While not everyone loves playing — or even watching — golf, most everyone can agree it’s always nice to spend a day out on the course with a few friends and a few drinks. But what does a typical round entail out on the fairway? Some might reach for classics like the Moscow Mule or a Bloody Mary, but the sport has developed a very specific drinking culture with a set of niche cocktails that are well suited for a long day on the links.
There’s a lot of lore about the history of drinking at golf clubs — there are even tales of the Rat Pack requesting fully stocked coolers of booze to accompany them across the back nine. Though the exact origin of many of golf’s most iconic drinks are a bit murky, there are a few that have stuck around over the years and are now staples at any clubhouse worth its salt.
The drinks are generally easy to assemble and refreshing: exactly what one would need when sweating out a hot day in a golf cart. Whether you’re heading out to the course or watching the PGA tour from the comfort of your own home, here are four of the most iconic golf course cocktails.
Transfusion
The Transfusion was a favorite of former President Dwight D. Eisenhower (who claimed to have invented the drink). Legend has it that after his retirement, Eisenhower would enjoy the cocktail after his daily round of golf at the Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia or the Eldorado Country Club in California. The simple drink is a combination of vodka, grape juice, and ginger ale served in a highball glass with ice and garnished with a lime wedge. It’s refreshing and easy to assemble, making it a popular pick at modern-day courses and even golf simulators. It’s rarely heard of outside of a clubhouse, but the drink is so engrained in golf culture that even the most dedicated Martini or Old Fashioned drinkers will gladly swap their classic order for the colorful mixture when they’re out on the course.
Azalea
It might not be as well known as the Kentucky Derby’s Mint Julep or as buzzy as the U.S. Open’s Honey Deuce, but the Azalea is another sporting event drink with staying power. It’s the signature cocktail of the Masters — arguably the most prestigious and popular major championship. The tournament, which kicks off in early April at the Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia each year, is known for its somewhat quirky food and drink offerings. The event keeps many of the menu items and prices consistent with what they were when the tournament first started in the 1930s, including the legendary $1.50 pimento cheese sandwich.
Named for the pink flowers that stretch along the course, the Azalea officially combines vodka, grenadine, and lemonade over ice with a cherry and lemon wheel, but you might find some versions of the drink that include pineapple juice in place of the lemonade.
Arnold Palmer
Though this classic half-and-half combination of iced tea and lemonade was long a southern staple, legendary golfer Arnold Palmer popularized the drink, forever cementing its status as a golf course beverage. Palmer struck a deal with the AriZona Beverage Company in 2001 to make his namesake drink available nationwide and the canned drink is a massive success to this day. Though the original iteration of the Arnold Palmer isn’t boozy, the brand has since launched a spiked version, with many other brands following suit with similarly flavored spiked seltzers.
John Daly
Luckily, there’s also a vodka-spiked cocktail modeled after the Arnold Palmer. The John Daly, also named after a famed professional golfer, adds one and a half ounces of vodka to the traditional iced tea and lemonade combo, which is garnished with a lemon wheel. Its origins can be traced back to Whiskey Creek Golf Course in Fort Myers, Fla., where Daly competed at the Dirty Gator Open. Apparently Daly was associated with the cocktail because people knew he loved a good drink, but he was never actually consulted. The use of his name without permission caused some controversy at first, but in the end Daly reclaimed his name by selling a canned version of the boozy classic in a collaboration with Good Boy Vodka.
