[BV6lwvXf]

I played one of those in VT once. The farmer/owner left a cash box on the first tee - payment was on the honor system. He even had a couple of pull carts if you needed one. The day we played we were the only people on the course. It was so much fun.

We have one of those in Waunakee, no pull carts but there is a can with crappy clubs you can use if needed. Most people toss in $2-3. The fiarways are actually decent but the greens are hideous. Get on the green & pick the ball up as putting is futile.

[Muhabsssa]

I played a course today that gave me another factor: the way the regulars treat the course. The one we played today was pretty well maintained, and it was clear that the groups that teed off before we did were all locals. By the end of the round, I was appalled at the number of cigarette butts on greens and at bunker sand that had been tracked all over them. All I could think was that if the guys who play here all the time don't respect the course, why should they expect me to?

[Audi_z]

I see that on quite a few courses. Even some of the higher end ones I sometimes play. Since golf is a game of integrity, it just stands to reason that some us have more integrity that others. Besides butts, and and un-raked bunker sand, non repaired ball marks, I also see a lot of sun flower seed shells on greens. This is one of the main reasons I don't play on weekends, and holidays. Too many of those "dregs of society" tend to show up on those days.

I played a course today that gave me another factor: the way the regulars treat the course. The one we played today was pretty well maintained, and it was clear that the groups that teed off before we did were all locals. By the end of the round, I was appalled at the number of cigarette butts on greens and at bunker sand that had been tracked all over them. All I could think was that if the guys who play here all the time don't respect the course, why should they expect me to?

[markbila]

I see that on quite a few courses. Even some of the higher end ones I sometimes play. Since golf is a game of integrity, it just stands to reason that some us have more integrity that others. Besides butts, and and un-raked bunker sand, non repaired ball marks, I also see a lot of sun flower seed shells on greens. This is one of the main reasons I don't play on weekends, and holidays. Too many of those "dregs of society" tend to show up on those days.

I hate sunflower seed hulls that people spit out on the green. I don't even want to brush them away with my putter head. That is just nasty.

[BV6lwvXf]

What is it about a course that defines goat track? Is it lack of amenities? Poor layout? Unkept shaggy fairways?

I have played over 60 courses so far & there are a number of them which would make my goat track list for various reasons. My home course used to be one but the new folks running it have really stepped up & it's never been better.

Pacanica is definitely one, horrible layout with half the hole not having any signage. You need to study the little map on your score card in an attempt to figure out where the next hole is & even then it's very easy to get it wrong.

Whitelake has the same issues as above combined with carts that are junk, gravel cart paths that have almost no gravel left & are severly rutted.

I can on & on but would like to read what defines a goat track for you.

[agolutuaddiff]

I never really call them Goat tracks, but I do call courses built into the side of a mountain with tight fairways Goat Trails.

[EnubreBense]

There is a 9 hole one just over the border in NY that I sometimes play. It's great in that you don't need a tee time and there's no water on the course. On the other hand - you feel like you're in a big field - there is no difference between fairway or rough. There is no irrigation so the course dries out in the summer and the greens aren't ever in great shape. They do the best they can, but everything is a bit rundown.

[markbila]

The courses I have played that I would classify as "Goat Tracks" are courses that have unkempt fairways with lots of tramp grass mixed in with the good fairway grass. They are "frayed" around the edges, needing a good weedeating and generally better care. Some of these had promising layouts, but the execution of maintenance made them difficult and shabby.

[medifastwoman]

For me it is mostly about the condition of the grass, tee through green. If that is in bad shape, it is a goat track. Other 'playability' conditions affect it as well: For example, I once played a course were some of the holes had the cup-liners level with the putting surface, instead of an inch under and they couldn't be pushed down, and some tee-markers were missing.....

Amenities... I don't really care!

[Glamyclitlemi]

Lincoln Park. Beautiful views, but terrible course. Bay area people will know.

[dodadaxia]

I've always used the term "goat track" as a synonym for "crappy course."
Obviously, that's open to personal interpretation but, generally speaking, for me it's a course that isn't well maintained. That is, dead/dying and/or bumpy greens; fairways with dirt patches; unmown or poorly mown; courses with grasses that shouldn't be there (St. Augustine's is a fine, heat-tolerant, yard grass, but shouldn't be anywhere near a golf course.).

Basically, a goat track is a course that has been neglected or poorly maintained.

Lack of signage/amenities can add to it, but I don't think lack of those alone can qualify a course as a goat track. I've played some nice courses that didn't have the best amenities but were exceptionally playable.

[Yb4bulVR]

Don't really put that appellation on a course. The way I see it, you play 'em as you find 'em. Everybody plays the same course, so I just take a course as it is. If it's a poor layout or badly maintained, I may not ever go back, but I'll play just about anything one time.

[unatkot]

For me it's a general shabbiness. I played my local muni yesterday and it frustrates me to have bald spots in the middle of the green, especially when the cup has been placed in the middle of a large one. I'm also bugged by torn-up fairways that last more than a month (one course here has had a hole ripped up all season). I don't expect valet parking or marble bathrooms, but I'd like to feel that an attempt is being made by the folks running the place.

[Muhabsssa]

I've always used the term "goat track" as a synonym for "crappy course."
Obviously, that's open to personal interpretation but, generally speaking, for me it's a course that isn't well maintained. That is, dead/dying and/or bumpy greens; fairways with dirt patches; unmown or poorly mown; courses with grasses that shouldn't be there (St. Augustine's is a fine, heat-tolerant, yard grass, but shouldn't be anywhere near a golf course.).

Basically, a goat track is a course that has been neglected or poorly maintained.

Lack of signage/amenities can add to it, but I don't think lack of those alone can qualify a course as a goat track. I've played some nice courses that didn't have the best amenities but were exceptionally playable.

Totally agree. All I can add to that is drainage. I am so tired of soggy fairways on dry days.

[Audi_z]

Unhealthy grasses on the fairways and greens. Throw in some trash, and debris laying all over the place. Maybe a few domesticated animals grazing. No dress code. Green fees that are under $15. $5 if you walk. Empty "Buck Horn" beer cans laying around. Worn out golf carts. Basically something that was a farm at one time, and the farmer decided to turn it into a golf course. I love playing those kinds of courses.

[Yb4bulVR]

Maybe a few domesticated animals grazing.

That would be a "cow pasture"... yet another term I've used for a poorly maintained course.

[zoneouddy]

There is a 9 hole one just over the border in NY that I sometimes play. It's great in that you don't need a tee time and there's no water on the course. On the other hand - you feel like you're in a big field - there is no difference between fairway or rough. There is no irrigation so the course dries out in the summer and the greens aren't ever in great shape. They do the best they can, but everything is a bit rundown.

I play a 9 hole course as described above - with one difference, the greens are maintained by Plainfield CC.

[EnubreBense]

Basically something that was a farm at one time, and the farmer decided to turn it into a golf course.

I played one of those in VT once. The farmer/owner left a cash box on the first tee - payment was on the honor system. He even had a couple of pull carts if you needed one. The day we played we were the only people on the course. It was so much fun.

[artofeyyy]

fairways with patches of bare dirt, rough that is uneven with bare spots, and greens that are part dirt and part grass.