On the Road with the Broncos

Golfers planning to attend away games have many courses to choose from

By Tom Mackin

As the Broncos look to improve upon last year’s 4-5 road record, golfers planning to attend away games have many course options to choose from while following the team around the country. Here’s the schedule, so get your clubs, travel bag and cold-weather gear (for trips to D.C. in November and Kansas City in December) ready.

@ Indianapolis Colts (Sept. 14)

If you know someone: Test your game at the Pete Dye-designed Crooked Stick just north of downtown Indianapolis. John Daly shocked the world by winning the 1991 PGA Championship there, while Dustin Johnson finished at 23-under while winning the 2016 BMW Championship.

If you don’t know someone: Two hours south of Indianapolis is The Pfau Course at the University of Indiana in Bloomington. Opened in 2020, the layout is ranked No. 3 on Golfweek’s Best Public Access Golf Courses in Indiana. It comes behind only the Pete Dye and Donald Ross-designed layouts at French Link Resort, located 50 miles south of Bloomington.

@ Los Angeles Chargers (Sept. 21)

If you know someone: Head straight to the North Course at Los Angeles Country Club, which hosted the 2023 U.S. Open, or find your way to Riviera Country Club, a long-time PGA Tour stop and host venue for the 2031 U.S. Open. Both are very tough tickets, so consider yourself fortunate to walk any of those fairways.

If you don’t know someone: Rustic Canyon in Moorpark is a favorite among locals for its engaging, minimalist design by Gil Hanse and Los Angeles native Geoff Shackelford, while either course at Pelican Hill Resort in Newport Beach offers a memorable, albeit expensive, option.

@ Philadelphia Eagles (October 5)

If you know someone: Few clubs can match the history and playing conditions found at Merion Golf Club, located less than an hour west of Lincoln Field. You also can’t go wrong if you are lucky enough to tee it up on the Wissahickon course at Philadelphia Cricket Club in Flourtown or Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown Square, either.

If you don’t know someone: The Golf Course at Glen Mills, west of downtown, or Jeffersonville Golf Course, a Donald Ross design in Norristown, are two excellent public options in the Philly suburbs.

@ New York Jets in London, England (October 12)

If you know someone: The Old and New courses at Sunningdale Golf Club in Surrey, west of London, offer a sublime 36-hole experience. Or you can take a 90-minute train journey from London St. Pancras station east to Sandwich (and taxi from there) to enjoy coastal gems like Royal St. George’s, a 15-time Open Championship venue, Royal Cinque Ports, and Prince’s Golf Club.

If you don’t know someone: The Grove in Watford was designed by American Kyle Phillips, who took full advantage of some rolling topography less than an hour northwest of London to create an engaging layout that sits adjacent to a luxury hotel.

@ Houston Oilers (November 2)

If you know someone: Tiger Woods infused an Augusta National vibe into his course design at Bluejack National in Montgomery, north of downtown Houston. Course conditions are pretty comparable, too. Be sure to stop in the Jerky Shack behind the 12th tee and check out The Porch, the community’s elegant new clubhouse.

If you don’t know someone: Everyone wants to play where the pros play, so go check out Memorial Park Golf Course on Houston’s west side. A redesign by Tom Doak in 2020 elevated this beloved old muni to a level good enough to have hosted the PGA Tour’s Houston Open ever since.

@ Washington Commanders (November 30)

If you know someone: Congressional Country Club in Bethesda celebrated its centennial last year, and that rich history includes hosting three U.S. Opens on its Blue Course, most recently in 2011 when Rory McIlroy took home his first major win. Andrew Green renovated the layout in 2021, and playing it gives you a sneak peek at what will be the Ryder Cup venue in 2037!

If you don’t know someone: Not far from Dulles International Airport is Lansdowne Resort in Leesburg, Virginia. You can take on 18-hole designs from Robert Trent Jones, Jr. and Greg Norman, or take a smaller nibble on the latter’s Sharkbite Course, a 9-holer where yardages range from 144 yards to 420 yards.

@ Las Vegas Raiders (December 7)

If you know someone: It’s more about the dough than who you know. To play the Tom Fazio-designed Shadow Creek just north of downtown, you have to stay two nights at an MGM Resort and pay a $1,250 green fee. A tee time at The Wynn Golf Club (another Fazio effort) right on The Strip goes for $800, plus a mandatory forecaddie fee. Booking a tee time more than two weeks out also means booking a room at The Wynn, too!

If you don’t know someone: Head just under two hours northeast to St. George, Utah, where you will find Black Desert Resort and the late Tom Weiskopf’s final 18-hole course design. Flowing through and around lava rocks with spectacular mountain views, the layout has already hosted both a PGA Tour and LPGA Tour event.

@ Kansas City Chiefs (December 25)

If you know someone: The Kansas City Country Club, founded in 1896, produced the state’s finest golfer: Tom Watson. He learned the game there on the A.W. Tillinghast-designed course.
The acclaimed Prairie Dunes Country Club in Hutchinson is just over a 3-hour drive southwest of Arrowhead Stadium.

If you don’t know someone: Shoal Creek Golf Course is a 7,000-yard course on the northeast corner of the city. It features a combination of dense landscaping and rolling terrain. It opened in 2001, created by architect Steve Wolford, who learned at the knee of Jack Nicklaus for 13 years.

Tom Mackin is a former senior editor of Golf Magazine. Reach him at [email protected]

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