Golf is gaining momentum like a freight train rolling downhill since the 2020 pandemic.
The industry will likely set another record for rounds played and tee times booked in 2025 when the statistics are released later this month. Technology is moving the game forward and bringing in younger and more diverse customers thanks to simulators, Topgolf, TGL and other avenues. Courses are being built or renovated at a pace not seen since before the late-2000s economic recession.
Life is mostly good if you love the game. GolfPass’ membership continues to grow every day. We’re having a lot of fun building a golf community that will last through all the changes sure to come in the next decade as golf and technology try work together and not compete with one another for your time.
Via GolfPass, you and your fellow golfers submitted more than 226,000 reviews of roughly 7,500 courses and indoor simulators across the globe in 2025. Since launching as GolfAdvisor.com in 2014, we’ve collected more than 2.6 million reviews, more than any other online platform. Each review serves as a valuable resource to golfers everywhere.
Ever since 2015, we’ve analyzed and processed this valuable review data to generate best-of golf course lists. As always, we’re highlighting 50 top U.S. public golf courses that stood out above the crowd: the cream of the crop for Golfers’ Choice 2026.
In order to be eligible for this list, a golf course must:
a) be accessible to the public (that includes the opportunity to stay on property to book a tee time or limited public access at a private club, whether through GolfNow.com or other means); and
b) have received at least 10 reviews in the previous 12 months.
In determining the final rankings, we weigh several factors based on the way our reviews are structured. Our review forms included sub-categories where golfers rate a course based on a star system, including:
– Overall Rating
– Value
– Conditions
– Layout
– Pace of Play
– Staff Friendliness
– Off-Course Amenities
What Golfers’ Choice means to golfers
Woodlake Country Club in Vass, N.C. is a perfect example of a hidden-gem golf course receiving major respect from golfers via GolfPass’ annual Golfers’ Choice rankings. Senior writer Tim Gavrich played it shortly after it reopened and considers it well worth seeing on a trip to the Pinehurst area. Tim Gavrich/GolfPass
Yes, our Top 50 U.S. Public Golf Courses will look a lot different than most other Top 100 lists from other golf publications and websites. We consider this a feature, not a bug. Many of those course lists only allow a small group of panelists to vote. Ours is all-inclusive. If you have played a golf course, you are welcome to review it on GolfPass.com. All we ask for is thoughtfulness and honesty – the standard any righteous golfer aims to uphold.
Magazine panelists tend to focus on architecture, amenities and conditions for their Top 100 course ratings. GolfPass ratings are more holistic. They are meant to reflect the whole golf experience, which absolutely includes quality design and conditioning but also factors like pace of play, perceived value and how you were treated by the staff during your visit.
Famous courses like those at Bandon Dunes or Pebble Beach get rated highly because their experiences are some of the best in the game. But if they don’t qualify for our national Top 50, it is usually because they don’t reach the 10-review threshold. They do pop up on our best-in-state lists that will publish later this spring from time to time but not always. Sometimes a three- or four-star rating will knock down their overall score as reviewers tackle a tough question: did the courses deliver what they cost to play? That’s where the nuance of Golfers’ Choice comes into play. If a course you love seems like it’s missing from our lists, we hope you’ll participate by leaving a thoughtful and honest review of your next round there.
Courses that impress everyday golfers in Golfers’ Choice tend to succeed most by over-delivering on expectations. We love that our Top 50 Public Golf Courses includes places you can play for less than $50 all the way to premium courses with green fees of $400 or more. As long as these golf facilities satisfy their customers, they have the potential to rake in really strong reviews.
Savvy golfers use our Top 50 not just to find courses near them to play, but also to research where they ought to tee it up when they travel. All of our Golfers’ Choice 2026 articles are user-friendly. Click on the photo of each course and you can learn more about the facility or even book a tee time in many cases.
We appreciate everyone who left a review in 2025 and hope you will continue to do so again this year. If you want to get involved for the first time, click here to get started.
Best Public Golf Courses in America