Back
Happy 250th, America.
Did you know that golf was first played in what is now the United States more than 30 years before the Revolutionary War? A ship manifest as far back as 1743 reports the presence of 96 golf clubs and 432 golf balls on board, transported from Leith, Scotland to the port of Charleston, South Carolina. This means that America's first golfers may have hacked around on Harleston Green in what is now downtown Charleston just before the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers convened to lay out the first rules of the game in 1744.
Golf's first American forays in Charleston in the 1740s and Savannah, Georgia as early as 1794 didn't stick, or lead to the establishment of any permanent golf clubs until a century later. But the last 130-plus years have seen the game spread to all corners of this great country - all 50 of its states, plus other territories under American control.
To commemorate America's semiquincentennial celebration, I have compiled a list of 250 diverse American golf courses that are publicly accessible - 5 per state, with considerations for each state's geographic spread and special attention paid to highlighting what I would call "community courses" - municipal layouts, military and college courses. There are also iconic resort layouts sprinkled in where appropriate. This is not an exhaustive "best of" list so much as it is meant to showcase the breadth of American golf.
To date I have teed it up in 32 different states, which means I have played many (marked with asterisks), but not all of these courses. The fill-ins are based on my research. And yes, I know some excellent courses did not make this particular list. They get their due elsewhere.
Please feel free to suggest other essential American golf courses in the comments. Ideally, this list should be bookmarked by any intrepid golfer who wants to experience this country through the lens of golf. Not a bad way to go about it, if you ask me.
Alabama
Azalea City Golf Course (Mobile) - Folks in Mobile will tell you proudly that their city is the real home of Mardi Gras. It is also home to this charming city muni that opened in 1957 and first hosted a PGA Tour event in 1959.
FarmLinks at Pursell Farms (Sylacauga) - Alabama's consensus top public course sits secluded within a huge 3,200-acre property 80 minutes southeast of Birmingham.
Goose Pond Colony Resort - Lake (Scottsboro) - This highly-rated course sits on meandering Guntersville Lake 45 minutes southeast of Huntsville.
Kiva Dunes Golf Club (Gulf Shores) - Spring breakers love the Alabama coast, as do golfer who visit this Jerry Pate gem.
* RTJ Trail @ Oxmoor Valley - Ridge (Birmingham) - Part of the initial slate to open on the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail, this Birmingham-area course helped change Alabama golf history and has been a popular pick for more than 30 years.
Alaska
Anchorage Golf Course (Anchorage) - In 2022, this 1987 Bill Newcomb design (reecently renovated by Forrest Richardson) became the first course in Alaska to host a USGA championship: the U.S. Senior Women's Amateur.
Midnight Sun Golf Course (Fairbanks) - This 1990s course, formerly known as North Star Golf Course, is the northernmost 18-holer in the United States.
Moose Run Golf Course - Creek (Fort Richardson) - Opened in 2000 and designed by Robin Nelson & Neil Haworth, this is Alaska's newest golf course, known for mountain views and plentiful wildlife sightings.
Palmer Golf Course (Palmer) - This course wedged between the Palmer Municipal Airport and the banks of the Matanuska River has hosted U.S. Open local qualifiers in the past.
Sea Mountain Golf Course (Sitka) - Home to just nine holes with rectangular, artificial-turf greens, this course nevertheless appears popular with cruise-vacation visitors due to mountain and water views.
Arizona
*Papago Golf Course (Phoenix) - The Arizona Golf Association recently took up residence at this muni, which boasts a restaurant locals love and whose course has attracted top amateurs and pros to a Monday skins game for decades. The Arizona State University golf facility onsite is incredible.
Sedona Golf Resort (Sedona) - Views of the area's famous rock formations abound at this 1987 Gary Panks design.
Sewailo Golf Club (Tucson) - This casino layout is also home to the University of Arizona's
TPC Scottsdale - Stadium (Scottsdale) - The PGA Tour's rowdiest party goes down every year at this compelling Tom Weiskopf desert layout.
* Troon North Golf Club - Monument (Scottsdale) - The facility that helped start the "country club for a day" trend of upscale public golf remains one of the best of its kind nationwide.
Arkansas
Bella Vista Country Club - Highlands (Bella Vista) - This ranks highest among the seven courses on property according to your fellow golfers in this year's Golfers' Choice list for Arkansas.
Cooper's Hawk Golf Course (Melbourne) - This country course took the #1 spot in Arkansas' Golfers' Choice list and has also made our nationwide Best Value Courses list in the past.
Hot Springs Country Club - Park (Hot Springs) - This course, attributed to Willie Park, Jr. and associated with a historic hotel, is one of the oldest west of the Mississippi.
* Mystic Creek Golf Club (El Dorado) - Owned by gas station chain Murphy USA, this out-of-the-way Ken Dye is one of the best-conditioned public courses you'll find in the U.S., with a hint of Augusta National homage at times.
Rebsamen Park Golf Course (Little Rock) - The muni of record for the city of Little Rock dates back to 1959.
California
Pebble Beach Golf Links (Pebble Beach) - Yes, it is one of golf's most expensive experiences, especially when you factor in
PGA West - Stadium (La Quinta) - Pete Dye's desert jewel will soon be the site of the PGA Tour's season opener
Rustic Canyon Golf Course (Moorpark) - This scruffy, barranca-crossing public course north of L.A. helped launch architect Gil Hanse to national prominence and remains a SoCal favorite.
Torrey Pines Golf Course - South (La Jolla) - The Perennial PGA Tour host and two-time U.S. Open host helped pioneer the "super-muni" model, where locals get to enjoy the place at reasonable rates while visitors pay a premium.
Northwood Golf Course (Monte Rio) - California is home to multiple publicly accessible Alister MacKenzie courses, from the vaunted Pasatiempo to this 9-holer practically hiding in deep redwoods.
Colorado
Arrowhead Golf Club (Littleton) - This Robert Trent Jones, Jr. design resides at #2 on our Golfers' Choice list for Colorado.
Beaver Creek Golf Club (Beaver Creek) - Colorado mountain golf is some of the best in the world, and this resort layout has supplied gorgeous mountain views since 1982.
