The best public-access and private golf courses in Missouri, ranked

Looking to play the best golf courses in Missouri? Welcome to our annual Golfweek’s Best ranking of public-access and private courses.

Following are the rankings for both types of courses, 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 the first 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.

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.

* indicates new or returning to the rankings

Best public-access courses in Missouri

Payne’s Valley at Big Cedar Lodge in Missouri (Courtesy of Big Cedar Lodge)

1. Big Cedar Lodge (Ozarks National)
Hollister (T167m)

2. Big Cedar Lodge (Buffalo Ridge)
Hollister (m)

3. Big Cedar Lodge (Payne’s Valley)
Hollister (m)

4. Branson Hills
Branson (m)

5. Old Kinderhook
Camdenton (m)

6. Swope Memorial
Kansas City (c)

7. Ledgestone
Branson (m)

8. Stone Canyon
Blue Springs (m)

9. Missouri Bluffs
St. Charles (m)

10. Rivercut
Springfield (m)

Best private courses in Missouri

Bellerive Country Club in Missouri (Gary Kellner/PGA of America via Getty Images)

1. St. Louis CC
St. Louis (53c)

2. Bellerive
Creve Coeur (T107m)

3. Old Warson
Ladue (c)

4. Dalhousie
Cape Girardeau (m)

5. Norwood Hills (West)
St. Louis (c)