Top 100 Public Courses

One of my goals is to play as many of the courses on Golf Digest’s list of the Top 100 public courses in the United States. Having so many in Wisconsin allows for a good start. Below is the complete list, along with the courses I’ve played in bold. Some I know I probably won’t have a chance to play, but the ones in the Midwest (Michigan has eight alone) are going to be on my radar. I’d love to hear what courses you’ve played, and which ones you think should be higher or lower.

Updated: May 28, 2025

Wisconsin added an additional tally to the courses in the top 100, despite The Bull dropping off. We can thank the Sand Valley Resort for that, as all four full courses are on the list. One of those four, The Lido, was the highest course to debut on the list, ranking an amazing #12 overall. In all, Wisconsin has 11 courses in the top 100, which is easily the most of any state. Michigan and Oregon come in with eight, while the golf-synonymous states of California, Florida and North Carolina each have seven. 30 of the 50 states have at least one course on the list

In all there were 13 new courses on the list, while two more were ranked in the top 100 for the first time. The biggest riser within the list from 2024 to 2025 was Nemacolin (Mystic Rock) in Farmington, PA, which moved up 16 spots to #64. There were several large fallers at the end of the list, but the biggest was Southern Pines Golf Club in Southern Pines, NC. It fell 26 spots to #98.

1. (NC) Pebble Beach Golf Links – Pebble Beach, CA
2. (NC) Pacific Dunes – Bandon, OR
3. (+2) Shadow Creek – Las Vegas, NV
4. (NC) Whistling Straits (Straits) – Kohler, WI
5. (-2) Kiawah Island Ocean Course – Kiawah Island, SC
6. (NC) Pinehurst No. 2 – Pinehurst, NC
7. (NC) Bethpage State Park (Black) – Farmingdale, NY
8. (+1) TPC Sawgrass (Stadium) – Ponte Vedra Beach, FL
9. (-1) Bandon Dunes – Bandon, OR
10. (NC) Erin Hills – Erin, WI
11. (NC) Bandon Trails – Bandon, OR
12. (New) The Lido – Nekoosa, WI
13. (-1) Spyglass Hill – Pebble Beach, CA
14. (-1) Old Macdonald – Bandon, OR
15. (NC) Pasatiempo Golf Club – Santa Cruz, CA
16. (-2) Arcadia Bluffs (Arcadia) – Arcadia, MI
17. (+1) Blackwolf Run (River) – Kohler, WI
18. (+1) French Lick Resort (Pete Dye) – French Lick, IN
19. (+1) Chambers Bay – University Place, WA
20. (+1) Streamsong Resort (Red) – Bowling Green, FL
21. (-4) Sand Valley – Nekoosa, WI
22. (NC) Manele Golf Course – Lanai, HI
23. (NC) Kapalua (Plantation) – Lahaina, HI
24. (New) Landmand – Homer, NE
25. (+1) Mammoth Dunes – Nekoosa, WI
26. (-2) Streamsong Resort (Blue) – Bowling Green, FL
27. (-11) Bandon Dunes (Sheep Ranch) – Bandon, OR
28. (-1) Harbour Town Golf Links – Hilton Head Island, SC
29. (-4) The Highland Course at Primland – Meadows of Dan, VA
30. (New) Pinehurst No. 10 – Pinehurst, NC
31. (-1) Gamble Sands – Brewster, WA
32. (-4) Pinehurst No. 4 – Pinehurst, NC
33. (-4) Streamsong Resort (Black) – Bowling Green, FL
34. (New) PGA Frisco (Fields Ranch East) – Frisco, TX
35. (New) Black Desert Resort – Ivins, UT
36. (+5) The Prairie Club (Dunes) – Valentine, NE
37. (-5) Forest Dunes Golf Club – Roscommon, MI
38. (NC) Yale Golf Course – New Haven, CT
39. (-5) The Greenbrier (Old White) – White Sulphur Springs, WV
40. (-5) Torrey Pines (South) – La Jolla, CA
41. (+1) Pronghorn Resort (Nicklaus) – Bend, OR
42. (+2) The Omni Homestead (Cascades) – Hot Springs, VA
43. (-4) Mauna Kea – Kamuela, HI
44. (+1) Tobacco Road Golf Club – Sanford, NC
