Another year down the road, another twenty-four courses logged on the way to 1000. Throw in another fourteen we revisited and you've got another great year for The Golf Crusade!
If you've been with us awhile, you may recall we put together one of this stories when the calendar flips to December. Even in the South, this usually signals the end of the golf season and the Bermuda grass lays down for its long winter's nap. Serve's as good a time as any to look back on some of the best things we encountered around the game of golf in 2024.
We're going to shake things up a little in how we identify those 'best of the best'. In the past we'd name a few top courses in the public, private and alternative golf categories, before falling down a rabbit hole of superlative golf madness. We'll still do the former, but in order to evolve this space, we're going to follow one quasi-recent trend and hopefully start another.
We'll hand out five main fake awards. Yes, they're fake. We don't make plaques and mail them out... come on.
Best Private
Best Public
Best Alternative Golf Facility Best Replay
For the first three, they must be 'new' to us, whilst the replay obviously speaks for those we revisited. Alternative facilities include par-3 and short courses, practice facilities, TopGolf, indoor golf lounges, etc.; basically anything that involves golf but does not conform to nine or eighteen hole standards.
Over on The Golfer's Journal Discord board, readers get to nominate the best holes they'd played over the course of the year, then vote on the best hole that corresponds with its hole number. The top vote getters create a composite course that's celebrated by printing the scorecard in the first issue of the next year. After a year or two of nominating some of our favorites, we had a horse come in! You'll have to read the next issue to see which one (or ones??) came in.
In that vein, instead of a rapid fire rabbit hole of golf shit, we'll unveil our 'Dream 18' from the year that was. The only rule is that each hole must match the hole number on the course it belongs to originally. Rule 1.1 - If a 9-hole course bills itself as an 18 hole course, we can go to the well for either side. Yet, if a course less than eighteen doesn't run its card back around, we stop at the last hole and that's it.
Finally, in an attempt to be original - and to celebrate our love for the short course - we're going to create our first 'Composite Par-3 Course'. The only rule here is simple, pick the eighteen absolute best one-shotters we played in 2024, regardless of hole number. One exception: par-3 holes making the 'Dream 18' will not appear on the composite par-3 course list. We want to spread the love.
In either case of the two fantasy courses, we are choosing from any of the thirty-eight courses we've played this year, not just the newbies.
Lastly, a photo viewing note: you may click on any photo for a full screen view. It will also scroll through them all from there. While any one of our stories can be viewed on a phone, it's best consumed on a larger screen!
So, in the words of the late, great & honorable Mills Lane... "Let's get it on!"
BEST NEW PRIVATE COURSE: OLD BARNWELL Aiken, South Carolina | Architects: Brian Schneider & Blake Conant
In any other year, either of the two honorable mentions listed below could have been the champ here. However, this year we played Old Barnwell in January. We don't really "rank" the best places we've played, instead favoring an appreciative approach where we try to find the best among each of the nearly 600 courses we've had the good fortune to play.
That said, if we did rank them, Old Barnwell would be in the first sentence of the conversation for the top spot among the ones we've played to date.
It's that good. In fact, its beyond good. It's a gamechanger.
Brian Schneider and Blake Conant created something magical - almost mythical - in the sandy soils just outside of Aiken, South Carolina. They've already added a Kids Course that opened last this year and plans call for a second championship course to open around 2030. For more, check out the Aiken story we published earlier this year.
Honorable Mention: CC of Spartanburg (SC), Manchester CC (NH)
BEST NEW PUBLIC COURSES SWEETENS COVE
South Pittsburg, Tennessee | Tad King & Rob Collins
THE COURSE AT SEWANEE
Sewanee, Tennessee | Gil Hanse
Wait. That's two courses? We know. In past years, we each picked a 'winner' in each category. Since this was a rare year we got together a couple of times - and for some of the best courses - it was pretty apparent we didn't need to do that. However, so many people play these two 9-hole gems together, often on the same day, that we deemed that we'd take the liberty to combine them into our 'Best Day' of new public courses.
