Hot Diggity Dog

We make the turn and grab a dog. Golfers may be predictable, but it’s true that hot dogs and golf are a natural fit. We can carry a hot dog in one hand, a soda in the other and go on with a bag hanging on a shoulder. Dogs taste good, they allow each to personalize them with a variety of condiments and they provide relatively lasting sustenance.

With today being National Chili Dog Day, and because Hot Dog Day was last week, it got us thinking and hungry! Here are some GolfNow courses known for serving the best dogs in town.

On any search for a great hot dog, you can’t skip over Wisconsin. Glacier Wood Golf Club is known for being an excellent course with great food to eat along the way. Photos by teetimes.com.

When you think of sausages, few places beat Wisconsin. For us, Glacier Wood Golf Club outside Appleton figures to be the first stop. Glacier Wood earned Best Municipal Course in the state in 2009 by Golf Digest, and no doubt holding onto a hot bratwurst while venturing into this forested, rolling terrain makes for a great round.

Stone Creek Golf Club outside Portland, Ore., is a Peter Jacobsen-Jim Hardy design that offers stunning views of Mt. Hood. Forested, lush and challenging, it provides great value – and the $6 chili dog at the end of the round can be the best way to cap off your visit.

The Sand Hills area of North Carolina offers the avid golfer a myriad of choices to play. It’s the type of golfer’s paradise in which courses need to set themselves apart from the others in their region. The Carolina Dog – a quarter pound of Angus beef that comes with chili, slaw and cheese for less than $7 –  is one way to do that. The fact that it can be had at Southern Pines Golf Club, very near Pinehurst, makes for great golf and eats.

Knoxville Municipal Golf Course in Tennessee offers the usual array of sandwiches and traditional Southern fare like pulled pork, but what the locals seem to gravitate toward is its “world famous” chili-dog. The course is a functional, fun muni layout well worth the time, but the tangy remains of the chili’s spices will bring you back to Knoxville time and time again.

With rolling terrain and beautiful hills, Callippe Preserve is a beautiful course to play. Offering hot dogs with all the fixin’s makes it even better. Photo by Callippe Preserve Golf Course.

One thing about California’s Callippe Preserve Golf Course in Pleasanton, about 40 miles southeast of San Francisco, is that the rolling terrain brings a wide variety of shots to the sloping greens. It also provides many scenic spots to look up through the Amador Valley. Another area in which to find great variety is in the Vista Restaurant. The hot dogs are long, the bread fresh and the condiments varied – sauces include BBQ, pesto Aioli, Chipotle and of course there’s grilled onions, jalapenos and sautéed mushrooms.

The golf-centric region surrounding South Carolina’s Myrtle Beach gets a lot of attention, but Charleston serves as the state’s architectural and cultural hub. And the Charleston National Golf Club, a Rees Jones-design that rests along the intercoastal waterways, ranks among the state’s best in terms of challenge, value and overall experience. Of course, that includes its clubhouse fare of “pretzel dog pups” that add to the charming and unique experience.