Broadmoor Resort - East (Colorado Springs) - A classic course - a multiple U.S. Senior Open host - at one of America's great old resorts where both Donald Ross and Robert Trent Jones, Sr. have influenced the design.
Cheyenne Shadows Golf Course (Fort Carson) - This Dick Phelps design at an Army base is regarded as one of the best courses in the military system.
* CommonGround (Aurora) - Every state golf association should give its golfers a gift like this one, designed by Tom Doak and endlessly interesting to play
Connecticut
* Connecticut National Golf Club (Putnam) - Mark Mungeam's keen renovation turned this into an oasis of excellent public golf in the rural northeast corner of the state.
* Keney Park Golf Course (Hartford) - Thanks to architect Matt Dusenberry and the City of Hartford, this revitalized classic muni is now one of America's best golf values.
Richter Park Golf Course (Danbury) - Long regarded as one of Fairfield County's go-to public plays Richter has lots of water and even a couple of holes where golfers must steer clear of quicksand.
* Shennecossett Golf Club (Groton) - This mostly-Donald Ross muni with late holes overlooking the mouth of the Thames River and Long Island Sound can be a tough ticket in the summer.
* Yale Golf Course (New Haven) - This C.B. Macdonald masterpiece, America's greatest college course, is coming off a fresh Hanse/Wagner restoration effort.
Delaware
* Baywood Greens (Long Neck) - This ornately landscaped upscale public course is one of many Augusta National-inspired modern designs.
* Bear Trap Dunes Golf Club (Ocean View) - With 27 holes and a location poised between the greater Rehoboth Beach and Ocean City (Maryland) tourist corridors, this Troon-managed facility is a busy one, with plenty of positive reviews.
Deerfield Golf Club (Newark) - Originally built as a retreat for DuPont employees, this course has been was folded into the greater White Clay Creek State park in 2005, enjoying a secluded feel that is rare among the state's public courses.
Odessa National Golf Club (Townsend) - In spite of a name that implies exclusivity, this thoroughly public course gets a steady stream of good reviews, ranking highly on Delaware's annual Golfers' Choice list.
Rock Manor Golf Course (Wilmington) - Wilmington's muni of record has been touched up by architect Lester George in recent years.
Florida
* Dunedin Golf Club (Dunedin) - The latest in a series of refreshed Donald Ross designs along Florida's Gulf coast (joining Fort Myers Country Club and Bobby Jones Golf Course in Sarasota) is arguably the best of the bunch.
* Mount Dora Golf Course (Mount Dora) - Quirky and endearingly shabby, this short but punchy course was built in the 1940s by returning veterans of World War II and deserves every golfer's respect.
* The Park (West Palm Beach) - A super-muni for the new Roaring Twenties, this Hanse & Wagner reinvention of an existing course is South Florida's best public play.
* TPC Sawgrass - Players Stadium (Ponte Vedra Beach) - Pete Dye's masterpiece and the PGA Tour's home course shows just what marvels a golf design genius can do with a swamp.
* Winter Park 9 (Winter Park) - At a cost of less than $2 million, the Riley Johns/Keith Rhebb overhaul of this quietly delightful loop north of Orlando will go down as one of the best-bang-for-the-buck course renovations of the 21st century.
Georgia
Bobby Jones Golf Course (Atlanta) - Reversible golf courses are as old as St. Andrews, but have only recently been reintroduced in the U.S. This one in the heart of the ATL has won golfers over.
* Brasstown Valley Resort (Young Harris) - The State of Georgia has seen to get involved directly with golf in several places, including this charming mountain retreat.
The Patch (Augusta) - One of the world's most prestigious clubs got involved with the effort to restore respectability to its hometown muni and the early returns are understandably stellar.
* Reynolds Lake Oconee - Great Waters (Greensboro) - This expansive club has several courses available to the public, none better than Jack Nicklaus' 1992 zinger with several holes that luxuriate along the lake.
* Sanctuary Golf Club (Waverly) - Just one exit south of Sea Island (which could easily go on this list) on I-95 is a public course of unusual sophistication thanks to a Seth Raynor-like approach with low-key bunkering and fantastic greens.
Hawaii
Kaneohe Klipper Golf Course (Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Oahu) - Widely regarded as the best of all U.S. Military golf courses, this William P. Bell course has three holes that run alongside the ocean.
Kapalua Resort - Plantation (Lahaina, Maui) - Even though it's lost its long-time PGA Tour event, nothing can keep this Coore & Crenshaw gem from being one of America's most scenic resort courses.
Manele Golf Course (Lanai City, Lanai) - This Four Seasons resort course is as posh as tropical golf gets in the U.S.
Mauna Kea Golf Course (Waimea, Big Island) - Robert Trent Jones' imposing '60s layout with its famous ocean-hopping par-3 3rd helped establish Hawaii as a golf destination.
Wailua Municipal Golf Course (Kapaa, Kauai) - The thought of playing an oceanside golf course for less than $20 is insane to most Americans but a fact of life for Kauai residents; even the $80 out-of-towner rate is considered a steal, given the scenery.
Idaho
* Coeur D'Alene Resort Golf Course (Coeur D'Alene) - The kitschy but nevertheless iconic floating island-green 14th remains a bucket-list par 3 for collectors of unique American golf experiences, and pairs nicely with nearby Circling Raven Golf Club.
Falcon Crest Golf Club (Kuna) - This early-2000s design is regarded as the best public course in greater Boise, laid out by legendary area horticulturist and landscape architect Hansgeorg Borbonus.
Osprey Meadows at Tamarack Resort (Donnelly) - This revived and renovated resort layout that closed during the 2000s Recession is a nice revival story.
Sun Valley Resort - White Clouds (Sun Valley) - This 9-holer, which compliments two 18-hole resort layouts, was laid out atop a mountain ridge and enjoys spectacular long-range views.
Vandal Golf Course at the University of Idaho (Moscow) - This 90-year old course recently took on the name of the U of I mascot - one of the best among all state universities.
Illinois
Atkins Golf Club at the University of Illinois (Urbana) - College courses often punch above their weight, and with its #1 ranking on our latest Golfers' Choice list for Illinois, this one is no exception.
