Updated on November 7, 2026
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What is the best public golf course in the United States? Pebble Beach, in California, ranked No. 1 in the major rankings of courses open to the public. Next are Pacific Dunes, in Oregon, and Pinehurst No. 2, in North Carolina. Here are our top 25 best public golf courses in the U.S. for 2026: only courses where you can book a tee time without being a member.
Top photo: Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The 25 Best Public Golf Courses in the USA (2026), Ranked
25 courses shown.
| Rank | Course | State | Access | Golf Digest | GOLF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pebble Beach Golf Links | California | Resort (public) | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Pacific Dunes (Bandon Dunes) | Oregon | Resort (public) | 2 | 3 |
| 3 | Pinehurst No. 2 | North Carolina | Resort (public) | 6 | 2 |
| 4 | Kiawah Island (Ocean Course) | South Carolina | Resort (public) | 5 | 6 |
| 5 | Bethpage Black | New York | Public (New York State) | 7 | 5 |
| 6 | Whistling Straits (Straits) | Wisconsin | Resort (public) | 4 | 10 |
| 7 | The Lido (Sand Valley) | Wisconsin | Private (limited departures) | 12 | 4 |
| 8 | TPC Sawgrass (Stadium) | Florida | Resort (public) | 8 | 8 |
| 9 | Shadow Creek | Nevada | Resort (MGM guests) | 3 | 14 |
| 10 | Bandon Trails | Oregon | Resort (public) | 11 | 7 |
| 11 | Bandon Dunes | Oregon | Resort (public) | 9 | 9 |
| 12 | Pasatiempo | California | Public (semi-private) | 15 | 11 |
| 13 | Old Macdonald (Bandon Dunes) | Oregon | Resort (public) | 14 | 13 |
| 14 | Erin Hills | Wisconsin | Public | 10 | 21 |
| 15 | Spyglass Hill | California | Resort (public) | 13 | 23 |
| 16 | Streamsong Red | Florida | Resort (public) | 20 | 17 |
| 17 | Harbour Town Golf Links | South Carolina | Resort (public) | 28 | 12 |
| 18 | Sand Valley | Wisconsin | Resort (public) | 21 | 20 |
| 19 | Pinehurst No. 10 | North Carolina | Resort (public) | 30 | 15 |
| 20 | Streamsong Blue | Florida | Resort (public) | 26 | 19 |
| 21 | Blackwolf Run (River) | Wisconsin | Resort (public) | 17 | 29 |
| 22 | Gamble Sands | Washington | Resort (public) | 31 | 18 |
| 23 | Chambers Bay | Washington | Public (county) | 19 | 31 |
| 24 | Sheep Ranch (Bandon Dunes) | Oregon | Resort (public) | 27 | 24 |
| 25 | Mammoth Dunes (Sand Valley) | Wisconsin | Resort (public) | 25 | 26 |
Rank: Our consensus rank, calculated as the average of the rankings from Golf Digest and GOLF Magazine. Golf Digest and GOLF: the course’s ranking in each publication; “—” if it does not appear in either. Resort (public): you can book a tee time, sometimes while staying at the resort.
How We Ranked the US Public Golf Courses
We compared the two major rankings of courses open to the public: Golf Digest (America’s 100 Greatest Public Courses 2025–2026) and GOLF Magazine (Top 100 Courses You Can Play 2024–2025). For each course, we calculate the average of its two rankings; a course that is not included in a ranking is assigned a ranking of 125. The Golfweek (Best Courses You Can Play 2026) was used as a cross-check: 24 of our 25 courses also appear in its top 30. We do not reproduce the magazines’ lists, which you can view on their websites. This ranking is updated annually.
The Top 25 in Detail
Designers, year founded, par and length (back tees): the clubs' Wikipedia pages, checked on November 8, 2026; nothing is shown when the page does not say. Photos under free licenses via Wikimedia Commons.
