Comments on: Ode (and Owed) to a Goat Pasture

By: El

El — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 19:07:37 +0000

Rick Reilly's "Missing Links" is a book that will make any Muni lover laugh.

By: benji

benji — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 23:59:14 +0000

I love hearing about other public tracks. It takes me back to my high school days where we were the only school in the league who didn't have a CC as a home course. We sponsored the sectionals my senior year, and the guys from the other schools were horrified to be playing such a junkie track. Ha, at the time the 5th green was under repair. To finish the hole, you had to chip into a circle in the front of the green and add two strokes. Those guys were mortified. We also played winter rules all the time on that course. I remember the smell of the frogs, turtles, and the muck too. I'm heading back there this year.

By: Timothy D Watson

Timothy D Watson — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 04:09:46 +0000

Like John B, I read thesandtrap.com regularly (more regularly than I do my subscription to Golf Digest) because it seems honest, down to earth, and "for the normal Joe golfer." I do not mean hillbilly golfers or anything like that, just average people.

The story about the beetle is classic.

The "superior" courses do play like the lies come from the clouds of heaven and the balls stop like aircraft landing on naval carriers. The bargan courses make good ball striking very important and the player's swing speed less of a factor in scoring. Though, I believe the greens on economy courses are sometimes very disapointing. The cheapest course I go to moved the nineth "green" (regularly cut grass) area into the "fairway" (weeds, clay, and onions). You can't putt more than two feet (61cm) without hitting a sprout!

One common detractor to the affordable courses that has not been mentioned is the rock hard tee boxes. The last time I went to the above mentioned course, I seriously considered bringing a small hammer to help with planting my tee.

All for all, $5 for nine holes and $8 for all day is more worth it for playing to me than $105 for a maximum four hour 18 at the deluxe course. If nine holes took me two hours, I could play 42 hours at the $5 nine hole rate, but only four hours at the deluxe rate. It would cost me approximately $1,155 to play 42 hours at the deluxe course.

By: kwijyboy

kwijyboy — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 20:46:03 +0000

Great article. Makes me want to play a few courses around me again!

By: cbe_golfer

cbe_golfer — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 16:37:07 +0000

Priceless.
Most of last year, i used to play a muni which had so much character than the course that I am an annual member of now. I love the place.
God, I wish I could write like you.

By: BCA

BCA — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 15:16:23 +0000

Well done George!

These are an excellent top 5 for why to play 'dog tracks,' and describes my club to a tee (no pun intended).

By: John B

John B — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 14:56:34 +0000

Posts like this are why I read your site religiously...posts for the normal Joe golfer that you don't see in Golf Digest.

I wish that GD would feature a local 9 hole or track once a month, nothing spectacular as far as courses go, but they could interview the 'locals' and it would make for great writing with the right author.