I found myself alking past the hulking yachts that lord over the docks, waiting in line to get a look into the 19th century seaside mansions on Bellevue Avenue.

It is easy to become convinced that this town is only for the obscenely rich. Let the common man gawk!

Only Newport's long past that Vanderbilt stage, especially when it comes to golf. The late 19th and early 20th century summer leisure spot of choice for American royalty actually offers some great golf for the people. With the addition of Newport National Golf Club in 2002, there are now a half-dozen worth-while plays within 30 minutes of Newport's tourist haven downtown.

This isn't a Scottsdale or Myrtle Beach destination that you can come back to year after year and never play the same course twice. Newport is a great place to relax by the ocean as you get your swings in.

A breakfast watching the sun rising over the water, followed by a day fighting your driver and the fickle winds is an unforgettable, uniquely Newport experience.

"With the U.S. Women's Open coming (in summer 2006), more and more people are going to find out about Newport and its golf," said Judy Cournoyer, a local 2-handicaper. "Newport's not just a place to sit by the water. You can go to the local theater, get a great meal, play some tough courses."

Newport's for the average hacker. Who would have ever thought that?

Must Plays

Newport National Golf Club: Some local dedicated duffers like Joe Sousa call this 7,244-yard, Arthur Hills design "the best course in Rhode Island." That may be going a little overboard. It's no Newport Country Club, the town's 112-year-old historic and very-members-only wonder near the ocean.

But there's little doubt Newport National is one of the top courses you can play. Pulling up in the small stone-covered parking lot, having made a turn off a main throughway that's easily missed, your expectations are hardly sky high. It only takes a few holes of battling the knee-high fescue to change that.

It's easy to get lost in your game at Newport National. Not so easy to score well. The slope rating is a hair-raising 138 with greens that love to kick off shots. Of course, it will cost you $125 weekdays for the pleasure of that pain.