Top U.S. public courses in 2023

Want to play the best public-access golf courses in each state? Keep reading.

Fresh for 2023, we present the Golfweek’s Best Courses You Can Play list for the top public-access layouts in each state, as judged by our nationwide network of raters.

The hundreds of members of our course-ratings panel continually evaluate courses and rate them on 10 criteria on a points basis of 1 through 10. They also file a single, overall rating on each course. Those overall ratings are averaged to produce all our Golfweek’s Best course rankings.

The courses on this list allow public access in some fashion, be it standard daily green fees, through a resort or by staying at an affiliated hotel. If there’s a will, there’s a tee time – no membership required. (There are a handful of courses on this list that some players might consider to be private, but they do allow non-hosted, non-member guest play in some limited form, normally through a local hotel or similar arrangement.)

There’s one course of particular note this year. Of the dozens of courses new to this list, only Landmand Golf Club in Homer, Nebraska, debuts in the No. 1 spot in its state. Designed by Tad King and Rob Collins, Landmand opened in 2022.

KEY: (m) modern, built in 1960 or after; (c) classic, built before 1960. For courses with a number preceding the (m) or (c), that is where the course ranks on Golfweek’s Best lists for top 200 modern and classic courses in the U.S. Also included with many courses are links to recent stories about that layout.

* indicates new or returning to the rankings

Editor’s note: The Golfweek’s Best 2023 rankings of top private courses in each state will be published Monday, June 12. More lists, such as the top 200 Modern and top 200 Classic Courses lists for 2023, will be published in the following weeks.

More Golfweek’s Best for 2023:

Anchorage Golf Course (USGA/Kirk H. Owens)

1. Anchorage GC
Anchorage (m)

2. Chena Bend
Fairbanks (m)

3. Moose Run (Creek)
Fort Richardson (m)

4. Palmer GC
Palmer (m)

5. Moose Run (Hill)
Fort Richardson (c)

Mystic Creek Golf Club in Arkansas (Courtesy of Mystic Creek)

1. Mystic Creek
El Dorado (m)

2. The Ridges at Village Creek
Wynne (m)

T3. Big Creek
Mountain Home (m)

T3. Hot Springs CC (Arlington)
Hot Springs (c)

5. Mountain Ranch
Fairfield Bay (m)

Red Sky’s Norman Course in Colorado (Courtesy of Red Sky Ranch)

1. Redlands Mesa
Grand Junction…