Roadgolf: Spook Rock GC, Suffern NY

 

Things have been a little hectic in the city lately, so a little roadgolf is in order. Spook Rock is another teetime-website find. It's located in sleepy Rockland County near the New Jersey border and within the one-hour zone of golfability. At a shade under forty miles away, we're in low population density territory which means I’m not expecting crowds on this cold windy Saturday.

Roadgolf: Montauk Downs State Park GC, Montauk, Long Island

I've been wanting to do this for a long time. I first played here in way back in '06 while I was still pretty new to the game, and once more a year or two later. Considerable time passed (for whatever reason) and now I'm finally back.

Roadgolf: Fishkill GC&DR, Fishkill NY

These are strange, wondrous times we live in. Back in the analog era, you didn’t just hop in the car and drive for hours to some strange area without a specific idea of what you were going to do once you got there. You had to plan. Make calls. Unfold maps.

Roadgolf: Tallgrass GC, Shoreham, Long Island NY

It's that time again. Some people celebrate their birthdays with cake. For the last few years I've celebrated with a round of golf at a nice, non-New York City course.

Roadgolf: Brunswick Golf Club, Brunswick, Maine

Maine is the least population-dense state in the whole eastern part of this country. It is a lot of coastline and open space and not a lot of people. Which translates into tons of lobster for everyone, as well as a good pace of play on the golf course. I'm hoping at least.

Roadgolf: Patriot Hills Golf Course, Stony Point NY

I have been wandering, exploring the various planes of existence, both high and low. I am adrift in three-dimensional space, searching for a (swing) path that will ultimately lead me home.

It is lonely and desolate out here in space. Carding 18-hole scores is something from a past life. Now, I am an apparition drifting from abstract theory to abstract theory, no golf course to call home.

Recently I got a text from the real world. It was my friend Arnold asking me to play some pre-holiday golf. I said no at first, because I am in the middle of trying to change my perception of the golf swing and probably would represent a hazard to others on a golf course. But he begged and pleaded, so I caved.

Roadgolf: Cascades at Crystal Springs, Hamburg NJ

This is our third visit to the Crystal Springs mega-resort complex in northern New Jersey, having played the tranquil Black Bear, and the tricked up Crystal Springs courses.

Roadgolf: Pinch Brook GC, Florham Park NJ

Now that the Break 80 at Silver Lake Challenge is done, it's time to get back to playing golf for the original intended purpose: having fun. I'm kidding around of course. It's always fun. Nevertheless that last round--which lasted almost five hours and had me matched up with not one but TWO separate groups of undesirables--really strained at the boundary between fun and torment. It was like getting an early glimpse into the busy summer season, and I didn't like what I saw.

Roadgolf: Sunset Valley GC, Pompton Plains NJ

Hey, it's your old pal. I am still alive, still here, and still participating in golf-- at least as much as the fragile, volatile ecosystem of Earth will allow these days. It's been a long time since Ms. L has played any golf, so we fired up the old rental car, threw a dart at a map of the tri-state area, bundled up and headed out about an hour east to a tiny town called Pompton Plains in rural Sussex County.

Roadgolf: Black Bear GC, Franklin NJ

Black Bear is one of the six courses in the Crystal Springs mega-resort/recreational fun zone in northern New Jersey. Conveniently located about an hour northwest of the city, and also featuring a decent ski resort, this place is starting to feel like a regular haunt for us. And why not? It's quiet, sparsely populated, moderately scenic and there's plenty to do. Drive away from the city for one hour in any other direction, you're not gonna beat what Sussex County has to offer.

Roadgolf: Tustin Ranch GC, Tustin CA

Greetings from Southern California. I had no specific plan to play golf while I was out here, but I was invited by my sister's husband to play a round at his club, the Tustin Ranch GC. I tend to feel out of my comfort zone at places like this but I just kind of rolled with the tide and accepted, for better or worse. Anyways it's a very gracious offer, so why the hell not.

Roadrange: Spring Rock Golf Center, New Hyde Park, Long Island

After a week of no-golf, I was starting to get a little itchy. My parents had spent a few days visiting the city, and when it was time to drive them to the airport I thought I might as well find a place to pound some balls while we're out in Queens.

Roadgolf: The Architects GC, Phillipsburg NJ

For the past couple of years I've been celebrating birthdays by burning rubber out of the city and playing a round of civilized golf with Ms. L, on a course that's a little more upscale than I'm comfortable with. Last year was New Jersey's Crystal Springs resort; the year before that, Jack Nicklaus' Mansion Ridge in the Hudson Valley. For someone who's never really been too interested in birthday celebrations, this is shaping up to be a real treat and something I actually look forward to.

This year I picked out the somewhat pompously-named Architects club, located on the westernmost edge of New Jersey, right up against the Pennsylvania state line. (To completely escape the reek of the city, you have to drive for at least an hour.)

Penalized in the Poconos

The Pocono Mountains are located in northeast Pennsylvania, about an hour and a half from New York City.

Around here the name Poconos is generally synonymous with alpine fun and good times, located within a sensible distance of the big cities. As a non-native New Yorker I had always assumed that it was a place to be. A destination if you will.

Roadgolf: Hanover CC, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH (Doggie on board)

I never expected to wind up here in New Hampshire, never mind on the campus of an Ivy League college. But we're staying in the ultra-quaint town of Woodstock, Vermont, and the only golf course there--the RTJ Sr.-designed Woodstock CC--happens to be hosting a gigantic tournament today. Very disappointing, but at least the lady on the phone was extremely apologetic about it--that softened the blow a bit.

Roadgolf: Catamount Golf Club, Williston, Vermont

After a full day of wandering around Burlington, then hiking around a place called Niquette Bay State Park, there was still a bite of daylight left. So we found a quiet little semi-private 9-holer in tiny nearby Williston. This was the view that greeted us as soon as we got out of the car, but that didn't keep me from interrogating the lonely pro shop guy about whether "it was busy out there", hopeless gutter-rat that I am. I felt so out of place as soon as that came out of my mouth. Here we are well into the super-twilight hour, certainly don't see much of anyone out there and yet, I cannot stop myself from stressing about a crowded course. In a remote town with population under 8,000. In the 2nd least-populated state in the goddamn union. The only crowds here are the ones in my cluttered mind. Sad. I wonder if there is any hope for the likes of me.

Roadgolf: Ferrisburgh Driving Range, Ferrisburgh, Vermont (Moving to the country, gonna hit me a lot of range balls)

Greetings from the road again. This time the path has taken the Legitimategolf crew to the Green Mountain State. It's our first time here, and this really is a magical place exploding with maple-covered hills and verdant pastures the likes of which these city-eyes have never seen. No wonder Vermont is forever associated with cows and dairy--this is a goddamn wonderland of grazing.

Roadgolf: The Carolinas Part Two, Golf City USA

The Outer Banks of North Carolina was great, but we decided to press on southward. Since our itinerary was already straining the limits of practicality, and because hey--we're tourists, Myrtle Beach was a natural destination. It's not too far below the state border and well, there's that little thing about more golf per capita in Myrtle than anywhere else in the world.

Roadgolf: the Carolinas, Part One

It's roadtrip time for Ms. Legit and me. We packed up the dog in a rented SUV and headed about as far south as we reasonably could in one day. Even though the Carolinas are known for golf, I treated it as an afterthought and just sort of threw my dirty clubs in the back and aside from making sure to pack sufficient balls and a glove, I made no other plans or preparation. I didn't even pack the right gear for playing in the cold. I figured if an opportunity came up, great; if not, no big deal, it'll be nice enough just to take in the sights and to get away from goddamned New York City.