I was pretty bummed out when my Maryland Terrapins got knocked out of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday by a miraculous, 3-point buzzer beater by Michigan State.
One thing that eased the pain: just two days before, the University of Maryland Golf Course (where I probably logged twice as many rounds as credits per semester) was named to Links Magazine’s list of “Top-25 College Golf Courses for 2010.”
Sorry, Michigan State. Maybe next year.
(I wish I could say the same to Duke, but it made the list and is still alive in the tournament. Man, I hate Duke.)
In all seriousness, I thought Links did a nice job of rounding up this year’s top college golf courses, which span the entire United States, old and new designs/renovations, and lesser-known and famous architects.
It’s obvious they didn’t just rehash the names we’ve all seen before.
If your travels take you to any of these college towns (or you want to plan golf vacations around them), I’m pretty confident you’ll enjoy yourself at any one of these golf courses. And, as you’d expect, some can be played for very reasonable rates, alumni discount or not.
I’m almost embarrassed to say that I haven’t yet played Maryland’s golf course since it was renovated, and I’m anxious to see if the changes make it deserving of being on the list. Now that I won’t be glued to the NCAA games, I’ll probably have more time to get down there.
Here is Links’ entire roundup of college golf courses, but you’ll earn extra credit if you can ID them simply by their logos in the photo above.
Is your school on the list and/or still in the tournament? Played any of these courses and care to comment? Share your thoughts below.
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{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
Have you played the NC State/Duke or NCarolina golf courses.
Which one would you recommend??
NC State’s course (Arnold Palmer Design) only opened last summer so I have not had the chance to play it. The courses at UNC and Duke are pretty evenly matched. One way to decide: if you’re a Tom Fazio fan, play UNC. Duke is a RTJ design/Rees Jones redesign, which you might like for that unique design mix.
I can’t find too much to quibble with on the LINKS college course list. Of the ones I have played, I’d rank them in this order: Yale, Finley (UNC), Taconic (Williams), Duke, Seven Oaks (Colgate), and Birdwood. I plan to play Walker at Clemson later this year. Perhaps the University of Texas Golf Club, where the team practices, is not strictly a college course, but if it qualified, I would put it just ahead of Duke on my list.
I have played Finley several times and I absolutely love it. The course is kept in immaculate condition with some of the most beautiful landscape in the triangle. When you approach 17 to putt, take a minute to look out towards the 15th green. Also, it definitely is a thinking person’s course. There is a lot of different challenges. On one hole you have a wide open fairway from the tee only to realize your next shot is into a narrow green almost entirely surrounded by water and/or bunkers. One long par 4 has a severe dogleg at about 150 or 160 yards. Another long par 4 has water all the way down the left and bunkers strategically placed down the right side. A couple of the greens have 2 tiers with as much as 4 feet difference in elevation that makes for a tricky putt if your ball is on one side of the green and the pin is on the other. Finally, one last great thing I will mention is there are several tee boxes to choose from. If you choose the right tee box for your skill level, you will have a blast regardless of whether you are a beginner with a high handicap or a scratch golfer. It is definitely one of my favorite courses that I have played. One tip is that you want to get out to a good start. Once you get to the 9th hole, things start to get more difficult.
Of the ones I’ve played, I’d rank them Yale, Wisconsin, Notre Dame, Duke, New Mexico, Va Tech. I’m surprised Va Tech made the list – love Pete Dye courses in general, but on this one he had too little land for the routing. Some of his traditional touches are evident (though on a smaller scale), but not one to go out of your way to play.
Pretty much in agreement with the list, although I believe Stanford should be a few notches higher, especially if they get extra credit for having the best practice facility in the country. I’d be inclined to bump the Eisenhower course up a few notches as well. Also should note that the University of Florida home golf course (the Mark Bostick Golf Course) is a nicely restored Donald Ross layout originally built as the Gainesville Country Club, and should be on the list.
Of the courses I have played I would rank them Michigan, Stanford, Duke and UNC in that order, though I have not played either Duke or UNC in a decade.
Being from Williamstown I’m biased for certain, but don’t miss a chance to play Taconic if you are in the Northeast. I haven’t played many courses, college owned or otherwise, that are any more fun to play or scenic. The Berkshires provide a great venue and the course is always in top shape. The difficulty of the greens, particularly with a number of false fronts, makes you forget its not the longest course. Seven Oaks also has some impossible greens (1 and 2 in particular) and has the length too. You can play the 10th hole 100 times and never figure out where to put your drive so as to have a reasonable second shot to the green. The best hot dogs in NY can be had at the turn (Hoffman Hots).
I love the hot dog recommendation at the end! Thanks, Duncan. Nothing beats a hot dog and a cold beer after doing battle.
As a Maryland alumni, class of 1974, I am ecstatic to hear about the renovation. 5 years ago I toured the East Coast colleges with my son and played UNC’s Finley course and was very impressed. When I got to UMD’s course, I could not believe how bad it was in comparison. I can not wait to check it out.
There is no way in hell that there aren’t 25 better courses than MD.
However, I also went to Cornell where they are very proud of their Robert Trent Jones and I don’t think it’s all that special either.
If this were pre-renovation, I would have to agree with you. But I have not yet played the course since it’s been renovated/redesigned (by Bill Love, a very experinced architect), so I’ll reserve judgement until I do. Nice to know there’s someone else out there who can be objective with respect to their alma mater’s course! Cheers.