Five golf courses to put on your bucket list – check one off in 2018

(Photo by Atsushi Tomura/Getty Images)

Five bucket list golf courses you must walk – pick one to play in 2018!

Golf courses come in dizzying variety.  From the gated and cloistered Augusta National Golf Club variety to the come one, come all munis of the Louisville Metro Parks system, where seniors can enjoy a quick round for seven dollars, there’s some kind of golf for every budget and every status proclivity. We’re a game that takes pride in our accessibility.

Money isn’t the only factor in the accessibility equation. There’s also physical accessibility, and here, too, there’s something for everybody. From Lincoln Park in Oklahoma City, a track carved from the endless flatness of the Great Plains, to the mountain goat challenge of Etowah Valley in North Carolina, the game stands ready to challenge.

Despite the game’s reputation as a relatively exclusive recreational passtime for the well-heeled, about 75% of the golf courses in the United States have public access. To be sure, public access doesn’t necessarily mean low-budget. The Louisville Metro Parks rates are probably at the bottom on a scale that runs into the hundreds of dollars. But that’s the charm of the game. Committed and determined golfers are generally able to find a track that fits their budget.

The essence of the game – golf as it was originally played – emerges when we put those carts aside and set off for a four or five hour walk. I’ve put five golf courses on my bucket list that fall into the walk-only category. All are spectacular tests of skill. And all promise a golf experience I’l relish and remember for some time.

Which of these golf courses will you put on your 2018 bucket list? Let’s take a look.