awakened to a culture and work ethic like none other.

VERMONT – vermont.com   vtga.org

Although you can cross the state in a half hour please don’t. The granite quarry outside of Barre or Montpelier, the state capital, is where the foundations and facades for the buildings of our biggest cities come from. The Vietnam Wall comes from here as well! Visit a maple syrup farm, sample and take some home. Be sure to golf along Lake Champlain.

VIRGINIA – virginiagolf.com    virginia.org/golf   vsga.org

Williamstown, Yorktown, Jamestown, Appomattox, Petersburg, Winchester are among the locations our history books will attest to why there are red stripes on our nations flag. Richmond is home to the Museum of the confederacy, V.M.I. and Washington and Lee have adjoining campuses in Lexington, and Fancy Gap is known as the place where “She Who Knows Everything” shot a 79.

WASHINGTON – localguides.com    golfwashington.com    washingtongolf.com

If you take a drive around the Olympia Peninsula, be sure to check out the lumbering signs. Third, fourth and fifth generation replanted forests, it’s amazing how closely they can plant the trees. Olympia, Tacoma and Seattle are one giant megalopolis for which you will need a tour to see properly. Mt. Rainier is no piker of a hill, either. Leavenworth is an alpine village, a bit removed, but worth golfing too.

WEST VIRGINIA – wvgolf.com   wvgolfing.com    golfwestvirginia.com   wvga.org

There’s a course in Barboursville, just outside of Huntington, which should be in the top ten most difficult to find. This must be the place where Homeland Security or some such agency relocates people. John Denver was right on, his lyrics convey the sense of this place with all its forests and gentle mountains.

WISCONSIN – golfwisconsin.com    wisconsingolf.com   travelwisconsin.com

All I’ve got to say about Wisconsin is, Door County! Bring your clubs and stay for the summer. All the villages are quaint with no commercial chains, just good old mom and pop stores, restaurants, hotels with pleasant folk. A pilgrimage to Lambeau Field is a necessity whether you are a Green Bay Packer fan or not.

WYOMING– wygolf.org

Cody, the eastern entrance to Yellowstone National Park is also home to the Buffalo Bill Museum. There is also some kind of rodeo school where the students are abused nightly by broncos and bulls. The locals don’t take kindly to laughter as regards their riders abject ineptitude, but the beer and entertainment value is very affordable.

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