What's left to be said about Sweetens Cove? We're not sure, but in our opinion, it lives up to the hype. In many cases, courses can't exceed the lofty ideals golfers build up in their heads, but Sweetens delivers. Was it bolstered by the fact we visited about a month after it reopened following a complete regrassing of the golf course (due to severe winter kill in 2023-24)? Perhaps, but that's not our fault! That's just good timing.
No it's not just good timing.
It's just... too... SWEEEEEET!
Yes, the par 4s are bomb and chip, but the defense of the greens makes for such a unique/fun/challenging experience. After figuring out how to get it close, it was a pleasure to play. The comradery and community of the players making their pilgrimage is also such an important piece of this place.
It unites people. Therefore, everyone must try it.
Sewanee is thirty minutes up the mountain heading towards Nashville on I-24, but its worth the effort. Completely different from its valley neighbor, these views from the escarpment are to die for!
Add to the fact this course is on the campus of Sewanee - The University of the South, complete with stay-and-play accommodations at The Sewanee Inn, and these kids got it good! Gil Hanse courses usually require a membership or a green fee starting with a crooked number followed by a couple zeros, but a loop around this bad boy goes for $45.
Enjoy a few more stunning views from the Tennessee Two-Step...
Sweetens Cove
The Course at Sewanee
Honorable Mention: Omni Mount Washington (NH)
BEST ALTERNATIVE GOLF FACILITY: THE CHALKMINE
Aiken, South Carolina | Jim McNair, Jr.
We remember first learning of The Chalkmine right before it opened, even before it went viral for one of the Bryan Bros on-camera ace. The reaction we had to seeing the course and its purpose elicited the pinning of it on the future road trip maps. It took us two years, but it also inspired the idea for us to pin ALL of the similar college campus courses and team practice facilities in the United States (plus a few north of the border) on a map for anyone to consume in one place. If you haven't yet, check it out - not because it took us months to compile, but because its a mega-time drain to dig into the 400+ pins on the map!
The Chalkmine also takes home the awards for Best Course Signage! If you want to see the whole course and are short on time, we recorded BMAC's speed golf round then condensed it tightly into a 90 second time-lapse for you on our YouTube page.
Honorable Mention: Crosswinds Par 3 Course (GA), The Loop at UT-Chattanooga Player Development Center, 3's Greenville (night round), The First Tee (Augusta, GA)
BEST REPLAY: TOT HILL FARM
Asheboro, North Carolina | Mike Strantz
A hotly contested category this year! Muni is always a joy and BMAC's most frequented home game. Aiken GC and 3's Greenville entered the mix thanks to previous visits from BMAC that Dooner had to get caught up on. Dooner finally made the journey back to Lynch Country Club - this time as a member - for the L.I.T. (one of those IYKYK events and courses). None of this even mentions Biltmore Forest CC, one of NC's most storied clubs.
However, thanks to a hurricane forcing a third planned meet up of the year and a round on Kiawah Island, the fates brought the ol' family station wagon to Asheboro, NC to break up the drive home. We just couldn't resist the urge to rise with the sun and visit our newly (long overdue) proclaimed home course of The Golf Crusade, Tot Hill Farm.
Making this trip all the more special, I (Dooner) got to bring my son out for his first full round of golf with his old man. Did he play every shot? No chance. Did we have the time of our lives? You know we did. Core memories engaged! Dude hit some solid shots and will never be scared of a hole for the rest of his life having been blown away by the one and only Michael J. Strantz.
Honorable Mention: Aiken GC (SC), Biltmore Forest (NC), Muni (SC), 3's (SC), Lynch (KY)
THE 2024 GOLF CRUSADE "DREAM 18"
Hole 1 Omni Mount Washington, Donald Ross, par-4, 407 yards
Ross's patented "gentle handshake" is extended by the resort's namesake towering far behind the green. No better way to start this course than with sunbeams breaking through the clouds, showing us the road to glory!
