What's The Best State For Public Golf Accessibility?

Good news for South Dakotans: Your state officially has the best public golf course to golfer ratio in the United States. At just 633 golfers per golf course (the U.S average is 2,200 per course), South Dakotans have lots of public golf (95% of courses are public) to choose from. Is any of it any good? Well ... I know absolutely nothing about golf in South Dakota, which doesn't exactly speak well, but hey, an empty golf course is an empty golf course. And that's better than what I'm dealing with here in Maryland.

This is the real reason I'm making this post. Okay, technically Maryland isn't the worst state for public golf accessibility. New Jersey is officially the worst, crowding nearly 5,000 golfers onto each public course (courtesy of nearly half its courses being private). But Maryland isn't far behind at 4,400 per course. So, if you're ever wondering why I go so far afield to review golf courses – like my current sojourn up to Albany – this is why. Okay, it's not the only reason, but Maryland is really, really bad when it comes to public golf. Even with Atlantic City Country Club going fully private, New Jersey still has Rock Spring, which beats any of Maryland's public golf options. There are other public-access Golden Age–era designs floating around New Jersey (like Brigantine and Seaview), which Maryland lacks. So while Maryland courses are slightly less busy, the quality is worse, and I think we have a compelling argument for worst public golf in the country. Good job Maryland!

Beer of the Week

The beer: After School Special

Brewed by: Covert Artisan Ales, Sioux Falls, South Dakota

Description (from the can): "Fruited sour ale with peanut butter powder, Concorde grapes, and marshmallow creme."

Would I buy it again? From the description, I thought this was going to taste like a PB&J. It tastes like half of that. Actually, the closest analogue is probably grape juice. If you focus, there's a hint of peanut butter in the aftertaste, but the grape is grabbing 95% of the attention here. It's not the worst thing in the world to drink, but fruited sour ales continue to not impress me.

Beer of the Week

The beer: Peach AF

Brewed by: Covert Artisan Ales & Cellars, Sioux Falls, South Dakota

Description (from the bottle): "Puncheon-aged American wild ale refermented with a TON of peaches."

Would I buy it again? Yeah, you know what, I absolutely believe that this was refermented with a ton of peaches. It's very peach flavored. I'm neutral on peaches in general, but I'm generally not a fan of this style of beer, and Peach AF did not change my opinion. So I would not go for it again, but hey, it's a beer from South Dakota, I had to give it a try.