My Top 100 Golf Courses Played

I recently published an updated version of my “Top 100 Golf Courses That I’ve Played (So Far)” on YouTube – a five-minute sprint through 14+ years of golf, travel and very questionable early swing footage and outfits. But for the first time, I also wanted to go deeper and really look at what this list says.

Not just the rankings themselves, but the trends behind them.

When you start digging into the data, a few things jump out right away. From an architecture standpoint, Jack Nicklaus leads the way with eight courses in my Top 100, followed closely by Pete Dye with seven and then Tom Doak and Donald Ross with six apiece. That surprised me a bit. I wouldn’t typically say Nicklaus is one of my personal favorite architects, but when you look at where his courses are built – places like Quivira Golf Club – it starts to make more sense. Incredible pieces of land tend to elevate everything.

Geographically, the list reflects where I’ve spent the most time – and where I think some of the best public golf in the country lives. Wisconsin leads with 27 courses, followed by Michigan (14) and Florida (9). That Upper Midwest footprint is hard to ignore, especially when you factor in destinations like Erin Hills, Sand Valley Golf Resort and the depth of quality across both public and private clubs.

One of the more eye-opening takeaways for me was just how big and demanding these courses are. The average yardage across my Top 100 is just over 7,090 yards, with an average slope of 140.2. That’s… not exactly casual. And when you look at the top end – places like Ross Bridge or the Dye Course at French Lick stretching past 8,100 yards – it does make you wonder if I naturally gravitate toward harder courses.

For what it’s worth, I rarely play from the tips. Most of my rounds fall in that 6,400 to 6,800 yard range. But I have seen some of these courses at full length – and let’s just say they’re better suited for a different level of player.

From a “new to me” standpoint, this past year had a massive impact on the list. I photographed 79 different courses in 2025, and a significant number of them worked their way into these rankings. The highest new entrant is The Dunes Club, which landed all the way up at No. 5. That’s not something I take lightly, and it speaks to just how strong that experience was from start to finish.

New Entrants to My Top 100

5. The Dunes Club – New Buffalo, MI (Dick Nugent, Mike Keiser; private)
7. Inverness Club – Toledo, OH (Donald Ross; private)
11. Arcadia Bluffs, Bluffs Course – Arcadia, MI (Warren Hendson, Rick Smith; public/resort)
13. Quivira Golf Club – Los Cabos, Mexico (Jack Nicklaus; public/resort)
28. Windsong Farm, North Course – Independence, MN (John Fought; private)
45. Cragun’s Resort, Lehman 18 – Brainerd, MN (Tom Lehman; public/resort)
46. TreeTops, Signature Course – Gaylord, MI (Rick Smith; public/resort)
47. Dancing Rabbit, Azaleas Course – Choctaw, MS (Tom Fazio, Jerry Pate; public/resort)
51. Hammock Beach, Ocean Course – Palm Coast, FL (Jack Nicklaus; public/resort)
53. Cabot Citrus Farms, The Roost – Brooksville, FL (Kyle Franz, Rod Whitten, Ran Morrissett, Mike Nuzzo; public/resort)
58. Windsong Farm, South Course – Independence, MN (John Fought, Tom Lehman; private)
61. Cragun’s Resort, Dutch 27 – Brainerd, MN (Robert Trent Jones, Sr., Tom Lehman; public/resort)
64. Sand Valley, The Commons – Rome, WI (Jimmy Craig; public/resort)
65. Oneida Golf & Country Club – Green Bay, WI (Stanley Pelcher; private)
74. Big Foot Country Club – Fontana, WI (Tom Bendelow; private)
75. Sage Run – Bark River, MI (Paul Albanese, Chris Lutzke; public/resort)
77. American Dunes – Grand Haven, MI (Jack Nicklaus; public)
78. Grand Bear – Saucier, MS (Jack Nicklaus; public)
79. Winter Park 9 – Winter Park, FL (Keith Rhebb, Riley Johns; public)
80. TreeTops, Masterpiece – Gaylord, MI (Robert Trent Jones, Sr.; public/resort)
83. Hammock Beach, Conservatory Course – Palm Coast, FL (Tom Watson; public/resort)
95. Grand Traverse Resort, The Bear – Acme, MI (Jack Nicklaus; public/resort)

This is also the first year I’ve expanded the rankings to include more variety in course types. Resort golf is heavily represented, as you’d expect, but there’s a strong mix of public and private clubs throughout the list. I also started including short courses – places like The Commons and Winter Park 9 – which I think deserve a seat at the table when we talk about overall golf experiences.

Another trend I found interesting was the distribution across different eras of golf architecture. The Golden Age (roughly 1910–1935) still holds a strong presence with 22 courses, but modern golf is just as influential in my rankings. Courses built after 2000 account for nearly half of the list (46 total), which reflects both where development has gone and where I’ve spent more of my time traveling.

At the end of the day, this list isn’t meant to be definitive – it’s a snapshot. It’s shaped by where I’ve been, what I value in a golf course, and the experiences tied to each one. That’s part of what makes doing something like this so interesting. The rankings will change. New courses will move in. And a few I haven’t thought about in a while will probably find their way back up.

If nothing else, it’s been a fun way to look back at the journey so far – and a reminder of just how many great places are still out there waiting to be played.

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