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The game of golf has never been healthier.
While TV ratings might be down and professional golf in various states of chaos, the simple fact of golfers playing the game they love continued its impressive post-pandemic growth in 2024.
When you play more, the community that GolfPass has built thrives. You and your fellow golfers submitted more than 274,000 reviews of roughly 7,300 courses around the world last year. In total, we've collected more than 2.4 million reviews since launching as GolfAdvisor.com in 2014 to help you decide where to play. Every time you submit a review, it serves as a valuable resource to your fellow golfers.
As we've done the past decade, we've taken all this valuable review data to create our best-of golf course lists for Golfers' Choice 2025. These 50 U.S. golf clubs and courses stood out above the crowd.
In order to be eligible for this list, a golf course must a) be publicly accessible and b) have received at least 10 reviews in the previous year. In determining the final rankings, we weigh several factors, each of which correspond to the way our reviews are structured:
- Overall Rating
- Value
- Conditions
- Layout
- Pace of Play
- Staff Friendliness
- Off-Course Amenities
For some context, more than 5,000 U.S. courses (5,194 to be exact) received at least one review in 2024, and 3,393 received at least 10 reviews to be eligible.
Our Top 50 U.S. Public Golf Courses will look a lot different than most other best-of lists from other golf publications and websites. Many of those course lists only allow a small group of panelists to vote, whereas ours is all-inclusive. Anybody can review a golf course on GolfPass as long as they are a paying customer: an often important distinction.
Everyday golfers aren't getting comped tee times. Most magazine panelists tend to rate a golf course for its architecture, amenities and conditions for their Top 100 lists. GolfPass ratings are determined by the whole experience, from the friendliness of the staff to the pace of play and the value for dollar for the money you just spent. Everybody can agree that TPC Sawgrass and Pebble Beach are two of the best courses in America, but do they deliver what they cost to play? That's where the nuance of customer reviews come into play.
Courses that over-deliver on what they charge tend to succeed most. That's why you will see some $350 courses compare favorably with $50 courses in our Top 50. As long as the courses satisfy their customers, they have the potential to secure consistently great reviews.
For simplicity's sake, we make all of our Golfers' Choice 2025 articles user-friendly. Golfers can click on the photo of each course to either learn more about the facility or even book a tee time (in most cases). We appreciate everyone who left a review in 2024 and hope you will continue to do so again this year. If you want to get involved for the first time, click here to get started.
We have split the top 50 into two easy-to-scroll and read articles. This one contains courses ranked from no. 50 down to no. 26. If you wish to skip directly to the Top 25 U.S. Public Golf Courses, click here.
Top 50 U.S. Public Golf Courses - Golfers' Choice 2025
50. Shadow Ridge Golf Club
Green fee: $179-$229
What they're saying: "First rate. One of Palm Desert’s finest. Challenging but fair. Had a great day in the sun. Playing partner from LA says it’s the only course he plays. I see why." - williemack60
49. Deer Island Country Club
Green fee: $62-$77
What they're saying: "Simply the best! Perfect condition, lots of water to avoid but beautiful and fun." - blackonyxbill
48. Indian Wells Golf Resort - Celebrity Course
Green fee: $129-$229
What they're saying: "Memorable. First time playing the course and it lived up to the hype. Super pretty and lush. Pay attention to the GPS as there is water on the back in places you cannot see with the naked eye. I see why people come back and play this course over and over again." - DaCobra
47. Pinehills Golf Club - Jones Course
Green fee: $90-$160
What they're saying: "First time at Pinehills and very impressed by the property. Course is very challenging but well kept from tee to green. Several carries to the fairway and a few elevated tee shots. Practice facilities are in great shape as well and the staff is eager to help if needed. Will definitely be back." - mczapor3
46. Waldorf Astoria Golf Club
Green fee: $225-$325
What they're saying: "Glad we went. First time playing the course. Great condition & layout. Got stuck behind some slow players. Fortunately they quit after 9 holes. This place is a bit pricey for my liking but worth playing once." - brysomi
45. Harbor Shores
Green fee: $120-$225
What they're saying: "So the only negative response is that the course was soaked from a previous nights rain shower, so the course was wet and played longer. Otherwise, great course with fantastic staffing across the board. The Greens are the most undulating I’ve ever played in my 20+ years of playing all over the US. Bring your A game and most importantly the putter will be your most important club in the bag." - RamClassic
44. The Walker Golf Course At Clemson University
Green fee: $35-$95
What they're saying: "Great course. This course is challenging from any set of tees. Really enjoy playing here. It will be really nice once the new clubhouse is finished." - Timmothy5747964
