ALL-ACCESS PASS
Celebrate the Fourth with these All-American golf destinations
By Shane Sharp,
Contributing Writer
Patriotism comes in many forms, not the least of which is paying homage to a game the United States unabashedly has adopted and morphed as its own. That's right; as much as we like to pay lip service to the traditional links courses of golf's motherland, Scotland, there's nothing more American than logging 18 holes on some heavily irrigated daily fee track in a cart stocked with adult beverages.
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Not all golf destinations, however, are created equal in terms of due deference to the red, white and blue. Four golfing hot spots offer a noteworthy level of patriotism as yet another emotionally charged Independence Day approaches. So jump into your American-made, gas guzzling SUV and pop a Bruce Springsteen disc into the CD player. Even Sam Adams and the boys would have knocked off work early to get to these apple-pie-esque venues.
The American Club, Kohler Wis. -- The home of brats, beer and the (University of Wisconsin) Badgers does golf the same way it does tailgating - all or nothing at all. The American Club is case in point. All four Pete Dye designed golf courses -- two at Blackwolf Run and two at Whistling Straits -- are ranked among the best in the country by various publications. The Straits Course will host the PGA Championship next year, and millions of viewers will get their first glimpse of the windswept, manmade dunes along the shore of Lake Michigan that serve as the canvas for this stunning, linksy tapestry of holes. Oh, and pampering is nothing, if not American. The American Club obliges with the Kohler Waters Spa, which Conde Nast Traveler ranks among the 40 best in the U.S. and Caribbean.
Golf Town, USA, Myrtle Beach, S.C. -- Just two years ago, Myrtle
Beach proclaimed itself the "Golf Capital of the World." Nowadays, the Grand
Strand's 120 some odd courses settle for Golf Town USA -- a more
modest, but
accurate moniker. So what's so American about Golf Town USA? Myrtle Beach
may be the most democratic golf destination in the world. For starters,
there's access: about 75 percent of the nation's population resides within a
day's drive. A wide variety of price points, ranging from blue collar to
high dollar, keep the Grand Strand in the good graces of a wide spectrum of
golfing circles. For a true slice of Americana, check out the underrated
courses, pristine beaches, and down home BBQ joints of Brunswick
County,
N.C. (now considered by most to constitute the "North Strand").
The Revere Golf Club, Las Vegas, Nev. -- We could go round and round about whether or not Las Vegas stands for everything right or wrong about American pop culture. Or we could agree to disagree and go play 36 holes at the Revere Golf Club in nearby Henderson and figure it all out later. The Revere (as in Paul) is a Revolutionary War themed golf park with two highly respected, locally adored 18-hole golf courses. The Lexington Course leans toward desert target, while Revere Golf Club's Concord Course is a bit more forgiving with its behemoth greens and wide fairways. Billy Casper and Greg Nash designed both courses and Troon Golf purchased the courses from Del Webb in September 2002. Holes bearing patriotic names like "Independence" are juxtaposed against an almost omnipresent view of the Sin-saturated Vegas strip. What's better than that?
Kingsmill Resort, Williamsburg, Va. Colonial Williamsburg stands on its own as one of America's most American destinations -- golf offerings aside. The Kingsmill Resort, owned by a subsidiary of Anheuser Busch, only sweetens the pot. Three 18-hole circuits meander around this little slice of heaven on the James River -- the River, Plantation and Woods Courses. The River Course, designed by the ubiquitous Dye, is the former home of the PGA Tour's Michelob Championship. The Plantation (named for the original Colonial Plantation) comes courtesy of Arnold Palmer's design firm, while the Woods course was designed by Tom Clark with an assist from native son and two-time U.S. Open champion Curtis Strange.
Mid Pines/Pine Needles Resorts, Southern Pines, N.C. Sure, Pinehurst
Resort is the "Home of American Golf" as the public relations literature
proclaims. Hard to argue with bloodlines that include James Tufts, Donald
Ross, Robert Trent Jones Jr., Ellis Maples, Rees Jones and Tom
Fazio. Hard
to argue with eight outstanding resort courses, two resort hotels straight
out of Architectural Digest, enough tradition to rival America's
venerable Northeastern golf refuges and two U.S. Opens (1999 and
2005). But argue we will. Pine
Needles and Mid
Pines Resorts in neighboring
Southern Pines are more American, if only because they are more real.
Plenty of history, but no pretense. Both courses were designed by Ross, and
Mid Pines is one of the few Ross layouts to retain its original routing and
bunker placements. Pine Needles is the more challenging of the two, having
hosted the 1996 and 2001 Women's U.S. Opens. Both are owned and operated by
legendary golf instructor Peggy Kirk Bell and her family. At Pinehurst
Resort, you can gaze at the black and white photos of Ross and Tufts in the
resort clubhouse. At Mid Pines and Pine Needles, you can gaze back at Kirk
Bell as she explains her theory on the takeaway.