Hole 2 The Club at Longview, Jack Nicklaus, par-4, 381 yards
Jack's Charlotte Club kicks into gear on the second - a short uphill two-shotter featuring a massive bunker cluster to the right and the signature #golfsilo on the left.
Hole 3 Tot Hill Farm, Mike Strantz, par-3, 180 yards The awards keep piling up for this one: Golf Digest's Best 3rd Hole Built Since 2000, The Golfer's Journal 2024 Composite Course (SPOILER), and now this. What's next?
Hole 4 Old Barnwell, B. Schneider/B. Conant, par-3, 165 yards (White Tee)
You may think you've put a perfect swing on it, with great ball flight and aim, but still end up with double bogey. Ask Dooner. But man, what a hole!
Hole 5 Country Club of Spartanburg, Kris Spence, par-5, 494 yards CCOSparty is so strong. This reachable par-5 plays along the highest portion of the front side, past a bunker cluster on your tee shot and around a blind corner to a sunken green that sits high above the lake. Add that it boomerangs around the idyllic par-3 3rd, and the setting sets this baby off right!
Hole 6 Egwani Farms, D.J. DeVictor, par-5, 555 yards Yep, B2B par-5s after B2B par-3s. The AUDACITY! Right? Teeing off onto a diagonal peninsula fairway that engulfs the entire hole can help you put up a big number if you're not precise on all levels. And yes, she photographs well. That matters here.
Hole 7 Old Barnwell, B. Schneider/B. Conant, par-4, 445 yards This hole just kicks your ass. And it's glorious. At most holes at OB, there is plenty of landing area, but this one pinches on you in the key spot. The green is no picnic either, but at least its a short walk to the next tee :)
Hole 8 The Chalkmine, Jim McNair, Jr., par-3, 72 yards
The shortest hole on our Dream 18 certainly qualifies as 'dreamy'. The entire site for that matter is a dreamboat, and this hole steers the ship with its rocky mining outcrop framing the small green. Good note when doing this exercise is that the 8th hole is often one of the best holes on a lot of courses. This was easily the most difficult hole to pick, yet this one comes on on top as our Par-3 of The Year as well!
Hole 9 Saltville Golf Course, Olin Mathieson Company, par-4, 249 yards This is a product of some courses not having a memorable 9th and Saltville having the strangest green we've ever seen and wanted to call it out. A 'football-shaped Redan sans bunkers' is the best way we could explain it?! Better as a short par-4 than a long par-3 from the alternate tee on this 9-hole company town course (including course built by said company) from the 1920s.
Hole 10 Aiken Golf Club, Jim McNair, Jr., par-5, 502 yards The most elevated tee shot on the course (to hit driver) allows you to eat up yards & get a look at the green in two. Hang to the left side off the tee and run something hard back up the hill to the green that plays to an extra club for a look at eagle.
Hole 11 Omni Mount Washington, Donald Ross, par-5, 542 yards Another elevated tee from the furthest point from the Inn must be PIPED and on target to dodge the fairway bunkers before another downward shot that must carry a cross bunker 50 yards short of the green. The illusions of a false double green mess with the mind from ground level, good enough to earn this one our Par-5 of The Year!
Hole 12 Charleston Municipal, Troy Miller, par-4, 372 yards An absolute stunner amongst a brilliant quartet of Stono River adjacent holes. With exception of 18th at Caledonia, this may be the hole with the best sunset in the state!
Hole 13 Sweetens Cove, Tad King/Rob Collins, par-3, 195 yards
Most associate 'KING' as the 4th hole at Sweetens, but we like the longer setup here at the 14th. The short flag is fun, but if you make par on the back pin, you've accomplished something special on a special golf hole.
Hole 14 The Orchard, Dan Maples, par-5, 575 yards
A stunning hole in a natural setting that just needed to be discovered. Drive over the lake but in front of a creek, but then you have to pick where to dodge the creek again that's the true challenge of this 3-shot par-5.
Hole 15 Tot Hill Farm, Mike Strantz, par-3, 143 yards
Any time you're taking aim to avoid a waterfall, you're exactly where you're supposed to be at that time. Soak it in and enjoy it!
