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SALT LAKE CITY — There are approximately 15,000 golf courses in the United States alone. That's 2.25 million acres of golf real estate across 50 states.
If you were to lay every hole from every course in one straight line, you'd get roughly 90 million yards of fairway, enough to cover the width of the Continental United States 19 times.
Naturally, however, not all those courses are worth playing. With this in mind, travel site WanderBat set out to pick the single best golf course in every state. To help inform their rankings, they turned to the experts at Golf Digest, Golf.com and Golf Advisor. The final list incorporates a variety of input, from expert opinions on course design to reviews and votes from thousands of golfers.
Here is the countdown to the top 10 best golf courses in the nation.
#10. Ohio: Scioto Country Club
Course Designers: Donald J. Ross, Michael Hurdzan, Jack Nicklaus
Length: 7,140 yards
Location: Columbus, Ohio
Opened: 2008
With a storied tournament history and a smart, natural design, Scioto is rumored to be one of Nicklaus' early favorites. The Golden Bear helped renovate the course in 2008.
#9. West Virginia: Pete Dye Golf Club
Course Designer: Pete Dye
Length: 7,248 yards
Location: Bridgeport, West Virginia
Opened: 1993
Built atop a former coal mine, this Pete Dye course features a walk-through mineshaft and old coal wagons—a bit of scenic style between holes.
#8. Oregon: Eugene Country Club
Course Designer: Robert Trent Jones
Yardage: 6,847 yards
Location: Eugene, Oregon
Opened: 1899
With giant Douglas Firs surrounding many holes, the Eugene Country Club creates a vertical, cathedral-like visual effect throughout.
#7. Indiana: Sycamore Hills Golf Club
Course Designer: Jack Nicklaus
Yardage: 7,275 yards
Location: Fort Wayne, Indiana
Opened: 1987
Sycamore Hills—which features holes running peacefully alongside the Aboite River—is deceptive. The wide fairways seem to indicate an easy course, but the Nicklaus traps and water hazards bring about a sneaky element of difficulty.
#6. North Carolina: Pinehurst Country Club
Course Designers: Dr. Leroy Culver, John Dunn Tucker
Yardage: 6,089 yards
Location: Pinehurst, North Carolina
Opened: 1895
Pinehurst (No. 2) can routinely be found among a golfer's top 10 courses: crafty, balanced, satisfyingly difficult.
#5. New York: National Golf Links of America
Course Designer: Charles B. Macdonald
Yardage: 6,873 yards
Location: Southhampton, New York
Opened: 1911
A snooty, exclusive course, the National Golf Links of America has a century-old history and beautiful location, set along the Long Island coast.
#4. Pennsylvania: Oakmont Country Club
Course Designer: Henry Fownes
Yardage: 7,255 yards
Location: Oakmont, Pennsylvania
Opened: 1903
Oakmont is a storied course with brutally fast greens—a favorite course for PGA pros. Only Augusta National has hosted more major championships.
#3. California: Pebble Beach
Course Designers: Jack Neville and Douglas Grant
Length: 6,828 yards
Location: Pebble Beach, California
Opened: 1919
A gorgeous course on the California coast, Pebble Beach is famous for being elite and open to the public. The only catch: it'll run you about $500 just to play.
#2. Georgia: Augusta National Golf Club
Course Designers: Bobby Jones and Alister MacKenzie
Length: 7,435 yards
Location: Augusta, Georgia
Opened: 1933
For Georgia, there was never any other choice besides Augusta National, the perennial host of The Masters and one of the most exclusive clubs in the world.
#1. New Jersey: Pine Valley Golf Club
Course Designer: George Arthur Crump
Length: 6,999 yards
Location: Clementon, New Jersey
Opened: 1913
Pine Valley has it all: a lush, green landscape; tricky, challenging terrain to stump even the best golfers; and a series of iconic holes, each famous in its own right. It's no wonder Pine Valley is widely considered the best golf course in the world.