43. Creekmoor Golf Club
Green fee: $70
What they're saying: "Highly recommended. Just a great golf course in great condition." - salvador1
42. Annbriar Golf Course
Green fee: $52-$75
What they're saying: "Great value. Course was in great shape, especially considering the torrential downpour we had a few days prior." - Tommyteetimes
41. The Golf Club Star Ranch
Green fee: $60-$79
What they're saying: "Great course to play! Our first time playing the course. It was in great condition and the staff was very friendly and accommodating. We teed off at 7:42 a.m, and got in a 3.5 hour round; was fantastic and we beat the heat!" - bmhumes24
40. Wintonbury Hills Golf Course
What they're saying: "Great course. One of my favorite courses in Connecticut!!! Wintonbury Hills is an excellent course. The staff is very friendly. The course is always in an excellent condition. I love to play there." - J3sadegmail
39. Olde Beau Resort & Golf Club
What they're saying: "Great Views, Tough Course. This would be a challenging course to walk and it is challenging to play because many fairways are rather narrow and there are not many flat lies. But the scenery is gorgeous and most certainly worth the outing." - LarryCrossan
38. Washington County Golf Course
Green fee: $32-$94
What they're saying: "A gem tucked away in the corn fields. Staff was friendly, pro shop had a great selection of items. Course was in excellent condition." - richrubel
37. Covered Bridge Golf Club
Green fee: $45-$89
What they're saying: "Love the course. Enjoyed the day at Covered Bridges! The course was in great shape despite being wet due to over night rain. Will be back again when in the Louisville area." - scpierce
36. Thornberry Creek At Oneida - Legends Course
What they're saying: "Outstanding Track. I golfed here in late October and I was impressed with the conditions that course was in. Not to mention the beautiful fall leaves and vibrant colors. The greens were not yet aerated. Overall, very pleased with my round." - bcollette5
35. Grand Traverse Resort & Spa - The Wolverine
Green fee: $80-$140
What they're saying: "Worth the $$$. In excellent shape - challenging. Pace of play was great. Nice setup on the turn for good and drinks. Cart girl makes several runs. Great experience" - Tmoreino118
34. Ashland Golf Club
Green fee: $36-$65
What they're saying: "Excellent. Greens run true such well groomed fairways and fast." - Agolfdude
33. Las Vegas Paiute Golf Resort - Snow Mountain Course
Green fee: $109-$139
What they're saying: "I’ve played here 3 times in the past — course was fresh from overseed and was in spectacular condition. Staff is amazing, pace of play was 4:10 minutes. Entire facility is probably best in Vegas for condition, views, play — highly recommend if you’re visiting or a local." - kingairca
32. Crumpin-Fox Club
Green fee: $79-$99
What they're saying: "The staff here is always pleasant and professional.We played in late fall conditions and the course was in great shape. The greens stilled rolled very smoothly and the fairways and rough were perfectly cut. If you haven’t played this course yet, you need to put it on your list of courses to play next year." - Pattihaas
31. Cherry Oaks Golf Course
Green fee: $27-$58
What they're saying: "Great course. Course was in great condition. A few spots in a couple a fairways were needing work but otherwise it was great. The layout is pretty open and fairly forgiving making it good for beginners. Pace of play was good but still got backed up quite a bit on the last few holes. Will definitely go back again as the cost per round was very reasonable." - maparicio
30. The Ranch Golf Club
Green fee: $70-$110
What they're saying: "Extremely challenging. The course is very nice but is challenging for the average golfer. Greens are fast and hilly. Nice to play a course but frustrating as well. Will play again." - wfleming444
29. Maderas Golf Club
Green fee: $179-$299
What they're saying: "Fast Greens. Course in great condition. Greens way too fast this time for “regular” golfers. Made it a little less enjoyable and greatly slowed play." - looney531
28. Raven Golf Club At Snowshoe Mountain
What they're saying: "Great conditions to play. The turf is great here with the ability to take divot and not like a cheaper course with no sod. I’m looking forward to playing again." - jamiefuda21
27. Links At Land's End
Green fee: $75-$105
What they're saying: "When I arrived and laid eyes on the course and how it plays around the beautiful Lake Fork I KNEW it was a course worth every penny! Great greens, plush course and definitely a course I’m playing again this weekend with some buddies!" - Davidshaulis32
26. Incline Village - Championship Golf Course
What they're saying: "Beautiful. Tough course but a vacation round with my spouse so I played the white tees. Love the course and surroundings. Totally prefer this to any links courses. Amazing how it's built on the side of a mountain yet has fairly even landing areas on every facet of the course. A must play if near Lake Tahoe." - Drew1992
To see the Top 25 U.S. Public Golf Courses, continue reading here.
Comments (1)
There are two courses on this list that I have broke 100. The Ranch and Witonbury Hills. Both were beatiful and very challenging.