Whistling Straits is one of the largest golf courses in the golf-rich state of Wisconsin.
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Even though our 50 states may seem divided at times, here’s something harmless we can argue about: which of these states is the best place to play golf.
This topic was featured in a recent episode of the new GOLF travel podcast: Target golfduring which my co-host Simon Holt and I went back and forth, each of us checking off our four favorite states in which to play golf.
Simon’s first choice was hard to beat. He went with Oregon, who, you might say, has an unfair advantage as the home team Bandon Dunes Golf Resort. As Simon noted, in Bandon alone, all five of its 18-hole courses (Pacific Dunes, Bandon Dunes, Old Macdonald, Bandon Trails and Sheep Ranch) are among the top 100 golf courses to play. But golf in Oregon is more than just the South Coast. Head inland into the high desert and you’ll encounter two other top 100 tracks, the Nicklaus and Fazio designs at Pronghorn, while in the Portland area a bright constellation of publicly accessible tracks awaits.
I offered Wisconsin instead. I was thinking about Sand Valleywith four great big boy golf courses (Sand Valley, Mammoth Dunes, Sedge Valley and their semi-private sibling Lido), but also Kohler, Erin Hills, Lawsonia Links, SentryWorld and others. Badger State punches well above its weight.
Being greedy, I also claimed my home state of California. I suggested that a trip here might take you from San Francisco (Harding Park), south through Santa Cruz (Pasatiempo) and Monterey (Pebble Beach), then to Los Angeles (Rustic Canyon), and then turn east toward Palm Springs. The golf-loving Rat Pack hung out there for a reason.
But California is a big state, and Simon is not someone who, as he puts it, “likes to spend a lot of time behind the windshield.” With that in mind, he took a shot against North Carolina (you could spend your entire life playing golf in the Sandhills and not get bored); South Carolina (Myrtle Beach and Hilton Head, to name just two high-quality, value-for-money areas of the state); and Florida, where Streaming song AND Cabot Citrus Farms highlight the extensive list of first-class resorts.
My other two choices were New York (Bethpage Black was the top course I was considering, but there are four other courses in this one state park worth playing) and Michigan, which stays light after 9 p.m. in peak summer. This gives you plenty of time to squeeze in rounds of must-see attractions like Belvedere, Forest Dunes, Arcadia Bluffs, American Dunes, and more. Eight hours later you can get up and do it all again.
You can listen to the entire conversation in its best state Here.
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