Eagle Ridge Resort & Spa - The General (Galena) - This challenging, hilly layout at a regionally popular resort is likened by some to the closest thing Illinois has to "mountain golf."
Jackson Park Golf Club (Chicago) - Although plans to turn this and a neighboring 9-holer are on hold, recent renovations have elevated this community-serving Tom Bendelow design.
Kankakee Elks Country Club (St. Anne) - Architecture buffs appreciate this Langford & Moreau design with heaving green complexes.
TPC Deere Run (Silvis) - The annual (for now) host of the PGA Tour's John Deere Classic is one of the most affordable courses in the professional golf realm.
Indiana
Brickyard Crossing Golf Club (Indianapolis) - Playing a golf course by the great Pete Dye that features four holes inside the oval of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is just about as quintessentially American as a public golf experience can get.
French Lick Resort - Donald Ross (French Lick) - This stately resort's tough Donald Ross track (paired with an even tougher Pete Dye one) hosted the 1924 PGA Championship.
Harrison Hills Golf Club (Attica) - Following on the meteoric rise of Lawsonia Links in Wisconsin, this fellow Langford & Moreau design has made improvements in recent years, raising its profile to where it ranked #5 on this year's Golfers' Choice list for the state.
Pfau Golf Course at Indiana University (Bloomington) - IU's men's basketball team is still working its way back towards national prominence, but its golf course joined the upper-tier nationwide when architect Steve Smyers overhauled it into a long, fearsome test in 2020.
Warren Golf Course at the University of Notre Dame (South Bend) - Bill Coore & Ben Crenshaw built Fighting Irish students, alums and visitors a dandy of a golf course - so good that the USGA selected it to host the 2019 U.S. Senior Open.
Iowa
Blue Top Ridge at Riverside (Riverside) - This 2009 Rees Jones-designed casino course is also the home of G.I.V.E. - Golf for Injured Veterans Everywhere, an organization that connects Iowa servicemen and servicewomen with the game.
Finkbine Golf Course at the University of Iowa (Iowa City) - This 1950s design at the U of I is in the midst of a significant renovation project courtesy of architect Scott Hoffman.
Grand Falls Casino & Golf Resort (Larchwood) - This casino course sits in the extreme northwest corner of the state, and draws visitors to play golf and gamble from nearby South Dakota and Minnesota.
Legacy Golf Course at The 19 (Mason City) - The former Mason City Country Club got a makeover by architect Kevin Norby in 2023, as well as a new ambassador in John Daly.
Waveland Golf Course (Des Moines) - The Iowa capital's muni of record dates back to 1901, the oldest city-owned course west of the Mississippi.
Kansas
Buffalo Dunes Golf Course (Garden City) - Golfer-pilgrims who have made it out to this remote layout in the southwestern quadrant of the state have suggested that it reminds them at times of Prairie Dunes, Kansas' greatest private course.
Colbert Hills Golf Course (Manhattan) - The Home of Kansas State's golf program is named for the late Jim Colbert and is known as one of the toughest college courses in the U.S., with a back-tee Rating of 77.5 and a Slope of 152.
Firekeeper Golf Club (Mayetta) - This casino course laid out by Jeff Brauer and Notah Begay III mixes open prairie and more tree-lined parkland golf.
Ironhorse Golf Club (Leawood) - Dr. Michael Hurdzan laid out this Kansas City-area public course in 1995 and it has ranked among the state's best ever since.
Sand Creek Station Golf Club (Newton) - This 2006 Jeff Brauer design hosted one of the last U.S. Public Links Championships and recently returned to the USGA rota when it welcomed the U.S. Adaptive Open in 2024.
Kentucky
Kearney Hill Golf Links (Lexington) - Owned by the City of Lexington, this Pete & P.B. Dye design debuted in 1989 and hosted the 1997 U.S. Amateur Public Links.
Nevel Meade Golf Club (Prospect) - Architect Steve Smyers used an open, rolling site to draw inspiration from Scottish golf at what is generally regarded as the Louisville area's top public course.
Park Mammoth Golf Course (Park City) - This public course near the famous Mammoth Cave is a triumph of affordable golf thanks to the restrained but creative work of architects Brian Ross and Jeff Stein.
Silos Country Club (Kevil) - This 1994 Jerry Lemons design and #3 course on Kentucky's 2026 Golfers' Choice list sits near where the borders of Kentucky, Missouri and Illinois meet.
Wasioto Winds Golf Course (Pikeville) - This Dr. Michael Hurdzan design that opened in 2001 is part of Kentucky's dozen-courses-strong system of state park golf courses.
Louisiana
Audubon Park Golf Course (New Orleans) - Golfers can take cable cars to arrive at this charming par-62 design in NOLA's park named for the famous ornithologist.
Cypress Bend Resort (Many) - Architect Jeff Blume renovated this course south of Shreveport with multiple holes along the winding shores of the Toledo Bend Reservoir.
Koasati Pines at Coushatta (Kinder) - This modern course at a casino resort hosts the annual Notah Begay III Junior Golf National Championship.
Mallard Golf Club (Lake Charles) - When a local airport decided to expand, encroaching on an existing golf course, the local government decided to build a new one down the road and hired architect Jeff Blume to do it.
TPC Louisiana (Avondale) - Golfers should endeavor to bring a buddy to this annual (for now) PGA Tour host of the Zurich Classic team event.
Maine
Cape Arundel Golf Club (Kennebunkport) - Tee times can be scarce in the summer, but the public is welcome at this quirky but beloved Walter Travis design where visitors might end up sharing the course with 43rd president and avid golfer George W. Bush.
Castine Golf Club (Castine) - Maine is home to several ancient (by American standards) courses of rustic charm, especially in the summer season. This largely untouched 1921 Willie Park, Jr. course is one of several scattered up and down the coast.
Kebo Valley Club (Bar Harbor) - One of America's oldest golf courses, dating to 1891, this Herbert Leeds design was updated by Brad Booth about a quarter-century ago.
Samoset Resort (Rockport) - While the "Pebble Beach of the East" title might be a little overstated, this resort course nevertheless sports half a dozen holes with at least a green or tee area next to the Atlantic Ocean.
