That should just add to its popularity.100 Greatest Public History: Ranked since 2013. 55. The Ozarks of southern Missouri are not tall, but their ridge-and-valley topography provides a sense of heightened elevation. What did they expect? Bend, Ore. / 866-372-1003 / pronghornresort.com Jack Nicklaus (2003)7,379 Yards, Par 72 / Points: 58.9293When it first opened, Pronghorn was strictly private and its Nicklaus Course was ranked second by Golf Digest among America's Best New Private Courses of 2004. 94. But how can golf built on non-descript farmland compete with a course set on dramatic bluffs overlooking Lake Michigan? 11.More about this course , Bandon, Ore. / 888-345-6008 / bandondunesgolf.comTom Doak & Jim Urbina, with George Bahto, Bradley Klein,Karl Olson & Mike Keiser (2010)6,944 Yards, Par 71 / Points: 62.3008When it opened in 2010, we predicted Old Macdonald would eventually become the most popular course at Bandon Dunes Resort, mainly because it has wide fairways and generous greens. Indeed, Bulle Rock is named for a direct descendant of the very first thoroughbred stud brought to America. Previous ranking: No. Yes, a golf ball carries farther at its 6,500-foot elevation, but Paako also plays long because both nines work up mountain foothills for several holes before playing downhill. Those seven holes (6 & 7, 10 & 11 and 16 through 18) are lined with tall pines and cedars and bring to mind a collection of holes in the Colorado Rockies. Architect: Jack Nicklaus. 12 (on America's 100 Greatest Courses) Crystal Downs, a neighbor every northern Michigan that visitor wants to play, even though it's private and Arcadia is public. 8 is one of Tom Fazio's most versatile designs, as each hole plays differently from the previous. Hot Springs, Va. / 800-838-1766 / thehomestead.comWilliam Flynn (1923)6,873 Yards, Par 70 / Points: 59.5748As Wayne Morrison and Tom Paul point out in their massive, comprehensive biography of William Flynn, Seth Raynor was originally consulted about building the course, but declared the property insufficient. Highest ranking: No. Macdonald (1915) / Lester George (R.2006) 7,246 Yards, Par 70 / Points: 59.1852 C.B. It's not a set equation of 'if-then'. 26, Golf Digest's Best New Course of 2014 award, clubcorp.com/clubs/firestone-country-club. Top 25 public Texas golf courses in 2020 Wilderness Golf Course Lake Jackson The Links at Land's End Yantis Tierra Verde Golf Club Arlington Squaw Valley Golf Course - Apache Links Course Glen Rose The Old at White Bluff Golf Club Whitney Hideout Golf Club Brownwood Moody Gardens Golf Course Galveston La Cantera Resort - The Resort Course Overall, it was a year of movement with 17 courses debuting or returning after an absence. The remaining holes are a stern hike through hills covered with majestic Monterey pines (which, sad to say, may someday disappear to pitch canker, but are being replaced in some areas with cypress trees). 32, 2009-10. Our new 2021 ranking of America's 100 Greatest Public Courses will help lead the way Bluffton, S.C. / 866-706-6565 / palmettobluff.comJack Nicklaus (2004)7,171 Yards, Par 72 / Points: 58.3870Built some 35 years after nearby Harbour Town Golf Links, May River is an interesting contrast in Jack Nicklaus's portfolio. Highest ranking: Current ranking. Between fairways and tree lines, they established vast bands of native hardpan sand dotted with clumps of wiregrass and scattered pine needles. And the Nicklaus design is worthy of high praise. 22, 2017-18. And there are three easier courses at Cog Hill for high handicappers. Extremely wide fairways and large putting surfaces allow the exposed course to be playable in extreme winds, and with its fast arrival to the top 15 alongside Bandons other courses, Sheep Ranch has accomplished the most difficult of feats for resort coursesdistinction among equals. Because of its water reduction, the course was recently awarded a Green Star environmental award by Golf Digest. For our 2016 Best New competition, Doak wanted the entire 36 holes considered as one entry. Year Built: 1994. As with all courses in the TPC network, TPC Colorado was designed with an eye toward hosting professional events (it hosts a tournament on the Korn Ferry Tour), and at the mile-high altitude that mandates the ability to stretch out to 8,000 yards or more. Previous ranking: No. GOLF's 2021-22 ranking of the best public courses in the Caribbean, Mexico and Bermuda With overall rank, course name, city, state, architect and year opened. At over 6,000 feet elevation the ball flies roughly 10-percent farther than at sea level, and you can cross two items off your all-50-state bucket list by playing here as the ninth hole crosses the state line into California. No room for a practice range, either. Why mess with history?100 Greatest Public History: 2017. 