32 courses in United States
California, United States
With only 250 members and no public access, Cypress Point makes Augusta National look like a muni. It might also be the most beautiful golf course on Earth.
California, United States
Six U.S. Opens, one impossible chip-in, and the most famous coastline in American golf. Pebble Beach rewards anyone willing to pay for the privilege.
California, United States
MacKenzie designed Cypress Point and Augusta National, then built his home at Pasatiempo and never left. The only course its architect chose for eternity.
California, United States
Jack Nicklaus could break par here. He'd still rather be on a boat. The Monterey Peninsula's most demanding course earns every bit of its pirate name.
California, United States
RTJ Jr.'s championship layout hides in California's foothills behind a guarded gate. Bring your resort booking, your caddie budget, and your A-game.
California, United States
A 1987 attempt to build Scotland on the California coast, now closed for a Gil Hanse renovation that promises to finish the job. Bagpiper still included.
California, United States
RTJ Jr. gutted his own creation, killed every blade of rough, and rebuilt Poppy Hills from the mud up. The Monterey Peninsula's sharpest public sleeper.
California, United States
A left-handed general designed Bayonet to fit his slice, and seventy years later it still punishes golfers at municipal prices on the Monterey Peninsula.
California, United States
Jack Neville designed Pebble Beach for $695, then Pacific Grove's back nine for $66. Same coastline, same architect, very different credit card statement.
California, United States
While Pebble Beach shivers in fog, Quail Lodge sits in Carmel Valley sunshine, serving ground-game geometry on a flat, walkable dairy farm turned sanctuary.
Florida, United States
On a former phosphate mine in central Florida, Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw built something impossible—a walking-only links course that rivals anything in the state.
Georgia, United States
They won't let you play Augusta National. Not you, not me, not your rich uncle. And somehow, that makes us want to play it even more.
Nebraska, United States
In the Nebraska Sandhills, Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw built what many consider America's purest golf experience—on land so perfect it seems impossible.
New Jersey, United States
The world's most intimidating golf course doesn't forgive mistakes. It doesn't offer second chances. And it doesn't care about your handicap.
New York, United States
Charles Blair Macdonald stole the best holes in British golf, shipped them to Long Island, and accidentally invented American course architecture. Getting invited is the hard part.
New York, United States
America's oldest club site proves that restraint, tradition, and firm turf still matter more than 7,800-yard brutality and stadium seating.
New York, United States
A top-100 championship course that charges $160 and doesn't care about your feelings. Bethpage Black is public golf with private-club teeth.
New York, United States
Seth Raynor's final masterpiece sits on a remote island off Connecticut. It's among America's finest courses, and almost no one will ever play it.
New York, United States
Robert Trent Jones Sr. built a championship layout on Long Island's windswept tip, then New York handed it to the public for under $100. The catch? Getting there.
New York, United States
Tillinghast built five courses at Bethpage. The Black gets the majors. The Red gets the golfers who actually want to enjoy themselves.
Oregon, United States
Nobody built Pacific Dunes. Tom Doak just walked Oregon's coast until the dunes told him where the holes were. They were right.
Oregon, United States
Coore and Crenshaw built a course on Oregon's most exposed clifftop and forgot every bunker. The wind said it would handle things from here.
Oregon, United States
A greeting card magnate and a 27-year-old Scotsman built walking-only links five hours from Portland. The industry called them crazy. The tee sheet called them booked.
Oregon, United States
Coore and Crenshaw turned their backs on the Pacific and routed through three ecosystems and one hill so steep the walking-only resort sent a shuttle.
Oregon, United States
Fairways 100 yards wide. The largest greens in the world. Three-putts from 80 feet. Old Macdonald is Bandon Dunes' most misunderstood masterpiece.
Oregon, United States
Coore and Crenshaw put 13 par-3s on Bandon's wildest dunes, saved a threatened plant, and built the afternoon round that outshines most people's morning.
Oregon, United States
Dan Hixson burned stumps for 200 days on a cattle ranch to build it. The resort caddies up the road have been thanking him on their days off ever since.
Pennsylvania, United States
On just 126 acres, Merion Golf Club's East Course has hosted more major championships than courses twice its size—proving that brilliance needs no excess.
Pennsylvania, United States
The fastest greens in championship golf. The Church Pews that swallow drives. Nine U.S. Opens that separate pretenders from champions. Oakmont doesn't negotiate.
South Carolina, United States
Pete Dye was given two miles of Atlantic Ocean coastline and told to build a Ryder Cup course in eighteen months. He built something brutal, brilliant, and permanently associated with golf's most dramatic day.
Washington, United States
A former gravel mine in Washington State became America's most controversial—and most ambitious—public links course. The U.S. Open proved it. Sort of.
Wisconsin, United States
Pete Dye's audacious links-style masterpiece on Lake Michigan. Public access. 2021 Ryder Cup venue. 560 bunkers. This is American golf's most improbable triumph.