Golf News for Wednesday, August 31, 2005 | Daily Golf Blogs

Beating Cheap Bastard, Cheaper Old Mac at their own game: Incredible golf deals in Butler, Pa.

It's been amusing to see Cheap Bastard chasing Old Man McDonald around the South. Cheap Bastard is right to be jealous. McDonald's been out cheaping him since before the Bastard's eye glasses were in style. Cheap Bastard might be wary about spending 50 cents on a newspaper, but McDonald is known for "helping" himself to those leave a penny, take a penny displays.

He's been banned from 7-11s in 13 states.

He took me to Denny's for my job interview (true story). And I paid. And did you read his column on how to cheat at golf. That's all for $2 total bets. Have you seen him moan about the price of a drink?

Please, OCB. You have a long way to go before you can hope to roll with McDonald into the 3:30 p.m. dinner buffet and feign a heart attack to get out of there without the check.

With that said, I've found a way to out-cheap both of you, thrift store wardrobe specialists. Well, it's true that I usually like to keep things high brow in locations like Scottsdale, Vegas and Whistler (somebody has to on this site), I've found good golf at incredible prices in Butler, Pa. It's right in Pittsburgh's shadow and you can play a number of better-than-decent courses for under $20 walking (under $30 riding). And this is a true undiscovered golf destination.

While McDonald chases Golf Digest's tail, and Cheap Bastard chases his, I actually go to places nobody knows about. (Hint: If it's been touted in Golf Digest, it's anything but hidden. It's as establishment as Microsoft.) Butler, Pa. is the kind of place Golf Digest is afraid of because every course does not have its own PR specialist.

In fact, the best golf experience here is an incredible design built by a former stawberry picking farm owner. This guy studied golf architecture in books and came up with something to put the celebrity golf architects to shame on first try and low budget. The course is Strawberry Ridge and you'll be reading about it and other Butler bargains in the coming weeks on TravelGolf.com.

The Cheap Brothers will stumble here eventually. But you'll have had the scoop first.

To leave a comment, click here.



 
Swing Fix