U.S. Irish Pub & Links Golf Trail
Compiled by Fat Guy
[Note: This page still under construction.]
Just in case flipping back and forth between Big Break Ireland on the Golf Channel and The Departed on TNT gives you a golf travel itch but your passport's expired, here's a few lists of the best Irish pubs in America. Naturally, I'll pair each one with a good Irish-style links (or as close to an Irish links as one can get within vaguely reasonable driving distance to the pub).
Check out these 10 top Irish pubs, where it's easy drinking green
By Gayot.com for MSN Local Edition
Whether you're Irish or not, St. Patrick's Day brings about the festive spirit in just about everybody. We've rounded up the best bars, pubs and restaurants around the country where you can celebrate this merry holiday, or enjoy a pint and a plate of corned beef and cabbage any time of the year. Our picks range from a Florida pub with an on-site brewery and an 8,000-bottle wine cellar to a Philadelphia tavern that opened the year Lincoln was elected president. On March 17, even if you don't get to quaff some green suds, don't forget to don your green duds!
Doyle's Café (Jamaica Plain, Mass.)
This Jamaica Plain institution has been around since 1882. During their infamous Senate battle, John Kerry and William Weld shared a beer here, as has every major pol for decades on end. And why not? There are 29 drafts available. The food is of the square meal-pub grub genus, though a few things have been updated for the modern diet. Burgers come in beef, turkey, bison and veggie. Corned beef and cabbage is served on Thursdays. It hosts a good weekend brunch. Meanwhile, the dark wood booths, old pictures on the walls and regular clientele combine to maintain one of Old Boston's last holdouts. See more details.
Granite Links (Quincy MA, www.granitelinksgolfclub.com) Boston's infamous $14.6 billion Big Dig replaced the city's decrepit highways with sleek tunnels. It also helped build a wonderful course. Before the Dig, these 450 acres were a morass of landfills and quarries seven miles south of the city. Quarry Hills' developers needed fill; Big Dig contractors needed a place to put 13 million tons of earth. Now, more than 900,000 truckloads later, architect John Sanford has fashioned a work of art. Although short by today's standards, Granite Links compensates with dense bluegrass, fescue and heather rough bordering bent-grass fairways and large, bone-white bunkers that look like the footprints of prehistoric beasts fleeing the nearby metropolis. (Although Boston's skyline comes into view from many spots, a hundred acres of adjoining conservation land lend the feel of a rural track.) Boston has long needed a nearby, first-rate public course. Now it has one—on its very own soil. [T&L Golf]
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Galway Hooker (New York City)
This place in the West Village at first screams generic Irish pub, not unlike its neighborhood brethren, Fiddlesticks. And while the clientele are not really of the local variety -- for better or worse -- the Galway Hooker (named for a ship, we hope) is actually as much (or more) of a restaurant than a place to slam a few pints of Guinness. The menu, as one would expect, is crammed with Irish pub grub, but that's not a bad thing. The signature chicken dish, Hooker Chicken, is elevated with a sweet sherry sauce. The burger is thoughtfully topped with a fried egg. But if you want something lighter, the kitchen also does decent big salads, some of which are sprinkled with warm goat cheese and accented with arugula. It's anything but run-of-the-mill.
Play Ferry Point MGC (scheduled to open Fall 2012, www.nycgovparks.org/sub_your_park/ferry_point_park/golf_course.html). NYC Parks & Rec hired Jack Nicklaus Design to convert this former landfill into a Irish-style links course, with an eye towards hosting big tournaments.
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The Harp (Cleveland)
The Harp boasts a good-size bar, a two-level dining room and large patio. Billed as an Irish pub, it serves a reliably prepared rotation of shepherd's pie, bourbon-glazed lamb chops and fish 'n' chips. Salads, sandwiches, and nightly specials round out the offerings. We recommend any of the boxty dishes. These enormous grilled potato pancakes have a creamy texture and may enfold fillings like sautéed vegetables and salmon. Live music is featured every Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. During the warmer months, patrons vie for a seat on the huge patio for views of the Lake Erie shore and Cleveland skyline.
