20 Places Every Golf Fan Must Visit

The game's best off-course attractions

Edited by Matt Ginella & Peter Finch

Photo by Dom Furore

June 2009

True golf fans can't get enough. Even if they're not playing or watching golf, they're thinking about it. We designed this feature with that golfer in mind. From Seoul to St. Andrews, from Ohio to Arizona, we've collected the game's 20 top off-course attractions. You'll find tributes to icons, bars where tradition is always on tap, gravesites of golf legends, hallowed hallways, a clown's mouth, and more. Some of these attractions are near famous golf courses; others are more remote. Many are moderately priced or even free. But, most important, each is steeped in the game we love.

Arnold Palmer's Restaurant

La Quinta, Calif.
760-771-4653
arnoldpalmers.net

When Arnie's in town, Arnold Palmer's Restaurant is where you might find the living legend. The restaurant's menu features a distinguished wine list, tender steaks, spit-roasted chicken, pot-pie, a mean mac-and-cheese and a massive Latrobe Banana Split. It's also full of eye candy, from vintage golf pictures to Palmer memorabilia. Take a tour of the U.S. Open and British Open rooms, the Masters Room and Arnie's Pub. Decide who's buying by ducking out for a post-meal putt-off on the back patio's practice green.

Bobby Jones Exhibit

Atlanta History Center
404-814-4000
atlantahistorycenter.com

Calamity Jane, perhaps the most famous lady in golf's storied history save the Babe (Didrikson Zaharias), is about the only significant artifact missing from "Down the Fairway with Bobby Jones,'' the most comprehensive exhibition on the great man. The exhibit successfully puts Jones' career in context with historical developments of the game, such as the rise of public courses, golf-course desegregation and professionalism in golf. Jones' famous putter might not be there (it's at Augusta National), but the silver casket and scroll from the 1958 Freedom of the City ceremony in St. Andrews are among 200 artifacts on display. The interactive, animated version of the book Classic Instruction is worth the admission fee ($15 for adults, less for seniors and children).

British Golf Museum

St. Andrews
Fife, Scotland
011-44-1334-460-046
britishgolfmuseum.co.uk

Don't be fooled. Although the facade resembles nothing more than a public toilet, the British Golf Museum in St. Andrews is well worth $8 for adults (and less for children). Situated almost directly behind the Royal & Ancient's famous clubhouse, the museum is stuffed with golf memorabilia from the Middle Ages to Modern Day. See the first rules of golf, dating to 1744, and try the new 18th Hole gallery, where visitors can putt using a replica of a classic Hugh Philp putter and a feathery.

The Dunvegan

(and other St. Andrews pubs)
St. Andrews
Fife, Scotland
011-44-1334-473-105
dunvegan-hotel.com

Just over the road from the Old Course's 18th green, the Dunvegan Hotel has one of the best locations of any 19th hole. Yes, you'll run into a lot of other tourists here, but don't hold that against the place. Have a pint and admire the artwork: hundreds of photos and prints commemorating the British Open's history, the Old Course and fellow travelers who've made the pilgrimage. Then move on and sample some of the town's other great watering holes. For a younger crowd, try Ma Bells at the Scores Hotel. Many of the best caddie stories can be heard in the Jigger, next to the Old Course Hotel.

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20 Places Every Golf Fan Must Visit