Top Ten Golf Courses in the US
The Top 20 Golf Courses in the United States in 2019
The WMF currently approves four different course types:
The Van Cortlandt Golf CourseThe Van Cortlandt Golf Course opened on July 6, 1895, as the first public municipal golf course in the United States.
No. One of the oldest golf courses in the United States is the Quogue Field Club in Quogue, NY. The private course was built in 1887 and is still in use today.
Saint Andrews Golf Club The club was founded in February 1888 by a Scottish sportsman named John Reid and his friends built a three yard course and played what is widely called the first round of golf in America.
Old Course at St AndrewsClub informationCoordinates56.343°N 2.803°WLocationSt Andrews, ScotlandEstablished1552 (469 years ago)TypePublic12 more rows
The Beginning When Russell Montague of West Virginia learned of the sport that was so popular in Scotland and where he studied in Great Britain, he was intrigued. With the help of some local friends and neighbors, he built the first golf course in the United States on his Sulphur Springs property.
Chicago Golf ClubChicago Golf Club is a private golf club in the central United States, located in Wheaton, Illinois, a suburb west of Chicago. The oldest 18-hole course in North America, it was one of the five founding clubs of the United States Golf Association (USGA) in 1894.
It is thought that the first organized golf played in America was on Harleston Green, undeveloped pastureland near the corner of Pitt and Bull streets. In 1743, Charleston merchant David Deas received a shipment of 432 golf balls and ninety-six clubs from Scotland.
#1. Naples-Immokalee-Marco Island, FLGolf courses and country club establishments per 100,000 people: 17.9.Establishments located in metro: 69.Metro population: 384,902.
In December 1650, the settlers of Fort Orange (near present-day Albany, New York) played the first recorded round of kolf (golf) in America. The Dutch settlers played kolf year round. During the spring, summer and fall it was played in fields. In the winter it was played on ice with the same rules.
The Old Course at St Andrews Links in Fife, Scotland, UK, is the oldest golf course in the world. Archbishop Hamilton's Charter in 1552 is the earliest documentary evidence that allowed the people of St Andrews to play golf on the Links.
The word 'golf' is not an acronym for anything. Rather, it derives linguistically from the Dutch word 'kolf' or 'kolve,' meaning quite simply 'club.
GEARHART GOLF LINKS & CARNE GOLF LINKS Gearhart Golf Links on Oregon's north Pacific coast is the oldest course in the western United States.
St Andrew’s Golf Club (New York) also deserves mention because it is among the oldest golf courses with continuous use today. The golf club proudly acknowledges more than 125 years of continuous course play and can attribute continuous play on the current course back to 1897 — although the club itself has been notably active since 1888. Shortly after the opening of St Andrew’s course in 1897, the Savannah Golf Club responded with a course that has been in use since 1899. Although there are some discrepancies about what makes a golf course old, the oldest golf courses or clubs in the United States are all worth visiting if the opportunity arises. They are all an important piece of history and loved by their communities.
Consider the Foxburg Golf Club (Pennsylvania), and The Oakhurst Golf Club (West Virginia). Both Foxburg and Oakhurst had records of playable courses in 1884. The Foxburg, however, was a private course on private property that only had eight holes when it was created.
Originally, the Quogue was an 18-hole course. In 1938, however, three holes were lost to a natural disaster. Now, only nine holes remain of the original 18 from 1887. Those nine holes are among the oldest in the United States golf course history.
The course was originally only nine holes, but it was increased to 18 in 1893. The 18 holes were redesigned in 1895 and moved to a location in Wheaton, making it the second oldest 18-hole course still existing in the United States, next to Shinnecock. All 18 holes, sadly, are no longer accessible.
The Oakhurst Golf Club also formed in 1884. Oakhurst claims to be “the first organized golf club in the United States.”. Remember, some golf clubs at that time were not exclusively golf clubs. Oakhurst is the oldest golf course still in use in the same location in the United States. Although the Oakhurst links make up one ...
Shortly after the opening of St Andrew’s course in 1897 , the Savannah Golf Club responded with a course that has been in use since 1899. Although there are some discrepancies about what makes a golf course old, the oldest golf courses or clubs in the United States are all worth visiting if the opportunity arises.
