2013-14 Ranking: America's 100 Greatest Public Courses
(Rank among 2011's 100 Greatest listed in parentheses)
CLICK ON COURSE NAMES FOR MORE INFO.
1. (1) PEBBLE BEACH G. LINKS
Pebble Beach / 800-654-9300 / pebblebeach.com
6,828 yards, Par 72 | Points: 68.1169
Architecturally, there are a few better-designed courses than Pebble Beach. (After all, it's only No. 6 on America's 100 Greatest.) But no course tugs more at one's emotions. (Nine holes right on Carmel Bay -- the Nicklaus victories -- Watson's chip-in.) This is the course every fan wants to play, No. 1 on our ranking of
Most Fun Public Courses last September. Our latest round took over 5 hours, as it seemed like every player wanted to film his every shot for memory's sake. Well, it's Pebble Beach. We relaxed and went with the flow.
2. (3) WHISTLING STRAITS (STRAITS)
Haven, Wis. / 800-344-2838 / whistlingstraits.com
7,790, Par 72 | Points: 65.4037
Pete Dye transformed dead-flat two-mile stretch of Lake Michigan frontage (once slated for a nuclear power plant) into what many call the Pebble Beach of the Midwest, although it's more akin to Ireland's Ballybunion. Where the Straits is superior than either of those two iconic courses is in its par-3 holes. All four border Lake Michigan and are outstanding.
3. (2) PACIFIC DUNES
Bandon, Ore. / 888-345-6008 / bandondunesgolf.com
6,633 yards, Par 71 | Points: 65.2226
Every hole causes your jaw to drop, every shot makes your pulse quicken. Plus, it's hard to believe that Pacific Dunes is not entirely natural, that some dunes were manmade, that some of the sand pits that edge fairways or greens weren't simply carved by ocean gales. Seamless architecture is what minimalist design is all about. Where the land was deficient, Tom Doak enhanced it in ways not readily detected.
4. (4) THE OCEAN COURSE
Kiawah Island, S.C. / 888-854-2924 / kiawahgolf.com
7,356 yards, Par 72 | Points: 64.9984
On the opposite coast from Pacific Dunes and far different. Some might call The Ocean Course a links, but water comes into play with annoying frequency and only some of the greens accept low, running approach shots, on Paspalum turf that is not conducive to bump-and-run. The Ocean Course is simply another example of the ingenuity and versatility of designer Pete Dye. Anyone who finds a resemblance to Dye's Whistling Straits in this course is pulling your leg.
5. (6) SHADOW CREEK
North Las Vegas, Nev. / 866-260-0069 / shadowcreek.com
7,560 yards, Par 72 | Points: 64.0959
One of a kind, and maybe Tom Fazio's finest work ever. Shadow Creek plays like a musical composition in three movements, with alternating heavy beats and light moments, building to an resounding crescendo. Every golfer should experience Shadow Creek at least once. Few remember Shadow Creek started out as a private course. It was Golf Digest's Best New Private Course of 1990.
6. (5) BANDON DUNES
Bandon, Ore. / 888-345-6008 / bandondunesgolf.com
6,732 yards, Par 72 | Points: 63.3770
Maybe not as visually mesmerizing as Whistling Straits (which it beat for Best New Upscale Public Course of 1999), but talented golfers consider Bandon Dunes to be the consummate shotmaker's course, as good a total examination of one's game as there is in America. What's more, the holes are a more natural fit into the windswept terrain than the mammoth-mounded Straits Course. Bandon Dunes is also ranked sixth among our
50 Most Fun Public Courses.
7. (8) PINEHURST RESORT (No. 2)
Pinehurst, N.C. / 800-487-4653 / pinehurst.com
7,495 yards, Par 72 | Points: 63.2606
Pinehurst No. 2 has long been considered a great second-shot course because of its convex greens that demand precise iron play. After preparing the course for the 1999 U.S. Open, architect Rees Jones proclaimed No. 2 to be the greatest recovery-shot golf course in America. With Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw re-introducing hardpan rough and distressed turf off every fairway, No. 2 is now a great test of tee shots, too.
