ON THE ADIRONDACK
Why is this chair so perfect on the golf course and sometimes not that comfortable anywhere else? A small admission to kick this off - I’m not really a massive fan of the Adirondack chair. When we bought outside furniture for our house, I just couldn’t get comfortable in them, though I know I’m supposed to. They always look super comfy, and I always want to like them more than I do … but I never enjoy sitting in them.
Except … in key places on the golf course.
And that’s why we are here. Because you really wouldn’t think it, but I have found over the years that these chairs spring up on golf courses way more than you might expect, and for some reason after a round can be the PERFECT chair to relax on.
Sitting atop Craigs Porch, you can look down at the Sand Valley course with a cold beer in hand and suddenly realize an hour has gone by. Photo Credit: Patrick Koenig
As shown in the picture above, Sand Valley in Wisconsin is one course that really leans into it - Craig’s Porch, the halfway house atop the Sand Valley course itself, even uses these chairs in its logos as shown below:
And yes, you read that right - they sell tacos for one dollar and they’re FANTASTIC.
But the pairing of Adirondacks and golf is far from just a Sand Valley or a Wisconsin thing. The newest course at Bandon Dunes on the Oregon coast is the 17-hole par-3 course Shorty’s and prominently above the course sits these bad boys with the best view around.
Drive down to Ventura just north of Los Angeles and you’ll discover a course I consider a true hidden Gem, Olivas Links. It embraces the Adirondack chair so much it’s part of its logo! Olivas is a course you may not have heard of - but you should have - it’s a course we would heartily include in any package for a Southern California trip that focuses on some of the lesser namebrand courses, and would be ideal to pair with spots like Soule Park, Rustic Canyon, etc.
Olivas Links has the chairs sprinkled all through the course in lieu of benches. We support this.
Across the entire country, at Pinehurst, you could have a solid debate as to what is more fun at the Cradle - playing the par-3 course barefoot, or sitting in the Adirondack chairs above the 9th hole and wagering on groups coming through on which golfer will hit closest to the pin.
Absolutely one of the gems of Pinehurst - the Cradle, Transfusions and the Adirondacks above the 9th green.
And some courses have histories behind their chairs. At Secession Golf Club in South Carolina, two such chairs are set out at the first tee.
These chairs sit there in honor of two national members who were killed in the attacks on 9/11, and there’s something for me that’s poignant about a club named Secession, in the heart of South Carolina, that has national members living all over the country but especially in “Yankee” territory to at least show in this respect that we’ve come a long way. (Without going into the political fracas that we have dovetailed back into in other ways, that is.)
Somehow, the chairs are just a quiet, beautiful way to pay homage to the two members who can “watch” their friends tee off.
Why do you think these chairs are so prevalent in golf? Is it just me who doesn’t quite get them? And why is it that I actually love them after a round of golf?
Maybe I should actually reconsider them for our backyard…
