Maybe it's the way a cold beer soothes your throat after 36 holes, or how a room of tartan and wood somehow eases the pain of your 102. Maybe it's the bartender who knows your drink, or it's the one place you can discuss your round without the person next to you glazing over ... probably.
Whatever the reason, when the last putt drops, golfers never seem to ask, "What do we do now?" The 19th hole is as much a part of golf as the previous 18. It's the place where you settle up the nassau. Or order the 25-year-old Speyside whiskey because that lucky so-and-so aced the fifth hole, and he's buying.
With that in mind, our "experts" canvassed the country looking for the best 19th holes. What they found is that what makes a golf bar great could be anything from spike marks still on the floor to views of the Pacific, or that Demaret used to drink there, sans clothes. But one thing they all have in common is that golfers ofen would rather spend time there than in their own home.