8. (7) BETHPAGE STATE PARK (Black)
Farmingdale, N.Y. / 516-249-4040 / nysparks.state.ny.us
7,366 yards, Par 71 | Points: 63.1606
Gone are its rock hard tees, gravely bunkers, patchy fairways and thatchy greens. Bethpage Black now has the conditioning of a U.S. Open or Tour stop, both of which it has been in recent years. No need to sleep in the parking lot just to get a tee time anymore (just go online), but you may still have to verify your handicap. As a sign near the first tee states, Bethpage Black is an extremely difficult course recommended only for highly skilled players.
9. (9) TPC SAWGRASS (Players Stadium)
Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. / 904-273-3235 / tpcsawgrass.com
7,215 yards, Par 72 | Points: 63.0514
When TPC Sawgrass first opened, most tour pros hated it. (Remember Jack Nicklaus's description of those original greens? Like hitting a 5-iron onto the hood of a Volkswagen, he said.) So Pete Dye ripped up 10 greens to make them fairer. No need for average players to dread this fantasy come to life. Dye insists he designed the course so high handicappers can shoot their handicap if they'll simply use the appropriate tees and tack their way around the course, ignoring the heroic carries where real disaster awaits.
10. (New) ERIN HILLS G. CSE.
Erin, Wisc. / 866-772-4769 / erinhills.com
7,823 yards, Par 72 | Points: 62.9113
Despite the legend, Erin Hills wasn't designed initially to host a U.S. Open. Its original concept was a simple lay-of-the-land layout that would prove Mother Nature is indeed the best golf architect. The concept changed -- some greens moved, one blind par-3 eliminated -- as the quest for a U.S. Open grew. Erin Hills will host the event in 2017.
11. (11) SPYGLASS HILL G. CSE.
Pebble Beach / 800-654-9300 / pebblebeach.com
6,960 yards, Par 72 | Points: 62.6363
What is surprising to first-time players at Spyglass Hill is how hilly the course is, even on dunes holes like the par-4 second. The Monterey Pines are far taller than they appear in photos, too. But there's an intimacy to the holes, like the tandem par 3s -- 12 and 15 -- with tiny greens fronted by deep pools of water -- and an element of whimsy -- like the skinny apostrophe of a green on the fourth.
12. (NEW) OLD MACDONALD
Bandon, Ore. / 888-345-6008 / bandondunesgolf.com
6,978 yards, Par 71 | Points: 62.6150
When it opened three years ago, we predicted Old Macdonald would eventually become the most popular course at Bandon Dunes Resort, mainly because it has wide fairways and generous greens. At the urging of "Design Fairness proponent" Arthur Little, owner Mike Keiser installed a set of Royal Blue tee markers at 4,258 yards. That should just add to its popularity.
13. (10) ARCADIA BLUFFS G.C.
Arcadia, Mich. / 800-494-8666 / arcadiabluffs.com
7,300 yards, Par 72 | Points: 62.2723
The rugged dunes-like topography of Arcadia Bluffs was always there, just hidden beneath a forest that was removed to construct the course. What makes this lakefront layout different than other lakeside ones, say Whistling Straits or Bay Harbor, are its distinctive stacked-sod bunkers. They're not circular pot holes found at most links. Arcadia's are curvaceous, with vertical faces that bend and roll around both concave and convex corners.
14. (15) BLACKWOLF RUN (RIVER)
Kohler, Wis. / 800-344-2838 / blackwolfrun.com
7,404 yards, Par 72 | Points: 61.7320
The first encounter with the serpentine Sheboygan River is from the tee on the gorgeous par-4 fifth, so far right that it merely frames the picture. But it creeps ever closer on the next few holes, always in the slice zone, until the reachable par-4 ninth, where it taunts us to carry it and go directly for the green. The river hugs the next four holes too, then disappears, only to reappear on the last three holes, this time on the left. What a water park.
15. (12) KARSTEN CREEK G.C.
Stillwater, Okla. / 405-743-1658 / karstencreek.com
7,407 yards, Par 72 | Points: 61.5329
Karsten Creek, winner of Golf Digest's Best New Public Course title in 1994, was developed by Oklahoma State University and thus is also often at the top of rankings of the best collegiate courses in America. Bold in its features and contours, this is Tom Fazio in a surprisingly challenging mood. Karsten Creek is potentially one of the toughest layouts on America's 100 Greatest Public.
