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Top 100 Courses You Can Play: Our staff’s 9 favorites

Sand Valley (Sedge Valley), Nekoosa, Wis.

Pacific Dunes still remains my favorite public course I’ve ever played, but you already know all about Pacific Dunes, so instead I’m going to highlight a new option, Sedge Valley at Sand Valley Golf Resort, which recently opened and was one of the most memorable rounds I’ve played in years. The course is fun, strategic and playable and boasts one of the most thrilling 18th holes I can remember. — Josh Berhow

Kiawah Island, Ocean Course, Kiawah Island, S.C.

Kiawah Island is a stunning combination of beauty and treachery at every turn. Unlike many marsh areas around the Lowcountry, the marshes at Kiawah Island are pretty much unplayable. That said, there is a lot of room to play with if you miss on the proper side, which was surprising to me. When a major is there, the rough is allowed to grow and brought in tighter to the fairway, but for regular resort play, it’s very playable if you start from the right tees. The views of the Atlantic Ocean just steps away were incredible and the ocean breeze made shot-making a blast. The double-dogleg finishing hole is one of the more fun par-4s I’ve played in a while (and not just because I made birdie). — Jack Hirsh

Kapalua (Plantation), Lahaina, Hawaii

In terms of setting, Kapalua’s Plantation course is difficult to top. I’ve played it twice, both times to commemorate special occasions: my high-school graduation, and my honeymoon. The course’s allure is obvious: You’re in Maui; that’s euphoria-inducing right off the bat. It may be a resort course, but Plantation is tough — especially when the wind blows. And those elevation changes are no joke! But those views, man. What can compare? From the very first tee shot to the famous 18th, it’s simply a joy to experience. — Jessica Marksbury

Tot Hill Farm, Asheboro, N.C.

Nestled in the Uwharrie Mountains of Asheboro is Tot Hill Farm, one of North Carolina’s best kept secrets. Famously designed by Mike Stranz, this course challenges everything you know about course strategy with its dramatic slopes, arduous fairways, thrilling risk/reward opportunities and demanding greens. Each hole requires a different approach but also brings a new adventure. One of my favorite things about this course is that Stranz managed to save and incorporate pieces of the old cattle farm it was built on into his design. That includes the farmhouse that he lived in while designing this incredible course, which you can walk through before or after your round. — Maddi MacClurg

Taconic Golf Club, Williamstown, Mass.

It’s hard to imagine a more biased entry than this one; I played my college golf at Williams, which owns Taconic. But that doesn’t mean I’m wrong. It just means I know the specific joy of getting out of class at 2:25, jogging the few minutes down Spring Street and getting to the first tee for a 2:40 time. It means I know the view back into town from the 8th tee, the tops of the centuries-old red-brick dorms peeking over the trees, the domed hockey rink beside them, the lights from the football field in the foreground, the white church steeple in the distance. It means I know the race against daylight on an October evening, grey in the sky but orange in the trees. It means I know the quirky maneuvering of the front nine and the brutish test that awaits once you hit No. 10. And it means I know the joy of standing on the 14th tee, where a young Jack Nicklaus once made an ace, and staring out at a 270-degree view of rural New England perfection. What a place. — Dylan Dethier

Pinehurst No. 4, Pinehurst, N.C.

No. 4 is one of the most beloved courses at Pinehurst Resort for a reason. It’s fun and forgiving — great for mid-handicappers like myself in search of a rewarding round. — Connor Federico

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Pasatiempo, Santa Cruz, Calif.

Most of us will never get to play Augusta National, but that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy some of Alister MacKenzie’s work. In fact, if you head to Santa Cruz, Calif., anyone can play on one of his best courses in Pasatiempo. The likes of Pebble Beach and Cypress Point might get most of the pub in the area, but just 50 miles north you can play a course that holds its own against them both. Best of all? It’s open to the public. Not only does the course boast some of the best bunkering you’ll ever see, it also has one of the coolest logos in golf. Play it once and you’ll be dying to come back for more. — Zephyr Melton

George Wright, Boston, Mass.