4, remodeled by Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner in 2019. Theres a lot going on, but as they say, when you take on The Bull, you get the horns. Highest (and previous) ranking: No. Previous ranking: No. Highest ranking: No. It should be higher. Highest ranking: No. 15, 2003-04. 26, 2003-06. Our new 2021 ranking of America's 100 Greatest Public Courses will help lead the way (RELATED: The best courses in. Previous ranking: No. Quintero, a former private club, is a scenic and playable delight.100 Greatest Public History: Ranked since 2017. 46, 2015-16. Kapalua's Plantation Course is ranked No. Pebble's sixth through eighth are golf's real Amen Corner, with a few Hail Marys thrown in over a ocean cove on eight from atop a 75-foot-high bluff. Previous ranking: No. 4 course at Pinehurst has always been something of a Mulligan Stew. Previous ranking: No. Its most controversial hole is the short par-4 14th with a thumb of a green personally fashioned by Crenshaw. Some greens have been toned downand the fine fescue surfaces have been allowed to transition to Poa annuasome fairways have been narrowed and a few new tee angles introduced. Golf Digest's course list for the layman golfer with access to public tracks only. Winner of Golf Digests Best New Public Course Under $75 in 2007, the scale and positioning of the bunkering, for reference, brings to mind Bethpage Black, while the topography of streams and ravines recall Mike Strantzs no-longer-open Stonehouse on the opposite side of Richmond, which won the magazines Best New Upscale Course in 1996. Highest ranking: No. 39.More about this course . Some greens are perched like those at Pinehurst, others are massive with multi-levels, like those at St. Andrews. Amateur, Erin Hills hosted the 2017 U.S. Open, the first time the event was ever played in Wisconsin.100 Greatest Public History: Ranked since 2013. May 03, 2021 I got several fine laughs reading Golf Digest's "2021-2022 ranking of America's 100 Greatest Golf Courses", which was touted as being "ready for its close-up" by authors Derek Duncan and Stephen Hennessey. College golf courses can be the most challenging of assignments for architects because of the need to accommodate the broad range of abilities that play the course day to day. They reduced the irrigation to mere single rows in fairways to prevent grass from ever returning to the new sandy wastelands. It's not just the greatest meeting of land and sea in American golf, but the most extensive one, too, with nine holes perched immediately above the crashing Pacific surfthe fourth through the 10th plus the 17th and 18th. But among them, the River Course at Kingsmill Resort continues to stand out and remains a strong expression of Dyes early design period, more in the mode of Harbour Town than Sawgrass. Where the Bluffs Course is a feast for the eye, the South Course is a treat for the intellect. Location: ShenZhen, China. Stevens Point, Wis. / 715-345-1600 / www.sentryworld.comRobert Trent Jones Jr. (1982)7,145 Yards, Par 72 / Points: 58.2029The lush, tree-lined SentryWorld won Golf Digest's first-ever Best New Public award in early 1984, but never made our 100 Greatest Public ranking until this year, as the highest-ranking newcomer. 2 courses subtler stateliness. Its nickname is, after all, Dubsdread. Sanford, N.C. / 877-284-3762 / tobaccoroadgolf.comMike Strantz (1999)6,557 Yards, Par 71 | Points: 58.3597The late Mike Strantz was the game's most unconventional course designer, and Tobacco Road was perhaps the best example of his unorthodoxy. 