Sunday River Golf Club (Newry) - Multiple Maine resorts do double duty - skiing in the winter and golf in the summer - and Sunday River's Robert Trent Jones, Jr. course is considered a gem.
Maryland
Bulle Rock Golf Club (Havre de Grâce) - Pete Dye's fearsome contribution to Mid-Atlantic public golf continues to get positive reviews from golfers with a penchant for pain.
The Links at Lighthouse Sound (Bishopville) - This Arthur Hills design with a double-green shared by back-to-back holes anchors the Ocean City-area vacation golf scene.
The Preserve at Eisenhower (Crownsville) - When architect Andrew Green renovated the original Ed Ault design here for Anne Arundel County, he removed all bunkers and replaced many of them with appealingly sharp mounds, giving the course a distinctive look.
* Rocky Gap Resort (Flintstone) - This Jack Nicklaus-designed resort course is a hoot, with some dramatic elevation changes including a steeply downhill par 3.
Whiskey Creek Golf Club (Ijamsville) - Ernie Else is credited with the design of this upscale public course, one of many in the greater Frederick area.
Massachusetts
* Crumpin-Fox Club (Bernardston) - Ever wondered what it would be like to play golf at summer camp? This Robert Trent Jones, Jr. design carved through dense woods captures that feel.
George Wright Golf Course (Boston) - Beantown is a great city, and great cities deserve great municipal golf courses. Thanks to Donald Ross and, more recently, Mark Mungeam, that is emphatically the case here.
Highland Links (Truro) - This 19th-century nine-holer is as close to a true links experience as the American public golfer is likely to find east of the Mississippi.
Patriot Golf Course (Bedford) - This nine-holer located on Hanscom Air Force Base west of Boston is highly ranked among military courses and is accessible to civilians.
* Taconic Golf Club (Williamstown) - Williams College is famously tough to get into as a student, and while public tee times are not always easy to secure, it's worth the effort to play the consensus-best Wayne Stiles & John Van Kleek golf course.
Michigan
Belvedere Golf Club (Charlevoix) - If it's good enough for longtime summer resident Tom Watson, it's good enough for any golfer bound for Northern Michigan, with a classic William Watson layout and one of the most charmingly tiny pro shops in golf.
Forest Dunes (The Loop) - Tom Doak brought reversability to modern 18-hole golf at this firm, quirky two-way (Black, Red) gem with fescue playing surfaces.
Marquette Golf Club - Greywalls (Marquette) - The Upper Peninsula of Michigan is tricky to get to, but once you arrive on the first tee of this Mike DeVries gem and see Lake Superior shining in the distance, the trip is well worth the time.
Rackham Golf Course (Detroit) - Donald Ross-designed municipal courses are rare and precious, and this one has long been thought to be worthy of the sort of restoration that other courses of its ilk have received.
University of Michigan Golf Course (Ann Arbor) - When it's not a car park for football games at The Big House, this Alister MacKenzie design is one of the best college courses you can play.
Minnesota
Deacon's Lodge (Breezy Point) - The town of Brainerd and points north are known as a hub of summer golf; this Arnold Palmer design named in honor of the King's father emerged as a popular option after opening in 1999.
Edinburgh USA (Brooklyn Park) - This upscale public course by Robert Trent Jones features a massive putting surface that combines the practice green and 9th and 18th greens.
The Jewel Golf Club (Lake City) - This 2005 Hale Irwin design southeast of the Twin Cities took top honors in the 2026 Golfers' Choice list of the most popular Minnesota public golf courses.
Keller Golf Course (Maplewood) - Decades before Hazeltine National emerged as the Twin Cities' go-to major host, this muni held the 1932 and 1954 PGA Championships. Architect Rich Mandell renovated it in 2013.
Wildflower Golf Course (Detroit Lakes) - This course in the far northwestern portion of the state styles itself a "prairie links" designed by architect Joel Goldstrand.
Mississippi
Dancing Rabbit Golf Club - Oaks (Philadelphia) - Tom Fazio and Jerry Pate collaborated on both of the golf courses at this casino resort, which are said to take inspiration from Augusta National.
Fallen Oak Golf Club (Saucier) - This super-upscale casino course hosted the PGA Tour Champions' in the 2010s and early 2020s.
Natchez Golf Club (Natchez) - Seymour Dunn laid out the original nine holes at this course inside of the city's Duncan Park in 1916, and Bryan Ault added the second nine in 1993.
The Refuge Golf Course (Flowood) - Architect Nathan Crace redesigned this public/resort layout near Mississippi's capital city of Jackson.
Tunica National Golf & Tennis (Tunica) - This Mark McCumber design sits at the hear of the sprawling Tunica Resorts system, which totals more than 6,000 hotel rooms.
Missouri
* Big Cedar Lodge - Top of the Rock (Ridgedale) - Although latter-day designs have perhaps eclipsed it, this garden-tour destination par-3 course began to open people's eyes to the ambition of owner Johnny Morris' vision for golf in his home region.
* Branson Hills Golf Club (Branson) - Before Johnny Morris changed the complexion of the area with his splendid Big Cedar Lodge project, this was the Branson area's #1 public golf course, and it's still a darn good one according to golfers like you, who have it as their favorite layout in the state.
Mozingo Lake Golf Course (Maryville) - This northwest-Missouri public course has been lauded lately as a great value public course by GolfPass golfers, who ranked it #2 in the state in this year's Golfers' Choice.
Pevely Farms Golf Club (St. Louis) - While city muni Normandie Park continues its renovation work, this Arthur Hills design continues to rake in a steady stream of positive golfer reviews.
Swope Memorial Golf Course (Kansas City) - This A.W. Tillinghast muni is just finishing up a full-on restoration project meant to showcase the course's classic design when it reopens in the summer of 2026.
Montana
Big Sky Resort (Big Sky) - This public course in the heart of one of Montana's big ski districts is an early Arnold Palmer design, which debuted in 1973.
Canyon River Golf Club (Missoula) - This Brian Curley/Lee Schmidt course opened in 2006 and has been Missoula's top public-course option ever since.
Old Works Golf Course (Anaconda) - Black sand is an unusual medium for bunkers, but it makes sense for this Jack Nicklaus-designed muni bult on a repurposed mining site.