My fondness for George Wright is impossible to separate from my first memories of it. In my late teens, when I took up golf, this was one of the munis where I learned to play. Its pedigree back then was lost on me, of course. If you’d asked me in those days what I knew of Donald Ross, I might have guessed that he was Diana Ross’s dad. Some 40 years have passed, though, and while my game has not improved much, my appreciation for architecture has. Like a lot of great layouts of its vintage, George Wright doesn’t beat you up with length. But it wins you over with its many quirks and charms. It has nifty doglegs, cool granite outcrops flanking its fairways and blind shots that tumble toward compelling green complexes. Its closing stretch is as good as any in municipal golf, and the peak rate for 18 holes is $62. Does our Top 100 list feature “better” designs? Absolutely. But George Wright is where I fell in love with a game that has given me a livelihood, served up a lifetime of indelible moments and supplied me with a caddie yard-worth of friends. To measure a course on architecture merits only is to lose sight of what golf is all about. — Josh Sens

Lawsonia (Links), Green Lake, Wis.

OK, to be upfront, the handful of courses on this list that I’ve been fortunate enough to play are all sublime. But I think it says something that my longtime golf gang and I keep returning to Lawsonia for our yearly gathering, despite the usual talk of we should go here or there next year. Links makes you think, but not worry. It’s demanding, but not punishing. It rewards good shots, but doesn’t melt you if you duff one. And it’s just purdy to look at. But that’s just the course. The Woodlands course, the other 18 on the property, is great. (Be sure to ask where the house of the Culver’s founder is!) The on-site restaurant and food stand at the turn are great. (Brats!) Green Lake, the lake named after the city Lawsonia is in, is great. (The Heidel House has a wonderful breakfast buffet!) So yeah, as much as we’re thinking about going somewhere else next year, we don’t want to mess with a wonderful thing. — Nick Piastowski

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Of the list’s 11 tantalizing new entries, only The Lido (with limited tee times for resort guests) and Pinehurst No. 10 are open to the public. At the same time, four resort courses that enjoyed pride of place in our 2022 ranking — Pinehurst No. 4, Sand Valley, Sheep Ranch and Streamsong (Blue) — have slipped out of the Top 100.

But dreams and bucket lists aren’t a privilege of the few, and great course architecture thrives well beyond the stone gateways of private clubs. Across this country there are a stunning number of superb golf courses available to every golfer. So that’s why this year we updated GOLF’s Top 100 You Can Play in the U.S. list, which is derived from the same voting process as our main list.

Some of these courses — such as Belvedere (No. 40), Firestone (No. 53), Cape Arundel (No. 63) and Bay Hill (No. 71) — are, in fact, private, but they allow outside play under certain conditions. At GOLF, we love this model. After all, it has served UK clubs for more than a century. For those lucky enough to belong to clubs like these, the revenue from outside play helps keep membership costs in check. Most important, these open policies allow course lovers to sample more of the game’s sublime works of art.

We all win when the lines of private and public are blurred and the expense of the sport comes down.

In the meantime, we’re thrilled to celebrate a course like Lawsonia, which made both of our 2024 lists and was barely over $100 when I played there in September. In America, there aren’t enough examples of elite architecture wed to a greens fee in the $100 range.

Still, as you’ve seen in this year’s Top 100 lists, our country has an abundance of golf riches. With even more high-quality private and public courses slated to open between now and the arrival of our 2026 Top 100 U.S. list, the American golf scene has never been more exciting to think — and to dream — big about.

GOLF’s other course rankings: Top 100 Courses in the World | Top 100 Courses in the U.S. | Top 100 Value Courses in the U.S. | America’s Best Municipal Courses | Top 100 in the U.K. and Ireland | Top 100 Short Courses in the World

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Our panel’s top-ranked public courses span across the country, touching 29 states in all. California, which finished with the second-most courses in our recent Top 100 Courses in the U.S. ranking, moves into the first position for this ranking, with 11 public-access courses from the Golden State making the list, including the No. 1-ranked course, Pebble Beach.

Florida, North Carolina and Wisconsin are all tied for second, narrowly trailing California with nine top public courses each.

How many top-ranked public-access courses does your state have? Find out below with our complete state-by-state breakdown of our new Top 100 Courses You Can Play ranking.

