Bucket List Golf Courses

Rees Jones design carved through Hieroglyphic Mountains — remote but worth every minute of the drive

The course that started it all — oceanside links designed by David McLay Kidd

Tom Doak masterpiece — consistently rated top 15 in the world, perched on ocean bluffs

The newest course with the most ocean exposure — every hole has a Pacific view

Ultra-exclusive Tom Fazio design overlooking Lake Coeur d'Alene — private but member guests can play

2015 US Open venue — walking-only links carved from a gravel quarry on Puget Sound

Ultra-exclusive Pete Dye design at 6,800 feet; member access only but worth calling for reciprocal play — absolute world-class track

Tom Fazio design along the Snake River; ultra-private with limited access but absolutely world-class conditioning and views

Top-10 course in the world (Alister MacKenzie/Perry Maxwell) — strictly private, need a member invite

Perry Maxwell masterpiece and multiple PGA Championship/US Open host — private but limited guest access through member invitation. The crown jewel of Oklahoma golf.

Tom Fazio design ranked among the top 50 courses in America — ultra-private but accessible through member invitations and charity events

The most famous public course on earth — finish on the cliffside 18th where the U.S. Open is decided

The bucket-list round — cliffside par-3 7th and the iconic finishing hole over the Pacific

David McLay Kidd's wide, fast, fun fescue links high above the Columbia — Top 40 Greatest Public in America

Dramatic 2025 clifftop McLay Kidd design over the Columbia River — Golf Digest's Best New Public Course of 2025

Bill Coore & Ben Crenshaw design on Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation land with jaw-dropping Sonoran views

Dramatic canyon-to-canyon holes with 100-foot elevation changes — one of the most visually stunning courses in America

Tom Fazio masterpiece built from flat desert into a lush Carolina-style paradise — limo ride included

Bob Cupp design winding through wetlands along the Deschutes and Little Deschutes rivers

Tribute to C.B. Macdonald with massive greens and strategic template holes

Bob Cupp design through pristine wetlands — one of the top resort courses in the country

Gene Bates design through Coeur d'Alene tribal land — consistently rated top public course in Idaho

2015 US Open host — links-style course on Puget Sound built on a reclaimed gravel mine

Jack Nicklaus Signature course at 7,500 feet with staggering views of Lone Mountain; one of the best mountain courses in America

Rees Jones design for the ultra-elite; member-only with rare guest access. If you can get on, it's top-100 worthy.

Possibly the most scenic course in America; San Juan Mountains tower over every hole at 9,500 feet

2021 Ryder Cup, 3-time PGA Championship host — lakeside links that rival anything in the British Isles

2017 US Open host — walk-only links on rolling glacial terrain, one of the purest golf experiences in the US

Clifftop links 200 feet above Lake Michigan — jaw-dropping views on every hole

Pete Dye's mountaintop opus — 300-foot elevation changes and panoramic Hoosier National Forest views

Every hole has an ocean view. Host of the 1991 Ryder Cup War by the Shore and 2012/2021 PGA Championships. Bucket list.

Mike Strantz masterpiece draped in live oaks and Spanish moss. Best course on the Grand Strand.

Pete Dye design that hosts NCAA championships. Private but available through select packages.

Jack Nicklaus and Tony Jacklin design. Hosted WGC Match Play. Top-20 course in the US. Limited access.

Tom Fazio design ranked top-100 public. Beau Rivage resort course with immaculate conditioning. Must-play.

Mike Strantz masterwork. Live oaks frame every hole, the 18th approach over the marsh is iconic.

Jack Nicklaus design ranked top-100 public. Nine holes on Lake Oconee with a stunning island-green par 3.

Jack Nicklaus signature design and the newest addition — 400 feet of elevation change with jaw-dropping views of Lake LBJ

Hal Sutton design through live oaks and granite outcrops — one of the best private courses in Texas with limited reciprocal access

Tom Fazio design at Big Cedar Lodge — dramatic Ozark ridgeline holes with 360-degree views of Table Rock Lake and rolling hills. Consistently ranked among Missouri's best.