The Royal Montreal Golf Club in Quebec has a history of different locations. When the Royal Montreal first opened in 1873, it was a highly recognized club. It even received a Royal title from Queen Victoria.
St Andrews Golf Club. 1888 1897 1897. The St Andrews Golf Club is presently the oldest golf club documented to be in continuous existence in USA. It was started, as is widely known, by John Reid and four friends on three holes in an orchard on the outskirts of New York in November 1888 and nicknamed the Apple Tree Gang.
The Savannah Golf Club, in Georgia, USA can trace its origins back to 1794 and claim to be the oldest golf club in North America and USA, on a non-continuous basis. There is a note in 1796 of the club holding a ball and also a notice of the annual general meeting to be held 1st October 1796 being the anniversary of the club formation.
This is the oldest extant course in North America which has 18 holes. The initial course of 12 holes was designed by Willie Davis from the Royal Montreal Club and opened in summer 1891. In 1894, Willie Dunn himself added 6 more holes to make it an 18-hole course.
Shinnecock Hills Golf Club was founded in 1891, and has the oldest extant 18-hole golf course, as well as the oldest golf clubhouse, started in 1892 in America. It was also the first club in America to admit women, which it did from the start, and possibly the second in the world to do so, after Aldeburgh GC in England.
The present Savannah Golf Club and course was founded in 1899, apparently without knowledge of its ancestry at the time or for decades after, (much like Fraserburgh Golf Club ).
USGA. The US Golf Association was formed in 1894 and the Canadian Golf Association a year later in 1895. The founding members of the USGA were St Andrews Golf Club, The Country Club, the Chicago Golf Club, the Newport Golf Club and the Shinnecock Hills Golf Club. The Country Club 1892 1893 1899.
The first golf course was a 9-hole layout on Fletcher’s Field, part of Mount Royal Park on the outskirts of Montreal but the club moved to Dixie in 1896 where it remained for over sixty years until it moved to its present site at Ile Bizard in 1959.
Fox burg Country Club (1887) Foxburg Country Club is argued to be the oldest golf course in the US. The founder, Joseph Mickle Fox, learned how to golf in Scotland and brought his hobby back to the states. After returning home he created a small 8-hole golf course that quickly gained popularity.
The Oakhurst Golf Club is known as “the first organized golf club in the United States.”. The Links course was mapped out in 1884 by Russell Montague. The first recorded match in didn’t come until 1888. The course closed in 1912, but was revived in 1994. The hickory course has staged the US National Hickory Championship.
Local legend has it that Fox tried to design the course in Foxburg after the Old Course at St. Andrews. The course is a par of 68 and decently short, only 5,200 yards. Because of how short the course is, it is commonly walked with push carts. This course is open to the public.
Shinnecock Hills Golf Club (1891) Shinnecock Hills was laid out in 1891. The course’s first 12 holes were mapped out by Willie Davis. Willie Dunn later added 6 holes in 1894 to make this an 18-hole course. The course has held five US opens, most recently in 2018.
The course closed in 1912, but was revived in 1994. The hickory course has staged the US National Hickory Championship. While Oakhurst is the oldest organized golf club – it is not the oldest operating golf course. This nine hole course is beautiful and pure.
The 9 hole golf course was laid out 1886 by Arvin Harrington & Frank Holley. They initially named the course “Dorset Filed Links”, but changed the name in 1896 when the clubhouse was built. The course was lengthened and altered throughout the years.
The most significant change was in 1999 when the course added 9 holes and became an 18 hole course. Ranked in the top 5 courses in Vermont – this club is private. Which is extremely unfortunate for the average Joe’s who would want to play this immaculate, historic golf course.
Golf’s Oldest Prize. His colonial-style house, which was built four years prior to the golf course, served as the clubhouse, and the simple course boasted nine holes. Montague and his friends enjoyed playing on the course, known as Oakhurst Links, for many years. Montague hosted its first competition in 1888 in Scottish match play tradition.
Montague hosted its first competition in 1888 in Scottish match play tradition. Their annual competition became the first golf tournament known to be played in the United States, and the medal given to the winner was known as the oldest golf prize in America.
Building the course back to its original state took two years, but Keller was extremely pleased with the end result. Keller owned and operated the course for many years until he recently sold it to Greenbrier Resort, which is located just a few miles up the road.