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Top 100 Courses You Can Play 2024-25 sorted by state 

(With overall rank, course name, city, state, architect and year opened) 

California (11)

1. Pebble Beach
Pebble Beach, CA
Jack Neville, Douglas Grant, 1919

11. Pasatiempo
Santa Cruz, CA
Alister Mackenzie, 1929

23. Spyglass Hill
Pebble Beach, CA
Robert Trent Jones, Sr., 1966

43. Torrey Pines (South)
San Diego, CA
William Bell, 1957 / Rees Jones, 2001

45. Rustic Canyon
Moorpark, CA
Gil Hanse/Jim Wagner/Geoff Shackelford, 2002

56. PGA West (Pete Dye Stadium)
La Quinta, CA
Pete Dye, 1987

66. TPC Harding Park
San Francisco, CA
Willie Watson and Sam Whiting, 1925

78. PGA West (Mountain)
La Quinta, CA
Pete Dye, 1980

83. CordeValle
San Martin, CA
Robert Trent Jones, Jr., 1999

89. Omni La Costa Resort and Spa (North)
Carlsbad, CA
Dick Wilson, 1965 / Gil Hanse, 2024

93. Rams Hills
Borrego Springs, CA   
Ted Robinson (1983)/Tom Fazio, Dennis Wise (2007)  

Florida (9)

8. TPC Sawgrass (Players Stadium)
Ponte Vedra Beach, FL
Pete Dye, 1981

17. Streamsong (Red)
Bowling Green, FL
Bill Coore/Ben Crenshaw, 2012

19. Streamsong (Blue)
Bowling Green, FL
Tom Doak, 2012

32. Cabot Citrus Farms (Karoo)
Brooksville, FL
Kyle Franz, 2024

36. The Park (West Palm)
West Palm Beach, FL
Gil Hanse, 2023

37. Streamsong (Black)
Streamsong, FL
Gil Hanse, 2017

69. Innisbrook Resort (Copperhead)
Palm Harbor, FL 
Larry Packard, 1970

71. Bay Hill
Orlando, FL
Arnold Palmer, 1961

77. Trump National Doral (Blue Monster)
Doral, FL
Pete Wilson, 1962 / Gil Hanse, 2014

North Carolina (9)

2. Pinehurst No. 2
Pinehurst, NC
Donald Ross, 1907–1935

15. Pinehurst No. 10
Pinehurst, NC
Tom Doak, 2024

25. Pinehurst No. 4
Pinehurst, NC
Gil Hanse/Jim Wagner, 2018

27. Tobacco Road
Sanford, NC
Mike Strantz, 1999

34. Mid Pines
Pinehurst, NC
Donald Ross, 1921

38. Southern Pines
Southern Pines, NC
Donald Ross, 1906 / Kyle Franz, 2021

39. Pine Needles
Pinehurst, NC
Donald Ross, 1927/Kyle Franz, 2017

48. Tot Hill Farm
Asheboro, NC
Michael Stranz, 2000

82. Pinehurst No. 8
Pinehurst, NC
Tom Fazio, 1996

Wisconsin (9)

4. The Lido
Sand Valley, WI
Tom Doak, Brian Shcneider, 2023
(C.B. Macdonald Reincarnation)

10. Whistling Straits
Haven, WI
Pete Dye, 1998

16. Lawsonia Links
Green Lake, WI
William Langford/Ted Moreau, 1930

20. Sand Valley
Nekoosa, WI
Bill Coore/Ben Crenhsaw, 2017

21. Erin Hills
Hartford, WI
Michael Hurdzan/Dana Fry/Ron Whitten, 2006

22. Sand Valley (Sedge Valley)
Nekoosa, WI
Tom Doak, 2024

26. Sand Valley (Mammoth Dunes)
Nekoosa, WI
David McLay Kidd, 2018

29. Blackwolf Run (River)
Kohler, WI
Pete Dye/Herb Kohler, 1988

81. SentryWorld
Stevens Point, WI
Robert Trent Jones, Jr., 1982; Jay Blasi, 2013

Michigan (8)

30. Forest Dunes (Loop)
Roscommon, MI
Tom Doak, 2016

40. Belvedere
Charlevoix, MI
William Watson, 1923

50. Arcadia Bluffs (South)
Bear Lake, MI
Dana Fry, 2018

51. American Dunes
Grand Haven, MI
Jack Nicklaus, 2021

57. Arcadia Bluffs (Bluffs)
Arcadia, MI
Warren Henderson/Rick Smith, 1999

62. Greywalls at Marquette
Marquette, MI 
Mike DeVries, 2005

64. Forest Dunes (Weiskopf)
Roscommon, MI 
Tom Weiskopf, 2002

92. Stoatin Brae
Augusta, MI   
Rennaisance Golf Design, 2017

Oregon (8)