Jack Nicklaus design and multiple PGA Championship / Ryder Cup host — private but limited guest access through resort packages and charity events

Tom Fazio design ranked among the top 25 public courses in America — home of Oklahoma State golf with stunning lake and prairie views. Worth the 75-min drive.

RTJ Sr. brute — the first five holes hug the dunes before plunging into the Del Monte Forest

Often rated tougher than Pebble — dune holes named after Treasure Island characters

Coore & Crenshaw routing over huge sand dunes — wide, strategic, and endlessly playable

Tom Doak's bold, undulating layout weaving wild grasses and deep-water ponds

Jack Nicklaus signature weaving along the May River — walking-caddie golf at its best (resort guests only)

Jim Engh design with canyon views beneath the Colorado National Monument — routinely Colorado's #1 public

Donald Steel mountaintop design ranked No. 1 public in Virginia — cliff-edge holes on a 12,000-acre Blue Ridge estate

Idaho's No. 1 public course — Gene Bates design winding through 620 acres of Palouse wetlands and forest

Tom Weiskopf masterpiece nestled against Pinnacle Peak with the iconic Monument boulder

Tom Weiskopf design carved through red rock canyons — ultra-exclusive and jaw-dropping

John Fought design through red sandstone formations — a top-25 public course in the US and worth the trip alone

Rees Jones design in Boulder City with a 418-foot waterfall behind the clubhouse — pure spectacle

Jack Nicklaus design that hosted the PGA Tour Barracuda Championship — private but resort access available

Jack Nicklaus signature design carved through high desert lava rock and juniper

Inland layout through dunes and coastal forest — the most diverse routing on property

Home of the famous floating green on hole 14 — reached by boat, one of golf's most unique experiences

Former US Amateur host carved through old-growth forest — PNW golf at its most pristine

Ultra-private club with limited resort access; 9,000-foot elevation with jaw-dropping San Juan views and immaculate conditioning

Robert Trent Jones Jr. design with the Grand Teton as your backdrop on nearly every hole; the iconic mountain golf experience in America

Host of multiple major championships; Robert Trent Jones Sr. design with Cheyenne Mountain views

Pete Dye's inland masterpiece — dramatic elevation changes along the Sheboygan River

Donald Ross masterpiece. Host of multiple US Opens. The crowned, turtle-back greens are the ultimate test.

Pete Dye and Jack Nicklaus co-design. Home of the RBC Heritage. The lighthouse behind 18 is one of golf's most iconic images.

Pete Dye's oceanfront masterpiece. Hosted 2021 PGA Championship. Wind-battered and unforgettable.

Home of THE PLAYERS Championship. Island green at 17. The most iconic public tee time in golf.

Ultra-exclusive private club occasionally available through resort stay packages

Robert Trent Jones Sr. masterpiece — dramatic elevation changes and the legendary island-green 16th

Tom Fazio design at Big Cedar — natural springs, Ozark meadows, and bison grazing near the fairways. One of the most scenic courses in the country.

True Scottish-style links by the sea — a bagpiper plays you off at sunset every night

Seaside Scottish links with a nightly bagpiper — the most atmospheric round on the coast

Gil Hanse's Australian-Sandbelt-inspired beast — massive fairways and the most demanding greens on property

Pete Dye's masterpiece and the island-green 17th — every golfer's bucket-list round

Host of the PGA Tour's Valspar Championship — the tree-lined 'Snake Pit' finish is brutal and iconic

Worth the hour drive — Gil Hanse's Sandbelt-inspired marvel as a day-trip bucket-list round

Twelve holes hug 600-acre Lake Saugahatchee — voted the #1 public golf facility in America by Golf World readers

Every bit as scenic as the Lake — long, demanding, and routinely top-ranked among U.S. public courses

The first Trail course past 8,000 yards — expansive fairways and bentgrass greens high above Wilson Lake

Three nines by Palmer, Nicklaus, and Player; host of the Augusta National Women's Amateur first round (limited access)

