A view of Sedge Valley at Sand Valley Golf Resort in Wisconsin.
Kevin Murray
Last week, GOLF published its latest ranking of The best 100 courses you can playa robust list of spots accessible to average Joe players across the globe. Everyone has their favorites, and so do we. In an effort to inform, educate and motivate you for your next golf getaway, here are our staff’s picks for the top 100 favorite public courses played.
Top 100 Courses You Can Play: Our Staff’s 9 Favorites
Sand Valley (Sedge Valley), Nekoosa, Wis.
The dunes of the Pacific still remain mine favorite public course I’ve ever played, but you already know all about Pacific Dunes, so instead I’ll highlight a new option, Sedge Valley at Sand Valley Golf Resort, which recently opened and was one of most memorable rounds I’ve played in years. The course is fun, strategic and playable and boasts one of the most exciting 18 holes I can remember. – Josh Berhow
Kiawah Island, Ocean Course, Kiawah Island, SC
Kiawah Island is a stunning combination of beauty and treachery at every turn. Unlike many wetlands around the Lowcountry, the marshes on Kiawah Island are almost immovable. That said, there’s a lot of room to play if you get lost on the right side, which was surprising to me. When it’s a major, the rough is allowed to grow and hits the fairway harder, but for regular resort play, it’s very playable if you start from the right tip. The views of the Atlantic Ocean just steps away were incredible and the ocean breeze made the shots a blast. The two-dog finishing hole is one of the most fun par-4s I’ve played in a while (and not just because I made birdie). – Jack Hirsch
Kapalua (Plantation), Lahaina, Hawaii
In terms of putting, the Kapalua Plantation course is hard to beat. I’ve played it twice, both times to commemorate special occasions: my high school graduation and my honeymoon. The allure of the course is obvious: You’re on Maui; it’s euphoria-inducing right away. It may be a tourist course, but the Plantation is tough – especially when the wind blows. And these changes in height are no joke! But those views, man. What can be compared? From the first shot to the famous 18th, it is simply a joy to experience. – Jessica Marksbury
Channing Benjamin
Tot Hill Farm, Asheboro, NC
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, difficult fairways, exciting 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 salvage and incorporate parts of the old cattle ranch it was built on into his design. This includes the farmhouse he lived in while designing this incredible course, which you can stop by before or after your round. – Maddie MacClurg
Taconic Golf Club, Williamstown, Mass.
It is hard to imagine a more one-sided entry than this; I played my college golf at Williams, which owns Taconic. But that doesn’t mean I’m wrong. It just means that I know the specific joy of leaving class at 2:25, running the few minutes down Spring Street, and making it to the first floor in a 2:40 hour. It means I recognize the view of the city from the 8th, the tops of the centuries-old red-brick dormitories peering out at the trees, the domed ice rink beside them, the lights from the soccer field in the foreground, the hole-in-the-white church in the distance . It means I know the race against daylight on an October evening, gray in the sky but orange in the trees. It means he knows the strange maneuvering of the front nine and the brutal test that awaits you once you hit No. 10. And it means he knows the joy of standing on the 14th table, where a young Jack Nicklaus once made an ace and looks out on a 270 degree view of rural New England perfection. What a place. – Dylan Dethier
Courtesy photo
Pinehurst no. 4, Pinehurst, NC
No. The 4 is one of the most beloved courses at Pinehurst Resort for a reason. It’s fun and forgiving – great for handicappers like me looking for a rewarding round. – Connor Federico
Pastime, Santa Cruz, California.
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 go to Santa Cruz, California, anyone can play one of their best Pasatiempo courses. Pebble Beach and Cypress Point may get most of the pub in the area, but just 50 miles north you can play a course that holds its own against both. Best of all? It is open to the public. Not only does the course boast some of the best bunkers 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
Patrick Koenig
George Wright, Boston, Mass.
My love for George Wright is inseparable from my earliest memories of him. In my late teens, when I took up golf, this was one of the munis I learned to play. Of course, its origin was lost on me at the time. If you had asked me in those days what I knew about Donald Ross, I might have guessed that he was the father of Diana Ross. However, some 40 years have passed, and while my playing hasn’t improved much, my appreciation for architecture has. Like many great performances of his quality, George Wright doesn’t beat you with length. But it wins you over with its many features and charms. It has gorgeous dogs, cool granite outcrops flanking its fairways and blind shots that drop to compelling green complexes. Its closing range is as good as any in municipal golf, and the maximum rate for 18 holes is $62. Does our Top 100 list contain “best” models? Absolutely. But George Wright is where I fell in love with a game that gave me a living, served up a lifetime of indelible moments and provided me with a nursery of friends. To measure only the merits of a course on architecture is to lose sight of what golf is all about. – Josh Sens