3. Pacific Dunes
Bandon, OR
Tom Doak, 2001

7. Bandon Trails
Bandon, OR
Bill Coore, Ben Crenshaw, 2005

9. Bandon Dunes
Bandon, OR
David McLay Kidd, 1999

13. Old Macdonald
Bandon, OR
Tom Doak/Jim Urbina, 2010

24. Sheep Ranch
Bandon, OR
Bill Coore/Ben Crenshaw, 2020

59. Silvies Valley Ranch (Craddock/Hankins Reversible)
Seneca, OR
Dan Hixson, 2017

72. Pronghorn (Fazio)
Bend, OR
Tom Fazio, 2004

95. Pronghorn (Nicklaus)
Bend, OR        
Jack Nicklaus, 2004

South Carolina (5)

6. Kiawah Island (Ocean)
Kiawah Island, SC
Pete Dye, 1991

12. Harbour Town
Hilton Head, SC
Pete Dye/Jack Nicklaus, 1969

58. Palmetto Bluff (May River)
Bluffton, SC
Jack Nicklaus, 2005

60. The Dunes
Myrtle Beach. SC 
Robert Trent Jones Sr., 1948

76. Caledonia
Pawleys Island, SC
Michael Strantz, 1994

Indiana (4)

42. French Lick (Ross Course)
French Lick, IN
Donald Ross, 1917

84. French Lick (Dye Course)
French Lick, IN
Pete Dye, 2009

85. Warren Course (Notre Dame)
Notre Dame, IN
Bill Coore/Ben Crenshaw, 2000

90. Pfau Course at Indiana University
Bloomington, IN         
Steve Smyers/Fuzzy Zoeller, 2020

Georgia (3)

41. Sea Island (Seaside)
Sea Island, GA
Harry S. Colt, Charles Alison, 1929 / Tom Fazio, 1999

99. The McLemore Club (Highlands)
Rising Fawn, GA
Rees Jones/Bill Bergin, 2020

96. Reynolds Great Waters
Eatonto, GA   
Jack Nicklaus, 1992

Hawaii (3)

33. Kapalua (Plantation)
Lahaina, Maui, HI
Bill Coore/Ben Crenshaw, 1992

47. Four Seasons Lanai (Manele)
Lanai City, Lanai, HI
Jack Nicklaus, 1993

49. Mauna Kea
Waimea, Hawaii, HI
Robert Trent Jones, Sr., 1964

Nebraska (3)

28. Prairie Club (Dunes)
Valentine, NE
Tom Lehman/Chris Brands, 2010

44. Wild Horse
Gothenburg, NE
Dave Axland/Dan Proctor, 1999

46. Landmand
Homer, NE
Tad King/Rob Collins, 2022

Virginia (3)

35. Omni Homestead (Cascades)
Hot Springs, VA
William Flynn, 1923

87. Primland
Meadows of Dan, VA
Donald Steele, 2006

94. Keswick Hall (Full Cry)
Keswick, VA    
Pete Dye, 2014

Washington (3)

18. Gamble Sands
Brewster, WA
David McLay Kidd, 2014

31. Chambers Bay
University Place, WA
Robert Trent Jones, Jr., 2007

100. Wine Valley
Walla Walla, WA
Dan Hixson, 2009

Massachusetts (2)

70. George Wright
Boston, MA
Donald Ross, 1938

73. Taconic
Williamstown, MA
Wayne Stiles,1927 / Gil Hanse, 2009

Missouri (2)

55. Ozarks National at Big Cedar Lodge
Hollister, MO
Bill Coore/Ben Crenshaw, 2019

80. Payne’s Valley
Hollister, MO
Tiger Woods, 2018

Nevada (2)

14. Shadow Creek
North Las Vegas, NV
Tom Fazio, 1990

86. Cascata
Boulder City, NV
Rees Jones, 2000

New Mexico (2)

79. Black Mesa
Espanola, NM
Baxter Spann, 2003

91. Paako Ridge
Sandia Park, NM        
Ken Dye, 2000

New York (2)

5. Bethpage (Black)
Farmingdale, NY
A.W. Tillinghast, 1935

65. Bethpage (Red)
Farmingdale, NY 
A.W. Tillinghast, 1935

Texas (2)

67. Omni PGA Frisco (Fields Ranch East)
Frisco, TX 
Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner, 2022

88. Memorial Park
Houston, TX
John Bredemus, 1935 / Tom Doak, 2019

Alabama (1)