Greg Norman signature on a peninsula in the Tennessee River — five holes play to or from the water (limited access)

A Wendell Pickett desert gem regarded as one of Arizona's best — a fraction of Scottsdale's green fees

Tom Weiskopf design through black lava fields hosting the PGA Tour's Black Desert Championship

Rees Jones desert-mountain showpiece with a waterfall through the clubhouse — the splurge round

C.B. Macdonald 1914 classic and former PGA Tour Greenbrier Classic host — West Virginia's best course

A.W. Tillinghast brute that hosted two U.S. Opens and the 2025 Ryder Cup — walking-only, with the famous warning sign

Tom Fazio parkland stunner that hosted the PGA Tour's Turning Stone Championship (2007-2010) — the flagship round

Robert Trent Jones Jr. mountain masterpiece with the famous Carrabassett River 'snowfields' stretch — Maine's best course

Arthur Hills design that consistently tops Kentucky's rankings — private, so chase it via a member or stay-and-play

The famous floating green 14th — a movable island par-3 reached by mahogany shuttle boat (45 min north)

George & Tom Fazio lakeshore course with two holes on the water — host of the American Century celebrity championship

Alister MacKenzie's home course, restored to his 1929 design — he called it his finest work

Home of the WM Phoenix Open and the legendary Stadium Hole 16

Arnold Palmer/Ed Seay design through wetlands and aspens with the Tetons looming; resort guests can access this semi-private gem

Robert Trent Jones Jr. design at 8,400 feet; Tom Kite called it 'Augusta at altitude'

Tom Fazio design hosting the RSM Classic. Ocean-side links with sweeping marsh and Atlantic views.

Former PGA Tour stop on the James River — Pete Dye design with iconic finishing holes along the bluffs

Robert Trent Jones Sr.'s Texas masterpiece — carved through solid granite with dramatic forced carries over ravines

Home of the PGA Tour's Valero Texas Open — Greg Norman/Sergio Garcia design with Hill Country terrain and tour-level conditioning

Home of the PGA Tour's CJ Cup Byron Nelson — Tour-level conditioning with strategic bunkering and water hazards on a championship layout

Tom Doak redesign hosting the PGA Tour Houston Open — championship golf in the heart of the city at municipal prices. Best value bucket-list course in Texas.

Home of the PGA Tour's Zurich Classic — Pete Dye design through Louisiana wetlands with alligators, cypress trees, and tour-level conditions

Pete Dye's brutal stadium masterpiece — the island-green 17th 'Alcatraz' and a former American Express host

Cliffside U.S. Open and Farmers Insurance Open host — the ultimate public-course bucket-list round in SoCal

One of the longest courses in the world, wrapped around a Renaissance resort with a waterfall between 9 and 18

Rees Jones design with island tees and greens, ranked the No. 1 public course in Connecticut — adjacent to Foxwoods

Gil Hanse & Beau Welling tournament course — walking-only with caddies, slated to host PGA Championships and a Ryder Cup

Beau Welling's swashbuckling, playable foil to the East — big roller-coaster greens and wide fairways

Robert Trent Jones Jr. monster that hosted the NCAA Championships — limited public access via stay-and-play, but a brute worth chasing

Tree-lined muni on Lake Merced that hosted the 2020 PGA Championship and a Presidents Cup

Tom Fazio masterpiece through Hill Country canyons — hosted the Champions Tour and consistently ranked among Texas' best

Founded by Justin Timberlake — the only GEO-certified green course in the Americas, with four waterfalls and water on 15 holes

Jack Nicklaus 27-hole design in the Tortolitas that hosted the WGC Match Play — a true championship test

Brawny Pete Dye design with rectangular bunkers and rock outcrops — former PGA Tour 84 Lumber Classic host

2015 U.S. Open host — fine-fescue links on Puget Sound, walking-only and one of the toughest walks in golf

The Home of Golf — Swilcan Bridge, the Road Hole, and the Valley of Sin. Closed Sundays; book via the ballot or advance reservation

