7 courses our employees are grateful for this year: Tour Confidential

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There’s a lot to be thankful for Thanksgiving, especially for the golf courses that are close to our hearts. We asked our colleagues to name a few that are important to them. Here are the classes they are grateful to have taken this year.

7 courses our employees are grateful for

Jessica Marksbury, editor-in-chief (@Jess_Marksbury): A new 9 hole for me muni, Palo Verde Golf Course, in Phoenix. I played it for the first time with my mom this summer and really enjoyed two things. The first: affordability! For $15 each, we could walk the route. (Even though it was a great deal in the summer, you can still play for around $25 during prime time.) And second, the pace! We finished in just over an hour. These days we hear a lot about how the high costs and exorbitant amount of time it takes to play are slowly killing the game. I’m happy to report that that’s not the case in Palo Verde, and for that , I am very grateful.

Ryan Barath, Gear Editor (@rdsbarath): Although I’ve been fortunate to play some pretty fun places this year, I’m very grateful for the golf course that brings me closer to those I most want to play golf with, the Norfolk Golf Club in Simcoe, Ontario, Canada. The course itself is only 9 holes and doesn’t even reach 3,000 yards, but it offers brisk walking, challenging holes and unlike many other courses that have narrowed down on non-golfers, they are extremely welcoming. to juniors who accompany some clubs. It is thanks to this simple but welcoming policy that our oldest enjoys going to the course and asks to play. This is also the course where my wife decided to try playing solo for the first time, and after years of worrying about being single on the course, she finally realized what she had been missing for so many years. That being said, I’m grateful for the course that gives my family access to the game, regardless of how we play.

Josh Sens, Senior Editor (@joshsens): Lee Trevino said Gleneagles was the most difficult 9-hole course he had ever played. Then again, Lee Trevino said a lot of things. Like any course, this one has its challenges. But I wouldn’t call it difficult, rather I’d describe it as quirky and cool, with singing greens and sloping fairways stitched into the hills just south of San Francisco, and views of the bay that give it a distinctive sense of belonging. More than anything, I think, Gleneagles is a throwback, a relic of a time before the tech boom and a refuge from the crowds and costs of the city. Locals travel for $28; foreigners pay $31. In the more than 30 years since I first played there, little has changed except the conditions, which have improved considerably, with greens pure enough to make you believe you’re not in a muni. The clubhouse bar remains a low-slung Hobbit’s hovel, and the chatter from the first tee is often friendly chatter among regulars, renegotiating stakes for the millionth time. San Francisco’s courtyards have undergone a wave of renovations in recent years, and I’ve met an architect or two who would love to get their hands on Gleneagles. The possibilities are fun to think about. But ’tis not the season to wish for what you don’t have. And that’s not how I think about this course, anyway. I am grateful for Gleneagles as is.

Nick Dimengo, editor-in-chief (instruction) (@ndimengo): It may be “only” a par 3 course, but you know what, there’s nothing better than playing a quick round of Interbay Golf Course in Seattle, Washington. — whether early in the morning before work, or for a 9-hole lunchtime during the summer months. Not only is it about a 3 minute drive from my house, but it’s also the most central golf course in town, which means everyone can fit in where they can (literally). Pay a visit on one of those cool, sunny, warm Pacific Northwest afternoons, and you might find yourself waiting 45 minutes just to get into a hitting bay at the driving range (despite mats on two floors different !). If so, good luck trying to get a tee time. To say this place is popular is an understatement. It’s fun, cheap, convenient, makes for a quick tour, and has the best hot dogs this side of the Mississippi. No, for real, there’s something about them that makes them better than any rough maverick you’ve ever had. The Emerald City is known for being a hiker’s paradise, surrounded by mountains, water, and all kinds of technological things. But if you are ever in town and have your poles, I strongly suggest you take a start on this little gem of a course. It’s sort of the de facto country club for all Seattle golfers.

Sean Zak, Senior Editor (@sean_zak): Jackson Park Muni in Chicago. You may recognize the name, as this muni was part of the redesign project Tiger Woods initiated years ago – a revitalization of two Chicago munis in an underserved part of the city. This plan… it hasn’t really progressed much. But I still love Jackson Park as a Chicago muni. This is where every golf season begins for me, when the bigger, fancier courses keep getting going.

Jack Hirsh, Associate Editor (@JR_HIRSHey): Last year I discovered the gem of Fortrose and Rosemarkie in the Scottish Highlands, outside Inverness. This year I decided to join the club, which I consider one of the most fun places in sports. At first glance, F and R has an unassuming clubhouse and a 6,100-yard par-71 layout, but when you get past the first four holes you realize it’s something special. The course sits on a peninsula on Rosemarkie Bay, opposite Inverness Airport and Castle Stuart Golf Links. At the point is a magnificent lighthouse. I am proud to call myself a member of the 15th oldest golf club in the world and grateful for this opportunity.

Josh Berhow, editor-in-chief (@Josh_Berhow): Eagle Lake Youth Golf Center in the northwest suburbs of Minneapolis. Nothing against expensive public courses or swanky private clubs, but it’s places like Eagle Lake that are so crucial to the future of soccer. Eagle Lake has a driving range, mini golf, a nine-hole par 3 course (no more than 90 yards) and a short nine-hole par 31 course. Like many golf enthusiast parents , my goal is to introduce my children to golf, and convenient and welcoming places like Eagle Lake, not far from my home, will help me achieve that. Plus, there’s ice cream.