98. RTJ Golf Club at Grand National (Links)
Opelika, AL
Robert Trent Jones, Sr., 1992

Arizona (1)

61. We-Ko-Pa (Saguaro)
McDowell, AZ 
Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw, 2006

Colorado (1)

97. Broadmoor (East)
Colorado Springs, CO 
Donald Ross, 1918

Maine (1)

63. Cape Arundel
Kennebunkport, ME 
Walter Travis, 1921

Mississippi (1)

75. Mossy Oak
West Point, MS
Gil Hanse, 2016

Montana (1)

68. Wilderness Club
Eureka, MT
Nick Faldo and Brian Curley, 2009

Ohio (1)

53. Firestone (South)
Akron, OH
Bert Way, 1929 / Robert Trent Jones, Sr., 1960

Oklahoma (1)

74. Karsten Creek
Stillwater, OK
Tom Fazio, 1994

Utah (1)

54. Sand Hollow
Hurricane, UT
John Fought/Andy Staples, 2008

West Virginia (1)

52. The Greenbrier (Old White)
White Sulphur Springs, WV
C.B Macdonald/Seth Raynor, 1914

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Gamble Sands (Rank: 18) Brian Oar

Dreams and bucket lists aren’t a privilege of the few, and great course architecture thrives well beyond the stone gateways of private clubs. Across this country there are a stunning number of superb golf courses available to every golfer.

Which is why we put so much time and energy into compiling our Top 100 You Can Play in the U.S. list, which is derived from the same voting process as our main U.S. list, the latest version of which we published last week.

To hear our ratings experts break down our latest rankings, check out our all-new travel podcast Destination GOLF. Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts: APPLE | SPOTIFY | IHEART | AMAZON

Some of these courses below — such as Belvedere (No. 40), Firestone (No. 53), Cape Arundel (No. 63) and Bay Hill (No. 71) — are, in fact, private, but they allow outside play under certain conditions. At GOLF, we love this model. After all, it has served U.K. clubs for more than a century. For those lucky enough to belong to clubs like these, the revenue from outside play helps keep membership costs in check. Most important, these open policies allow course lovers to sample more of the game’s sublime works of art. We all win when the lines of private and public are blurred and the expense of the sport comes down.

In the meantime, we’re thrilled to celebrate a course like Lawsonia, which made both of our 2024-25 lists and cost me barely over $100 when I played there in September. In America, there aren’t enough examples of elite architecture wed to a green fee in the $100 range. But elite architecture, period? Of that, our nation has an abundance. Happy scrolling! — Ran Morrissett

Course descriptions below were written by Nico Bianchi, Hayes Jackson, Tom Mackin, Ran Morrissett and Josh Sens.

Homepage image: Wilderness Club (John and Jeannine Henebry). Photos in lead image, from left: Sand Hollow (Brian Oar); Streamsong Black (Larry Lambrecht); Bandon Dunes (Evan Schiller)

GOLF’s other course rankings: Top 100 in the World | Top 100 in the U.S. | Top 100 Value Courses in the U.S. | America’s Best Municipal Courses | America’s Best Courses for $100 or Less | Top 100 in the U.K. and Ireland | Top 100 in Asia-Pacific | Top 100 Short Courses in the World

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Let me first get this off my chest: I hate Florida golf courses.

They usually play soft. There are houses everywhere you look. There is an overuse of water and sand on flat and uninteresting terrain. The list goes on and on.

There’s a very short list of courses I actually enjoy in the state, but after finally visiting Streamsong Resort this fall, I have a couple tracks to add to the list.

Travel

I’ll admit, I probably picked one of the worst weeks of 2022 to visit Streamsong. I arrived, along with a few other media members for a four-day trip to tour the site of the resort’s planned fourth golf course and try out their new clubhouse experience, on September 26th, two days before Hurricane Ian made landfall less than 75 miles away. Not to mention, September in Florida is still oppressively hot.

The trip’s itinerary was thrown out the window and we set out on Streamsong Red right after a tour of the new course site. We made it about 12 holes before we had to stop for the day because of normal Florida thunderstorms.

Luckily, the plan was still to play the resort’s other original golf course, Streamsong Blue the next day before quickly getting out of dodge.

Good thing we did too because Streamsong Blue was my favorite course I played in 2022.