Modern links where every single hole has a sea view — a Dunhill Links Championship venue

"Carnasty" — widely considered the toughest finish in Open Championship golf

Host of the 2024 Open and home of the "Postage Stamp" 8th — the most famous par 3 in Britain

Clifftop "Duel in the Sun" links beneath the lighthouse — routinely ranked top-10 in the world

Birthplace of the Open Championship (1860) — blind shots, stone walls, and history on every hole

16-time Open host with a unique two-loop routing. Visitors Tuesday and Thursday only — book ~a year ahead

Gloriously quirky 1832 links — home of the original "Redan" hole copied around the world

Tom Doak design and Genesis Scottish Open host. Visitors Monday and Wednesday only

Tom Watson's favorite course in the world — towering dunes hard against the Atlantic

The "St Andrews of Ireland" — Alister MacKenzie's blind Klondyke and Dell holes, with goats forecasting the weather

Ireland's first Arnold Palmer design — a dramatic clifftop front nine over the Atlantic

Ring-of-Kerry classic that Payne Stewart adored — there's a bronze statue of him at the club

A clifftop headland 300 feet above the Atlantic — a once-in-a-lifetime day trip toward Cork

130-year-old links on a sandy peninsula — host of 19 Irish Opens and the 1991 Walker Cup

Dramatic dune-framed links across the estuary from Malahide — wild and underrated

Tom Simpson 1938 masterpiece with some of the best greens in Ireland — a two-time Irish Open host

Ranked the #1 course in the world by multiple panels — blind shots and gorse beneath the Mountains of Mourne

Host of the 2019 and 2025 Opens — "Calamity Corner" and the iconic White Rocks finish

Davis Love III's Pacific-dunes links — routinely ranked among the best courses in the world

Jack Nicklaus's most dramatic clifftop routing in Cabo — holes perched hundreds of feet over the Pacific

Jack Nicklaus design with eight holes on the Caribbean — long ranked the #1 course in the region

Tom Fazio design and PGA Tour host — the "Devil's Elbow" closing stretch plays over Caribbean coves

Jack Nicklaus Signature design — Portugal's perennial #1, with water in play on 11 holes

Eight-time Portuguese Open host, recently renovated — the Algarve's championship benchmark

Host of the 1997 Ryder Cup — Spain's most famous course, with a mandatory forecaddie

Host of the 2023 Solheim Cup, the first ever in Spain — immaculate and brutally long from the tips

A Robert Trent Jones Sr. masterpiece he counted among his five personal favorites

The only Jack Nicklaus Signature course in the Bahamas — restored and reopened with the Baha Mar resort

The original Bill Coore & Ben Crenshaw design that started it all — heaving sandy fairways and exposed dunes

David McLay Kidd's wide, generous, dramatic dunescape — playable for the whole crew but visually massive

A faithful recreation of C.B. Macdonald's lost 1917 Long Island masterpiece — golf archaeology you can play

2017 U.S. Open host — walking-only, caddie-driven links over rumpled glacial terrain with brutal fescue

Add the 1930 Langford & Moreau template classic at Green Lake for a two-course links day

1930 Langford & Moreau original — 90+ geometric bunkers, plateau greens, and the famous boxcar par 3

Tom Weiskopf's sandy, pine-framed masterpiece — perennially ranked among America's best public courses

Tom Doak's reversible routing played clockwise — walking-only, no carts, a genuine architectural marvel

Same 18 greens, opposite direction — a completely different course you play the very next day

Cliff-edge holes over Little Traverse Bay plus a dramatic shale-quarry nine — 'Pebble Beach of the Midwest'

Donald Ross's 'Monster' — host of 3 PGA Championships and the WGC-Bridgestone; access via stay-and-play packages

Perry Maxwell's 1937 sandhills masterpiece — top-25 in America, host of multiple USGA championships; private, access by introduction or outing

Jim Engh links design with signature black-sand bunkers and dramatic prairie elevation — a nationally ranked top-100 public