Making the List--the 'Must Play' List--and Checking It Off 14 Times

The May issue of Golfstyles magazine (Philadelphia edition) just arrived by mail. It featured an article on the "100 Must Play Courses Open to Everyone" in the tri-state area of Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware, as well as the Ocean City, Maryland area. After the reviewing the list, I counted 14 courses that The Muni Golfer has played. They include:

* Baywood Greens Golf Club, Long Neck, Del.
* Bethlehem Golf Club, Bethlehem, Pa.
* Cobbs Creek Golf Club, Philadelphia, Pa.
* Heritage Hills Golf Resort, York, Pa.
* Island Green Country Club, Philadelphia, Pa.
* Jeffersonville Golf Club, Jeffersonville, Pa.
* Pinecrest Country Club, Lansdale, Pa.
* RiverWinds Golf Club, West Deptford, N.J.
* Rum Pointe Seaside Golf Links, Berlin, Md.
* Sand Barrens Golf Club, Cape May, N.J.
* Shawnee Inn and Golf Resort, Shawnee on the Delaware, Pa.
* The Bay Club, Berlin, Md.
* Water Gap Country Club, Delaware Water Gap, Pa.
* Wyncote Golf Club, Oxford, Pa.

Three of the courses--Jeffersonville, Wyncote and Baywood Greens--I played for the first time last year. Among the notable courses are Cobbs Creek, Philadelphia's first municipal course where Arnold Palmer shot a best round of 77 during a tournament in the 1950s; Jeffersonville, which was designed by noted golf architect Donald Ross; Shawnee Inn, which was designed by the legendary A. W. Tillinghast, hosted the 1938 PGA Championship and the 1967 NCAA Championship (won by future three-time U.S. Open winner Hale Irwin), and is where actor Jackie Gleason was introduced to the game of golf and Arnold Palmer met his late wife Winnie; Water Gap, which hosted legendary players like Gene Sarazen and Walter Hagen for the Eastern Open from 1926-28; and Rum Pointe, which was designed by the father-son duo of Pete and P. B. Dye.

Hopefully, I'll be able check off a few more courses on Golfstyles' list this season.