Bang for your buck
The 15 cheapest courses you can play on our new best public ranking
There is one simple democratic principle at the center of our America’s 100 Greatest Public Golf Courses ranking: Anyone can play them. Twenty years on from Golf Digest’s inaugural ranking of the best public layouts in 2003, the biennial list remains the definitive guide to the best courses you can play, highlighting the best architecture across a variety of settings and climates in the country.
Yet, as shown in our 2023-’24 list, the prices to play many of these top courses is dramatically increasing, precluding anyone on a budget. The green fees for the top 10 courses in the ranking average more than $400, and fewer than 20 courses offer rates under $100 at any time of the year.
That said, it is still possible to find great value amid the steep prices on the list. You just have to know where to look. In this collection, you’ll find the 15 most affordable courses on our new 100 Greatest Public list, all of which offer green fees at $100 or under.
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One note: Rates for most courses fluctuate based on the season, time of day, residency, and demand. For this collection, we used the lowest posted rate offered throughout the year, meaning many of these low prices are offered in the offseason. We did not include twilight or resident rates, so take advantage of these for even better value.
1. Wild Horse Golf Club (Rates start at $61)
From Golf Digest Architecture Editor emeritus Ron Whitten:
Dan Proctor and Dave Axland have been quasi-legends in the business of golf course construction for over 30 years now, individually and collectively. They've worked on many of Coore & Crenshaw’s prominent designs, including Sand Hills (Nebraska's premier layout, in the center of the state's vast sand hills) and Cabot Cliffs (Canada's premier layout these days). They even rated cameo appearances in Geoff Shackleford’s 1998 novel, The Good Doctor Returns. And they were also a talented course design team in their spare time, routing and building quality low-budget courses in the Coore & Crenshaw style.
2. Belvedere Golf Club ($62)
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T-3. The Virtues Golf Club ($64)
T-3. The Bull at Pinehurst Farms ($64)
5. The Wilderness at Fortune Bay ($78)
6. Black Mesa Golf Club ($79)
T-7. The Pfau Course at Indiana University ($80)
T-7. Sand Hollow Resort: Championship Course ($80)
T-9. The Golf Courses of Lawsonia: Links ($85)
T-9. Tullymore Golf Resort ($85)
T-9. Southern Pines Golf Club ($85)
T-9. Mossy Oak Golf Club ($85)
From Golf Digest Architecture Editor emeritus Ron Whitten:
Back in mid-1980s, George Bryan, who ran Bryan Foods, now part of Sara Lee Corp., created Old Waverly Golf Club in tiny West Point, Miss., a Bob Cupp/Jerry Pate design and former U.S. Women’s Open host that to me is a bit underrated. In the early 2000s, Bryan bought an old dairy farm (Knob Hill Dairy) across the highway and hired Gil Hanse to give him an Old School public golf course. George named it Mossy Oak, after a West Point company of the same name that supplies outdoor camouflage gear. (The company has a 10-percent interest in the course.) He was going to call it Howlin' Wolf after a legendary blues singer born in West Point, but his heirs wanted too much money.
13. The Quarry at Giants Ridge ($87)
14. Mid Pines Inn & Golf Club ($95)
15. The Golf Club at Harbor Shores ($100)
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