Courses To Play (via No Laying Up)
Inspired by a recent podcast, these ideally would be in 2025, but let's get real
A recent podcast by No Laying Up had three of the regular guys go through their lists of Courses To Play. I like nothing better than lists, except maybe stealing ideas for this substack from other creators. So, let’s go.
I obviously like golf, and almost as much, I like the idea of planning golf trips - especially those that include courses I’ve been wanting to play. Unfortunately, that’s a lot of golf courses.
Why? Well, here’s a map of all the golf courses I’ve played.
If you add in the bucket list courses (green and purple), other courses I’m eager to play (red) and courses I’d not really prioritize but would be happy to play since I’ve heard good things, that map now looks like this:
You might think this is a sickness, but I look at this and think - I’ve really not looked into South America enough.”
Anyway, the NLU crew broke this into the following categories, with each choosing three courses to fit into each category (except the last).
Courses approximately one hour from home
Day Trips
Golden Age (these are courses designed by Golden Age architects)
Wild Cards (random courses that don’t fit into the above)
Top Five Bucket List
So, let me give it a whirl.
Courses One Hour From Home
Let’s just add a caveat that “driving times are approximate.” I took this to mean that going to play this course would not entail a drive time that anyone would be surprised about, that would seem normal and appropriate.
California Golf Club, San Francisco, CA More commonly known as “Cal Club,” this is my white whale. It’s very private, but you can find a way to get on, I just haven’t yet. Or, not really. I actually played the front nine many years ago and then had to leave abruptly - but even if I’d finished, I didn’t appreciate anything about golf course design, etc. I see photos of it online a lot, and everything about it looks like the kind of golf course I’d simply adore playing. Conditions, routing, aesthetics - bring it on. One of my golf goals for this year is to finally land this bad boy.
Call me Ishmael. Olympic Club (Lake), San Francisco. I have been fortunate enough to play the sister Ocean course (incredibly fun) and I’ve walked the Lake course when it’s hosted U.S. Opens in the past. It looks like it will rip me to shreds, and yet … I can’t believe I haven’t played it. That should change.
Orinda CC, Orinda. This isn’t quite the caliber of the prior two but in terms of solid private courses in my area, it’s one that I haven’t been out to. My wife’s uncle and aunt used to live up the street, and I would just stare at it as we drove to their house for dinner, longingly. I just don’t know folks who belong, but I can get there reciprocally and will make it a point to do so.
The Day Trippers
I believe the parameter used in this on the podcast was that it was far enough away that you could turn it into a fully day trip with the driving, making the course no more than four hours away. Mine are mostly considerably less than that far away.
Brambles, Middletown This is the latest Coore Crenshaw (or one of them) and is less than a two hour drive for me. It’s a private course, but they let folks play via a lottery system not unlike those used abroad. It looks fantastic, and the development of the course has been discussed for years. During COVID, I wasn’t sure if it was going to actually happen but it has, and folks I know who have played it raved about it. Coore and Crenshaw make the most natural courses that feel like they truly belong where they are. This video by the Fried Egg highlights other cool stuff they’re doing there.
Cordevalle, San Jose I honestly don’t know a ton about this course - it’s public in the sense that if you stay there, you can play. It’s consistently rated in the Top 100 Golf Courses You Can Play, so … I should play there, right? Right.
The Preserve, Monterey This is a truly hidden gem - my understanding is that the drive from the freeway is about twenty minutes of just a private road, something that is unheard of in California real estate. It truly is a preserved area where acres upon acres are undeveloped. And the course is supposed to be spectacular.
The Golden Age Golf Courses
This is the weirdest category for me, but I found three to fit the bill. Golden Age architects are from decades ago, and I might be classifying them a bit loosely, but you know what? It’s my list.
Haggin Oaks, Sacramento There are two courses here on this public course in the state capital, and one of them was designed, or at least touched by Dr. Alistair MacKenzie. Ever heard of him? I don’t believe this one is his best work (and again, there exists some debate about exactly how much work he actually did here) but it’s sort of crazy I haven’t played it yet. Let’s cross this one off.
Sunningdale (Old), Surrey, England WHOA. This isn’t anywhere close to me! And I’m absolutely not going to play this in 2025. But I am planning on playing this Harry Colt gem in 2026. So, we make ourselves a list.
