The Best Golf Courses in All 50 States for 2024-2025, Ranked!

In the weeks since we introduced the latest US Top 100 AND Top 100 you can play ranking, our audience has been asking for more. After all, whether it’s new construction, renovations, or restorations, high-quality courses are constantly coming online to the point where a number of courses that golfers would love to play are missing from our Top 100 rankings. .One hundred points – or even 200 points – is simply not enough to do justice to the breadth of the American golf scene.

To cast a wider spotlight and appeal to several hundred other courses, we’re now publishing our top rankings by state, as well as — coming soon! — best courses by region (Northeast, Southeast, Heartland and West). No other country on earth has a deeper bench of exceptional courses.

Ranking of GOLF courses: Top 100 in the world | Top 100 in the US | Top 100 you can play | The 100 most valuable courses in the USA | America’s Best Municipal Courses | America’s best courses for $100 or less | Top 100 in the UK and Ireland | Top 100 in Asia-Pacific | The 100 shortest courses in the world

Think of the abundance of golf assets from coast to coast: the links, the clifftop, the prairie, the park, the desert, the coast. You name it, you can find it in the U.S. Just look at a state like Wisconsin as a microcosm for the rest of the country and how far it has come in just the last few decades. In 1985, the Badger State might not have ranked in the top half of the nation’s golfing states. Now, it’s probably in the top 5. Who knew the state’s geographic bounty beyond the fact that it borders Lake Michigan? Today, its glacial moraines and large stretches of sand have golfers flocking there.

I wonder which country could be next? Florida and Texas have several high-profile designs that are ready to open or whose construction is well underway. Developers and architects are making the most of the vein of sand that starts in Pinehurst and runs through South Carolina, Georgia and Florida. Great golf is no longer limited to major metro areas. Witness the great work at Dornick Hills in Ardmore, Okla. (population: 25,000) or the new courses springing up around Aiken, SC (population: 33,000).

For deep dives into the latest course trends, check out our new travel podcast Destination GOLF. Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts: APPLE | SPOTIFY | HEART | AMAZON

After all, one of golf’s great attributes is that it gets you outside—and for geographic diversity and splendor, few places can compete with the US.

You can browse our state listings below. Enjoy!

The best golf courses in all 50 states for 2024-25

(arranged alphabetically)

To browse our lists of states in map form, visit our new site Course finder.

Best Golf Courses in Alabama (2024-25)

The best golf courses in Alaska (2024-25)

The best golf courses in arizona (2024-25)

Best Golf Courses in Arkansas (2024-25)

The best California golf courses (2024-25)

Best Golf Courses in Colorado (2024-25)

The best Connecticut golf courses (2024-25)

Best Golf Courses in Delaware (2024-25)

Best Golf Courses in Florida (2024-25)

Best Golf Courses in Georgia (2024-25)

The Best Golf Courses in Hawaii (2024-25)

Best Golf Courses in Idaho (2024-25)

The Best Golf Courses in Illinois (2024-25)

Best Golf Courses in Indiana (2024-25)

The Best Golf Courses in Iowa (2024-25)

Best Golf Courses in Kansas (2024-25)

The best golf courses in Kentucky (2024-25)

Best Golf Courses in Louisiana (2024-25)

The best golf courses in Maine (2024-25)

The best golf courses in maryland (2024-25)

The best golf courses in Massachusetts (2024-25)

The best Michigan golf courses (2024-25)

The best golf courses in minnesota (2024-25)

The best golf courses in Mississippi (2024-25)

The best golf courses in missouri (2024-25)

The best golf courses in montana (2024-25)

The best golf courses in nebraska (2024-25)

The best Nevada golf courses (2024-25)

The best golf courses in new hampshire (2024-25)

The best New Jersey golf courses (2024-25)

The best golf courses in new mexico (2024-25)

The best New York golf courses (2024-25)

The best golf courses in North Carolina (2024-25)

The best golf courses in North Dakota (2024-25)

The best golf courses in Ohio (2024-25)

The best golf courses in Oklahoma (2024-25)

The best golf courses in Oregon (2024-25)

The best golf courses in Pennsylvania (2024-25)

The best golf courses in Rhode Island (2024-25)

The best golf courses in South Carolina (2024-25)

The best golf courses in South Dakota (2024-25)

The best golf courses in Tennessee (2024-25)

The best golf courses in Texas (2024-25)

The best golf courses in Utah (2024-25)

The best golf courses in Vermont (2024-25)

The best golf courses in Virginia (2024-25)

The best golf courses in Washington (2024-25)

Best Golf Courses in West Virginia (2024-25)

The best golf courses in Wisconsin (2024-25)

The best golf courses in Wyoming (2024-25)

How we rank the courses

There is only one variable in the voting process for Ranking of the top 100 GOLF courses: the ballot, which is always in flux with new builds, restorations, and even deletions if the quality of the course deteriorates.

For ours Top 100 in the US AND Top 100 you can play lists, each panelist was given a ballot consisting of 609 items. Alongside the list of courses were 11 “buckets” or groupings. If our panelists deemed a course to be among the top three in the US, they marked the first column. If they believed the rate was between numbers 4-10, they checked that column, followed by 11-25, 26-50 and so on up to 250+ and even a column for “remove”.

Panelists were also free to write in courses they felt should have been included on the ballot.

Points were assigned to each bucket; to arrive at an average score for each course, we divide its total score by the number of votes. From these point totals, courses are then ranked accordingly. It’s an intentionally simple and straightforward process. Why? Because it has historically produced results that are widely praised. Like the game itself, there’s no need to overcomplicate things or try to fix something that already works so well.

The key to the methodology is the experience and expertise of our panel. Of course, our process is only as good as the panel itself. Hailing from 15 countries (and that’s counting Scotland, England, Northern Ireland and Wales as one, the United Kingdom), each of our 127 carefully selected panelists has a keen eye for architecture, both regionally and even in the global one.

Broadcasting our type panel would be impossible, except to say that they all share a wanderlust for golf. More than 55 years separate our youngest panelist from our oldest. Playing abilities vary from plus handicaps to the low double digits. If 30 panelists have viewed a course, you are almost certain that every set of tees has been used. Many of our panelists have played more than 1,000 courses in over 20 countries. In the ranking world, experience is key. Communication between panelists is enhanced by keeping the group relatively small and tight-knit.

Because we don’t prescribe a set method for evaluating courses like other degrees do, no one opinion carries the day – our degree is a democracy. Some panelists believe that enjoyment is the ultimate goal, and thus prioritize design attributes such as width and playing angles, while frowning on the need to consistently hit balls in thick shape. Other panelists assess the challenge and demands of hitting each club in the bag. Still others consider the environment of a course and the general environment of great importance, thus emphasizing the setting and naturalness of the course. In the end, allowing reviewers to freely express their tastes is what produces the desired eclecticism in our Top 100 lists.

The integrity of the panelists is vital. Voters with any affiliation or association with eligible courses should flag such conflicts. Any vote that falls outside the statistical norm is investigated. The panelists know not to let the quality of their game influence their vote – the same for a luxury or club experience. While wealth can make for a more memorable outing, that’s not what golf course listings are all about. Our focus is on design and architecture. We study the course, not the trappings around it.

Our promise to you with every order is that we will give our best and most diligent efforts. After all, you are the judge and jury of our success.