It had poured the night before after the strong storms, yet my tee shot must have rolled 30 or 40 yards off the 1st tee. As Streamsong Director of Sales and Marketing Craig Falanga explains, the resort was built on the site of a former phosphate mine, which left behind “perfectly round” sand. Sand-based golf courses are all the rage these days for how well they drain and the firmness they play at.

Blue was no exception, and greens recently resurfaced with Mach 1 Bermudagrass made for excellent playing conditions, despite the pounding rain the day before, and the ominous mist on the day we played ahead of the hurricane.

The firmness and the dramatic landscaping created by the sand dunes left behind from the phosphate mine create a landscape more reminiscent of the Australian Sand Belt or the Sand Hills of Nebraska than Central Florida.

Starting with a climb up on top of a dune where the 1st tee sits, the course starts with a pretty awesome view of the property encompassing the Coore/Crenshaw Red and Tom Doak Blue courses. From there the holes unwind naturally around the dunes and every shot is straight in front of you.

My favorite hole was the par-3 7th, probably the most photographed on property, along with the adjacent 16th of the Red course (which I didn’t get to play). The mid-length par-3 plays over a mine cut down to a green that looks like it was hallowed out from the dune on the other side.

With the incoming hurricane, we had little time to soak in the course, but Blue still left its mark on me, especially after the demanding finish of the long par-3 16th, monstrous, nearly 700-yard par-5 17th and uphill par-4 18th.

While I didn’t get to play all of Streamsong Red or even see the newer Streamsong Black, my favorite round of 2022 certainly proved to me Streamsong is not your grandfather’s Florida golf course.

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Punta Cana is the definition of paradise, and it’s the perfect setting for incredible golf. The area is home to three courses on our Top 100 Courses You Can Play list, and I was lucky enough to tee it up at Nicklaus Design’s wondrous Punta Espada. (GOLF.com and Nicklaus Companies are affiliates of 8AM Golf.)

It’s 7 a.m. on a winter morning. Back at home, it’s surely below freezing and pitch-black outside. But in Punta Cana, an orange sun rises slowly over the water. By the time it climbs above the clouds, the temperature will be a balmy 75 degrees. My partner Lindsay and I couldn’t be happier. We each grab a set of rental clubs and meet Dee, our caddie for the day.

The first tee at Punta Espada is nothing special. A simple, 360-yard par-4 narrows your focus onto the task at hand: the golf. Lindsay and I both hit the green in regulation — a first (and last) for the day. But considering what was soon to come, our scores were the least of our worries.

As we walked to the 2nd tee box, Dee stopped us and pointed to a path leading toward a giant rock. He instructed us to walk up the path to the base of the rock, where we would find our first gorgeous view of the day. He was right.

From all the way up there on the back tees, you bask in the glory of a 600-yard par-5. In true Nicklaus fashion, the hole doglegs right around a small pond that calmly flows into the ocean. Standing eye-level with massive, fluffy clouds, we looked out at the gorgeous expanse and laughed. There was little doubt now: we were at the start of an incredible golf experience.

By the time we reached the 3rd fairway, those fluffy clouds had turned into an island shower, which blew through as quickly as it arrived. After three beautiful seafront holes, the sun reappeared as the routing turned us back inland.

This, as anyone who has visited will tell you, is what makes Punta Espada so special: there isn’t just one rousing oceanfront crescendo, but four (!) of them. The routing leaves you constantly darting between the ocean and the land. And even when you’re nowhere near the water, elevated inland holes still manage to provide breathtaking views of endless blue from afar.

On the back nine, the waterside holes feature dramatic cliffs and rock formations. The course’s signature hole, the 200-yard 13^th, requires you to carry a small inlet with nothing but water to your left. As it turns out, that crystal-clear water proves an ample distraction. My normal miss is right, but I duck-hooked my tee shot straight into the sea.

Neither of us played our best on the closing holes, but it didn’t matter. Dee kept us laughing while we soaked in the sun and the smell of the ocean. Even with a triple-digit scorecard, it was hard to be upset. We’d spent a beautiful morning together, playing golf on a perfect day, lapping in some of the most beautiful views paradise had to offer. I wouldn’t have traded that for shooting the course record anywhere else.

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Wear this great conversation starter on your next buddies trip and compare your favorite golf courses right from the back of your tee. Click on the button below to get yours today!

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The post Top 100s for under $100: The 11 most affordable courses on our latest ranking appeared first on Golf.

