If you are a golf lover, then the U.S.A. is the best place to find some of the best public golf courses.
The top public golf courses in usa offer the best services, beautiful scenery, and interesting courses.
You can look for a course that you can play as a professional, a beginner, or someone playing occasionally on the weekend.
Having said that, here are the top public golf courses in the usa for the year 2024.
1. Pebble Beach Golf Links
- Location: Monterey Peninsula, California
- Length: 7,080 yards
- Par: 72
- Total Holes: 18
- Designer(s): Jack Neville, Douglas Grant
- Year Built: 1919
- Championships Hosted: U.S.U.S. Open, P.G.A. Championship
Indeed, Pebble Beach Golf Links remains one of the top public golf courses in usa. This is the destination that every golfer in California should consider.
The Pebble Beach Golf Links course is quite beautiful, and one can enjoy the beautiful scenery of Monterey Bay and the rocky coast.
Every golf hole in Pebble Beach is unique, and the best is the par-3 seventh. You play downhill towards the ocean, and the view is scenic.
Pebble Beach is one of the golf courses that every golfer would love to play at.
2. Pinehurst No. 2 Course
- Location: Pinehurst, North Carolina
- Length: 7,588 yards
- Par: 70
- Total Holes: 18
- Designer(s): Donald Ross
- Year Built: 1907
- Championships Hosted: Ryder Cup, U S Open, P.G.A. Championship
The Pinehurst No. 2 Course has some of the smallest Greens, which are crowned and undulating.
As a result, it’s tough even for the Tour players. This course has been the venue for many U.S. opens and is a favorite of many.
It is even more challenging and attractive since the designer, Donald Ross, was of Scottish origin. If you are in the mood for a demanding club, Pinehurst No. 2 is a course to play.
3. TPC Sawgrass (Stadium Course)
- Location: Jacksonville, Florida
- Length: 7,215 yards
- Par: 72
- Total Holes: 18
- Designer(s): Pete Dye, Deane Beman
- Year Built: 1982
- Championships Hosted: The Players Championship
TPC Sawgrass golf courses allow visitors to play in the most outstanding golfing destination. The course is well noted for its 17th hole with an island green.
It’s a par-3 that has given a hard time to the most professional golfers, and you can also try it.
The remaining part of the course is equally interesting with the water hazards and the excellent fairways.
Any golf aficionado should definitely consider TPC Sawgrass as one of their golf courses to play in.
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5. Spyglass Hill Golf Course
- Location: Monterey Peninsula, California
- Length: 6,960 yards
- Par: 72
- Total Holes: 18
- Designer(s): Robert Trent Jones Senior
- Year Built: 1966
- Championships Hosted: AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
Spyglass Hill claims to be among the world’s top 100 courses, and It has every reason to boast. It has an attractive sea view and very difficult interior holes.
The course begins along the Monterey coastline and extends into the Del Monte Forest.
In that case, it has a blend of sand-dune-like and tree-lined fairways. Simply put, the Spyglass Hill course offers a rich and varied golfing experience.
6. Blue Monster at Trump National Doral
- Location: Miami, Florida
- Length: 7,590 yards
- Par: 72
- Total Holes: 18
- Designer(s): Gil Hanse
- Year Built: 1962 (Redesigned in 2014)
- Championships Hosted: W.G.C.s
Trump National Doral’s Blue Monster is quite challenging to play on.
Still, there are many water hazards and deep bunkers, which makes it very important to be precise.
The course is long, and the layout is tough, to say the least, even for the most seasoned golfers.
Despite its few drawbacks, Blue Monster golf course is a favorite of many because of the challenge it presents for a pure strategy.
Also Read: Florida Golf Packages
7. Bandon Dunes (Pacific Dunes)
- Location: Bandon, Oregon
- Length: 6,633 yards
- Par: 71
- Total Holes: 18
- Designer(s): Tom Doak
- Year Built: 2001
Bandon Dunes, especially Pacific Dunes, is one of the best creations of modern golf course architecture.
The course is integrated with the natural environment and therefore provides a true links feel.
Another factor that greatly influences its ranking among the top public golf courses in usa. is wind and weather. The slight wind and warm weather complicate the process.
For a course that is not yet twenty years old, Pacific Dunes has garnered much acclaim for its design and beauty.
What is more, you will feel that every round presented here is quite a tough one and, at the same time, very inspiring.
8. Kiawah Island Golf Ocean Course
- Location: Kiawah Island in the state of South Carolina
- Length: 7,356 yards
- Par: 72
- Total Holes: 18
- Designer(s): Pete Dye
- Year Built: 1991
- Championships Hosted: Ryder Cup, P.G.A. Championship
It’s a great pleasure to play over the Ocean Course of Kiawah Island, as it has an oceanic view.
It was after the 1991 Ryder Cup, famously dubbed the “War on the Shore that the course rose to prominence.
The rough looks like the stringy grass of the U.K links courses, but more on the American side. This is the kind of course that any serious golfer shouldn’t afford to miss.
