Every two years, Golf Magazine puts together the best of the best when it comes to golf courses you can play. Sure, you can’t get on to Augusta National or Pine Valley, but you still have access to some of the best courses in the world. Some of these gems are closer to you than you think, too, and Golf Magazine makes it easy by breaking them down state by state.
Bayside in Delaware was ranked the No. 1 Best Golf Course You Can Play in the state. Thirteen others were ranked in their state’s top-five resort or public golf courses. Overall, 36 Nicklaus Design courses in 22 different states were ranked in the biennial list, published in August 2016.
A full list of Nicklaus Design layouts to make Golf Magazine’s list of The Best Golf Courses You Can Play in Every State, 2016–17, is included below. The number in parentheses next to each state indicates how many total courses were ranked in that state, while the number next to each golf course is that course’s specific ranking.
ARIZONA (16)
8. Dove Mountain (Saguaro/Tortolita), Marana
CALIFORNIA (30)
26. Old Greenwood, Truckee
COLORADO (15)
8. Breckenridge (Beaver/Bear), Breckenridge
DELAWARE (5)
1. Bayside, Selbyville
FLORIDA (30)
8. Hammock Beach Resort (Ocean), Palm Coast
9. PGA National (Champion), Palm Beach Gardens
12. Grand Cypress (New), Orlando
21. Old Corkscrew, Estero
22. North Palm Beach C.C., North Palm Beach
26. World Golf Village (King & Bear), St. Augustine
GEORGIA (15)
2. Reynolds Lake Oconee (Great Waters), Greensboro
12. Bear’s Best Atlanta, Suwanee
14. Achasta, Dahlonega
HAWAII (20)
3. Manele, Lanai
6. Four Seasons Hualalai (Nicklaus), Big Island
MARYLAND (10)
9. Rocky Gap, Cumberland
MASSACHUSETTS (10)
8. Pinehills (Nicklaus), Plymouth
MICHIGAN (20)
13. Harbor Shores, Benton Harbor
17. Grand Traverse Resort (The Bear), Acme
MISSISSIPPI (5)
3. Grand Bear, Saucier
MONTANA (5)
2. Old Works, Anaconda
NEVADA (15)
5. Coyote Springs, Coyote Springs
7. Reflection Bay, Henderson
12. Bear’s Best Las Vegas, Las Vegas
NEW HAMPSHIRE (5)
4. Owl’s Nest, Thornton
NEW YORK (20)
2. Trump Golf Links at Ferry Point, Bronx
OREGON (15)
5. Pronghorn Resort (Nicklaus), Bend
PENNSYLVANIA (15)
13. Great Bear, East Stroudsburg
SOUTH CAROLINA (20)
2. Harbour Town Golf Links, Hilton Head Island
5. May River Golf Club at Palmetto Bluff, Bluffton
18. Pawleys Plantation, Pawleys Island
TENNESSEE (5)
5. Bear Trace at Cumberland Mountain, Crossville
VIRGINIA (15)
9. Bay Creek (Nicklaus), Cape Charles
10. Potomac Shores, Potomac Shores
WEST VIRGINIA (5)
2. The Greenbrier (Greenbrier), White Sulphur Springs
WISCONSIN (15)
10. The Bull at Pinehurst Farms, Sheboygan Falls