The same glaciers that formed the Great Lakes didn't leave alot of level linksland on the shores of Lake Erie near Cleveland. Nonetheless, Shale Creek GC (Medina, www.shalecreekgolfclubggp.com) about 35 miles inland and south of the city is a nice farmland links surrounded by a housing developement. Per www.golfinclevelandohio.com, "This Brian Huntley designed this course utilizes Rocky River and Shale Creeks as the defining natural characteristics. While not Fazio flashy, Huntley usually gives you a solid modern course which is what you have here. Surrounding the course is farmland and a new housing development which for the most part does not encroach on the course but for 2 holes. The terrain has mostly modest elevation changes with the most elevations coming from the Rocky River and Shale Creek basins. Where the terrain was less than interesting, Huntley went to town with some of his most sophisticated contouring yet. Many young trees have been added to supplement the few trees that remain and it will be some time until they become factors. Wind is always a factor here and this course plays harder than it looks."
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The Irish Bank Bar & Restaurant (San Francisco)
This Irish bar and restaurant is conveniently placed between Union Square and the Financial District. Tucked down its own little alleyway, the long, narrow venue features an eclectically decorated interior (rustic wooden booths and furnishings and typical pub sports and drink memorabilia with Irish flavor). The menu features some nice variety: homey basics such as stew with mash, fish 'n' chips and shepherd's pie, plus choices a bit more upscale such as chicken curry. Outdoor alley tables might not be elegant, but they sure get lively as the night goes on. Be prepared for a big and raucous after-work crowd. See more details.
Get yer Irish up at Metropolitan Golf Links (Oakland, www.playmetro.com), a Golf Digest 4-1/2 star links co-designed by Johnny Miller with vistas of the Bay Bridge, San Francisco skyline, Oakland Hills, and the Peninsula.
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The Irish Oak (Chicago)
Don your Cubbie blue and you'll be in the majority at this near-Wrigley restaurant that features live music and a menu of Irish-inflected bar basics. Choices run from beer-battered onion rings to soup that comes with Irish soda bread, Galway beef and Guinness stew and burgers. More authentic fare includes the Irish breakfast, available all day, shepherd's pie and fish 'n' chips. Of course, there are not-so-Irish options like chicken wings, mac 'n' cheese and sliders as well. Daily specials save tons of dough.
Chicago's location on Lake Michigan provides some linksy lakeside terrain. Check out Chicago's Harborside International GC (www.harborsideinternational.com), located just 15 minutes from downtown. Dick Nugent's Port and Starboard courses were inspired by the links of the British Isles, and have been compared to Muirfield by none other than Ben Crenshaw.
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Kelly's Irish Times (Washington, D.C.)
Housed in a standalone brick building that is dwarfed by its surroundings, this quaint place offers an all-Irish experience in a boisterous setting -- loads of charm, loads of brews. Although the menu offers primarily American eats, the specials board may be the real source of Irish fare: look for shepherd's pie and corned beef and cabbage. Otherwise, you will join fellow patrons over a pint or two of stout or ale with a bowl of chili, maybe a chopped pork barbecue sandwich, and for bigger appetites, a Dublin broil flank steak.
Play Blue Mash GC (Gaithersburg MD, www.bluemash.com). "An Arthur Hills designed course, great layout, and a lot of variety of hole design. There's open links style holes with mounded fairways, parkland type with tree lined fairways, a good number of hole with water, some flat, some with good elevation change, and plenty of sand, and best of all it's always in good shape, especially the greens. The only issue I have with the course is the rates are steep. It's located north of Gaithersburg off I-270 in Laytonsville." [Forelinksters.com]
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McGillin's Olde Ale House (Philadelphia)
The oldest operating tavern in Philadelphia -- it opened the year Lincoln was elected president---this local haunt has a large selection of regional beers and house specialties. The menu is a bargain, from the $5 and $6.50 pitchers and $4.99 half-pound burger to the Cape May seafood stew over pasta. Dishes like a hot turkey sandwich with mashed potatoes, crab cakes, and a char-grilled rib-eye steak round out the menu. A friendly watering hole if there ever was one.
Head about 55 minutes southeast of Philly to Wyncote GC (Oxford, www.wyncotegc.com). The design was inspired by the links courses of the British Isles with some authentic links elements and conditions so good, you'd never guess this rolling farmland links is family-owned.