The Beginning. Back in 1884, golf was not really heard of in the United States. Anyone who witnessed it or knew of it in other countries considered it a strange sport. When Russell Montague of West Virginia learned of the sport that was so popular in Scotland and where he studied in Great Britain, he was intrigued.
Anyone who visits this historic golf course today knows that modern golf conveniences are not allowed. Some visitors even wear period clothing, and all golfers are required to use reproductions of the clubs and balls used in 1884 when the course was first built.
Considered to be the oldest continuously operated golf course in North America (1875), the nine-hole Niagara-on-the-Lake Golf Club is just minutes from Niagara Falls and was one of the true highlights of my summer. The ambiance of the club on a sunny afternoon was complete with a festive clubhouse atmosphere and nine short but interesting holes sandwiched between the historic town and shimmering Lake Ontario. You'd be hard pressed to find a better 19th hole in Ontario. NOTL's ties to C.B. Macdonald are strong, given he was born in Niagara Falls. Macdonald didn't design the course, but he did come back to visit and play and won the first ever international golf competition in North America, staged there in 1895. These days, a hickory clubs tournament is held here in his honor.
Host of the U.S. Senior Women's Open, Chicago Golf Club is considered the oldest 18-hole course in the United States. Courtesy of the USGA. Prestigious golf clubs founded prior to the turn of the 20th century are more synonymous with Great Britain than North America. But this week's host of the U.S.
To date, his golf travels have taken him to over two dozen countries and nearly 600 golf courses worldwide. While he's played some of the most prestigious courses in the world, Tucker's favorite way to play the game is on a great muni in under three hours.
Wawashkamo Golf Course on Michigan's Mackinac Island. To get to "Wawa," located in the middle of this car-free island, you either take a horse taxi or ride a bike to the club (and yet upon arrival, there are golf carts for hire).
Chicago GC was one of the five founding members of the USGA in 1894 - the home club of C.B. Macdonald - and to this day, it's one of the most prestigious big-city clubs you can join.
A good 19th hole or place to stay after golf at Wawashkamo is the Chippewa Hotel and Pink Pony Lounge, which has a big hot tub and great harbor view. Brandon Tucker/Golf Advisor. Golden retriever Obi Wan and club manager Chuck Olson greet golfers who make the trek to Wawashkamo Country Club on Mackinac Island.
The Old Course at St. Andrews in Scotland is the oldest golf course in the world, dating back to 1552. Every golf aficionado knows that St. Andrews is the “home of golf” as the game was played on the links as far back as the 15 th century. St. Andrews is essentially, the world’s first golf course.
10 Oldest Golf Courses in the World. Although the exact origins of golf have been lost to history, it is generally accepted that modern golf developed in Scotland in the Middle Ages. There is some evidence of games very similar to golf dating to the late 13th century. However, the game that modern golf is based on became popular in the 16th century.
Length: 7,224 yards (6606 m) photo source: Wikimedia Commons. The Kingsbarns Golf Links have hosted golf games since at least 1793 when it was originally called the Cambo Links. The Kingsbarns Golfing Society continued to play on the original links until it was closed in 1850 in favor of using the area as farmland.
The original Carnoustie Golf Course featured 10 holes and was designed by Allan Robertson with assistance from Old Tom Morris. The course was modified in 1926 by James Braid. Carnoustie Golf Links is one of the venues in the Open Championship rotation and has hosted golf’s oldest major on eight occasions.
Originally, the Scotscraig Golf Course was located within the Garpit racecourse. The outline of this old racecourse are still present. In 1893, the Scotscraig Golf Course was expanded to nine holes and eventually to its present 18 holes in 1904.
The Kingsbarns Golf Club and the links were not resurrected until 1922. Scottish pro golfer Willie Auchterlonie laid out the course in 1922 near Kingsbarns Bay. Unfortunately, the links were shut down again due to the onset of World War II.
Records of golfing in Carnoustie go all the way back to the mid-16 th century, but the current Carnoustie Golf Links only dates to 1842, when the Carnoustie Golf Club was formed. There is evidence that there were earlier golf courses on what is now Carnoustie’s Burnside course prior to 1835.