People can argue all they want about what the Great American Dream really means, but for the avid golfer, it can only be one thing: the perfect golf course! And perfect golf courses abound in the United States. With a population of almost 30 million active golfers, courses of every type and description have been established to cater to their needs.
Let’s take a look at the most best-known and popular golf courses in the US.
- The Pine Valley Golf Club in Clementon, New Jersey has been continually judged as the top golf course, not only in America, but in the whole world. This private golf club has wide fairways and large greens. A lot of tournaments have been held on this field not only for its magnificent course management, but also for its sheer beauty. You can be sure to test your golf skills in this course as it showcases more world class holes than any other golf course in the world. Surely, a round spent in this golf club will be one of those monumental game experiences of your life.
- Cypress Point Club in Pebble Beach, California is consistently judged as among the best of golf courses by the different golf magazines and websites. The golf course has a lot of sand bunkers, sand dunes and the ocean even presents itself as a hazard, all strategically placed. It offers incomparable one shot holes and you get to play with a spectacular oceanic scenery. Because of the frequent wind changes, you will never find yourself playing the same game.
- The Augusta National Golf Club is a famous exclusive country club in Augusta, Georgia. It offers one championship eighteen hole course and one nine hole course. The club annually hosts highly coveted The Masters Tournament. The course is very playable, that even if your drives are wide, there won’t be much penalty.
- Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in New York is located on an immense and wide 260 acres of land. Here, the wind can either be an enemy or a friend and this requires the player to use a great deal of strategy. There is only one water hazard and a few well placed sand bunkers in this dramatic topography. This club is the first to allow women as members and its clubhouse is one of the oldest in the US.
Pebble Beach Golf Links in California has that rugged and natural appeal, with its spectacular ocean views and holes with rocky shorelines beneath. Some would consider it over-priced ($425+ in 2005, so just make sure to take a camera with you and take a hundred snapshots to make the visit even more worthwhile. Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson, and Tiger Woods have all won US Opens at Pebble Beach.
- Sand Hills Golf Club boasts of expansive sand hills that are common to Nebraska. This means that the land is basically a product of nature and largely untouched by man. The golf course has massive wide fairways that go around the sand hills. There are no water hazards here or ocean views, yet it is close to immaculate, being shaped by nature over the years. The landscape is at its best around sunset so be sure to play at this time.
- The Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pennsylvania has a total of 36 holes and it features a gently rolling terrain with fast greens and narrow fairways. It has numerous bunkers on both sides of the fairways, with limited trees outside bounds. No carts are allowed here, but walking will be such a pleasure. The website offers an excellent online tour of the course.
- The Oakmont Country Club in Oakmont, Pennsylvania a national historic landmark. It is also one of the most natural courses in the country, which does not rely on man-made ponds, bunkers and trenches. A player would find himself quite challenged and it is a must for him to have some sort of game plan throughout the game. It has hosted more national championships than any other course. Oakmont will host the 2007 US Open and the 2010 Women’s Open.


January 12th, 2006 at 12:27 am
Great site and great post. However, living in hawaii I must admit that some of the island courses have to be on this list.
Kapalua, Maui
Mauna Kea, The Big Island
Turtle Bay, Oahu
Even the very very very local Kahuku on Oahu ($5 to play for locals) might have a chance if you don’t mind a few surfers walking across the greens.
Either way a great list and a great post. Nice site and if you’re ever in Hawaii look me up, we’ll play a few rounds.
Aloha,
Erik