45. (-9) Sea Island (Seaside) – St. Simons Island, GA
46. (-13) Big Cedar Lodge (Ozarks National) – Hollister, MO
47. (-10) The Broadmoor Golf Club (East) – Colorado Springs, CO
48. (+2) Fallen Oak – Saucier, MS
49. (+3) SentryWorld Golf Club – Stevens Point, WI
50. (New) Cabot Citrus Farms (Karoo) – Brooksville, FL
51. (New) Sedge Valley – Nekoosa, WI
52. (-6) CordeValle Golf Club – San Martin, CA
53. (NC) Arcadia Bluffs (South) – Arcadia, MI
54. (-6) The Links at Spanish Bay – Pebble Beach, CA
55. (+4) Greywalls at Marquette Golf Club – Marquette, MI
56. (-1) Paako Ridge Golf Club – Sandia Park, NM
57. (-13) Wilderness Club – Eureka, MT
58. (-15) The Quarry at Giants Ridge – Biwabik, MN
59. (-12) Wolf Creek Golf Club – Mesquite, NV
60. (+3) Pine Needles Lodge and Golf Club – Southern Pines, NC
61. (-4) Tetherow Golf Club – Bend, OR
62. (-13) PGA West (Stadium) – La Quinta, CA
63. (-5) The Loop Black Course at Forest Dunes – Roscommon, MI
64. (+16) Nemacolin (Mystic Rock) – Farmington, PA
65. (-9) Whistling Straits (Irish) – Kohler, WI
66. (-4) The Golf Courses of Lawsonia (Links) – Green Lake, WI
67. (-1) Wynn Golf Club – Las Vegas, NV
68. (+1) The Loop Red Course at Forest Dunes – Roscommon, MI
69. (-15) Crosswater Golf Course – Sunriver, OR
70. (+3) Tullymore Golf Resort – Stanwood, MI
71. (-3) Red Sky Ranch and Golf Club (Fazio) – Wolcott, CO
72. (-5) The Wilderness at Fortune Bay – Tower, MN
73. (-9) Makai Golf Club – Princeville, HI
74. (-13) Cascata – Boulder City, NV
75. (-15) Golden Horseshoe (Gold) – Williamsburg, VA
76. (-11) Cog Hill #4 (Dubsdread) – Lemont, IL
77. (New) Fields Ranch PGA of American Frisco (West Course) – Frisco, TX
78. (+7) Taconic Golf Club – Williamstown, MA
79. (-8) The Dunes Golf and Beach Club – Myrtle Beach, SC
80. (+1) The Classic at Madden’s Resort – Brainerd, MN
81. (-3) Payne’s Valley at Big Cedar Lodge – Hollister, MO
82. (-12) Mossy Oak Golf Club – West Point, MS
83. (+6) Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course – Stateline, NV
84. (-5) Wild Horse Golf Club – Gothenburg, NE
85. (+10) Black Mesa Golf Club – Espanola, NM
86. (-4) Trump National Doral (Blue Monster) – Miami, FL
87. (-12) Red Sky Ranch and Golf Club (Norman) – Wolcott, CO
88. (-2) Mid Pines Inn and Golf Club – Southern Pines, NC
89. (New) The Park at West Palm Beach – West Palm Beach, FL
90. (+9) The Prairie Club (Pines Course) – Valentine, NE
91. (-6) Firestone Country Club (South) – Akron, OH
92. (-18) Blackwolf Run (Meadow Valleys) – Kohler, WI
93. (-10) Quintero Golf Club – Peoria, AZ
94. (-2) Big Cedar Lodge (Buffalo Ridge) – Hollister, MO
95. (NR) TPC San Antonio (Oaks) – San Antonio, TX
96. (+1) Wine Valley Golf Club – Walla Walla, WA
97. (-21) The Pfau Course at Indiana University – Bloomington, IN
98. (-26) Southern Pines Golf Club – Southern Pines, NC
99. (-22) Reynolds Lake Oconee (Great Waters) – Eatonton, GA
100. (NR) Bay Harbor Golf Club (Links/Quarry) – Bay Harbor, MI

Dropped out in 2025: May River Golf Club at Palmetto Bluff – Bluffton, SC; Karsten Creek Golf Club – Stillwater, OK; Poppy Hills Golf Course – Pebble Beach, CA; The Bull at Pinehurst Farms – Sheboygan Falls, WI; The Golf Club at Harbor Shores – Benton Harbor, MI; Rams Hill Golf Club – Borrego Springs, CA; The Virtues Golf Club – Nashport, OH; Atunyote – Vernon, NY; Sand Hollow Resort (Championship) – Hurricane, UT; Belvedere Golf Club – Charlevoix, MI; Pinehurst No. 8 – Pinehurst, NC