The clubhouse at Valhalla, which hosted the 2024 PGA Championship.
Getty Pictures
As a part of GOLF’s rigorous scores course of for our newly launched Prime 100 Programs within the U.S. and Prime 100 Programs You Can Play rankings, our fleet of 100-plus knowledgeable panelists recognized the very best golf programs in each state.
You’ll be able to take a look at the hyperlinks under to browse all of our course rankings, or scroll all the way down to see the very best programs in Kentucky. And in case you’re trying to create your personal journey sooner or later, you’d be sensible to let GOLF’s new Course Finder software help you. Right here, you may toggle all of our lists — Prime 100 public, greatest munis, greatest quick programs, greatest par-3s and extra — or filter by worth to create the right itinerary to your subsequent journey.
GOLF’s different course rankings: Prime 100 Programs within the World | Prime 100 Programs within the U.S. | Prime 100 Programs You Can Play | Prime 100 Worth Programs within the U.S. | America’s Greatest Municipal Programs | The 100 Greatest Quick Programs within the World
Take a look at our all-new journey podcast Vacation spot GOLF. Hear and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts: APPLE | SPOTIFY | IHEART | AMAZON
The most effective golf programs in Kentucky (2024/2025)
SYMBOL GUIDE
# = Prime 100 Course within the U.S.
Y = Prime 100 You Can Play within the U.S.
V = Prime 100 Worth Course within the U.S.
P = Public/Resort
Ed. observe: Some programs had been omitted from our rankings as a result of they didn’t obtain sufficient votes.
1. Valhalla (Louisville)
Jack Nicklaus consists of the double-fairway par-5 seventh as considered one of his favourite gap designs. He provides the participant decisions, with the left shorter fairway having a more difficult strategy with a pressured carry over water to the inexperienced. The inexperienced complexes are difficult, however not as devious as another Nicklaus designs. Valhalla strikes the right steadiness: able to internet hosting the PGA Championship and Ryder Cup whereas nonetheless being enjoyable for the common golfer to get pleasure from as properly.
2. Idlehour (Lexington)
3. Hustbourne (Hurstbourne)
4. The Membership at Olde Stone (Bowling Inexperienced)
5. Park Mammoth Golf Membership (Park Metropolis) [P]
How we rank our programs
For our newly launched Prime 100 U.S. and Prime 100 You Can Play lists — a course of that helped us create 50 best-in-state rankings — every panelist was offered a poll that consisted of 609 programs. Beside the record of programs had been 11 “buckets,” or groupings. If our panelists thought-about a course to be among the many high three within the U.S., they ticked that first column. In the event that they believed the course to be amongst Nos. 4-10, they checked that column, adopted by 11-25, 26-50, and so forth out to 250+ and even a column for “take away.” Panelists had been additionally free to put in writing in programs that they felt ought to have been included on the poll.
Factors had been assigned to every bucket; to reach at a median rating for every course, we divide its combination rating by the variety of votes. From these level tallies, the programs are then ranked accordingly. It’s an deliberately easy and easy course of. Why? As a result of it traditionally has produced outcomes which are broadly lauded. Like the sport itself, there’s no have to unnecessarily complicate issues or attempt to repair one thing that already works so properly.