Hole 16 Fincastle, Dick Wilson, par-4, 358 yards
This former private course turned Muni has been given new life and it certainly living its best version of itself! The 16th is a ridge-riding dogleg that overlooks the neighborhood below from the highest point on property.
Hole 17 The Course at Sewanee, Gil Hanse, par-4, 371 yards
Again moving an 8th hole on Hanse's college course to the end of the round. The quality of this hole can't be understated, which is why we're naming this hole our Par-4 Of The Year.
Hole 18 Club at Longview, Jack Nicklaus, par-4, 424 yards (Champion tee)
Big believer in the finishing hole ending in front of the clubhouse or gathering place. Reminiscent of the finale at East Lake, Jack brings us home with a bang in front of our Clubhouse Of The Year!
There you have it! Here's the official scorecard from this year's regulation composite course:
2024 COMPOSITE PAR THREE COURSE
Hole 1 The Chalkmine, 1st hole, 109 yards While we said the hole numbers didn't have to correspond, we found it appropriate to begin with a couple that did! Architect Jim McNair, Jr creates an incredible first impression with an opening hole - named 'Pine Valley' - featuring great elevation drop, bunkering, color and contrast. A perfect way to being our course!
Hole 2 Lynch Country Club, 2nd hole, 133 yards We'd hazard to guess this hole features less up-and-downs than any hole in the Bluegrass State. Lynch is one of our favorite places in golf and this is easily our favorite hole here. We'd play all day (and all night!) on this most unexpected joy of a 7-hole par-3 course in the Kentucky Coalfields.
Hole 3 3's Greenville, 8th hole, 157 yards 3's main architect, John LaFoy, sought out 17-other colleagues to help him design his own 'dream par-3 course' at the former Crosswinds Golf Course. Of the twelve surviving holes, Pete and Alice Dye's submission steals the show. Avoid the pot bunker from Hell at all costs!
Hole 4 Charleston Municipal, 14th hole, 125 yards
Troy Miller's 'Short' template closes the loop on a memorable 4-hole stretch. Take quick flight around the thumbprint-laden, elevated green flanked on three sides, by high-faced flat bottom bunkering.
Hole 5 CC of Spartanburg, 3rd Hole, 203 yards
Kris Spence designed this course in the Donald Ross style, but this hole feels more like a 'MacRaynor' tribute. A coffin bunker playing along the entirety of long edge of the rectangular green, saving shots that may kick hard from a watery grave. Wonderful challenge & reward. (click to expand images - they're worthy!)
Hole 6 Old Barnwell, 17th hole, 135 yards
Sandwiching a shorty between two long par-3s seems like a welcome stress break if you're previewing the scorecard before your round. That is, until you see step up to the tee and see what kind of madness you must navigate during that short ball flight. Break's over!
Hole 7 The Course at Sewanee, 5th hole, 200 yards
Uphill, over a quarry pond, over two bills in length (the tips play to 215 yards!) to a cliffside green whose edge falls 500+ feet down? No problem. Hey, at least there's no bunkers here! The lone tree provides some depth perception to an otherwise infinity green from the tee.
Hole 8 Graysburg Hills, 5th hole (Fodderstack 9), 187 yards
This elevated tee shot to a brutally bunkered green seems like it should play a club less due to the drop, but never actually does. Hit a true yardage and aim really, really well. Bunkers equal bogey on this heavily sloped (back to front) green. Be below the hole.
Hole 9 Sweetens Cove, 9th hole, 148 yards Finishing the front nine with the closer on the baddest nine-holer in America seems appropriate. As with all shots at Sweetens, creativity is required. Sometimes the easiest path the hole could be in the opposite direction! Your Honor, We submit Dooner's patented 'bunker putt' as exhibit A...
Hole 10 The Course at Sewanee, 3rd hole, 177 yards
The sister hole to Sewanee's 5th, but every bit as worthy of inclusion. Bunkers abound to catch shots to the front, left and back. Bail right if you need to or just stick it within 25 feet and drain a birdie in front of the college team that's teeing off on the next hole (sorry, humble brag!).
