Northfield, Minn.
6,809 yards, par 72; Greens fee: $39 and up; 952-652-2500,
willingersgc.com | GOLFCOURSE.com Profile
Don't let the name deter you: this course only sounds like some guy's backyard project. Willinger's is 30 miles from downtown Minneapolis but sports a wild, way-out-there ambiance. The opening nine is flattish and wanders around multiple marshland areas, but the layout really comes alive on the topsy-turvy back nine that's tucked into the trees.
8. Pinon Hills Golf Course
Farmington, N.M.
7,249 yards, par 72; Greens fee: $36.50 and up; 505-326-6066,
fmtn.org/pinonhills | GOLFCOURSE.com Profile
It's not too long ago that the only reason folks drove miles out of their way to Four Corners region of the Southwest was to pose for pictures while straddling the only dot on the U.S. map where four states touch each other. Now Pinon Hills, in farthest northwestern New Mexico, gives golfers a better reason to rack up the miles. Sandstone outcroppings and deep canyons serve as handsome hazards on this Ken Dye design, but it's the wildly undulating greens that can send scores skyward.
9. The Links of North Dakota
Ray, N.D.
7,092 yards, par 72; Greens fee: $40 and up; 701-568-2600,
linksnd.com | GOLFCOURSE.com Profile
New Yorker Stephen Kay was turned loose on this treeless site overlooking Lake Sakakawea in northwest North Dakota and the results is the Dornoch of the Dakotas: a near-authentic links experience with fast-running fairways, 82 ingeniously placed bunkers, and a location that will let you play until 10:00 p.m. in the height of summer. And all for $40!
10. Gray Plantation Golf Club
Lake Charles, La.
7,238 yards, par 72; Greens fee: $46 and up; 337-562-1663,
graywoodllc.com | GOLFCOURSE.com Profile
Wayward hitters will find plenty of intimidation at Gray Plantation, and not just from the water hazards that lurk on 12 holes-many of those hazards are teeming with alligators. In the heart of Cajun Country, architect Rocky Roquemore carved wide fairways from a forest of tall pines but what Rocky giveth he taketh away with the occasional forced carry to an island green.
11. Rock Hollow Golf Club
Peru, Ind.
6,944 yards, par 72; Greens fee: $49 and up
765-473-6100,
rockhollowgolf.com | GOLFCOURSE.com Profile
Stick a pickaxe in your bag because this dynamite layout was sculpted from a former gravel quarry mined by the father of PGA Tour player Chris Smith and the rocks that remain can ruin your round. Wetlands, trees and heaving terrain complement an inspired routing by Pete Dye protégé Tim Liddy that's situated 70 miles north of Indianapolis.
12. Santa Ana Golf Club (Tamaya/Cheena Course)
Bernalillo, N.M.
7,239 yards, par 71; Greens fee: $32 and up
505-867-9464,
santaanagolf.com | GOLFCOURSE.com Profile
You shoulda made a toin at Albuquerque. Had you done so, and headed north for 15 miles to the Santa Ana Pueblo, you would have found its namesake golf club with its mostly flat fairways that ease past the Rio Grande. You would have also discovered some of the most consistently quick, tough-to-two-putt greens west of the Pecos, along with desert brush lining the fairways and mountains all around.
13. Callippe Preserve
Pleasanton, Calif.
6,748 yards, par 72; Greens fee: $42 and up
925-426-6666,
playcallippe.com
This 2006 addition to the Bay Area golf is scene is a welcome one, thanks to its close proximity to San Jose and San Francisco, its memorable mountain vistas and to its greens fee that won't induce sticker shock in a locale where a mil will get you a one-bedroom cracker box. Architect Brian Costello routed the course to take full advantage of the twisting Happy Valley Creek and stuck holes 11-14 adjacent to Callippe butterfly sanctuaries.