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McGuire's Irish Pub (Pensacola, Fla.)
McGuire's Irish Pub is what all those ain't-we-got-fun casual dining chains wish they could be. Inside the 20,000-square-foot facility (the city's historic circa-1927 firehouse), patrons dine in memorabilia-laden themed rooms. There's the Notre Dame Room, the Irish Links Room, the Piper's Den and the Ruprecht O'Tolf Wine Cellar. The atmosphere is New York Irish saloon on mega-steroids, with an on-site brewery and an 8,000-bottle wine cellar. If the trappings seem suited to a place for burgers and fish 'n' chips, well, those are available (there are 25 different burger variations; you can spend an ungodly sum on one, accompanied by caviar and Champagne---but why?). But McGuire's actually offers Prime steaks, hand-cut and flash-seared, plus lobster tail and other classic steakhouse fare. Those hankerin' for Irish verisimilitude will find a hearty lamb stew, corned beef and cabbage, steak-and-mushroom pie and shepherd's pie. The "Irish Fisherman's Bouillabaisse," filled with fresh Gulf fish and shellfish, is always a good choice. Also located at 33 Harbor Blvd., Destin, 850-654-0567.
Hit Windswept Dunes (Freeport, www.windsweptdunes.com). Though the course lies ten miles inland, you’ll feel as though you’re steps from the Gulf thanks to the grass-covered dunes created by "Dozer" Doug O’Rourke, the architect, owner and builder. O’Rourke, who previously had built courses only for other architects, fashioned a layout of twenty-first-century length— 7,600 yards from the tips—that features numerous centerline bunkers. The variety of holes at Windswept Dunes keep the play as fresh as the ever-present wind.[T&L Golf]
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O'Brien's Irish Pub & Restaurant (Santa Monica, Calif.)
There's a wee bit o' the Irish at this jolly, noisy place, where you can get a pint of beer, cocktails and good pub grub. Try the traditional bangers and mash, Guinness pie, fish 'n' chips and shepherd's pie or a Kobe-style burger or rare roast beef sandwich. Live music makes for a raucous scene every night, but you can escape to the nice patio if it gets too crowded.
Tee it up at Rustic Canyon GC. "Although it’s only eight years old, this links-style design by Gil Hanse and Geoff Shackelford just north of Los Angeles fits the land so well that it feels like it’s been there forever." [Links Magazine]
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Rosie McCaffrey's Irish Pub & Restaurant (Phoenix)
Rosie McCaffrey's may have only opened its doors for the first time in 2002, but it has the ambience and rollicking spirit of an old-time Irish pub. The comfort food includes appetizers such as Aiden's artichoke dip and Patrick's Irish potato skins. Entrées include fish 'n' chips, shepherd's pie, baby-back ribs, country fried chicken and a sirloin steak. A fully stocked bar includes a wide range of blended and single-malt whiskeys, and live music is featured Wednesday through Saturday.
Despite all the sand, it's tough to emulate links conditions in the desert. ASU's Karsten Creek might about about as close as you can come, and it's one of the better values in Phoenix.
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Best Irish Pubs in the USA
by AmericasBestOnline.com
The Plough and Stars - Cambridge, MA
As they would say in Ireland, this place is brilliant. During the day and early evening, the Plough is home to an eclectic mix of interesting Cambridge types in need of refreshments. The Plough & Stars may be tiny, but by night is one of the more popular and crowded bars in the neighborhood. Awarded the Best of Boston for The Best Bar & Irish Pub, The Plough & Stars is the oldest Irish pub in the Boston area.
Highland Links Golf Course is one of Cape Cod’s most spectacular links courses. It is the oldest course in Massachusetts and dates to 1892. The course is located in North Truro. There often is only shallow rough to trouble golfers if they miss the fairway on American links courses. However, the deep heathy rough makes Highland a genuine Scottish links style course, where it is important to always hit the ball straight off the tee. The oceanic scenery, the thick rough and the strong Atlantic winds make Highland a true test of golfing ability. The four tee choices vary the course in length and make it suitable for golfers of all levels. Prices are inexpensive. Reservations are accepted. Golf carts are optional. Lighthouse Road, North Truro, MA 02652 508-487-9201
Paddy Reillys - New York, NY
Paddy Reilly's is the first and only all-draft Guinness bar in the world. There have nothing else on tap except for Guinness! They also have Irish Celtic rock every night of the week.
