Gigantic onion rings, roasted garlic French fries, roast chicken pie and Chicago Dogs with all the fixins are just a few of the fab foods served up at my favorite 19th holes and golf themed restaurants.
Let’s face it, after a long day on the course accentuated by a shank or two, there’s nothing like enjoying some comfort food with your playing partners in a golf-friendly pub or restaurant, right?
Here are 10 places where everybody talks golf, the beer is cold and the menus are designed for famished golfers:
1. NONA BLUE
Part owner Graeme McDowell’s pub/restaurant, with items like Gmac’s Lobster Mac ‘n Cheese, Mama’s Double Stacked Meatloaf and Traditional English Fish and Chips, is the ultimate post round hangout. Their motto is “We’ve got a tavern soul with a foodie heart.” Situated just outside the gates of Lake Nona Golf Club in Orlando, where McDowell has a home, Nona Blue is teeming with rich, dark wood appointments and furniture. With just a few golf photos and memorabilia, it feels more like a high-end tavern/restaurant than a 19th hole bar. Nona Blue has a second location in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida near TPC Sawgrass.
2. McKEE’S PUB at Bandon Dunes Resort
After a day of oceanside, links style golf at one of the resort’s magnificent courses, McKee’s Pub is a great place to enhance the Scottish theme to your day. Smartly appointed with dark wood furniture, fireplaces and golf art, this pub is warm and friendly with a menu dotted with delicacies like Peppercorn New York Strip, Roast Chicken Pot Pie and its signature dish, Grandma’s Meatloaf, which is served with pan gravy, smashed potatoes and green beans.
3. MURRAY BROS. CADDYSHACK
Situated in World Golf Village near St. Augustine, Florida, this whimsical restaurant was created by actor comedian Bill Murray and his five brothers. Designed to look and feel like a country club gone bonkers, Murray Bros. Caddyshack features the Bunker Bar with two, 150-inch quad television screens plus additional TVs and lots of memorabilia from the popular movie as well as wacky golf related décor. When it’s time to order, you can choose from a menu that includes the Seasoned Italian Beef sandwich with giardiniera peppers, sport peppers and au jus for dipping, the Double Bogey Cheeseburger, a 2/3 pound ground chuck burger topped with your choice of cheese and the Chicago Dog, a Windy City classic with a beef hot dog on a poppy seed roll with sweet green relish, red onion, tomato, yellow mustard, sport peppers, pickle spears and a sprinkle of celery salt. It has a second location in Rosemont, Illinois at the Crowne Plaza Hotel.
4. RYDER CUP LOUNGE at Pinehurst Resort
Immerse yourself in Ryder Cup lore at this restaurant named after the 1951 Ryder Cup held at the Pinerhurst Resort in North Carolina. The menu is loaded with awesome tavern selections like the Loaded Mac ‘N Cheese, Pinehurst BLT and Brasstown Beef Meatloaf.
5. GREG NORMAN’S AUSTRALIAN GRILLE
The Great White Shark’s upscale restaurant in North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina offers wood grilled steaks and an exceptional wine list. Billing itself as “the upper crust of down under dining”, Greg Norman’s Australian Grille is not the place you’ll be going if you lost money on the golf course. Superbly prepared meat, poultry and fish selections make this one of Mrytle Beach’s best restaurants. Menu highlights include Foster’s Beer-Battered Fried Haddock, U.S.D.A. Prime Filet Au Poivre and Greg Norman Kurobuta Pork Chop. If you have a few extra bucks or just want to spurge in Myrtle Beach, this is the place to do it.
6. X-GOLF
A toast to X-Golf, where you can dine with a full-service bar, high-end golf simulators that will replicate all golf shots and measure ball speed, launch, direction and spin along with club path, impact, and speed. With its tee times, private lessons, tournaments and events, X-Golf entertains and provides help and instruction to all skill levels. A quick review of X-Golf America’s 35 current locations includes locations in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Carmel, Indiana, West Chester, Pennsylvania, Fort Collins, Colorado, Huntsville, Alabama, Midlothian, Virginia, Traverse City, Michigan, Wayland, Massachusetts, Woodbury, Minnesota, Libertyville, Illinois and Brookfield Wisconsin.
7. PHIL’s GRILL
If you’re a “Philly Mick” fan, you’ll love Phil’s Grill at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona. Dotted with memorabilia from Mickelson’s junior golf days to his major championships, it has an elegant ambiance with a hardwood bar and leather couches. Menu highlights include the Navajo Corn Chowder, Crispy Coconut Shrimp and Soft Shell Tortilla Tacos.
8. The Tap Room at Dubsdread
Bordering the Dubsdread golf course in the community of College Park on Par Street, a mile northwest of downtown Orlando, the Tap Room is oozing with traditional golf charm. While hungry golfers pile in after their round, the restaurant’s high quality food and drink make it hugely popular with the local citizenry. As an Orlando resident, I absolutely love the place and frequent it regularly. It has been around since 1924 and you don’t stay in the restaurant business that long without great food and ambiance. Some of my favorites include the Southern Style Deviled Eggs for an appetizer and entrees like the Prime Grade Cowboy Ribeye and Tequila Citrus Chicken
9. SAM SNEAD’S TAVERN
Specializing in oak grilled meats, fish and poultry and brimming with Sam Snead’s golf memorabilia and photos, this concept restaurant has 9 locations around the country. My favorite dinner entrees include the Sam’s Favorite Chicken and Blackened Shrimp Pasta . I’m a huge Slammin’ Sammy fan so I never get tired of studying the various Snead photos and artifacts on display at Sam Snead’s Tavern. In addition to Orlando (Maitland), other locations include Homestead Resort in Hot Springs, VA, Jacksonville, Florida, Lely Resort in Naples, Florida, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Hilton Garden Inn at PGA Village in Port St. Lucie, Savannah, Georgia, West Palm Beach, Florida and The Greenbriar in White Sulphur Springs, WV.
10. POPSTROKE
Tiger Woods is re-inventing the mini-golf experience with PopStroke entertainment golf complexes. The two 18-hole putting courses at each facility are built with high-grade synthetic turfs and incorporate realistic fairways, bunkers, water hazards and rough. All PopStrokes feature full bars with hand-crafted cocktails, a beer menu and wine list. A cursory glance at the menu for the PopStroke in Fort Myers features apps like Reuben Eggrolls and Coconut Shrimp, sandwiches such as Philly Cheesesteak and Smokehouse Burger and entrees that include a N.Y. York Strip Steak and Shrimp Scampi. Currently, you can putt, drink and eat your way to good times in Port St. Lucie, Fort Myers, Sarasota and Orlando in Florida and Houston in Texas.
Easy Plan Golf Vacation Packages to Scotland, Ireland, U.S. and Beyond by Expedia
