The Best Golf Course to Play in Every U.S. State

This stunning course consists of more than 1,500 acres of utter beauty and is probably good enough to host the U.S. Open, should it ever get the chance. Play The Judge course to see the most outstanding views of Alabama River.

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A very challenging course, this overlooks the city of Anchorage as well as three different mountain ranges. It’s location means that in the summer months the hours of daylight allow you to start play at around 5am (if desired) or finish after midnight.

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Home to two courses—Pinnacle and Monument—which both have five tees to accommodate a range of abilities. The number of people allowed on the course at any one time is restricted—ensuring groups enjoy a relaxed game.

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Surrounded by lakes and mountains, this is a globally recognized destination for golfers. Gorgeous, lush fairways and ivory white bunkers fill this award-winning course, and there’s a three-tiered driving range if you just want to get some practice in.

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It would be crazy not to include Pebble Beach, because, well, it’s Pebble Beach. Playing here is on the bucket list for golfers, and sports fans in general; their course Pebble Beach Golf Links has got a claim to be the best public course in the world.

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This is a private club, but with a separate golf resort open to the public; both their Fazio and Norman course are options. The Norman course is probably the tougher of the two despite some generous fairways and look out for the sudden descent at the end of the Fazio – very fun to play.

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Designed by Rees Jones, this beautiful location has two courses, the North and the South. The North course is open to the public and has 7,300 yards of exquisite rolling terrain.

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Situated alongside the Assawoman Bay coastline, this tricky course faces the winds that come through the pine trees. The course is well worth the test it provides, but there are limited tee times for public players, so plan ahead.

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Designed by Pete Dye, the PLAYERS Stadium course is beautifully balanced, with a huge range in distances and no consecutive holes playing in the same direction to ensure everybody has a fair crack. Be warned, a great round can fall apart on the daunting 18th hole.

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People have been playing golf here since the 1920s, and with the Atlantic Ocean, sand dunes and salt marshes hugging the course it’s easy to see why. Sea Island is where Davis Love III learned to play the game.

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Few things are as good as playing golf in Hawaii, and this resort offers two outstanding courses—the Plantation Course and the Bay Course. The 5th hole on the Bay Course is the only hole to overlook the ocean and is, unsurprisingly, glorious.

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Part of the Coeur d’Alene Casino Resort and Hotel, Circling Raven sits in over 600 acres of northern Idaho. The 72-par course’s terrain is varied, with wetland, woods and prairie all included.

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Cog Hill, 30 miles southwest of Chicago, has four courses, none of which are too difficult, yet all of which still manage to test your skills. A real challenge for shot-makers.

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The idea for this Pete Dye course was originally conceived on a napkin. The bunkers are brutal, the course is long and there are panoramic views from one of the highest points in Indiana.

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This relatively young course in Iowa (opened in 2000) is already ageing well. Watch out for the last two holes, the toughest on the course, where the lake is in close proximity.

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Although appearing and looking like a private club, this is actually a public course with 27 holes and a brilliant range of facilities. The 18-hole Championship Course offers relatively generous areas to land in.

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A Boone County Golf course, Lassing Pointe is reassuringly forgiving for first timers, particularly its fairways. The conditions are usually brilliant and there are bunkers, greens and a driving range for practice rounds.

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Just half an hour from Baton Rouge, this Arnold Palmer course includes plenty of elevation. In the middle of dense forest, the 18-hole course is truly beautiful, with the penultimate hole the best of the bunch.

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Across 240 acres, Belgrade Lakes has stayed true to the natural landscape and manages to look beautiful without being pretentious. Don’t be fooled by the short par-fives, they’re trickier than they look.

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The best way to get a feel for this incredible course is to head to their site and watch the drone footage of each hole. Bulle Rock is a fantastic example of making world-class golf accessible to anyone who wants to play.

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Check Red Tail’s website for a hole-by-hole tour, but expect plenty of water features and almost coastal-like sand amid the classic New England terrain. The par five on the 4th hole, set in a valley, is a particular favourite.

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A truly exquisite resort and one that can be considered among the best in the entire country. Definitely a course that rewards risk takers, the par fours are short and the front nine has some extravagant bunkers.

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Originally built on the site of an old gravel-mining operation, this is comfortably the best public course in Minnesota. The Quarry can play a little longer than it first appears and rest assured, the tees, fairways and greens are exemplary.

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Two par-72 courses, the Azaleas and the Oaks, fill the 700 acres here and there are plenty of streams and creeks that intersect the lush fairways. Course designers Tom Fazio and Jerry Pate have instilled wonderful character into the landscaping.