32, 2007-08. For major events, like the 2012 U.S. Women's Open, Dye's original 18 was used. / 812-855-7543 / thepfaucourse.comSteve Smyers (2020)7,908 yards, par 71 / Score: 56.7416. Meet the newcomers on our 2021/2022 Top 100 Courses You Can Play list By: Nick Piastowski May 4, 2021 Mammoth Dunes in Nekoosa, Wis. You might argue Manele has been perpetually underranked, starting with its finish on Golf Digests ranking of Best New Resort Courses in 1994, well behind World Woods Pine Barrens course, which is currently 90th on this list. (Rumor has it Coore located a hole outside the property line and owner Mike Keiser reluctantly bought that additional parcel.) Previous ranking: No. The home hole, with a pond in front of the green, started as a gambling par 5 but today is a daunting par 4.100 Greatest Public History: Ranked since 2003. The 17th has spawned over a hundred imitation island greens in the past 30 years. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Mid-Pines GC/kevinmurraygolfphotography.com. Golf Digest started their Top 100 Public Courses in America rankings in 2003. Highest ranking: Current ranking. 29. (1) Wade Hampton G.C. Though not a stop on any of the professional tours, Edgewood Tahoe is one of golfs most televised courses as the annual host of the American Century Championship. Highest ranking: No. Berthoud, Colo. / 970-663-5063 / tpc.com/coloradoArt Schaupeter (2019)7,991 yards, par 72 / Score: 56.5501. 16, 2005-06 & 2011-12. These are the cream of the crop. Previous ranking: No. Previous ranking: No. Wynn wanted Fazio to design a similar course for his Beau Rivage casino hotel on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. 33, 2017-18. 100 Greatest Public History: Ranked since 2013. As we wrote back in 2005, "its options outnumber its rock outcroppings, and there are outcroppings galore. To make the layout even more exciting during tournament play, Steve Wenzloff of PGA Tour Design Services remodeled several holes, most significantly the 12th, which will now be a drivable par 4.100 Greatest Public History: Ranked since 2003. Lemont, Ill. / 866-264-4455 / coghillgolf.comDick Wilson (1965)7,554 Yards, Par 72 / Points: 57.7972Some tour pros were critical of Rees Jones's remodeling of Cog Hill No. Highest (and previous) ranking: No. Now its accessible to the public, who can reserve rooms and rounds through new stay and play packages. Great public golf can be found in every corner of the United States. It doesn't get more Irish than that.100 Greatest Public History: Ranked since 2003. (It's walking only on the Straits. Previous ranking: No. Besides being named America's Best New Upscale Public Course of 1998, Bulle Rock hosted the LPGA Championship from 2005 through 2009.100 Greatest Public History: Ranked since 2003. Arcadia Bluffs has been overshadowed by No. It hosted both the U.S. Senior Women's Amateur and PGA Tour's Frys.com Open in 2013 and was the site of the U.S. Women's Open in 2016.100 Greatest Public History: Ranked since 2009. For putting surfaces, Fazio built crowned greens with greenside swales, intended as a salute to Donald Ross and Pinehurst No. After grassing both greens and their bold surrounds in the same MiniVerde Bermuda turf, it was decided to mow everything at the same low height of cut. Bear Lake, Mich. / 800-494-8666 / arcadiabluffs.comDana Fry & Jason Straka (2019)7,412 yards, par 72 / Score: 58.1482. 18, 2017-18 through present.More about this course , Photo Credit: Courtesy of Jeffrey R. Bertch, 888-936-9360 / frenchlick.comPete Dye (2009)8,102 Yards, Par 72 / Points: 60.6000If you're foolish enough to want to play Pete Dye at French Lick from the tips, you'll do a lot of walking back from previous greens to those tees. Highest ranking: No. Highest and previous ranking: No. On one hand the design needs to be enjoyable for students, faculty and local play, and on the other it has to have the mettle to test the skills of the best amateurs in the country. Every hole is edged by sawgrass, every green has tricky slopes, every bunker merges into bordering sand dunes. Those soaring views were opened up even further, revisions were made to the bunkers and greens, and a new 18th hole was built on a previously inaccessible ledge of land farther out over the precipice of the mountain. There are many lakes in play, including long Grob Lake that dominates the left side of the par-3 17th and par-5 18th. 1, 2003, 2015-16 through presentMore about this course , Bandon, Ore. / 888-345-6008 / bandondunesgolf.comTom Doak (2001) / 6,633 Yards, Par 71 / Points: 64.8645The second course built at Bandon Dunes Resort. The flower beds are treated as lateral hazards.100 Greatest Public History: Ranked since 2017. It has too much rub-of-the-green