Spring has hit. The thawing has begun. And golfers are anxious to get out and swing some clubs. Before heading to the links, throw a copy of the Zagat guide, America's Top Golf Courses 2007/08, in your bag.
Zagat interviewed over 6,250 avid golfers who played over 560,000 rounds of golf last year. (That averages to about 90 rounds each. These people played some golf.) Their opinions in the areas of Course, Facilities, Service, Value and Cost formed the rankings of the top 1,075 public, semi-private and resort courses in the US, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
Surprisingly the number one course isn't in any of the golf meccas
of the country - Arizona, Florida or the Carolinas. It's Bandon Dunes, Pacific Dunes, in Coos Bay, OR. (Great golf in the Pacific Northwest? I'm pleasantly surprised.) Bandon Dunes also ranked number one in the categories of Scenic, Expense Account Golf ($200+), and Fine Food. Looks like a trip to Oregon is in my future.
Rounding out the top ten are:
• Whistling Straits, Straits, WI
• Bandon Dunes, B.D.C., Coos Bay, OR
• Arcadia Bluffs, Traverse City, MI
• Bethpage, Black, Long Island, NY
• Cascata, Las Vegas, NV
• Kiawah Island, Ocean, Charleston, SC
• Pebble Beach, Monterey Peninsula, CA
• Kapalua, Plantation, Maui, HI
• Shadow Creek, Las Vegas, NV
Other category winners include:
Best Budget Golf (under $50): Willingers, MN
Top Service: Greenbrier, WV
Best Instruction: Kiawah Island, Charleston, SC
Best 19th Hole: Cascata, Las Vegas, NV
And the Most Popular course in the US? That would be famed Pebble Beach.
There's almost 1,100 great courses to choose from. Pick one for your next round. Because life's too short to play crappy courses.
$15.95
www.zagat.com