Why this Catskills course with mountain views was my favorite of 2024

There’s no straightforward, mathematical way to identify your favorite course of the year. That’s an easier task for “best” or “best value” courses. A “favorite” course is best chosen via a gut feeling, and with factors outside of the pitch and speed of the greens.

For me, the honor goes to Rip Van Winkle Country Club in Palenville, N.Y., but I likely wouldn’t even have heard of that course without an unexpected life change.

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In late July, my wife and I moved a hundred miles north from our longtime home of Brooklyn, N.Y., to a small town in the Catskills, a move that hadn’t been our radar when we got married just a few weeks before.

Quickly after settling in, I was pleased to discover that the region is chock full of inexpensive, well-maintained par-3 and 9-hole courses, and many of them were just a short drive from my home. So I took advantage of the long late-summer days, and regularly played rounds in an hour before or after work.

While much of my time was spent at Alapaha Golf Center’s executive course, it was when I made a slightly longer drive to Rip Van Winkle that I discovered my favorite course of the year.

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The Rip is a full-length, nine-hole course open to the public and dating all the way back to 1919. Much to my shock, I discovered that its designer way back then was none other than course architecture legend Donald Ross, who more famously authored many historic tracks such as recent major hosts Pinehurst No. 2 and Oak Hill.

While The Rip might not be in the major-championship conditions found at Pinehurst and Oak Hill, it’s still very well-maintained, with smooth, surprisingly quick greens, a relaxed atmosphere and a quick pace of play.

One of the best features of The Rip, though, is one found at nearly every course in the area: mountain views on every hole.

Oh and the cost for a round? Just $18. Good luck finding your way onto a Donald Ross course for less than that.

Honorable mention: If I could choose a second favorite, that would go to Brooklawn Country Club in Fairfield, Conn. My parents were members of the club when I was growing up, and it’s where I learned to play and love the game. Not that it was easy: the club, which was founded in 1895, features a difficult course by another American design legend, A.W. Tillinghast, and has hosted several USGA championships. I also worked on the greens crew one summer.

Just before Thanksgiving, I got to play Brooklawn for the first time in some 20 years, in a fun Thanksgiving scramble alongside my dad, younger brother and my two new brothers-in-law. It was an event I won’t soon forget, on a course that if you get a chance to play you would be wise to accept.