for the comfort levels of many tour pros, two dozen of whom will tackle the Straits again in the 2021 Ryder Cup.100 Greatest Public History: Ranked since 2003. Previous ranking: No. Hanses and Wagners new iteration ties No. Previous ranking: No. Theres a stream that comes prominently into play, as well as an irrigation lake over which the par-3 11th plays, but there are just 19 trees on the course, mostly ancient oaks. Highest ranking: No. Highest ranking: No. The front nine is mostly tree-lined, the back more open, with both touching on ponds, marsh and Pine Valley-like sandy wastelands. Sand Valley (Sand Valley) 7.52 Nekoosa, Wis.; Bill Coore, Ben Crenshaw (m) Best 30 under 30: The top golf courses opened since 1992. 800-345-6008 / bandondunesgolf.comBill Coore & Ben Crenshaw (2005)6,788 Yards, Par 71 / Points: 62.0223Bandon Trails might be ranked lower than some of its counterparts at Bandon like Pacific Dunes and Old Macdonald, but weve long considered it such a compelling layout that it needs no seascape to command ones attention. New York is first, with 16 courses in. Its not wise for a rebel force to stand toe-to-toe against an empiresuccess depends upon more radical measures. Built from sand spoils resulting from a massive phosphate strip mine, with some piles formed into dunes reaching 75 feet into the air, the Red has a wonderful mix of bump-and-run links holes and target-like water holes. Highest ranking: Current. Amateur win in 1959 and Annika Sorenstam's first U.S. Women's Open win in 1995. Sheboygan Falls, Wisc. (The companion Blue Course, a Tom Doak design, is ranked No. Unlike Shadow Creek, it's built on rolling forest and wetlands, with no need for mammoth earth-moving.100 Greatest Public History: Ranked since 2009. Told to route the course to preserve as many trees as possible, Hills made the brawny Virtues course wander gracefully from ridge top to valley, testing every shot with uphill, downhill and sidehill lies. Highest ranking: No. Previous ranking: No. 47. Highest ranking: No. Amateur in 2018 and its sixth U.S. Open in 2019.100 Greatest Public History: Ranked since 2003. 42, 2017-18. Chandler Egan 1929, Pebble Beach, CA) PACIFIC DUNES GOLF . Best public golf courses 2021-22: GOLF's Top 100 Courses You Can Play. Highest ranking: No. Southern Pines, N.C. / 800-747-7272 / pineneedles-midpines.comDonald Ross (1928) / Donald Ross (R.1937)7,062 Yards, Par 71 | Points: 57.1713Whenever golfers visit Pinehurst, they always book rounds at Pinehurst No. In fact, the USGA is bringing back the Women's Open again in 2022.100 Greatest Public History: Ranked 2003-04 & since 2007. Add several water hazards that hearken back to the 16th at Augusta (a hole which Trent Jones designed, by the way), and you have what some panelists consider to be Trent's finest work. Bay Harbor consists of 27 holes, but we rank its Links 9, which plays mostly on a plateau overlooking Lake Michigan, and its Quarry 9, which dips in and out of a lakefront stone quarry.100 Greatest Public History: Ranked since 2003. Its most controversial hole is the short par-4 14th with a thumb of a green personally fashioned by Crenshaw. The five opening holes, in Pine Valley-like sand dunes, are an all-too-brief encounter with the Pacific seacoast. Course Rankings. Highest ranking: No. According to Golf Digest, Wisconsin is home to two of the Top 10 ranked courses you can play in this country and four of the Top 20, fully 20% of each. 36.More about this course . Wild Horse is perhaps their finest, laid out on the southern edge of the Nebraska sand hills and patterned after the great Sand Hills Golf Club to the northwest, which both Proctor and Axland helped build. Pebble Beach. 26 Streamsong Blue, Streamsong Black was reshaped from a decades-old phosphate strip mine, which designer Gil Hanse described, As good a golf grounds as weve ever worked with. Hanse provided character by shaping such unique touches as a hidden punchbowl par-4 green, a hole with dual greens and a windswept features throughout the course. We allowed that, and it won. Bandon Trails might be ranked lower than some of its counterparts at Bandon like Pacific Dunes and Old Macdonald, but weve long considered it such a compelling layout that it needs no seascape to command ones attention. Photo Credit: Northern California Golf Association. California (9) 1. These scenic golf courses, carved