16. (14) BANDON TRAILS
Bandon, Ore. / 800-345-6008 / bandondunesgolf.com
6,765 yards, Par 71 | Points: 61.5018
Bandon Trails is much like Spyglass Hill on the Monterey Peninsula, not directly adjacent to the Pacific Ocean but still a tremendous romp through coast terrain. Its opening and finishing holes are in more rugged sand dunes than Spyglass, and while its forest holes might lack the towering drama of the Monterey pines found at Spyglass, the tumbling topography of Bandon Trails provides a majesty all its own.
17. (18) THE PETE DYE CSE. AT FRENCH LICK RESORT
French Lick, Ind. / 888-936-9360 / frenchlick.com
8,102 yards, Par 72 | Points: 60.9761
If 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. From the 6,400-yard white markers, however, you'll breeze though an 18. Pete Dye and his companions have twice played the course from those tees in under three-and-a-half hours. It's an incredibly easy walk for a mountain course. Pete Dye at French Lick was Golf Digest's
Best New Public Course of 2009.
18. (21) HARBOUR TOWN G. LINKS
Hilton Head Island / 800-955-8337 / seapines.com
7,101 yards, Par 71 | Points: 60.9168
The 16th at Harbour Town has contributed a term to golf. Back when Pete Dye was building the course, he was asked to dispose of a huge quantity of sewer sludge from housing developments on Hilton Head, so he dug a big pit to the left of the par-4 16th, had it dumped in there, then covered it with acres of sand. The late golf writer Charlie Price, who lived on the island, took one look at it and dubbed it a "waste bunker." Actually, that's the sanitized version of what he called it. But "waste bunker" is the term that stuck.
19. (17) KAPALUA (Plantation)
Kapalua, Maui, Hawaii / 877-527-2582 / kapaluamaui.com
7,411 yards, Par 73 | Points: 60.8925
Here's a curious fact: Kapalua's Plantation Course, built on old pineapple fields, is irrigated by the same system used a hundred years ago to water those fields. A century-old stone aqueduct brings water from the top of a rain-soaked volcano down to a pond that sits 800 feet above the course. The pond supplies Kapalua's sprinkler system, which is pressurized solely by gravity.
20. (16) THE QUARRY AT GIANTS RIDGE
Bibawik, Minn. / 800-688-7669 / giantsridge.com
7,201 yards, Par 72 | Points: 60.8816
It doesn't get the press that courses like Bandon Dunes, Pacific Dunes, Whistling Straits or Arcadia Bluffs, but The Quarry at Giants Ridge plays very links-like with its collection of fairway speed slots, greenside bankboards and backstops and reverse camber greens. Its very inventive design also demands some aerial play too, and its 13th is a drivable par-4 that's nearly as wide as it is long, with three alternate routes to a 100-yard-wide green.
21. (13) THE HIGHLAND COURSE AT PRIMLAND
Meadows of Dan, Va. / 866-960-7746 / primland.com
7,053 yards, Par 72 | Points: 60.7456
The Highland Course at Primland, named in 2007 as the year's
Best New Public Course in the $75 and Over category, sits atop a mountain plateau overlooking some of the most unusual scenery in America, a deep river valley dotted with tall spirals of rock. The course design by veteran British architect Donald Steel is austere in its green contours and bunkering, as if not to overpower the setting.
22. (19) THE PRINCE COURSE
Princeville, Kauai, Hawaii / 800-826-1105 / princeville.com
7,378 yards, Par 72 | Points: 60.5374
The Prince is a prince, indeed. It was Golf Digest's Best New Resort Course of 1990 and a member of America's 100 Greatest from 1993 until this year, when it dropped off. (It's presently No. 107 on our Second 100 Greatest). The course was closed during 2011 to allow for a total renovation. The new and improved Prince now has Seashore Paspalum turf and some of the surrounding jungle cut back for playability.
23. (20) FOREST DUNES G.C.