1. Pebble Beach Golf Links 🇺🇸
- Designed by Jack Neville, Douglas Grant
- Founded 1919
- Par and length Par 72 · 7,075 yards (6,469 m)
Rankings: Golf Digest 1 · GOLF 1
The most famous public golf course in the United States: host to six U.S. Opens since 1972, with holes that run along the cliffs of Carmel Bay—from the 4th to the 10th, and then the 17th and 18th. You’ll need to book well in advance, often in conjunction with a stay at the Lodge.
2. Pacific Dunes (Bandon Dunes) 🇺🇸
- Designed by Tom Doak
- Par and length Par 71 · 6,633 yards (6,065 m)
Rankings: Golf Digest 2 · GOLF 3
Tom Doak’s masterpiece at Bandon Dunes, on the Oregon coast: a links course that can only be played on foot, with several holes perched on the cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean.
3. Pinehurst No. 2 🇺🇸
- Designed by Donald Ross
- Length 7,588 yards (6,938 m)
Rankings: Golf Digest 6 · GOLF 2
The Donald Ross course, with its domed greens that repel balls, was restored by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw. It hosted the U.S. Open in 1999, 2005, 2014 (men’s and women’s tournaments, two weeks in a row), and 2024.
4. Kiawah Island (Ocean Course) 🇺🇸
- Designed by Pete and Alice Dye
- Par and length Par 72 · 7,876 yards (7,202 m)
Rankings: Golf Digest 5 · GOLF 6
Designed by Pete Dye for the 1991 Ryder Cup, on a windswept island in South Carolina. Phil Mickelson won the 2021 PGA Championship there at age 50.
5. Bethpage Black 🇺🇸
- Designed by Joseph Burbeck, A. W. Tillinghast
- Founded 1936
- Par and length Par 71 · 7,468 yards (6,829 m)
Rankings: Golf Digest 7 · GOLF 5
A state-owned course, managed by the State of New York, known for the sign at the entrance that warns: “Extremely difficult course.” It has hosted two U.S. Opens, the 2019 PGA Championship, and the 2025 Ryder Cup, and remains affordable.
6. Whistling Straits (Straits) 🇺🇸
- Designed by Pete and Alice Dye
- Founded 1998
- Par and length Par 72 · 7,790 yards (7,123 m)
Rankings: Golf Digest 4 · GOLF 10
A Pete Dye faux links on the shores of Lake Michigan, featuring hundreds of bunkers. It has hosted three PGA Championships and the 2020 Ryder Cup, which was played in 2021.
7. The Lido (Sand Valley) 🇺🇸
Rankings: Golf Digest 12 · GOLF 4
The reconstruction of the Lido, Charles Blair Macdonald’s lost masterpiece on Long Island, by Tom Doak in 2023, in Wisconsin. A private club that offers a few tee times to guests of the Sand Valley resort.
8. TPC Sawgrass (Stadium) 🇺🇸
- Designed by Pete and Alice Dye
- Founded 1980
- Par and length Par 72 · 7,245 yards (6,625 m)
Rankings: Golf Digest 8 · GOLF 8
The course of the Players Championship and its famous island green on the 17th hole. See also our ranking of the Best Golf Courses in Florida.
9. Shadow Creek 🇺🇸
- Designed by Tom Fazio
- Par and length Par 72 · 7,560 yards (6,913 m)
Rankings: Golf Digest 3 · GOLF 14
An oasis of pine trees and streams created from scratch by Tom Fazio in the desert near Las Vegas. Tee times are reserved for guests of MGM hotels, at very high prices.
10. Bandon Trails 🇺🇸
- Designed by Bill Coore, Ben Crenshaw
- Par and length Par 71 · 6,788 yards (6,207 m)
Rankings: Golf Digest 11 · GOLF 7
The Coore and Crenshaw course at Bandon Dunes: it starts and ends in the dunes, with holes in between set in the forest and meadows.
11. Bandon Dunes 🇺🇸
The resort's original course, designed by David McLay Kidd in 1999, which sparked the trend for American links courses played on foot.
12. Pasatiempo 🇺🇸
Alister MacKenzie lived right next to the 6th fairway; this course, which overlooks Monterey Bay and was founded by Marion Hollins, still bears his distinctive style. It is a semi-private course that welcomes visitors.
