DURHAM, N.C.-- --Tiger Woods was once asked to rate the best courses he has played. Though typical candidates such as Augusta National were mentioned prominently by the world's best player, so were other, unlikely gems, such as the course at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo.
Courses - not those focusing on biology, mechanical engineering or journalism - are some of the rare finds on the golfing landscape, especially here in a part of the country that is a hotbed for college basketball.
The Dean Dome and Cameron Indoor Stadium have nothing on their golfing counterparts at North Carolina and Duke.
But getting the word out is sometimes difficult to do because those running the courses can't advertise what is essentially a not-for-profit operation where the greens fees for students and faculty members are subsidized by the university.
Ed Ibarguen, the head pro at the Duke University golf course in Durham, nearly found that out the hard way shortly after coming over from rival North Carolina in 2000.
"I put an ad in the local Yellow Pages and I almost got fired," Ibarguen said.
It didn't help when a five-star resort was built adjacent to the course in 1988 and was called The Washington Duke Inn and Golf Club. Most assumed that the course, which had been around since 1957, was private.
"They didn't know that it was open to the public, and some still don't," Ibarquen said.
Though some of the 80 or so courses on college campuses are simply cow pastures with flagsticks, many have become a great, affordable experience.
"Some university golf courses are not diamonds in the rough, they're ghosts in the field, so to speak," said Mike Wilkinson, who was Ibarguen's assistant at North Carolina's Finley Golf Course and is now its head pro. "That's all dependent upon the university and the people that are funding the facility. We're fortunate to have a top-notch designer to design and the university to support the facility."
The University of Florida's golf course has been rated among the top public courses in the country, but for those not able to make the trek to Gainesville, there are a number of top-shelf courses within an easy drive from the Baltimore area.
You can go 3 1/2 hours north to Penn State's Blue and White courses as well as four to five hours to Virginia Tech, Duke and North Carolina. And one of the best bargains can be found in College Park, where Maryland's course offers membership for as little as $1,600 a year.
