GolfPass reveals its 2025 top 50 ‘Golfers’ Choice’ list

The Golfers’ Choice lists are generated by golfer reviews throughout 2024, determining the best golf public courses played by recreational golfers each year. All Golfers’ Choice 2025 lists can be found within dedicated pages on GolfPass.

Golfers’ Choice will reveal more than 70 lists this year, with the most-celebrated rankings announced first so the courses honored can take a bow in a spotlight all their own.

The first categories released today include:
Top 50 U.S. Courses
Most Improved
Value
Layout
Friendliest Staff
Pace of Play
Best Conditions
Off-Course Amenities
Short Courses
College Courses
Military Courses     

The popular state-by-state lists will be released in tiers with warm-weather states Hawaii, California, Arizona, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Texas – plus Australia, Mexico, and Puerto Rico – publishing Feb. 3, with the balance of the states (excluding Alaska) announced on March 3. International lists will be announced on April 2.

“The courses represented in our Golfers’ Choice Top 50 run the gamut, from rounds that cost less than $50 to bucket-list experiences like playing along Lake Tahoe at Edgewood Tahoe,” said Jason Scott Deegan, managing editor of GolfPass. “This variety exemplifies the spirit of our lists. Most other course rankings only showcase courses with green fees costing $200 or more. 

“Our lists always offer a nice mix. If you want to splurge, go ahead and do so with the more expensive courses in our Top 50, but there are other options if you are looking for a more affordable experience that overdelivers on what you pay.” 

This year’s Top 50 includes 38 courses that didn’t make last year’s list. Deegan notes that turnover on the list happens naturally each year. Local weather can impact course conditions from year to year, just as staff changes can impact service levels, positively or negatively. All these dynamics play into review scores.

Relied on by golfers for its user-generated golf course reviews and expert travel content, GolfPass creates the Golfers’ Choice lists every January to recognize top courses as determined by recreational golfers who shared nearly 275,000 reviews the previous year through leading online tee-time service, GolfNow. This year’s list continues to shine a spotlight on the game’s best playgrounds for everyday golfers.

Unlike golf course rankings published by industry insiders who have access to golf courses the public may never have the opportunity to play, the Golfers’ Choice lists are totally consumer driven – by recreational golfers, for recreational golfers.

Ages, handicaps and budgets of golfers using the website run the gamut, so the 2.4 million reviews accumulated by GolfPass and GolfNow showcase the golf course characteristics that are the most important to avid golfers across the country in any given year.

Notable:

• Edgewood Tahoe, annual host of the American Celebrity Championship each July, sits atop the Top 50.
• Omni Bedford Springs, at #2 on the list, also finished #1 in four subcategories:  Layout, Course Conditions, Pace of Play, and Staff Friendliness – a first in the 11-year history of Golfers’ Choice.
• Journey at Pechanga finished in the top-10 on the list for the third consecutive year.

Nearly 3,400 courses received the minimum 10 reviews in 2024 to qualify for consideration.

Below is GolfPass’ Golfers’ Choice list of the “Top 50 Public Golf Courses in the U.S.” for 2024. Additional categories can be found on GolfPass. An asterisk signifies the 12 courses that held a Top-50 position from the 2024 list. The balance of new courses on the list made the jump to national recognition from being state ranked in past Golfers’ Choice lists:

• *Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course – Stateline, Nev.
• Omni Bedford Springs Resort, Bedford, Penn.
• Occano, Merry Hill, N.C.
• *Pine Mountain Lake Golf Course – Groveland, Calif.
• *Thistle Golf Club – Sunset Beach, N.C.
• Glacier Wood Golf Club, Iola, Wisc.
• Eldorado Golf Course, Cadillac, Mich.
• Pole Creek Golf Club, Tabernash, Colo.
• *Journey at Pechanga – Temecula, Calif.
• ChampionsGate Golf Club – International Course, Orlando, Fla.
• The Highlands at Dove Mountain, Marana, Ariz.
• *Sandy Pines Golf Course – DeMotte, Ind.
• Heron Glen Golf Course, Ringoes, N.J.
• Park Mammoth Golf Club, Park City, Ky.
• Geneva National – Lee Trevino Course, Lake Geneva, Wisc.
• Leatherstocking Golf Course, Cooperstown, N.Y.
• Arrowhead Golf Club, Wheaton, Ill.
• *The Classic Club – Palm Desert, Calif.
• University Ridge Golf Course, Madison, Wisc.
• Bear Slide Golf Club, Cicero, Ind.
• Waterchase Golf Club, Fort Worth, Texas
• Las Vegas Paiute Golf Resort, Wolf Course – Las Vegas, Nev.
• Heron’s Glen Golf & Country Club, N. Fort Myers, Fla.
• Eagle’s Landing Golf Course, Berlin, Md.
• *Grand Bear – Saucier, Miss.
• Incline Village – Championship Golf Course, Incline Village, Nev.
• Links at Land’s End, Yantis, Texas
• Raven Golf Club at Snowshoe Mountain, Snowshoe, W.Va.
• Maderas Golf Club, Poway, Calif.
• *The Ranch Golf Club – Southwick, Mass.
• Cherry Oaks Golf Course, Cheney, Kan.
• Crumpin-Fox Club, Bernardston, Mass.
• *Las Vegas Paiute Golf Resort, Snow Mountain Course – Las Vegas, Nev.
• Ashland Golf Club, Ashland, Ohio
• Grand Traverse Resort and Spa – The Wolverine, Acme, Mich.
• Thornberry Creek at Oneda, Hobart, Wisc.
• Covered Bridge Golf Club, Sellersburg, Ind.
• Washington County Golf Course, Hartford, Wisc.
• Old Beau Resort & Golf Club, Roaring Gap, N.C.
• Wintonbury Hills Golf Course, Bloomfield, Conn.
• The Golf Club at Star Ranch, Hutto, Texas
• *Annbriar Golf Course – Waterloo, Ill. 
• The Golf Club at Creekmoor, Raymore, Mo.
• Walker Golf Course at Clemson University, Clemson, S.C.
• Harbor Shores, Benton Harbor, Mich.
• Waldorf Astoria Golf Club, Orlando, Fla.
• *Pinehills Golf Club – Jones Course – Plymouth, Mass.
• Indian Wells Golf Resort – Celebrity Course, Indian Wells, Calif.
• *Deer Island Country Club – Tavares, Fla.
• Shadow Ridge, Palm Desert, Calif.