9. Harbour Town Golf Links
- Location: Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
- Length: 7,101 yards
- Par: 71
- Total Holes: 18
- Designer(s): Pete Dye, Jack Nicklaus
- Year Built: 2000
- Championships Hosted: R.B.C. Heritage
Harbour Town Golf Links is not very long, but it’s challenging and needs a lot of thinking plus good aim.
Pete Dye, with the consultation of Jack Nicklaus, designed this course so that you would have to think about where you wanted your ball to go.
Being among the top public golf courses in the U.S.A., this course is well known for its narrow tree-lined corridors and small putting greens.
Nevertheless, Harbour Town Golf Links continues to be a fan favorite when the P.G.A. Tour rolls around.
Most golfers understand that they need every club in their bag to play a course, and you will need all of them to beat Harbour Town.
10. Torrey Pines (South Course)
- Location: San Diego, California
- Length: 7,707 yards
- Par: 72
- Total Holes: 18
- Designer(s): William Bell, Rees Jones
- Year Built: 1957
- Championships Hosted: U.S.Open
Torrey Pines South Course is well known for holding the 2008 and 2021 U.S. open.
It has beautiful views of the Pacific Ocean, and the layout is rather difficult. The South Course is a traditional course with a California coast look.
In particular, Torrey Pines South Course has long par-4s and difficult greens that you have to shoot at to give you a tough time.
All in all, Torrey Pines South is a course that any golfer should get to play at least once in his or her lifetime.
11. Bay Hill Club and Lodge
- Location: Orlando, Florida
- Length: 7,239 yards
- Par: 72
- Total Holes: 18
- Designer(s): Arnold Palmer, Dick Wilson
- Year Built: 1961
- Championships Hosted: Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard.
Bay Hill is most famous for being the venue of the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
Golfing legend Arnold Palmer described it as the best course in Florida, and the observation is quite understandable.
It passes through the Butler Chain of Lakes, and therefore, you can see beautiful scenes.
Consider playing at Bay Hill Club and Lodge if you wish to test water features and fairways guarded by trees. After your round, you can retire to the clubhouse and enjoy a view.
Also Read: 30 Best Golf Courses In Florida
12. Erin Hills Golf Course
- Location: Hartford, Wisconsin
- Length: 7,731 yards
- Par: 72
- Total Holes: 18
- Designer(s): Michael Hurdzan, Dana Fry, Ron Whitten
- Year Built: 2006
- Championships Hosted: U.S.Open
Are you into a real challenge in the beautiful rolling Wisconsin territory? Erin Hills Golf Course offer exactly that.
Furthermore, it has a reputation for having fairly broad fairways and large greens with several slopes.
This public golf course came to the world’s limelight after hosting the 2017 U.S.U.S. Open. That is when Brooks Koepka clinched his maiden major trophy.
13. Whistling Straits (Straits Course)
- Location: Kohler, Wisconsin
- Length: 7,790 yards
- Par: 72
- Total Holes: 18
- Designer(s): Pete Dye
- Year Built: 1998
- Championships Hosted: P.G.A. Championship, Ryder Cup
Another intense course in Wisconsin is the Straits Course of Whistling Straits, which is four kilometers long and characterized by its natural and dramatic character, with many elements of Irish links.
The course borders the shores of Lake Michigan.
The Straits Course ideally resembles the links courses of Ireland and Scotland. It has previously hosted the P.G.A.
Championship and the Ryder Cup, among other major championships. Each round of the Whistling Straits will be exciting and challenging.
14. Bethpage State Park (Black Course)
- Location: Farmingdale, New York
- Length: 7,459 yards
- Par: 71
- Total Holes: 18
- Designer(s): A. W. Tillinghast
- Year Built: 1936
- Championships Hosted: U.S. Open, P.G.A. Championship.
Bethpage Black is among the most difficult top public golf courses in usa. This course is very tough, which is why low-handicap golfers prefer it.
It has small fairways, deep bunkers, and deep rough, which requires a lot of shot-making.
If you are ready to be challenged, Bethpage Black is where you need to go to get your dose of challenge.
15. Chambers Bay
- Location: University Place, Washington
- Length: 7,585 yards
- Par: 72
- Total Holes: 18
- Designer(s): Robert Trent Jones Junior
- Year Built: 2007
- Championships Hosted: U.S Open.
Chambers Bay is a beautiful links-style course in the state of Washington. It became popular as the venue for the 2015 U.S. Open, where Jordan Spieth clinched the championship.
The layout of the Chambers Bay course is special. There are large dunes and long views of the water incorporated into the course’s learning environment.
Also, Chambers Bay is a walking-only golf course, which adds to the course’s links feel. If you enjoy the style of the links golf, Chambers Bay should be on your list of courses to play.
Conclusion
To this end, now you know about some of the top public golf courses in usa
Every course has its difficulties, scenic backgrounds, and an opportunity to play on the territory where professionals perform.
These courses are stunning whether you are looking for the picturesque views of Pebble Beach or the toughness of Pinehurst No. 2.
All the golf courses discussed above are the most spectacular places where you should pack your clubs and play at any time.
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