The post Top 100s for under $100: The 11 most affordable courses on our latest ranking appeared first on Golf.

Me, you, your neighbor Judy, Bob in accounting. All you need to do is pick up the phone or open your laptop and book a tee time.

Yes, some courses in our newest Top 100 are more expensive than others, but for every Pebble Beach or Whistling Straits, there’s a George Wright, a Black Mesa or a Wild Horse — dynamite courses that won’t whack your wallet.

Tee times come in all shapes and sizes with walking rates, stay-and-play deals and twilight offerings, so for the purposes of this list, we included only the Top 100 courses at which the most you will pay is $100 — i.e., the fees stated below are the max peak-season rate for each course. It’s a good time to be a golfer!

(Course descriptions below by Hayes Jackson, Tom Mackin, Ran Morrissett and Josh Sens.)

Lawsonia (Links), Green Lake, Wis. (ranked 23rd; $95)

Golden Age masters Langford & Moreau spent nearly $4 million in 2020 dollars to build this literally ground-breaking Wisconsin layout. Steam shovels shaped its most spectacular features, including some of the boldest putting complexes on the planet. Rumor has it a boxcar was buried under the 7th green to create the dramatic 20-foot drop-off. The result of all this mechanical wizardry? Possibly the most underrated course in America and its greatest golfing value. We almost feel guilty finally sharing the secret.

Rustic Canyon, Moorpark, Calif. (ranked 47th; $69)

George Thomas, who worked magic in a canyon when building Riviera, is a hero to Rustic Canyon’s designers. Here, about an hour’s drive (traffic dependent!) north of Riviera, Gil Hanse, Jim Wagner, and Geoff Shackelford conjured a design that would have impressed even Thomas. The imaginative use of washes throughout and the horseshoe 13th green are but a few of the challenges. Aerial views highlight how peacefully the holes occupy the valley floor, and the course enjoys a legion of fans who prefer minimalism. Hard to find a better bang for the buck west of the Rockies.

Wild Horse, Gothenburg, Neb. (ranked 49th; $62)

The Sand Hills of Nebraska are best known to golf buffs for a high-ranked private club of the same name. This is the Everyman’s equivalent. For less than what a caddie costs at its exclusive counterpart, Wild Horse offers a kindred golf experience, with firm, fast fairways and rough-lipped bunkers gouged out of the rolling terrain. While the big skies and open spaces are pure prairie, the bouncy conditions and wind-whipped native grasses create the look and feel of a course across the pond. Think links golf, minus the sea.

George Wright, Boston, Mass. (ranked 59th; $57)

A WPA project in the late 1930s, this course thankfully came deep in Ross’s career, because it is hard to fathom that he would have had the ability to design so many outstanding holes on this rocky site if he had just arrived from Scotland where all he knew was sandy soil. Fast-forward 35-plus years, though, and Ross and his team, led by Walter Hatch, had developed the skill set to employ dynamite to render holes that make the site look as if it was always meant for golf. Standout stretches of par-4s include 5 though 7, as well as 10 through 12. With no weak links, this municipal course is better than most of the private courses in golf-rich Massachusetts.

Bethpage (Red), Farmingdale, N.Y. (ranked 66th; $96)

The Black Course casts such a long, daunting shadow, it’s amazing any grass can grow on its four sibling courses at Bethpage State Park. But it does, especially on the Red Course, which more than holds its own, albeit with much less fanfare than its fellow A.W. Tillinghast design. There’s no warning sign at the 1st tee like at the Black, the rough is friendlier and the bunkers less dramatic (except for the fistful that split the fairway on the par-4 13th). But locals know none of that makes the Red a pushover. You’ll get the message right away with the uphill approach on the opener, followed by a series of doglegs, both sharp and soft, that will force you to hit every club — and shot — in your bag.

Warren Course at Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Ind. (ranked 70th; $70)

Notre Dame didn’t always have a golf course that represented the institution’s lofty ideals. It does now after William Warren paved the way for Coore & Crenshaw to build this new course in 1999. Two superlative examples of flat land architecture are found at the 9th and 13th holes. At the 185-yard 9th, a bunker 20 yards short of green fools players into coming up short. Another great bunkering scheme is on the 433-yard 13th, where the fairway breaks sharply left around a pair of bunkers 60 yards shy of the green. The finishing holes descend into more wooded, tumbling land, including the picturesque 16th where you hit over Juday Creek. The course’s many merits were on display at the 2019 U.S. Senior Open.