Whitefish Lake Golf Club - North (Whitefish) - The Flathead Valley in northwestern Montana is mainly known for skiing and fishing, but this popular 36-hole golf complex has developed steadily over more than 90 years from humble beginnings.
The Wilderness Club (Eureka) - Just a few miles from the Canadian border, this remote resort layout is one that visitors tend to consider to be worth the journey thanks to incredible mountain scenery and an engaging design by Nick Faldo, Lee Schmidt and Brian Curley.
Nebraska
* Landmand Golf Club (Homer) - After the success of their Sweetens Cove project in Tennessee, architects Tad King and Rob Collins flexed their considerable creativity on this massive site with sweeping loess hills overlooking thousands of acres of soy and corn fields 90 minutesn orth of Omaha.
Pelican Beach Golf Club (Hyannis) - There are no ocean beaches for hundreds of miles in any direction, but there is plenty of if-you-know-you-know praise for this prairie nine-holer.
Prairie Club - Dunes (Valentine) - Adventurous golfers love this resort, with its two 18-holers and a small but fun Gil Hanse-designed short course.
Tatanka Golf Club (Niobrara) - Paul Albanese and Chris Lutzke laid out this popular, rollicking resort course in the northeast portion of the state, just across the Missouri River from South Dakota.
Wild Horse Golf Club (Gothenburg) - Though Bill Coore & Ben Crenshaw's famous Sand Hills club remains very private, road-tripping golfers consider this design by past C&C collaborators Dave Axland and Dan Proctor to be a publicly accessible version of it.
Nevada
Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course (Stateline) - Even though "Lake Tahoe" is often associated with California, this woods-and-lake resort layout that hosts the annual American Century celebrity hit-and-giggle is just into Nevada. It is also a top-5 2026 Golfers' Choice selection according to your fellow golfers' reviews.
Las Vegas Paiute Golf Resort - Wolf (Las Vegas) - The three Pete Dye courses at this 54-hole complex half an hour northwest of the Strip jockey for position in the affections of golfers - a testament to uniformly high quality of its desert courses.
Toiyabe Golf Club (Washoe Valley) - This Robert Muir Graves design between Carson City and Reno is a perennial Golfers' Choice statewide selection.
Wolf Creek Golf Club (Mesquite) - Jaw-dropping scenery and a unique mix of holes continue to draw golfers to this satellite destination east of Vegas.
Wynn Golf Club (Las Vegas) - You can do pretty much anything on the Las Vegas Strip if you have the cash, including play golf at this Tom Fazio design that serves as the backyard of one of the area's top-ranked hotels. You might even see The Sphere winking at you during your round.
New Hampshire
Bretwood Golf Course - North (Keene) - Owned and operated since inception by the Barrett family, this 36-hole complex's two courses enjoy a pure New England setting, with the Ashuelot River running through the property.
Hooper Golf Course (Walpole) - Wayne Stiles and John Van Kleek are somewhat under-the-radar architects who get their due from well-preserved layouts like Taconic in Massachusetts and this 9-holer, one of the best in New England.
Montcalm Golf Club (Enfield) - Since the historic Hanover Country Club closed in 2020, this upscale semi-private course designed by George Sargent is the home of Dartmouth College's golf program.
Omni Mt. Washington Golf Club (Bretton Woods) - This Donald Ross design was refurbished by Brian Silva to compliment the stately old hotel presiding over it.
Waumbek Golf Course (Jefferson) - The oldest golf course in New Hampshire dates back to 1895, and has counted four American presidents among its guests over the years.
New Jersey
* Architects Golf Club (Lopatcong) - Stephen Kay devoted each hole to the design philosophy of great architects of the past, bringing golfers on a fun and informative journey from Old Tom Morris to Robert Trent Jones, Sr.
Crystal Springs Resort - Ballyowen (Hamburg) - The top-ranked course at this sprawling resort in the northwest corner of the state is a long, open-plan Roger Rulewich design.
Hominy Hill Golf Course (Colts Neck) - This muscular Robert Trent Jones, Sr. design is a quintessential midcentury-modern public course, the domain of Monmouth County.
Rock Spring Golf Club (West Orange) - This Charles Banks design was converted from a private club to a muni for the benefit of northern New Jersey golfers.
Twisted Dune Golf Club (Egg Harbor) - "Links golf" as such is not really possible in America, but by most accounts this modern public course does an excellent job of aping that style.
New Mexico
Los Alamos Golf Course (Los Alamos) - Originally built by the U.S. government's Atomic Energy Commission to help attract scientists and other residents to the nearby laboratories, this public course has received significant upgrades from architects Forrest Richardson and Todd Schoeder in the last five years.
New Mexico State University Golf Course (Las Cruces) - Floyd Farley laid out this college course in the 1960s, and it has been a hit with students and visitors ever since.
Paa-ko Ridge Golf Club (Sandia Park) - With 27 holes, this Ken Dye design is a long-tenured top pick for quality public golf in greater Albuquerque.
Piñon Hills Golf Course (Farmington) - This 1989 Ken Dye design is one of America's remotest munis, tucked away in the northwest corner of the state.
Rockwind Community Links (Hobbs) - Architect Andy Staples' overhaul of this muni in the far eastern part of the state also produced a 9-hole short course, adding to the trend of public facilities with something for every level of player.
New York
Bethpage Black (Farmingdale) - U.S. Opens, a PGA Championship and a Ryder Cup have helped showcase this great NYC-metro state park course to the world, although legions of locals have loved it for almost a century.
* Copake Country Club (Craryville) - Hidden-gem golf courses don't come much more hidden than this one, tucked away next to a holiday lake in Columbia County, just west of Great Barrington, Massachusetts.
* Links at Hiawatha Landing (Apalachin) - Upstate New York is a big and expansive place; this Binghamton-area public course is a solid Hurdzan/Fry design beside the Susquehanna River.
* Monster Golf Club (Kiamesha Lake) - Does Rees Jones total overhaul of this longtime Borscht-Belt course as part of a Resorts World casino resort herald a return to prominence for the Catskills as a destination for golfers? Time will tell.
Seneca Hickory Stick Golf Club (Lewiston) - Niagara Falls is one of America's great landmarks, and this highly-regarded Robert Trent Jones, Jr. design makes for a nice companion activity.
