Looking to play some of the best public-access courses in the United States, day after day? Turn your attention to these eight states, each of which has at least five of Golfweek’s Best top 100 courses you can play.
It’s not a surprise to most that states such as California or Florida have their fair share of the top 100 public courses in the country. But for golfers who haven’t followed development trends closely in recent decades, a few of these might be a surprise – the data shows that if you haven’t been to Wisconsin or Michigan for golf, you really need to get moving. That’s especially true for Oregon.
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In all, there are just 31 states represented on the 2026 Golfweek’s Best list of top 100 public-access layouts. As mentioned, eight states have at least five on the list, and those eight states have a combined 58 ranked courses.
None of this is to say other states aren’t rich in golf. New York, for example, has many of the best private courses in the world. But New York also has just two courses among the top 100 public-access courses. Golf is great in New York, but you have to get through the gates first. It’s a similar story in Illinois, as another prime example of private heavily outweighing public golf in a state.
California, which is rich in both public and private courses, leads our list of states with 10 ranked public-access layouts. Oregon is second with nine ranked courses, five of them at one resort that everybody needs to see at least once in their lifetime. North Carolina and Wisconsin each have eight ranked courses, Florida has seven and Hawaii checks in with six. Michigan and South Carolina make this list of great public-access states with five each.
Golfweek’s Best: How we rank golf courses
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Several of these courses below are mostly private clubs, but they do allow limited outside play. The Lido, Broomsedge and Pasatiempo fit this kind of welcoming model, and because they do allow public-access golf to some degree, they appear among the ranking of the top 100 public-access courses.
Note: The number in front of each course below reflects where that course is ranked for 2026 among the top 100 public-access courses in the U.S.
California’s 10 ranked courses
The 17th hole at Pebble Beach Golf Links in California. Photo courtesy of Pebble Beach
1. Pebble Beach Resorts (Pebble Beach Golf Links)
11. Pasatiempo
12. Pebble Beach Resorts (Spyglass Hill)
17. Poppy Ridge
T52: Torrey Pines (South)
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55. Yocha Dehe at Cache Creek Casino
T60. Rustic Canyon
T65. Pebble Beach Resorts (Links at Spanish Bay)
75. Omni La Costa Resort & Spa (Champions)
T82. Rams Hill
Oregon’s nine ranked courses
The par-3 11th of Pacific Dunes at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort in Oregon plays just atop the cliff above the Pacific Ocean.
2. Bandon Dunes Golf Resort (Pacific Dunes)
5. Bandon Dunes Golf Resort (Bandon Trails)
6. Bandon Dunes Golf Resort (Old Macdonald)
7. Bandon Dunes Golf Resort (Bandon Dunes)
T15. Bandon Dunes Golf Resort (Sheep Ranch)
T67. Silvies Valley Ranch (Hankins)
T87. Sunriver Resort (Crosswater)
T97. Pumpkin Ridge (Ghost Creek)
T100. Silvies Valley Ranch (Craddock)
North Carolina’s eight ranked courses
Pinehurst Resort’s No. 2 in North Carolina
3. Pinehurst Resort (No. 2)
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19. Pinehurst Resort (No. 10)
40. Pinehurst Resort (No. 4)
T57. Mid Pines
T60. Pine Needles
62. High Hampton
69. Tot Hill Farm
T70. Tobacco Road
Wisconsin’s eight ranked courses
The Straits Course at Kohler’s Whistling Straits in Wisconsin
4. Kohler Whistling Straits (Straits)
13. Sand Valley (Lido)
21. Sand Valley (Sand Valley)
23. Sand Valley (Mammoth Dunes)
T25. Erin Hills
T28. Lawsonia (Links)
32. Sand Valley (Sedge Valley)
56. Kohler Blackwolf Run (River)
Florida’s seven ranked courses
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FLORIDA – MARCH 05: A view of the 17th green from the drone prior to THE PLAYERS Championship at Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass on March 5, 2023 in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. (Photo by Ben Jared/PGA TOUR)
14. TPC Sawgrass (Players Stadium)
22. Streamsong (Red)
24. Streamsong (Blue)
T33. Streamsong (Black)
47. The Park West Palm
T63. Cabot Citrus Farms (Karoo)
T87. Bay Hill Club and Lodge
Hawaii’s six ranked courses
Four Season Resorts Manele course in Hawaii (Courtesy of Four Seasons)
T15. Four Seasons Resort Lanai (Manele)
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27. Kapalua (Plantation)
T57. Princeville (Makai)
T70. Mauna Kea Resort
T77. Four Seasons Resort Hualalai
93. Wailea (Gold)
Michigan’s five ranked courses
Arcadia Bluff’s Bluffs Course in Michigan
T33. Arcadia Bluffs (Bluffs)
T50. Marquette Golf Club (Greywalls)
T52. Forest Dunes (The Loop Red & Black)
T82. Arcadia Bluffs (South)
T82. Forest Dunes (Weiskopf)
South Carolina’s five ranked courses
The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island Golf Resort in South Carolina
10. Kiawah Island Golf Resort (Ocean)
T28. Sea Pines Resort (Harbour Town Golf Links)
T33. Broomsedge
81. Caledonia Golf & Fish Club
T82. The Dunes Golf & Beach Club
Jason Lusk is Golfweek’s travel and golf course architecture editor, as well as the magazine’s creative director. He has written for and designed Golfweek for more than two decades.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: These eight states have the most great public-access golf courses
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