Get to know one of the country’s top values ​​- and perhaps the best fall golf destination

We hate leaves.

Dotting our fairways and greens, they hide our play and, frustratingly, spoil it. You heard the cries. Has anyone seen my ball? Did you catch my shot that, I swear, landed right down Center Ave.? The leaf, too, acts as golf’s last call as summer turns to fall, before giving way to cold, golf-less winter, with the thought: You don’t have to leave (pun partially intended) but you can’t play golf here.

Everything is melancholic – unless the surrounding foliage is so beautiful, so surprising, so picturesque, that it seems as if someone has thrown you into a painting colored by the whole box of crayons, and you no longer care about the negatives, because the positives are electrifying.

It’s all about how you feel at Green Mountain National. Or at least I do.

But wait, there’s morehe says in his advertising voice. It’s also a bit of a steal. By now, you’ve probably seen our list wonderfully titled “America’s Best Golf Courses for $100 or Less: Where Memory Meets Affordability,” along with some of the odes of my colleagues to the selections, and pulling back the curtain on how we operate here, I jumped when I saw Green Mountainlocated in Killington, Vt., on our list. And why?

Because it’s clean.

It is also a challenge. Hole 2 is the favorite. It is a dogleg fairway par-4. Blind tee shot. Water to the right of the green. Hole 6 is another good one. It is a split par-5 fairway. No. 7 is a par-3 downhill. So is the 13th. They are fun. The finishing par-4 requires precision, as most all holes do, because Green Mountain is carved through the trees of the Green Mountains. Spray one left or right and you’re good to go.

But around this time each year, those trees come to life, as their leaves expire. However, I can only write so much flowery serenity. Take a look this videoby Brown Golf Management.

Or look this videofrom Destination Golf.

Or look this slideshowshot by me in August 2020, which is just before the season of color change, but still has the sexiness of the landscape.

A quick word about those photos above. Some discoveries.

Do you see that date? At the time, we were at the height of the pandemic, and my wife and I spent a few nights among the Green Mountains in central Vermont—where we were treated like kings and queens, in a virus-friendly way. The warmth stuck. As is the craft beer selection. (You know this would squeeze its way into a story written by me. On that note, Long Trail Brewery it’s only about 15 minutes away, and if you also like views with your food and beer, you’re in good shape.)

So naturally, Green Mountain would have a soft spot. We’ve been back a few times now, when, I’m here to honestly report, I couldn’t find some balls.

Green Mountain National will do that for you.

Damn, beautiful leaves.

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Nick Piastowski

Editor of Golf.com

Nick Piastowski is a senior editor at Golf.com and Golf Magazine. In his role, he is responsible for editing, writing and developing stories across the golf space. And when he’s not writing about ways to hit the golf ball farther and straighter, the Milwaukee native is probably playing the game, hitting the ball left, right and short, and drinking a cold beer to wash down his score. . You can reach him about any of these topics – his stories, his game or his beers – at nick.piastowski@golf.com.