Roscommon, Mich. / 939-275-0700 / forestdunesgolf.com
7,116 yards, Par 72 | Points: 60.4085
Forest Dunes is another course, like Spyglass Hill, that has portions that look like Augusta National (pristine turf, pines and gleaming white sand bunkers) and other portions that look like Pine Valley (rugged holes edged by native sand dunes deposited by the nearby Au Sable River). Forest Dunes has clever greens with subtle contouring, with some treacherous pin positions just beyond false fronts of steep putting surface or just beside fall-away ear lobes leading off the sides of greens.
24. (30) PASATIEMPO G.C.
Santa Cruz, Calif. / 831-459-9155 / pasatiempo.com
6,500 yards, Par 70 | Points: 60.3351
Pasatiempo is arguably Alister Mackenzie's favorite design. After all, he lived along its sixth fairway during the last years of his life. With its elaborate greens and spectacular bunkering fully restored by Tom Doak, Pasatiempo is a classic example of Mackenzie's art. The back nine, playing repeatedly over deep barrancas, is a test for even the most talented of golfers.
25. (25) CHAMBERS BAY
University Place, Wash. / 253-460-4653 / chambersbaygolf.com
7,585 yards, Par 72 | Points: 60.0956
By the time Golf Digest named Chambers Bay as
America's Best New Public Course of 2008, the course had already been awarded the 2010 U.S. Amateur and 2015 U.S. Open by the U.S. Golf Association. In the Amateur, it proved to be hard, both in the firmness of its dry fescue turf (Jones called the fairways, "hardwood floors") and in difficulties around and on the windswept greens. Some greens have been toned down for the Open, which should be a rare experience.
26. (24) THE HOMESTEAD (Cascades)
Hot Springs, Va. / 800-838-1766 / thehomestead.com
6,667 yards, Par 70 | Points: 59.8292
As Morrison & Paul point out in their comprehensive biography of William S. Flynn, Seth Raynor was originally consulted about building the Cascades course, but declared the property insufficient. So the relative unknown Flynn got the job and made the most of it. Cascades was ranked by Golf Digest as one of America's 100 Greatest for 40 years and is No. 129 on our exclusive
Second 100 Greatest ranking in 2013.
27. (22) MAY RIVER G.C. AT PALMETTO BLUFF
Bluffton, S.C. / 866-706-6565 / palmettobluff.com
7,171 yards, Par 72 | Points: 59.8185
Built some 35 years after nearby Harbour Town Golf Links, May River is an interesting contrast in Jack Nicklaus's portfolio, an equally low-profile layout with a number of bump-and-run approach shots but with several Pine Valley-like waste areas. It has a classic routing with the first nine turning clockwise through forest, the back nine circling counter-clockwise and both touching repeatedly on the wetlands of namesake May River.
28. (23) PRONGHORN CLUB (Nicklaus)
Bend, Ore. / 866-372-1003 / pronghornclub.com
7,379 yards, Par 72 | Points: 59.7940
When it first opened, Pronghorn was strictly private and its Nicklaus Course was ranked by Golf Digest as No. 2 among America's Best New Private Courses of 2004. Two years ago, the club (which also has a Fazio-designed 18), began allowing public play on its Nicklaus track, whose back nine may be the most delightful Jack has ever designed, with gambling holes and gorgeous scenery at every turn.
29. (31) THE BROADMOOR G.C. (East)
Colorado Springs / 800-634-7711 / broadmoor.com
7,355 yards, Par 72 | Points: 59.6572
Few golfers recognize that the East Course at The Broadmoor is a combination of Donald Ross holes (one through six and 16 through 18) and Robert Trent Jones ones (holes seven to 15). The East was the site of Jack Nicklaus's first U.S. Amateur win in 1959 and Annika Sorenstam's first U.S. Women's Open win in 1995. It has also hosted the 2008 U.S. Senior Open, won by Eduardo Romero, and 2011 U.S. Women's Open, won by So Yeon Ryu.
30. (New) DORMIE C.
West End, N.C. / 855-955-1999 / dormieclub.net
6,883 yards, Par 71 | Points: 59.6192
Conceived as an exclusive private club just a few miles north of Pinehurst, the economic downturn forced owners to open its doors to outside play last year. The design is typical of Coore & Crenshaw, a timeless look where holes often play to targets obscured by landforms, bunkers or ground-hugging green contours. Play it soon. One never knows when Dormie will revert to its original business plan.
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