Kearney Hill Golf Links

A higher proportion of Pete Dye’s golf courses are open to the general public than with many top-shelf architects, however that does always mean that they’re cheap (quite the opposite, often). Kearney Hill, a municipal course in Lexington, is one the best values in the Dye oeuvre, costing less than $50 on the weekend if you choose to carry your own clubs.

Granted, such a value may mean less bells and whistles than, say, Whistling Straits, but those looking for a challenging route will not be left short. Playing from the tips, scratch players will be looking at a 7,100-yard round, and the bunkers come heavy during the opening portion. Nos. 5 and 6 are short par fours — a combined 735 yards — but come armed to the teeth: No. 6 features a dozen bunkers, penalizing anyone who drifts off of this short fairway.

The course offers discounts to students at the nearby University of Kentucky, but Dye — a fan of Indiana University, a basketball rival to UK — left a sassy hazard on No. 14. Players who fail to get around the dogleg may end up in a large bunker shaped like the Hoosiers’ “IU” logo. The design fee may have been affordable, but Dye’s humor was an additional cost.