Last year I wrote about the most overrated AND the most underrated courses I have played.
I thought it would make sense to bring this concept back to talk about my favorite courses within the US
This is a personal list. These 10 courses aren’t necessarily the “best” I’ve ever played, but they’re the ones I dream about the most as I’m falling asleep recounting past golf swings.
Before I get into it, here are some of the criteria I look for in a preferred course.
- The ability to play—Is it reasonably playable for my skill level (10 handicap) or does the difficulty sap the enjoyment of the experience?
- Intriguing design—What stands out from the layout? Interesting strategy? Green entertainment complexes?
- Wow factor— Do you get any inspiration in the course? Is it memorable? Do you have butterflies walking around the club? Is there a story?
- conditions-Are the conditions average, solid or truly exceptional?
- Experience—Was the service particularly good/bad? The big caddy? Fun food or other nice features?
With that in mind, here are my 10 favorite courses I’ve played in the US
10. Chambers Bay (University Place, Wash.)
While Chambers has a good serve of holes I don’t like, the opposite is also true. There are hardly any holes where I am apathetic.
Among the good ones: No. 4, 7, 10, 15 and 16. Among the bad: No. 8, 12, 17 and 18.
The setting in Puget Sound is life-affirming. The rugged terrain, dramatic dunes and fun elevation changes add to the experience. And the greens were gorgeous (they’ve been completely redone since the 2015 US Open debacle).
That major championship gave Chambers a bad reputation, but true golf connoisseurs know this is a great place for recreational golf.
The fact that we can have arguments about so many holes on this course – good and bad – is far preferable to playing a course that is lacking in that department.
9. Pittsburgh Field Club (Pittsburgh, Penn.)
OK, yes, I have a few private clubs here.
This place is old-school cool (and old-school money) all the way. It dates back to the 1920s.
When you walk behind the clubhouse, you can see most of the course, which hosted the 1937 PGA Championship, stretched out below you. The layout is responsive and straightforward, the kind of place that’s right in front of you with no gimmicks.
This is more of a vibe choice because it feels like you’re stepping back in time. A symbol of this is the 17th hole which appears an elevator bringing golfers up to the 18th par.
8. Spyglass Hill (Monterey, California)
I am a huge advocate for Spyglass.
The first five holes are pretty phenomenal as you head out to the water. The scope of No. The 3, 4 and 5 is among my favorite three-hole sequences ever.
While there are some soft moments for the remainder of the round, the wooded portion of the course deserves more love than it gets. There are some cool par-3s (Nos. 12 and 15) and great par-5s (Nos. 11 and 14).
I also found the conditioning and service here to be excellent.
7. TPC Sawgrass (Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.)
It’s so much tighter in person than it looks on TV. The tee shots on the second par-5 and par-4 15th come to mind.
Man, those are some narrow hallways. The pros make it look easy.
Not every famous course is like this, but I think Sawgrass really benefits from a) The Players Championship history and b) The anticipation you feel throughout the round as the famous last three holes await.
From the moment you walk onto the property, you constantly think of 16, 17 and 18.
Everything about this place is refined. The range is world class. The grass is perfectly groomed. The French toast at the club is rich (in a good way).
There are so many outstanding The golf holes here that do not have the same PR team as the no. 17. The par-4 fourth and par-5 11th are among my favorite holes in the country (hmm… sounds like a new story idea).
The closing stretch lives up to the hype – although if your life depended on rating a hole, you’d run to the 17th tee in no time. No wind, it’s a pretty simple shot.
6. We-Ko-Pa Saguaro Course (Fort McDowell, Ariz.)
I’m a desert golf junkie and it’s hard to beat a place like We-Ko-Pa northeast of Scottsdale.
This is definitely one place where conditioning takes it to another level. Lush strips of freeway slicing through the seemingly endless desert … intoxicating.
The Saguaro course designed by Coore and Crenshaw has generous fairways, but the approach shots are more subtle, something I really appreciate in a layout. Difficulty is high but playable. It’s also more mobile than most desert courses, which is a huge bonus.
Service, clubhouse, practice facility are also great.
We-Ko-Pa is desert golf in its purest form.
5. Pacific Dunes (Bandon, Ore.)
Few courses in the world can rival the beauty of Pac Dunes.
On a sun-splashed day, the cliffside holes of the Pacific Ocean are almost golf heaven.
One thing I will say is that this is probably the hardest course on my list. Here you can sink into oblivion, especially when the wind blows. That’s just a fact of life when you set up a course in the Oregon sand dunes right next to the ocean.
