Our definitive* ranking of the 11 best drinks in golf

 
An excellent club drink need not be complicated. At Chechessee Creek, just three ingredients— bourbon, lemonade and bitters—create a refreshment to get you through the lowcountry heat. One panelist took note of the southern hospitality: “Call in for an ‘air drop,’ and they’ll deliver one anywhere on the course.”

Be lucky enough to stroll the famed coastline at Cypress Point, and hell, you could be convinced the bottle of water in your hand is the best drink in golf. Anything will do here, but the signature drink, named for early club manager Sam Solis in the 1930s, is a well-balanced blend of light and dark rum, sweet and sour mix, powdered sugar and soda. Tarde quotes Cypress Point members: “One is not enough, two is too many and three is just the beginning.”

Where Erin Hills has its fescue, Prairie Dunes has its gunch, fescue’s nasty waist-high big brother. Grab the slushy drink—vodka, Sprite, sweet and sour and cranberry juice—from the pool shack while making the turn, however, and you won’t care how many balls you lose on the back. As one panelist observes, “It makes it feel like the wind isn’t blowing as hard.”

If you’re a fan of mules, you’ll love Erin Hills’ take with Jameson whiskey, ginger beer and lemonade. “The drink looks like the rolling golden hills of fescue filling the property,” one panelist says. “The taste is a balance of sweetness with the right amount of bite.”

Forget the Jack vs. Tiger debate; It’s the contest between Nicklaus’ Buckeye milkshake and Castle Pines’ version that we’re really interested in. It comes down to how thick you like your shakes. At Castle Pines, milkshakes are made with Häagen-Dazs ice cream, and no added milk means the thicker product is best enjoyed with a spoon.

Some signature drinks are best enjoyed post-round, but at Oakmont, a slushy transfusion is advised at the turn, if not simply to cool you down but to ease your scorecard anxiety. It’s a classic vodka, ginger ale and grape juice mix. “Getting your butt kicked never tasted so good,” one panelist says.

Named for the club’s longtime bartender, Fernando Figueroa, the strong libation consists of Mount Gay rum, sour mix, egg whites, simple syrup, soda and a Myers dark rum floater. One panelist argues that it “only counts if it’s made by Fernando. Watching him make 20 of these in five minutes is quite an experience.”

What’s the penalty for ordering anything else but the iconic iced tea and lemonade combo in the Bay Hill clubhouse, where the King enjoyed a few? Surely more than stroke and distance. As our Editor-in-Chief Jerry Tarde says, it’s the “ultimate, drop-the-mic refreshment.”

The club’s signature cocktail includes vodka, lemonade and grenadine, garnished with a cherry and orange slice. The drink was long thought to include pineapple juice instead of lemonade, but Augusta says otherwise. Win the Masters ticket lottery, and you can be the judge.

Stats can’t explain why the lactose intolerant struggle at Jack’s Place at the Memorial Tournament. For that analysis, look no further than the club’s creamy blend of vanilla ice cream, peanut butter, chocolate syrup and milk. In the words of one of our panelists, “Do I really need to explain why that is so good?” 

Legend has it that the citrusy concoction was Al Capone’s drink of choice in Chicago, but now the mixture of gin (or vodka or rum), simple syrup, lemon juice, soda and mint leaves is best enjoyed on the back patio at NGLA while watching the sun set over Peconic Bay.