North Carolina
Broadmoor Golf Links (Fletcher) - Golf courses represent a small niche among the upheaval caused by Hurricane Helene in 2024, but the reopening of this Asheville-area public course should help some locals start to rebuild a sense of normalcy.
* Duke University Golf Club (Durham) - As a lifelong UConn basketball fan, it feels only fair to give this small bit of credit to Duke: their golf course is worth playing.
* Pinehurst No. 2 (Pinehurst) - Can you say you truly love Donald Ross golf courses before you've seen his masterpiece? I don't think so.
* Tobacco Road Golf Club (Sanford) - Mike Strantz's surrealist vision in the Sandhills is an essential place to see for anyone interested in boundary-pushing golf.
Wilmington Municipal Golf Course (Wilmington) - A cleanly restored Ross you can walk for less than $50? Sign me up.
North Dakota
Bois de Sioux Golf Club (Wahpeton - This Robert Bruce Harris design and #2-ranked public course in the state per Golfers' Choice 2026 actually has nine holes in North Dakota and nine in Minnesota, but its address is in North Dakota.
Bully Pulpit Golf Course (Medora) - What's better than visiting the Badlands, one of America's wildest landscapes? How about playing golf there.
Edgewood Golf Course (Fargo) - This pleasant Fargo muni is surrounded on three sides by the Red River and, therefore, parts of Minnesota.
Hawktree Golf Club (Bismarck) - Architect Jim Engh's wavy-gravy style seems an ideal match for the up-and-down topography at this course near North Dakota's capital city.
Links of North Dakota (Ray) - The vast majority of Stephen Kay's course design work is found within a couple of hours of New York, but he also authored this public course along the Missouri River that opened in 1995.
Ohio
Avalon Lakes Golf Club (Warren) - This long, challenging Pete Dye design is part of the golf holdings of the nearby Grand Resort, which includes four golf courses overall.
The Golf Club at Stonelick Hills (Batavia) - This highly-rated public course is one of the best in the greater Cincinnati area, Its designer, Jeff Osterfeld, is not a golf architect by trade but the course owner and former CEO of a chain of restaurants.
Manakiki Golf Course (Willoughby) - Cleveland's Metroparks system of golf courses is one of the best groups of munis in the U.S., headlined by this affordable Donald Ross design.
Ohio State University Golf Club - Scarlet (Columbus) - Originally an Alister MacKenzie, layout, noted university alum Jack Nicklaus later added length and difficulty to this more muscular of the two golf courses here.
The Virtues Golf Club (Nashport) - Formerly known as Longaberger Golf Club, with the company's basket-shaped headwuarters building lording over the property, this Arthur Hills course remains one of the state's best public plays.
Oklahoma
Chickasaw Pointe Golf Club (Kingston) - Randy Heckenkemper laid out this scenic golf course in 1999 on Lake Texoma, just across the water from Texas.
KickingBird Golf Course (Edmond) - This complete overhaul of an existing facility has been a hit, from the new-look golf course to a brand-new clubhouse complex.
Shangri-La Resort - Battlefield (Afton) - This newish course is one of the latest attempts at a destination-type par-3 routing.
Tinker Golf Course (Tinker AFB) - This Air Force golf course earned the top spot in 2026's Golfers' Choice list for the state.
WinStar World Casino Resort - Redbud (Thackerville) - This resors has 36 holes by former PGA Tour pro D.A. Weibring and has also hosted high-profile long-drive competitions.
Oregon
Bandon Dunes Golf Course (Bandon) - The course that started the Keiser family's golf empire also put a young David McLay Kidd on the map as a member of golf design's 21st-century vanguard, helping to change the arc of destination golf development forever.
Gearhart Links (Gearhart) - One of the oldest golf courses west of the Mississippi has had a glow-up in recent years thanks to steady stewardship from its owner, former CEO of Columbia Sportswear Tim Boyle.
* Langdon Farms Golf Club (Portland) - "Exclusively public" reads the sign over the entrance to this fun John Fought design with old barns serving as course facilities.
Sunriver Golf Club - Crosswater (Bend) - True to its name, this sturdy and scenic resort layout features several forced carries over the Little Deschutes River, making it one of the anchors of the greater Bend golf scene.
* Trysting Tree Golf Course (Corvallis) - Located in a floodplain along the Willamette River, this lithe Robert Muir Graves design, updated by former Beaver golfer Dan Hixson, features greens elevated above typical spring flood levels.
Pennsylvania
* Jeffersonville Golf Club (West Norriton) - While things progress at the sprawling Cobbs Creek project, this Donald Ross design stands as the Philadelphia area's greatest muni.
Links at Gettysburg (Gettysburg) - Golfers who visit the most famous Civil War battleground memorial can tee it up at this Lindsay Ervin design.
Omni Bedford Springs Resort (Bedford) - The resort dates to the 18th century and its Spencer Oldham/A.W. Tillinghast course was originally built in the late 1800s - more history than you can shake a sand wedge at.
Shawnee Inn & Club (Shawnee-on-the-Delaware) - Most of this classic resort's 27 A.W. Tillinghas holes sit on a large island in the middle of the Delaware River.
* Toftrees Resort (State College) - This Ault/Clark resort layout is a fun parkland test in the Happy Valley.
Rhode Island
Fenner Hill Golf Club (Hope Valley) - This semi-private course opened in 1999 and has been family-owned since inception.
Meadow Brook Golf Club (Wyoming) - Roger Rulewich redesigned an existing course into a long and challenging but popular public course in 2010.
* Newport National Golf Club (Middletown) - This windswept Arthur Hills design brought an upscale country-club-for-a-day feel to the Ocean State, and has recently built a new nine.
North Kingstown Municipal Golf Club (North Kingstown) - This town course near Providence tends to be a go-to site for local U.S. Open and U.S. Amateur qualifying rounds.
* Triggs Memorial Golf Course (Providence) - Donald Ross munis are to be treasured, and Providence locals have loved their classic 18 for a century.
South Carolina
Aiken G.C. (Aiken) - This sporty course that dates to 1912 has been stewarded for decades by the McNair family, who have kept green fees reasonable even as the course's profile rises and Aiken enjoys a new course boom.