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The resort’s Tom Weiskopf course features zoysia tees and bentgrass greens within the picturesque Lake of the Ozarks. Four different tees ensure there’s something for everyone, but there are also plenty of hazards, even if they’re beautiful.

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Designed by legend Jack Nicklaus, this course incorporates a huge number of local historic features. The greens are large and welcoming, but watch out for the creek that will pop up in a number of different holes on the course.

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According to The Prairie Club this is where you’ll find “the land creating the golf and not the other way around.” There are three brilliant courses and 17 acres of practice facilities too.

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Waterfalls and incredible gardens will distract you from this outstanding course set amongst the mountains. The narrowing 4th, as well as the par four at the 15th, are particular highlights.

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Played in view of the startling Presidential Mountain Range, Mount Washington hosted the New England Open Championship in September 2010. The array of bunkers provide plenty of options for recovery shots near the greens.

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The greens are large, with deep bunkers shielding them from the salty winds you get in links golf, on what is one of the oldest courses in the United States.

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Play any combination of the three nine holes that feature elevation as high as 7,000 feet. Handily, there are plenty of visual indicators, with black and white posts to indicate points to aim at off the tee. A wonderful experience.

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The Black Course is difficult, and anyone with a handicap over five may well struggle, as the fairways are narrow, the greens are small and the bunkers aggressively placed. It also features the highest slope-rating in the northeast. Get it right and it can be one of the best in the country.

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Steeped in history, Pinehurst is the only course to have played host to the U.S. Open, U.S. Women’s Open, U.S. Senior Open, U.S. Amateur and U.S. Women’s Amateur Championships. The resort features nine courses, with course No.2 described as “my favorite golf course from a design standpoint” by Jack Nicklaus.

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About as good as links golf gets in the United States, this course includes plenty of uneven lies and the wind will always play a factor in rounds. The five different tees range from 5,249 to 7,092 yards.

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This Arthur Hills-designed course is situated 40 miles away from downtown Columbus. Arthur Hills has designed a quirky course, with mature trees framing the fairways that will challenge players of all skill levels.

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Open for 27 years, Forest Ridge is wonderfully friendly. Amid the challenging course, the double dogleg on the 5th is a lot of fun and the blind approach to the green on the tenth is a favourite.

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The course’s location just above the Pacific Ocean, which is visible from nearly every hole, means the elements are always in play. The scenery is incredible and conditions often favor players that can think on their feet.

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The resort is outstanding, with plenty to keep non-golfers occupied. Of the courses themselves, Mystic Rock has been excellent for a while, while this summer will see the opening of another course, Shepherd’s Rock, which promises a huge amount.

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This fabulous links-style course with views of the Atlantic Ocean has been designed by Arthur Hills and Drew Rogers. The course includes naturalized wetlands; the first hole is a particular tricky opener.

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A resort with five exceptional courses, with the Jack Nicklaus-designed Turtle Point Golf Course probably the pick of the bunch. The course rewards clever thinking, rather than huge power, with small greens requiring high shots.

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Very accessible, with casual regulations regarding dress code, this course has been designed so each hole is distinctive. There are links-like bunkers and USGA specification greens, as well as plenty of elevation.

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Probably the best public course in the Mid-South, this is 7,400 yards of waterfalls, creeks, lots of elevation and deep, deep bunkers. To ensure accessibility some holes have as many as eight tee options.

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Four brilliant courses, the Fazio Canyons (the best of the four) includes views of the beautiful Short Springs Branch creek as you meander round the 7,153 yards. The par-five 18th hole is spectacular.

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Golf is just a small part of Sand Hollow, with hiking, boating and motor sports all on offer. The championship course is fairly unique, with ancient red-rock jutting out all around. The front nine offers great scoring options to carry you through.

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A fairway that really undulates, with a large number of ripples and dips. In the shadow of the impressive Green Mountains, this course favors a short game thanks to the sweeping greens.

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The Old Course here is aptly named, with the oldest first tee in continuous use. Originally opened in 1892, the course has undergone updates and today features small greens that require excellent approach shots.

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A links course in its purest form, this was the first course in the Northwest to host the U.S. Open Championship. Everything seems massive at Chambers Bay, from the dunes and the snow-capped mountains in the distance, to the fairways on the course.

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The Greenbrier has five courses, some of which have hosted the very best tournaments around, including the Ryder Cup and Solheim Cup. The public can play on three—The Greenbrier, The Old White TPC and The Meadows.

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Another Pete Dye offering, this is one of the best championship courses around, and is wide open, with Irish course-design influences. Once you get a little inland, things become a bit more tranquil on this world-class course.

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Constant winds will test even the most skilled golfers and if you get any of the 61 large bunkers wrong there are lots of water features waiting eagerly. The 110-acre course also boasts eight lakes within it.

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