out of natural terrains, feature the standard 18 holes, and are curated by renowned course architects. Those lakes come in prominently on many holes, particularly on the 11th through 13th, dubbed Alligator Alley. With its elaborate greens and spectacular bunkering fully restored by Jim Urbina, it is a classic example of Mackenzie's art. Highest (and previous) ranking: No. Golfers' Choice January 7, 2021 In Santa Cruz, Pasatiempo is the best Alister Mackenzie course that is open to the public in the U.S. and made the 2021 Golfers' Choice Top 50 in the U.S. Jason Scott Deegan/Golf Advisor Previous ranking: No. 9 1990)7,404 Yards, Par 72 | Points: 61.1407Only Pete Dye could have convinced owner Herb Kohler to rip apart an award-winning course and still come out a winner. 100 Greatest Public History: Ranked since 2007. Free unlimited Golf Digest Top 100 Public Courses discount courses, learning program, set of lectures and many more. Highest ranking: No. 2, he created a landscape more suitable for motocross racing, with mammoth hills and deep craters. The bunkers here are some of Fazio's most elaborate.100 Greatest Public History: Ranked since 2015. 26 and the Black course is 34th.) The 2022 Top 100. It has twice been ranked among America's 100 Greatest, from 1995 to 1998 and from 2005 to 2006. It was a little-used recreation that only insiders knew about. HugeCourses. Part of a gated community, McLemore offers attractive overnight packages, and a new 245-room hotel and resort will soon be added to the collection. 31. Using "friendly contours" that divert shots away from bunkers and toward targets, designer Kidd wants everyone to have fun, maybe even shoot personal best scores. 44, 2017-18. What's more, the holes are a more natural fit into the windswept terrain than the mammoth-mounded Straits Course. At Big Cedar Lodge, Missouri's largest golf resort with five courses, including the nation's only public 18-hole design by Tiger Woods, 2020 was record year and 2021 bookings have been so. A nasty deep bunker now sits in the center of the 18th fairway.100 Greatest Public History: Ranked since 2009. Peoria, Ariz. / 928-501-1500 / quinterogolf.comRees Jones & Steve Weisser (2000)7,208 Yards, Par 72 / Points: 56.5957Perhaps no course in the greater Phoenix area provides a better experience of the area's diverse topography. So while Mammoth Dunes has the widest fairways in American golf, Streamsong Black now has the biggest greens in the country.100 Greatest Public History: Ranked since 2017-18. Bend, Ore. / 541-388-2582 / tetherow.comDavid McLay Kidd (2008)7,293 Yards, Par 72 / Points: 56.7729A decade after David McLay Kidd established his architectural reputation with the original Bandon Dunes course, he returned to Oregon, settled in Bend and built another dazzling course, Tetherow. Cascades was ranked by Golf Digest as one of America's 100 Greatest for 40 years and is No. Previous ranking: No. 51, 2013-14. Wolcott, Colo. / 866-873-3759 / redskygolfclub.comGreg Norman (2003)7,480 Yards, Par 72 / Points: 57.4345There are two 18s at Red Sky Ranch, one by Greg Norman, the other designed by Tom Fazio, No. Highest ranking: No. 19.More about this course . Theres an admirable polish and sophistication to the holes at Spring Creek as they wind attractively through a quiet property of hardwoods and pine, with the first nine circling out broadly through undisturbed nature and the second moving out and back along the Spring Branch stream. Previous ranking: No. Previous ranking: No. Previous ranking: No. 231-439-4028 / bayharborgolf.comArthur Hills, with Stephen Kircher (1998)6,845 Yards, Par 72 / Points: 57.6225One of three grand "new Pebble Beaches" that debuted in the late 1990s, Bay Harbor was ranked third in Golf Digest's survey of Best New Upscale Public Courses of 1999, behind the twin juggernauts (and fellow Pebble Beach clones) Bandon Dunes and Whistling Straits. Previous ranking: No. Orange County National (Panther Lake) Barefoot Resort & Golf's Love Course (Courtesy of Barefoot) T151. Photo Credit: Brian Oar/courtesy of Four Seasons, University Place, Wash. / 253-460-4653 / chambersbaygolf.comRobert Trent Jones, Bruce Charlton & Jay Blasi (2007)7,585 Yards, Par 72 / Points: 60.1416By the time Golf Digest named Chambers Bay as America's Best New Public Course of 2008, the USGA had already awarded the course the 2010 U.S.