* Caledonia Golf & Fish Club (Pawleys Island) - Mike Strantz's first solo design is as pure a Lowcountry golf experience as one can get, and shows off the late architect's singular talent for creating expressive features and unique holes, even on a tight site such as this one.
* Charleston Municipal Golf Course (Charleston) - One of the Munaissance's greatest success stories, architect Troy Miller added a significant amount of interest to a beautiful site, with holes and features inspired by Seth Raynor, who build the city's two greatest private courses, Yeamans Hall and the Country Club of Charleston.
* Harbour Town Golf Links (Hilton Head Island) - Pete Dye's low-profile but infinitely engaging work here, aided by Jack Nicklaus, created a counterpoint to the prevailing midcentury design mode and ushered in the signature architect era.
* The Ocean Course (Kiawah Island) - The 1991 Ryder Cup - the War by the Shore - could not have been a better opening event for this fearsome Pete Dye masterwork, making it a bucket-list course for any avid traveling golfer east of the Mississippi.
South Dakota
The Bluffs Golf Course (Vermillion) - "Golf on the Edge" is how the course website describes his 1996 Patrick Wyss design in the southeast corner of the state.
Elkhorn Ridge Golf Club (Spearfish) - Convenient to the visitor hubs of Sturgis and Deadwood, this 2009 Patrick Wyss design has nine holes on each side of Interstate 90.
The Golf Club at Red Rock (Rapid City) - Considered one of South Dakota's best public courses since it opened in 2003, this Ron Farris design meanders through the Black Hills, just 20 miles from Mount Rushmore.
Medicine Creek Golf Course (Presho) - This nine-holer along I-90 50 miles south of the capital city of Pierre plays on eitherside of its eponymous body of water.
Prairie Green Golf Course (Sioux Falls) - This Sioux Falls muni winds through neighborhoods on the south side of the city.
Tennessee
Gatlinburg Golf Course (Gatlinburg) - At 9, a tee time on a Langford & Moreau design; at 5, dinner and a show in Dollywood.
Gaylord Springs Golf Links (Nashville) - Music City has plenty of entertainment options; some of them are on grass, like this popular resort spot.
* Old Fort Golf Club (Murfreesboro) - Architect Nathan Crace's sensitive renovations make this an under-the-radar Munaissance delight.
Pickwick Landing Golf (Counce) - Like several other states, Tennessee has used golf to draw interest in its scenic state parks, and this layout has done just that since opening in 1973.
Sweetens Cove Golf Club (South Pittsburg) - This wild 9-holer showed other modern courses how to leverage social media for promotion and heled launch architects Tad King and Rob Collins to prominence.
Texas
Black Jack's Crossing at Lajitas Resort - Bumping up against the Mexican border as it does, this mountain-and-desert layout near Big Bend National Park is one of America's most isolated courses, more than two hours from the game's next nearest outpost in Marfa.
Brackenridge Park Golf Course (San Antonio) - "Old Brack" is one of the state's oldest munis; it received some TLC in 2008 in the form of renovation work by John Colligan.
Lions Municipal Golf Course (Austin) - This beloved muni has been under threat of closure and redevelopment for years, but it soldiers on for now as a community golf hub.
* Omni PGA Frisco - Fields Ranch East (Frisco) - This Gil Hanse & Jim Wagner design in the midst of a $500 million resort buildout will get massive exposure when it hosts the 2027 PGA Championship.
* Memorial Park Golf Course (Houston) - This recent PGA Tour and now LPGA major host is a masterclass in economic bunkering; architect Tom Doak's redesign (with input from major champion Brooks Koepka) has fewer than 20 bunkers, but all of them matter.
Utah
Hideout Golf Course (Monticello) - This popular municipal course by Forrest Richardson is well named, located well off the beaten path and far east of the state's population centers.
Logan River Golf Club (Logan) - This northern-Utah golf course under city control is a Robert Muir Graves design that opened in 1993.
Sand Hollow Resort - Championship (Hurricane) - John Fought's 18-hole layout here features one of golf's most thrilling three-hole runs, with numbers 12, 13 and 14 clinging to cliffs with miles-long views out over the greater St. George area.
Soldier Hollow Golf Course - Gold (Midway) - Considered the best of Utah's four state-park golf facilities, this 36-hole facility has two Gene Bates designs.
Thanksgiving Point Golf Course (Lehi) - This course drew some attention when it opened at more than 7,700 yards from the tips in 1997, but it's the 100-plus bunkers that tend to snare visiting golfers on this Johnny Miller layout.
Vermont
Basin Harbor Club (Vergennes) - This out-of-the-way course at a quiet resort on Lake Champlain offers relaxation and respite south of Burlington.
* Champlain Country Club (Swanton) - Like so many New England courses, this one mixes nine holes built before WOrld War II with nine built afterward.
The Golf Club at The Equinox (Manchester) - An old-timey resort is always a fun vacation option, and this one comes with its very own Walter Travis-designed, Rees Jones-renovated golf course.
Ralph Myhre Golf Course at Middlebury College (Middlebury) - Division III college golfers don't often get their own course; members of the community at this elite liberal arts institution count themselves lucky.
Jay Peak Golf Course (Jay) - Vermont specializes in resorts that serve holidaymakers in the winter with skiing and in the summer with golf, and this Graham Cooke design took best-in-state honors on this year's Golfers' Choice state list.
Virginia
Belmont Golf Course (Richmond) - Davis Love III and his design team tried something a little different here, taking a claustrophobic 18-holer that hosted an early PGA Championship and reducing it to 12 regulation holes while also setting aside space for a 6-hole par-3 loop.
* Birdwood Golf Course (Charlottesville) - Love Golf Design have become trusted stewards of several high-profile college courses, including this one at the University of Virginia.
Laurel Hill Golf Club (Lorton) - This Bill Love (no relation to Davis) design built on the site of a former maximum-security prison just south of Washington, D.C. hosted penultimate playing of the U.S. Public Links in 2013.
* Omni Homestead - Cascades (Hot Springs) - Most William Flynn-designed golf courses are private, so the opportunity for vacationing golfers to enjoy one at this historic resort is worth savoring.
