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The year 1926 was a good one for golf.
The Golden Age of golf course architecture was roaring post-World War I and pre-Great Depression. Architects who are now household names were becoming experts at their craft, building some of the America's most influential golf courses.
Considering the thousands of golf courses that have closed over the last century, it's incredible that the legacy of these top public and private golf clubs continues on. The most famous one is hosting one of golf's most influential major championships in June. Let's explore:
10 best golf courses turning 100 in 2026
Five great public places to play
St. Andrews Golf & Country Club, West Chicago, Ill.
In true Midwest fashion, this 36-hole public facility owned by the Jemsek-Hinckley family kicked off a year of special events with a polar plunge in January. The St. Andrews course was designed and built on mostly flat land in 1926 by John McGregor of the Chicago Golf Club on flatter terrain, while its slightly newer sister course, the Joe Jemsek Course, riders hillier terrain. According to the course's website, St. Andrews was the first public facility to host a U.S. Open Qualifier in 1947, offer air conditioning and allow metal spikes in the clubhouse. Quite the history!
Omni Grove Park Inn, Asheville, N.C.
Donald Ross designed this 6,113-yard championship course in the heart of North Carolina's scenic Blue Ridge Mountains in 1926. The historic - and supposedly haunted - hotel also enhances its beautiful setting. Legends like Bobby Jones, Ben Hogan and Jack Nicklaus, and even president Barack Obama, have tee it up on the challenging par 70 that plays tougher than the distance implies.
Arrowhead Golf Club, Wheaton, Ill.
This 27-hole Chicagoland favorite has been a regular in our Golfers' Choice rankings of the state's top 20 courses, qualifying all but two years since 2015. We also named it among the Top 100 Public Courses to walk in America. Water lurks on 17 holes and 77 bunkers come into play for good measure throughout the property.
The Boca Raton Golf Club, Boca Raton, Fla.
Golfers won't be able to celebrate this Donald Ross design's 100th birthday until this fall when it reopens following a Brian Silva restoration that starts in April. A lot of architects have touched the 6,253-yard course over the years, including Robert Trent Jones, Sr. (1963) and Gene Bates (1997). Roughly one-third of the holes will be reimagined, while others will stay in their original footprints but receive modern Bermuda grasses and new irrigation infrastructure. Only members and resort guests staying at the hotel can tee it up at this historic playground in south Florida.
Yale Golf Course, New Haven, Conn.
Yale Golf Course will reopen April 28, 2026, after Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner's restoration of the famous C.B. Macdonald design. Carved out of more than 700 acres, Yale was the most expensive golf course ever built when it opened a century ago, costing more than $400,000 in dynamite to blast through the rocky terrain of southern Connecticut. Its series of template holes includes a Biarritz green on the par-3 ninth. Green fees will cost upwards of $350 to play.
Five elite private clubs
Riviera Country Club, Pacific Palisades, Calif.
Riviera, the long-time host of the L.A. Open (now called the Genesis Invitational), will host its first U.S. Women's Open June 4-7. The excitement is building to see how the best female players in the world fare against such a historic routing.
Bel-Air Country Club, Los Angeles, Calif.
Not to be overshadowed, the 6,782-yard Bel-Air celebrates its 100th anniversary by hosting the 2026 Curtis Cup, where America's top female amateurs compete against their Great Britian & Ireland counterparts. The 44th Curtis Cup, one of golf's greatest match-play exhibitions, will be held June 12-14.
Fishers Island Club, New York
Fishers Island remains one of golf's holiest of grails, a club hard to get to and even harder to get on. The Seth Raynor design sits on an island in the middle of the Long Island Sound, mesmerizing anyone who walks along the shore playing golf.
Baltimore Country Club - East Course, Lutherville, Md.
We couldn't have a list of the best golf courses from 1926 without architect A.W. Tillinghast, could we? Tilly's par-70 East Course features a timeless look of back-to-front pitched greens, few water hazards and 96 bunkers.
Blue Mound Golf & Country Club, Wauwatosa, Wisconsin
This Seth Raynor design is one of Wisconsin's most celebrated architectural treasures. Its historic champions are an impressive who's who of legends: Walter Hagen won the 1916 Western Open; Gene Sarazen won the 1933 PGA Championship and Babe Zaharias captured the 1940 Western Women's Open. Its 6,700-yard routing is too short for today's major tournaments, although it co-hosted the 2011 U.S. Amateur and 2022 U.S. Mid-Am with Erin Hills.
Comments (1)
How about a shout out for Aptos Seascape Golf Club in California
How about a shout out for Aptos Seascape Golf Club in California