Offsetting this difficulty factor for me is how perfectly this place is designed. The direction is excellent. Pac Dunes holds your hand on the first few holes as you head out to the water and then turns the volume up to 11, deftly weaving around the dunes to deliver stunning views and mind-blowing golf shots where the firmness of the terrain could be used.
They kicked my ass here, but I want to go back again.
4. Streamsong Red (Bowling Green, Fla.)
I fell in love with Streamsong in the early days before the Black course, hotel and other facilities were built.
While I love the black and blue courses, red will always have a special place in my heart.
Another Coore-Crenshaw on this list, Red strikes a balance of being creative, fun, and intriguing without the gimmicks. Green complexes are tempting. It’s just one of those places that looks so beautiful. It’s my favorite piece of land on the property.
There are challenging elements here, but the fairways are forgiving and there are plenty of birdie holes.
3. Passing Time (Santa Cruz, California)
The first time I played Pasatiempo, I drove a ball down onto the practice green and absent-mindedly hit a putt into the hole 10 yards away. By the time I looked up, the ball was about 15 feet beyond the hole.
oops.
Moments later, I was staring right back at the par-4 1st as the cool mist hung heavy in the air. As the round progressed, the fog lifted to reveal a beautiful, warm sun.
Pasatiempo felt special in both conditions.
Every hole is expertly designed. The bunkering is magnificent, the fairways are often beautifully framed by mature trees and there are virtually no putts.
I want to call the 14th hole a clinic on how to test golfers without being overly penalized. The fairway has two levels and you are better off on the right side because it gives a better view (and angle) of the hole.
Punishments for strays are generally not catastrophic in Pasatiempo, but it is a place that will paper cut you to death. Go over the hole? You may be seeing your putt roll a lot farther than you’d expect.
There is just something that screams golf here. The course is equal parts welcoming and intriguing.
2. Tobacco Road (Sanford, NC)
Similar to how a band you like starts playing small clubs and eventually goes on a stadium tour, I fell in love with Tobacco Road before it was good.
When I was attending the Professional Golf Management program at NC State, we regularly took trips up to the Sandhills. No course in the area hit me like Tobacco Road.
When you stand on the first peak and look down the fairway between the massive sand dunes, it really is the definition of a “wow” moment. Designer Mike Strantz offers plenty of those “I can’t believe this is real” type holes on what is a super fun and not too difficult course.
I often dream about Nos. 13 and 14. The first is the oddest of the par-5s with a well-protected green surrounded by dunes. A very long flagpole is needed to see the top of the flag. Then back to the par-3 14th, a beautiful and terrific tee shot into a watery green to the right.
Golf is supposed to be fun and the tobacco lane is fun. There are so many shots where you think, “I can’t wait until I get to this hole.”
1. Seminole (Juno Beach, Fla.)
As someone who grew up in South Florida, playing Seminole meant a lot to me.
I drove by the club all the time growing up. The word “Seminole” brought all these visions of the cleanest golf course imaginable. I revered him as most people adore Augusta.
When I got into golf writing, I was invited to cover the Coleman Invitational, a national mid-morning event held there every April. Just walking through the course, I instantly fell in love.
And then I was invited to play for the 2021 Walker Cup media day. I honestly consider that my favorite day in golf. It’s one I’d desperately want to repeat if I had the option.
They say you shouldn’t meet your heroes, but this one lived up to the hype.
Some people call the course overrated and I think that’s because it doesn’t stand out compared to other standout tracks. Seminole is close to the Atlantic Ocean, but water hardly comes into play. No real signature holes. When you walk on the ground and stand on the first peg, there is this feeling of “Wait, that’s it?“
But like a painting of infinite detail, Seminole’s brilliance can be found in its nuance and simplicity—the kind of place you can play 100 times and learn something new each time.
Seminole offers ridiculously wide fairways. Everyone’s in the game – until you get your approach.
My caddy said that the statistics they keep is The BFG (green VISIT in regulation) because hitting the green and staying on the green are two completely different things.
The course perfectly straddles the line between treacherous and inviting, a great example being the short par-4 12th where a fairway leads to a subtle wedge shot in front of a crowned green protected by bunkers.
When you’re walking around Seminole on a sunny day, the salty air swirling around you and the palm trees swaying drunkenly back and forth, it’s basically perfection. And that’s not even talking about the pink stucco club and the legendary dressing room.
So there you have it. Which of these courses have you played? What are your favorite courses?
Let me know below in the comments.
Main photo caption: 11th hole at Pacific Dunes. (GETTY IMAGES/David Cannon)
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