Hole 11 Aiken Golf Club, 16th hole, 183 yards What does up on the previous hole, must come down on this one! The iconic staircase dominates the view looking back on this dramatic downhill hole. Definitely a club less here. Man, what a sight (even in the brown)!
Hole 12 Tot Hill Farm, 6th hole, 154 yards This is the first of a handful of holes you encounter that is flanked by Betty McGees Creek. The tee box is one of those spots you hope you reach without another group in sight so you can just stand, listen and soak in the sights, smells and sounds.
Hole 13 Tot Hill Farm, 13th hole, 141 yards (Strantz tee) "Strantz's Back Yard" needs no description, just watch...
Ok no, it needs a footnote, if nothing else. The tee will slide forward the further back the pin gets. When the pin is on the top tier, the back tee may only play 122 - as anything further would be just flat out mean. Maverick Golf Architecture 101, courtesy by Professor Strantz.
Hole 14 Fincastle, 8th hole, 164 (green tee) This Dick Wilson design got a facelift a few years ago. This standout front side hole is cut in half by the entry road, but is sunk below the grade of tee to green so it isn't seen from the box. You still might want to wait for cars to clear though... windshields are expensive!
Hole 15 The Club at Longview, 7th hole, 143 yards (champion tee) The shortest hole at Longview might be the most challenging. Nicklaus depends precision when attacking the downhill hole. Play to the center and 2-putt, or else!
Hole 16 Omni Mount Washington, 5th hole, 193 yards (blue tee)
The hole is good, but this is as close as you'll get to hitting into the iconic hotel that sits above the course and dominates much of the backdrop to every hole. It's a big shot to the green, but you feel so small due to the surroundings.
Hole 17 CC of Spartanburg, 8th hole, 173 yards (blue tee)
Very similar to our 8th hole from Graysburg, this bunker-laded fortress of a green is accessible only from the air. A classic beauty in all its glory.
Hole 18 Biltmore Forest, 9th hole, 159 yards
We chose BFCC's Redan as our closer because it is one of the few par-3s that plays up to the clubhouse. The walk up the 100-year old stone staircase leads to the big reveal and big views from the tee. A Donald Ross delight in every sense.
Hole 19 Clear Creek, 8th hole, 165 yards
That's right! A Hog Hole! This value play muni in Bristol, VA features several holes playing along a massive lake at the center, yet none take greater advantage of the setting than this one. It's peninsula, bulkhead-wrapped green intimidates from any tee you choose.
We'd place this hole a few steps from our fantasy clubhouse patio, that overlooks it's own lake. This hole would be sure to bring many cheers (or jeers) for players finding the putting surface (or lake) from the galleries enjoying a post-round adult beverage on the deck.
19th hole Sweetens Cove
We can think of few better places to enjoy a post-round beverage than the chairs sitting atop the 9th green at Sweetens. Is it truly a 19th hole? You could make an argument its not a traditional '19th hole/clubhouse bar', but that's why we picked it. Nothing about Sweetens is traditional - which is why it works.
And there you have it. As we do, we must thank all the courses that we played this year for doing what YOU do! Thank you for keeping this great game afloat so others may enjoy the fruits of your labors. We'll do our best to send people your way!
If you joined us for a round in 2024 or we got a chance to meet on the journey, we thank you as well. While we enjoy the occasional solo round, it's always more fun to partake with company!
As always, we hope your golf journey and ours cross at some point, even if its an outreach using the form below asking what course you should play when visiting a place you've never been. This site is a tool for you to unearth some hidden gems, plan your next golf trip or even find a college to attend that values the game of golf as a profession, recreational tool or intercollegiate competition!
Whatever your journey takes you, make it about that. The journey. Not the list, ranking or destination.
Happy New Year & Sincerely Fores,
BMAC & Dooner
Your Golf Crusade
The Golf Crusade's Best of 2024