Every two years, Golf Magazine ranks golf courses around the world as well as in the United States, specifically. Their list is comprised of 100 (narrowed down from nearly 500) golf courses around the country that are reviewed and ranked by a panel of 100 including championship golfers, designers, journalists, and other golfers who are considered connoisseurs. Arranged alphabetically, we’ve narrowed down the list of 100 to our top five. We think they’re not only five of the best courses in the United States, but also five of the most interesting on Golf Magazine’s list. Some of these courses are off the beaten path, yet all worth a visit for a round of golf.
Muirfield Village
One of golf’s greats is behind Muirfield Village, Jack Nicklaus. He collaborated with architect Desmond Muirhead and the course opened in 1974 finding instant success. That success has sustained for more than 40 years due, in part, to what Golf Magazine describes as its flawless conditioning. They also note that Nicklaus’ efforts to integrate spectator areas into the course’s closing holes was impressive, providing patrons with unobstructed views of the golf action with the use of hillsides and amphitheater-style mounding. Muirfield Village is located in Dublin, Ohio.
Nanea
Golfing on a course surrounded by the Pacific Ocean seems decadent, yet necessary. George Roberts and Charles Schwab, both leaders in finance, conceived Nanea and enlisted architect David McLay Kidd. The course was then carved out of a mountainside on the Big Island of Hawaii. The course is large and allows each golfer to feel as though they have the course to themselves. That’s the aloha spirit in play. Nana is located in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii.
Peachtree
Peachtree is a name synonymous with Georgia, from the trees bearing the delicious fruit to accounting software, you can’t swing a club in Atlanta without a peach reference, but you won’t want to. This course was a collaboration of Bobby Jones and Robert Trent Jones, Sr., and it’s a dogwood- and pine-forested hilly tract north of the city. Peachtree is located in Atlanta, Georgia.
Rock Creek Cattle Company
Under the big sky in Montana and surrounded by a 30,000-acre working ranch, Rock Creek Cattle Company was designed by Tom Doak of Pacific Dunes fame. Traversing rugged terrain, jagged bunkers, perfectly contoured greens in a setting surrounded by a backdrop of the Rocky Mountains, this course is the nature-lovers dream. Rock Creek Cattle Company is located in Deer Lodge, Montana.
The Honors Course
Finally, we have what some would call the underdog of our list, The Honor Course. It is only considered so because it hasn’t received the acclaim of Pete Dye’s other courses. This wooded, wetland-infused setting has been home to championship tournaments and is well-known among prominent golfers. Golf Magazine notes that this may be the tightest 7,450 yards you’ll ever play. The Honors Course is located in Ooltewah, Tennessee.
Get your clubs ready, it’s time for a road trip (or air trip) to golf at our top five of the best golf courses in the United States. So where will you begin?
You’ll want to look good on the golf courses so be sure to see our five designer sport watches to help you look your best.
