Golf in the State of Kentucky
Possibly because basketball seems to take so much of the spotlight in the Bluegrass State, a lot of incredible courses fly under the radar. As the state's population is right in the center of US population lists (it ranks 26th of 50), a fair number of PGA laureates fly the blue flag while on Tour including Justin Thomas (from Louisville), J.B. Holmes (from Campbellsville), Kenny Perry (from Elizabethtown), and Steve Flesch (born in Cincinnati but attended the University of Kentucky).
One of the amazing things about Kentucky is how spread out the population is. While 4.5 million call this state home, less than a quarter of that live in the two biggest cities of Louisville and Lexington. The former of these two great cities holds Valhalla, the most famous (designed by Jack Nicklaus and owned by the PGA) but also Heritage Hill Golf Club and Henry County Country Club which frequently make top-ten lists for the state. As for Lexington, many courses shine including Kearney Hill Golf Links, Houston Oaks Golf Course, and Lakeside (which has the longest par 5 in the state at 651 yards).
Not to be outdone, a lot of smaller centres have hidden jewels that make a state-wide road trip worth the jaunt. Start at the top of the Commonwealth at Triple Crown Country Club (in Union), host of the 2020 Kentucky Open if you can find a member to go with. Barren River Lake State Park (just outside of Bowling Green) has an affordable, yet beautiful, public 18-hole course. Still in the south but farther east is the Middlesboro Country Club, the oldest course in the state (1890) and often considered the oldest continuously played golf course in the US.