The Links at Union Vale (Lagrangeville, www.thelinksatunionvale.com) is a little bit of a stretch for this list, but it's hard to find an Irish-style links anywhere is this long overdeveloped section of the Northeast. They claim it's less than an hour north of NYC (the suburbs maybe, but it's closer to 2 hours from downtown--without traffic), and it's more of a flat Scottish style links, but you can't be picky about such things around New York City. It was also designed by one of my favorite architects, Stephen Kay, who is usually deft at adding quirky, extreme, authentic links elements to his designs.
Kells Irish Pub - Portland, OR
Kells offers the Northwest's largest selection of single malt Scotch and Irish whiskies, plus a wide selection of microbrew and imported beers on tap. Warm up next to the grand stone fireplace. Savor a fine cigar in our cigar room. Enjoy outstanding New World Irish cuisine in the comfort of an intimate booth. With live Irish music 7 nights a week, enjoy the best of Ireland anytime at Kells Irish Restaurant and Pub. Kells also hosts the annual Portland St. Patrick's Irish Festival, (the largest on the West Coast) a live music filled event for the entire family which includes traditional cultural activities, events and foods. The festival benefits Providence Child Center, a Portland Care Center for disabled children and their families.
Black Thorn Bar - Boston, MA
The Blackthorn is an authentic Irish bar, drawing on the long tradition and loyal client base in prideful Southie, the strongest Irish neighborhood in Boston. The atmosphere can get a little rowdy, and the bar is elbow to elbow with locals and regulars, but feel free to try it out as a first-timer; they won't bite. Blackthorn is not a reproduction Irish pub -- it's got a foot firmly planted across the Atlantic. True to its roots and still a little rough around the edges, Blackthorn is as real a deal as there is outside of Ireland.
Widow's Walk Golf Course is located in Scituate MA. It is a links course and was awarded four stars by “Golf Digest Magazine.” The course is situated near the North River and offers views of the Atlantic Ocean. As with all links courses, the wind often plays a significant part in the quality of a round. However, the four teeing off points can vary the length of the course from 4,562 yards to 6,400 yards. Consequently, the course is appropriate for different golfing abilities. Prices are inexpensive. Reservations can be booked up to four days in advance. Golf carts are optional. 250 The Driftway, Scituate, MA 02066 781-544-7777
www.widowswalkgolf.com
McGuire's Irish Pub - Pensacola, FL
McGuire's Irish Pub first opened in 1977 as a small neighborhood pub in a shopping center. McGuire cooked and tended bar and Molly waited tables and greeted customers. When Molly made her first tip -one dollar- she tacked it to the back bar for good luck. Friends of the pub added to the collection and it soon became tradition. Today you will see over $250,000 one dollar bills hanging from the ceiling throughout the Pub, all of which have been signed by Irishmen of all nationalities. In 1982 McGuire's moved to its current location, Pensacola's original 1927 Old Firehouse. The old "firehouse" look has become a true landmark, and inside the pub, a turn-of-the-century, New York Irish Saloon theme reigns. Guests are often in "awe" as they pass through the theme-oriented rooms at McGuire's. Whether it's the Pipers Den, Notre Dame Room, The Irish Links Room or the Ruprecht O'Tolf Wine Cellar, McGuire's Irish Pub is a 400-seat, 20,000 square foot landmark with a staff of over 200 warm and friendly faces.
Hit Windswept Dunes (Freeport, www.windsweptdunes.com). Though the course lies ten miles inland, you’ll feel as though you’re steps from the Gulf thanks to the grass-covered dunes created by "Dozer" Doug O’Rourke, the architect, owner and builder. O’Rourke, who previously had built courses only for other architects, fashioned a layout of twenty-first-century length— 7,600 yards from the tips—that features numerous centerline bunkers. The variety of holes at Windswept Dunes keep the play as fresh as the ever-present wind.[T&L Golf]
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Limerick Junction - Atlanta, GA
A longtime staple of Virginia-Highland, Limerick Junction has been one of Atlanta's most happening Irish pubs for years. The decor isn't anything fancy -- just a big wooden bar and lots of Irish flags. But the casual vibe and friendly staff give the place a genial atmosphere that tends to loosen up more and more as the night goes on. The menu ranges from typical bar food to traditional Irish dishes like fish 'n' chips, Shepherd's Pie and Irish Stew.