RTJ Golf Trail at Grand National (Links), Opelika, Ala. (ranked 78th; $65)

A nitpicker might point out that “links” is a misnomer, and they’d be right. It’s the wrong term for a course that features sylvan fairways and carries over marshes to soft, receptive greens. But never mind the monikers. The conditioning is pure, the vistas are sublime and the course, the strongest layout on the Robert Trent Jones Trail, is a delightful, varied test. If you time the visit right, you can follow up your round with another top-notch form of outdoor entertainment: the Auburn football stadium is nearby.

Pfau Course Indiana University, Bloomington, Ind. (ranked 85th; $95)

A bright spot for Midwest golfers last year came in the form of this course opening on IU’s Bloomington campus. Rave reviews quickly followed for a design that features tree-lined fairways on the more secluded front side and a wide-open feel on the back. Named for a major donor to the project, the course can extend to a meaty 7,908 yards (leave that for the college team!), but every green, save the 18th , accepts run-up shots. There are nearly 150 bunkers — the sharp dogleg-right 14th, the shortest par-4 on the course, has 10 alone on the right side of fairway — but architect Steve Smyers gives you a respite on the sand-free par-4 5th and 6th.

Stoatin Brae, Augusta, Mich. (ranked 96th; $99)

Heathland is a broad, open expanse of heath. Replace heath with native grasses and you have Stoatin Brae in south central Michigan. The uphill drive off the highway to the clubhouse gives nothing away about what you’re about to experience. Much of the front nine traverses a plain, and then, starting at 10, the land goes crazy — a topsy-turvy six-hole stretch that you won’t soon forget. It is one of the best stretches on this entire list, even though a lot of people don’t know about it. Other standout holes include the short par-4 8th and the one-shot 17th to a knob green. The green fee of well under $100 belies what is a first-rate design and playing experience.

Black Mesa, Espanola, N.M. (ranked 99th; $60)

New Mexico has one course in the Top 100 but four courses in the Top 125, making it a must-visit destination for every golfer. Situated on the Santa Clara Pueblo 30 minutes north of Santa Fe, this burly design boasts numerous classic design features: blind tee shots, false fronts, central hazards, greens that run from front to back. Architect Baxter Spann incorporated them all into this heaving desert landscape. The par-5 16th through a narrow canyon is a love-it-or-hate-it hole, depending on how well you fare!

Hawktree, Bismarck, N.D. (ranked 100th; $85)

Award-winning architect Jim Engh is best-known as a maximalist, but Hawktree’s main lines of defense are all natural. This Midwestern marvel rambles through glacier-carved land near the Missouri River, forcing players to contend with high plains winds and water that’s in play on 11 holes. When you arrive at Hawktree, the first thing you notice are the sweeping prairie vistas — 14 holes are visible from the clubhouse. The next thing you notice are the trademark bunkers, filled with black coal slag instead of white sand. By the end of the round, you’ll be thinking, “I need to play more golf in North Dakota.”

Honorable mention

Two courses that just missed this list…

Talking Stick (O’odham North), Scottsdale, Ariz. (ranked 82nd; $105)

Subtle and thoughtful designs are the hallmark of Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw, and the North Course at Talking Stick Golf Club in Scottsdale is no exception. The duo took a flat parcel of desert landscape and built a grassland-fringed layout where the fairways are wide and taking the proper angles is rewarded. This is the antithesis of desert-style target golf. Greens are slightly elevated; miss those and your short game will be tested. Two of the strongest par-4s come early at the 3rd and 4th holes, while the 12th and its fun, split fairway set the tone for the back nine. Best of all is the par-5 2nd with out-of-bounds snug down the left side — it makes golfers do strange things!

Giant’s Ridge (Quarry), Biwabik, Minn. (ranked 68th; $109)

Add a pinch of Pine Valley vibe with a splash of Irish links magic on top of a former sand, gravel and iron ore mining site and you get The Quarry at Giant’s Ridge. Tucked away in northern Minnesota (three hours north of Minneapolis), the Jeff Breuer design offers a beguiling mix of par-4s, including the 13th, where you can go for the elevated green (anywhere from 239 yards to 323 yards away) or lay back for a wedge approach. Then there’s the 9th, framed by a chute of tall dunes off the tee followed by an uphill shot to the green. Invest in a yardage book both for the numbers — and for details on former mining operations in the area.

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