On the Tee

The 2008 World Golf Championships - Bridgestone Invitational is coming to Akron's Firestone Country Club with tournament play beginning July 28. If you're interested in partaking in the action instead of just watching the professionals play check out the list of Akron-area golf courses below that would be worth a trip during the week of the event. 

Estimates put the number of golf courses in the state of Michigan at just over 1,000, and more than 850 of those courses are available for public play. Private clubs like Crystal Downs Country Club near Frankfort and Oakland Hills Country Club, site of this year's PGA Championship, have always been recognized as the very best layouts in the state. But out of the venerable crowd of 850, one course has separated itself from the field.

Located in Arcadia and set apart from any large population center, Arcadia Bluffs Golf Course has yet to celebrate its 10^th year of operation but is already ranked No. 10 on the list of "America's 100 Greatest Public Courses" by Golf Digest. It's widely regarded as the top public course in Michigan and follows just behind Crystal Downs and Oakland Hills overall. On the list of "America's 100 Greatest", also by Golf Digest, it positioned itself in the top half of the draw, coming in at No. 46. 

Famous lawmen killed in furious gunfights, Indian guides assisting emigrants on their trek west to presumably find wealth and a party of snowbound settlers forced to wait out a winter so harsh they would resort to cannibalism - This is the heritage and lure found in historic Truckee.

Today Truckee, located just west of the Nevada state line, is just another stop along the transcontinental Interstate 80. However, a well-preserved history, vibrant art and festival scene and authentic yet modern restaurants and bars along with a nicely appointed collection of golf courses make it an intriguing destination.

CORAL GABLES, Fla. - Sometimes it pays to have spent 80-odd years as a muni.

Designed by Donald Ross in 1925, the Biltmore Golf Course served the Miami area for decades as both stellar municipal track and playground to a parade of sporting celebrities, from Babe Ruth to Bobby Jones to Johnny Weismuller to Tiger Woods.

The course fell into disrepair late in the 20th century. In this case, however, it was better to have been neglected than irretrievably altered. Thanks to architect Brian Silva, whose comprehensive restoration of the course was unveiled this winter, the Biltmore GC has again joined the ranks of America’s premier resort tracks. 

No city celebrates our nation's independence better than Washington, D.C. After all, our capital city should play host to the Fourth of July's biggest and most spectacular party. This year the calendar has cooperated, allowing for Tiger Woods' AT&T National at Congressional Country Club to be conducted in harmony with the holiday weekend. This is just the beginning of a three year stretch that will bring two United States Golf Association events to Congressional CC and surely put one of America's most famous golf facilities in the national spotlight.

Congressional has a reputation for being one of the most exclusive country clubs from sea to shining sea and surely is a favorite playground of congressmen, senators and Washington lobbyists. The famous Blue Course, which has hosted all of the golf tournaments held at Congressional, also has quite a reputation. Golf Digest ranked it 86^th in America's 100 Greatest Golf Courses. 

HILTON HEAD ISLAND - It may not have the bells and whistles of Belfair or Wexford (two more recognizable private facilities in the Hilton Head area) or the history and heritage of Harbour Town Golf Links, but Dolphin Head Golf Club has managed to carve out a unique niche for itself among the crowded Lowcountry golf scene.

The feeling of a close-knit community is apparent as soon as you enter the Dolphin Head clubhouse. The laid back, friendly environment creates a great atmosphere for golf. 

POUND RIDGE, N.Y. - Pound Ridge Golf Club, the first New York course designed by legendary architect Pete Dye, officially marked its grand opening with a press conference and first tee ceremony before hundreds of invited guests, town officials and media.

Heralded by golf insiders as the most highly anticipated new high-end public course in the country, Pound Ridge Golf Club is poised to achieve international acclaim as a must-play classic. The course opens for play to the public on or about July 1. 

During the days of westward expansion, settlers descended upon Carson City intent on mining for precious minerals, silver in particular. Today, Nevada's state capital is a hub of history proudly displaying its Wild West record.

To the east, large swaths of desert mark the treacherous terrain settlers had to endure to reach the city. To the west, the breathtaking Sierra Nevada Mountains loom as a gateway to the Pacific. The remnants of a storied past remain but are now joined by the trappings of modern consumerism, like Wal-Mart and McDonald's. 

A $16.5 million renovation project has transformed struggling Galveston Municipal Golf Course into the new Moody Gardens Golf Course, a par-72 layout expected to rank as one of the best public courses in Texas rivaling the state’s finest municipal venues.

Opened in early June, Moody Gardens is the culmination of a two-year project undertaken by the City of Galveston, the Moody Foundation and Moody Gardens intent on making the 32-mile-long, 2-mile wide south Texas island more attractive to traveling golfers while giving residents a reason not to leave home. 

On June 28, 2008 the city of St. Andrews will christen the Castle Course as it officially opens to the public, becoming the seventh 18-hole course owned and operated by the St. Andrews Links Trust.

The first new course to be built by the Links Trust since 1914 has been described as a "clifftopper", sitting some 60 to 80 feet above the sea which it runs along for a mile.

The Castle Course was built on land previously occupied by a potato farm. Reforming the land was the task of architect David McLay Kidd, creator of Oregon's Bandon Dunes, who shaped the track into one of the most highly awaited courses to debut in recent memory.