* Royal New Kent Golf Club (Providence Forge) - Mike Strantz's attempt to transplant golfers from greater Williamsburg Virginia to the dunes of Ireland makes for a fascinating, slightly chaotic but ultimately rewarding round.
Washington
* Chambers Bay Golf Course (University Place) - Even though course condition complaints during the 2015 U.S. Open created some baggage, the ingenuity and beauty of Robert Trent Jones, Jr. and Jay Blasi's work here has transcended that early criticism.
Gamble Sands Golf Course (Brewster) - After digesting some criticism for his more penal early-career layouts, architect David McLay Kidd turned in a broad, friendly but still engaging effort here on spectacular land in the interior of the state.
The Home Course (DuPont) - The Pacific Northwest Golf Association and Washington Golf oversee and hosts tournaments at this Mike Asmundson design overlooking the Puget Sound, whose tees are sticks of dynamite in a nod to the course's history; the DuPont company used to manufacture explosives on the site.
Indian Canyon Golf Course (Spokane) - Spokane is one of America's best cities for affordable municipal golf, headlined by this Chandler Egan design with spectacular views from its hilltop first and 10th tees and some heaving fairway undulations.
Wine Valley Golf Club (Walla Walla) - Architect Dan Hixson has quietly built a portfolio of solid, fun golf courses, including this one in the far southeastern corner of the state.
West Virginia
Glade Springs Resort - Woodhaven (Daniels) - Glade Springs may play second-fiddle to the likes of The Greenbrier, but this hilly 2010 Ault, Clark & Associates design came in at #1 on this year's Golfers' Choice list for West Virginia.
* The Greenbrier - Old White (White Sulphur Springs) - This resort dates back to the 18th century, and its flagship golf course is a rare C.B. Macdonald and Seth Raynor design open to public play.
Raven Golf Club at Snowshoe Mountain (Snowshoe) - This Gary Player design splits time seasonally with the ski slopes at this resort alongside the Monongahela National Forest.
* Speidel Golf Club at Oglebay Resort - Palmer (Wheeling) - This state-owned resort supplies scenic championship 18-holers by Arnold Palmer and Robert Trent Jones, Sr. at affordable rates.
* Stonewall Resort (Roanoke) - This Arnold Palmer design takes golfers on a tour of some impressive Appalachian scenery.
Wisconsin
Brown Deer Park Golf Course (Milwaukee) - Even though the place where Tiger Woods said "Hello, World" has fallen off the PGA Tour schedule, it is still a worthy pilgrimage spot for fans of the Big Cat and a solid city muni.
* Grand Geneva Resort & Spa - The Brute (Lake Geneva) - The modernist design of Grand Geneva compliments Robert Bruce Harris's midcentury-modern course, with huge, pitched greens guarded by imposing oval bunkers.
* Lawsonia - Links (Green Lake) - This William Langford/Theodore Moreau design is one of America's most engaging inland public courses, with heaving elevation changes punctuated by greens and bunkers shaped by steam shovel.
* Sand Valley (Nekoosa) - The O.G. Coore & Crenshaw course at the resort proved that the secret to Bandon Dunes' success was not entirely the ocean. If you build great golf on sandy soil, people will come, even to quiet central Wisconsin.
* Whistling Straits (Haven) - Pete Dye's Ireland-meets-the-Moon achievement overlooking Lake Michigan has seen plenty of drama at the highest levels of golf in less than 30 years.
Wyoming
Fossil Island Golf Club (Kemmerer) - Fossil hunters flock to this part of the world, and those who also bring their clubs end up at this 9-holer that dates back to 1920 and features two par 5s whose greens share an island.
The Golf Club at Devil's Tower (Hulett) - The Neiman family, several generations entrenched in area logging and sawmills, hired architect Dick Phelps to create this resort retreat within reach of one of America's most dramatic natural monoliths.
Jackson Hole Golf & Tennis Club (Jackson Hole) - Set in an upscale area, this semi-private Robert Trent Jones, Jr. design gives visitors a taste of the good life around these parts.
Riverton Country Club (Riverton) - This 1980 Dick Phelps-designed semi-private is a fixture on our annual Golfers' Choice list of top Wyoming public golf courses.
Rochelle Ranch Golf Club (Rawlins) - This well-reviewed town-owned golf course acquired a new claim to fame in 2023 when long-drive champion Kyle Berkshire unleashed a tee shot of 579.66 yards - a world record - during a made-for-YouTube stunt.
Comments (2)
A pretty good list Tim. I have just made my 17th trip from down-under with my American born wife and achieved a bucket list of playing in 30 of the 50 US states. Out of a total of just 76 different courses I am pleased to say I have played 15 of the courses you have listed in your 250 in 13 different states. There is not one of the courses I played you listed which I regret!
Reference your golf license requirements. You're right about newbies causing problems on and around the golf course. Similar to newbies in airports and on airplanes. But we should use this as an opportunity to teach golf traditions, respect for equipment and the course, respect for other golfers, dress codes, anger control, not hitting up on those in front of you. Establishing a handicap could limit golfers from coming out and frankly aren't needed for new golfers. The industry as a whole and the sport could do a little everywhere to drop hints on the traditions and respect of the game. Everyone who provides golf instruction on YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, magazines, equipment sales, pro shops can all do their part. Even TV during the most watched events.
A pretty good list Tim. I have just made my 17th trip from down-under with my American born wife and achieved a bucket list of playing in 30 of the 50 US states. Out of a total of just 76 different courses I am pleased to say I have played 15 of the courses you have listed in your 250 in 13 different states. There is not one of the courses I played you listed which I regret!
Reference your golf license requirements. You're right about newbies causing problems on and around the golf course. Similar to newbies in airports and on airplanes. But we should use this as an opportunity to teach golf traditions, respect for equipment and the course, respect for other golfers, dress codes, anger control, not hitting up on those in front of you. Establishing a handicap could limit golfers from coming out and frankly aren't needed for new golfers. The industry as a whole and the sport could do a little everywhere to drop hints on the traditions and respect of the game. Everyone who provides golf instruction on YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, magazines, equipment sales, pro shops can all do their part. Even TV during the most watched events.