Black Rose - Boston, MA
Located on the perimeter of Faneuil Hall, even the exterior of the Black Rose emanates the genuineness of the Irish. Offered here are two bustling floors of food, drink and plenty of Irish music. A typical pub menu, the food is good and if you aren"t Irish the music will make you feel like you are. You"ll be dancing a little jig by the time you leave.
Olde Scotland Links (www.oldescotlandlinks.com) in Bridgewater is a good value links course with greens fees under $70 for prime time weekend with a cart. Surrounding low scrub brush emulates gorse, and open front greens invite bump & run approaches.
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Dubliner- San Francisco, CA
This is a good ol' Irish pub, plain and simple. With its big, comfy booths, shiny wood bar and friendly barkeeps, plus its mean Irish coffee and creamy Guinness, it's an oasis in Noe Valley. The joint gets rollicking on weekend nights, and it had the odd distinction a few years back of being voted the locale of the best Irish bar fight by one of the weeklies. The Irish -- and those who just wish they were Irish -- will love it 'cause it's one of only a smattering of places in the Bay Area to find an Irish Herald, as will smokers, who can light one up in the bar's special smoking section.
Chief O'Neill's Pub - Chicago, IL
Formerly a dart bar called Oinker's, O'Neill's stands out on a desolate stretch of North Elston Avenue in the somewhat out-of-the-way Avondale neighborhood but that hasn't impacted its popularity. The pub itself was named after Chief Francis O’Neill, who left Ireland to eventually become the Chief of Police in Chicago (no small task for a poor Irish immigrant). In his honor, O'Neill's serves up excellent Irish fare, offers traditional Irish music almost every night of the week, hosts a pub quiz on Mondays that many have tried to imitate, throws events on every holiday, anchors the newly created Avondale Street Festival, and has one of the best beer gardens in the city.
Kevin Barry's Irish Pub- Savannah, GA
You can't rate Kevin Barry's on food, beer and service, but on music and fun. This pub has great music is one of the few places where you can actually hear the music and join in. The entertainer are outstanding. You laugh, cry, sing, and maybe even dance all in one evening's meriment.
Honorable Mention
Culhane's Irish Pub - Atlantic Beach, FL
Fat Guy Irish Links / Pub Recommendation:
The Irish Pub, Atlantic City NJ- Even when it came to the name, they've been keeping it simple and pure at The Irish Pub since 1972. This former speakeasy has survived hurricanes, was a regular stopover for Joe DiMaggio, and has been called America's Greatest Pub by major magazines. Hell, the red hotels in Monopoly are based on it's architecture. They also have beautiful Victorian rooms for rent.
Twisted Dune, Egg Harbor Township NJ- Eric Bergstol & Archie Struthers did a damn good job of of putting a modern twist on a scraggly Irish links at Twisted Dune. She's a visual stunner and a study in earth-moving, with fairways dug into the South Jersey sand leaving not only every hole but nearly every shot surrounded by heaving 3-story dunes, as well as flashed-up bunkering, acres of wispy fescue, and nary a McMansion in sight. Throw in a little water and marshland, abundant sightings of varied bird species, and 4 holes carved through a former sand quarry that fit seamlessly into a rough-and-tumble routing, and you begin to get a pretty good picture.
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P.J. Wheelihan's, Turnersville NJ-
Scotland Run, Williamstown NJ-
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Fat Guy's Irish Pub Crawl Golf Trail Playlist-
Download these modern Irish rock tunes for the road trip to get there.
I'm Shipping Up To Boston- The Dropkick Murphy's. This is the tune they played on The Departed trailer, and likely the first piece of Irish music that springs to any vaguely hip American's mind.
The Pogues- Anything from Rum, Sodomy, and the Lash
Lend Me Your Face- Fight Like Apes
A Little Solidarity Goes A Long Way- And So I Watch You From Afar