Heathland golf, here we come. National Golf Links of America, New York Unless something wild happens, I’m not playing this in 2025 either, but it’s one of my true bucket list courses., Designed by C.B. Macdonald, I can get away with putting it here instead of in that list.
The Wild Cards
These are courses that I’d normally have on my Bucket List, but I think they all fit into a different category - courses I missed on a prior trip and … have regrets.
North Berwick, Scotland When I took my Scotland golf trip in 2018, we went ALMOST to every big region - Fife, Inverness, the West Coast…but we never made it to East Lothian - we had talked about trying to play Muirfield, but gave up on that, so we never made it to the entire area. But as soon as we returned, it seemed, all I could hear about was North Berwick. And since then, it’s only escalated. People insist it’s not just one of the better courses but it’s as fun as golf can be, the vibes are elite and it’s got literally everything I care about in golf. I must get there.
Cruden Bay, Scotland The other major area we didn’t get to was the Aberdeen region of Scotland. There’s enough there for at least a few days (much like E. Lothian) so I figured we’d be back shortly to knock those off. Ah, if only. And while Royal Aberdeen and others are very, very much on my “list” to play, Cruden Bay is higher. Folks like Tom Coyne rate it as one of their favorites, and every photo I’ve seen of it makes me anxious to get there. I’d like to sneak Crail into this discussion as an alternate because I’m just like that.
County Louth (Baltray), Ireland For those who kept up with The Full Irish, it might seem impossible that there are any courses I didn’t play that I wanted to. It’s true! In fact, there are really two - Cruit Island, a wild nine holer in the north coast, could have easily made this list. (And now it has.) In fact, we had plans to play both Baltray and Cruit. Baltray was hosting a member tournament so we couldn’t (and we swapped in Ardglass, which was one of our favorites) and Cruit cancelled on us for another member tournament. But man, does Baltray look amazing.
I shall get there. I shall!
The Bucket List
It feels … a bit gross to add five more courses to this list, but again these aren’t really a 2025 list whatsoever. These are the next five courses that I think about - and know real human beings who have played them, which means they aren’t COMPLETELY inaccessible.
Tara Iti, New Zealand This course has captivated me for as long as I’ve known about it, and many folks who have played some of the best courses in the world say this is IT. And for a long time, the course had the policy that even though it’s quite private, they would let anyone play it once by request. That has since changed - the owners of this course built two world-class courses called Te Arai just down the road, and those are accessible. For Tara Iti, you need to know someone. And I will find a way.
Cypress Point, Monterey I don’t really need to go into this. I could also add Pine Valley since I know folks who have played there, but if I had to chose between the two, there’d be no choice. (And I technically know folks who have played Augusta National, but let’s be real - I’m NEVER playing there.) Cypress Point is not a far drive from here, I know folks who have gotten on, so I shall hold out hope to play what is often ranked as the best course in the world, and certainly the country, full stop.
Sand Hills, Nebraska This is another private course that does allow visitors upon request. It’s a Coore Crenshaw gem, and (apparently) a prime example of them finding holes in the natural landscape. I recently heard someone say it was one of the leaders in creating a destination course, in the middle of “nowhere” - apologies to Mullen, NE - as this opened a few years prior to Bandon Dunes. They can sort that part out, I just want a chance to play this gem.
The Tree Farm, South Carolina This is Zac Blair’s course - he’s a PGA golfer who is obsessed with golf course design. For years, he hyped up a course he called The Buck Club and sold a ton of merch for it - but it never materialized. Then during COVID he purchased this land and built it with Tom Doak helping to design and route, and by all reports, it’s fantastic. Bonus - if I make it here, I can probably sneak in some rounds at Old Barnwell, Broomsedge and Aiken Golf Club. I told you I was sneaky.
Royal Melbourne, Australia Ever since the 2019 Presidents Cup, when I actually saw this course on TV, I’ve thought about it. (Side note - the International teams fits were so good that I looked for them online, specifically a Lacoste outerwear jacket, for literally YEARS to no avail. Do better, folks, I’m trying to waste money here.) When No Laying Up went back to Australia for their Tourist Sauce series last year, I was even more convinced. And like the prior post, surely I’m not going to Melbourne and just playing ONE course. Heck, there are three courses just at Royal Melbourne if you include Sandy Links. Plus Kingston Heath, Peninsula Kingswood, Victoria, Metropolitan … the list goes on!
Whew! That’s quite a list. Anything I missed? What is on your obsessive list like this?