13. Old Macdonald (Bandon Dunes) 🇺🇸
A tribute by Tom Doak and Jim Urbina to Charles Blair Macdonald, featuring vast greens inspired by the great classic holes (Redan, Biarritz, Alps).
14. Erin Hills 🇺🇸
A public course in the glacial hills of Wisconsin. Brooks Koepka won the 2017 U.S. Open there, and the course hosted the 2025 U.S. Women’s Open.
15. Spyglass Hill 🇺🇸
The course next to Pebble Beach, designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr.: the first five holes are set among the dunes, followed by an ascent through the pine trees. Each hole is named after a character from *Treasure Island*.
16. Streamsong Red 🇺🇸
Coore and Crenshaw in the dunes of a former phosphate mine in central Florida: the best of Streamsong’s three courses, according to Golf Digest and GOLF.
17. Harbour Town Golf Links 🇺🇸
The RBC Heritage course, designed in 1969 by Pete Dye with the help of Jack Nicklaus. The 18th hole is played toward the red-and-white-striped lighthouse on Hilton Head.
18. Sand Valley 🇺🇸
The first course at the Sand Valley resort, designed by Coore and Crenshaw in the sand dunes of central Wisconsin, far from any coastline.
19. Pinehurst No. 10 🇺🇸
Pinehurst's newest course, designed by Tom Doak and opened in 2024 on a former sand quarry site, is already ranked in both national rankings.
20. Streamsong Blue 🇺🇸
Tom Doak's course at Streamsong, intertwined with the Red, on the same spectacular site of dunes and lakes.
21. Blackwolf Run (River) 🇺🇸
The Pete Dye course in Kohler, Wisconsin, along the Sheboygan River. It hosted the U.S. Women’s Open in 1998 and 2012.
22. Gamble Sands 🇺🇸
David McLay Kidd has designed very wide fairways on a sandy plateau overlooking the Columbia River Valley in Washington State: a course built for fun.
23. Chambers Bay 🇺🇸
A former sand and gravel quarry on the shores of Puget Sound, now a county-owned public golf course. Jordan Spieth won the 2015 U.S. Open there.
24. Sheep Ranch (Bandon Dunes) 🇺🇸
The bunker-free course designed by Coore and Crenshaw at Bandon Dunes, featuring nine greens perched on the edge of the cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean.
25. Mammoth Dunes (Sand Valley) 🇺🇸
Sand Valley's second course, designed by David McLay Kidd, features wide, expansive fairways set among giant dunes.
Top Golf Destinations in the United States
Three destinations account for a large portion of this top 25: Bandon Dunes in Oregon (5 ranked courses), Sand Valley in Wisconsin (3 courses, plus Whistling Straits and Blackwolf Run in Kohler, about a two-and-a-half-hour drive away) and Pinehurst in North Carolina. The Monterey Peninsula in California is home to Pebble Beach, Spyglass Hill, and Pasatiempo.
Fred's Take on US Public Golf Courses
If I had to choose just one golf trip in the United States, it would be Bandon Dunes: five great links courses all in one place, played on foot along the Pacific Coast, with no houses in sight. Pebble Beach remains the legendary course, but its price makes it more of a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Frequently Asked Questions About Public Golf Courses in the United States
What is the best public golf course in the United States?
Pebble Beach Golf Links, in California, ranked No. 1 by Golf Digest and GOLF Magazine among courses open to the public.
Can you play at Pebble Beach without being a member?
Yes, it's a public course. Tee times must be reserved through the resort—often with priority given to guests staying there—and the rates are among the highest in the world.
Where are the best public golf courses in the United States?
Especially along the Oregon coast (Bandon Dunes), in Wisconsin (Sand Valley, Whistling Straits), in North Carolina (Pinehurst), and on the Monterey Peninsula in California (Pebble Beach).
What is the best affordable public golf course in the United States?
Bethpage Black, near New York, and Chambers Bay, near Seattle, are public courses managed by the state or the county, with much lower rates for residents.