The 36 towns of this small state are home to five dozen golf courses, so the numbers alone show that golfers are a respected breed of sportsmen in Rhode Island. The Newport Country Club is one of the five founding clubs of what is today known as the United States Golf Association, demonstrating that respect for the sport in Rhode Island reaches back well over 100 years. The gently rolling countryside of Rhode Island make a natural setting for the sport, and, as in Scotland, the country of golf’s birth, water views from golf courses are not uncommon.