What is the ‘finest’ course within the U.S.? This is what you stated

Our skilled course raters get their say in assessing probably the most elegant golf programs on American soil each two years, like they only did for our 2024-25 Prime 100 Programs within the U.S. rating. However our readers — you! — have opinions, experiences and desires of enjoying Pine Valley, too. Right here we’ll escape a number of factoids and tee-time fantasies that emerged from GOLF’s 2024 Prime 100 Programs within the U.S. Readers’ Survey.

As our course specialists rolled out these newest Prime 100 lists, some of the fascinating questions we requested you, our expensive readers, was this: “Which course do you most affiliate with being ‘the perfect golf course within the U.S.’?”

Who’s the perfect is a query we ask consistently throughout sports activities. Who’s the perfect school soccer staff? We’ll see on the nationwide championship recreation in January. Who’s the world’s quickest man? We’ll see you on the 100-meter end line on the subsequent Olympics. Who’s the perfect golfer? Let’s head to the highest of the Official World Golf Rating (extra controversial nowadays, however what I imply) to see who’s overwhelmed everybody else probably the most typically.

However relating to golf programs, who’s the perfect is a barely more durable query to reply. Programs don’t play one another, in any case. We play them, after which we resolve which we like finest, the identical method we’d decide a favourite restaurant. Loads of “the perfect” are personal programs, too, they usually’re scattered throughout the nation, which suggests we’re working with incomplete information, and in contrast to our well-traveled raters, we definitely don’t play ’em all — so, yeah, it’s arbitrary.

That is additionally a distinct query than which course is your favourite, which I feel makes it extra fascinating. It is a query of cachet and popularity and model. There can by no means be a definitive reply, however who’s the perfect stays vital, as a result of that is sports activities and since we like lists and since we make ’em anyway, whether or not in our journal or our minds, our notes app or our group textual content — wherever you would possibly retailer a bucket checklist. It’s good to know who stands on the prime.

Right here’s who you stated presently does:

“Which course do you most affiliate with being ‘the perfect golf course within the U.S.’?”

33.72% — Pine Valley

28.45% — Augusta Nationwide

12.90% — Pebble Seashore

11.73% — Cypress Level

3.52% — Pinehurst No. 2

2.05% — Shinnecock Hills

2.05% — Nationwide Golf Hyperlinks of America

5.58% — Different

You’re a discerning group, so it is a good checklist. However it’s nonetheless fascinating — and telling. Let’s dig a little bit deeper.

Initially, you guys actually like golf. You actually know golf (of the readers who responded to our survey, almost two-thirds stated they play 30-plus occasions per yr and 35% stated they play greater than 50 occasions a yr) and you’ll actually play golf (about half of respondents have been 10 handicaps or decrease) too.

Pine Valley‘s model is robust. It’s tremendously personal. It’s hardly ever captured on digital camera. It’s brutally arduous to get on and brutally arduous to play when you do. However it’s identified particularly for being No. 1. You, my well-read readers, aligned with us right here; Pine Valley topped our checklist once more. How nicely does its popularity journey? It received this vote despite the fact that solely a couple of third of you stated you even know any person who has performed there.

This isn’t a query with a proper reply, although, so these of you who answered Augusta Nationwide weren’t incorrect. Whereas Pine Valley is well-known to the avid golfer, Augusta Nationwide is nearly definitely probably the most well-known golf course on this planet. Although it’s simply No. 6 in our rating, Augusta is golf’s Churchill Downs or Wimbledon Membership, an immaculate setting that performs host to the game’s greatest occasion yearly. Per your survey solutions, Augusta can be the place you’d most prefer to play — 51% of you picked Augusta as your dream tee time, whereas Pine Valley was third at 12.5%. And No. 12 at Augusta is the only gap you need to play probably the most.

Additionally, I wager when you polled the readers of a non-golf journal they’d lean much more closely Augusta. Both that or…

…Pebble Seashore, which got here in third. That is one other a sensible choice; Pebble tops our checklist of Prime 100 Programs You Can Play. It’s the perfect public golf course within the U.S., even when “public” comes with a hefty price ticket. However from the U.S. Open, from the PGA Tour, from video video games and from its iconic coastal stretch, Pebble Seashore is sort of as iconic as wherever.

From a notion standpoint, Cypress Level is the West Coast’s reply to Pine Valley — the Stanford to its Harvard. It’s shrouded in mystique, it’s powerful to get on and what pictures and movies do emerge all the time look spectacular. It’s additionally only a couple miles from Pebble, its well-regarded public neighbor (the Stanford to Pebble’s UC-Berkeley, if we need to stretch out the analogy) and beneficial properties some extra notoriety from being the personal membership ’not far away.

Pinehurst No. 2 was this yr’s U.S. Open host and is the crown jewel of “The Cradle of American Golf.” It’s No. 2 on our checklist of public programs, forward of different east-coast contenders like Bethpage Black, Kiawah Island’s Ocean Course or TPC Sawgrass’ Stadium Course.

Others obtained votes, too, together with Shinnecock and Nationwide. The Lengthy Island affect is powerful. However as everyone knows, the true finest course is the subsequent one. See you on the market.