Welcome to Golfweek’s Best 2020 list of top resort golf courses in the United States, first published in the print issue of Golfweek’s Ultimate Guide.
The hundreds of members of our course-ratings panel continually evaluate courses and rate them based on our 10 criteria. They also file a single, overall rating on each course. Those overall ratings on each course are averaged to produce a final rating for each course. Then each course is ranked against other courses in the region.
We hope you enjoy poring over these rankings, and we look forward to hearing your thoughts on this Golfweek’s Best 2020: Top 200 Resort Courses list.
Each course is listed with its 2020 ranking, its location, architect(s), the year it opened and an average ranking from all the Golfweek Raters who reviewed it.
Top 200 Resort Courses 1-50
| Rank | Course | Location | Architect(s) | Year opened | Avg. rating |
| 1 | Pebble Beach Golf Links | Pebble Beach, Calif. | Douglas Grant, Jack Neville | 1919 | 8.85 |
| 2 | Bandon Dunes | Bandon, Ore. | Tom Doak | 2001 | 8.83 |
| 3 | Pinehurst No. 2 |
Pinehurst, N.C. | Donald Ross | 1907 | 8.40 |
| 4 | Whistling Straits (Straits) | Mosel, Wis. | Pete Dye | 1998 | 8.28 |
| 5 | Bandon Dunes (Old Macdonald) | Bandon, Ore. | Tom Doak, Jim Urbina | 2010 | 8.28 |
| 6 | Bandon Dunes (Bandon Dunes) | Bandon, Ore. | David McLay Kidd | 1999 | 8.14 |
| 7 | Shadow Creek | North Las Vegas, Nev. | Tom Fazio | 1970 | 8.06 |
| 8 | Kiawah Golf Resort (Ocean Course) | Kiawah Island, S.C. | Pete Dye | 1991 | 7.90 |
| 9 | Bandon Dunes (Bandon Trails) | Bandon, Ore. | Bill Coore, Ben Crenshaw | 2005 | 7.85 |
| 10 | TPC Sawgrass (Players Stadium) |
Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. | Pete Dye | 1981 | 7.76 |
| 11 | Spyglass Hill | Pebble Beach, Calif. | Robert Trent Jones Sr. | 1966 | 7.67 |
| 12 | Sand Valley (Mammoth Dunes) | Nekoosa, Wis. | David McLay Kidd | 2018 | 7.59 |
| 13 | Sand Valley (Sand Valley) | Nekoosa, Wis. | Bill Coore, Ben Crenshaw | 2017 | 7.52 |
| 14 | Streamsong Resort (Red) | Bowling Green, Fla. | Bill Coore, Ben Crenshaw | 2012 | 7.51 |
| 15 | Streamsong Resort (Black) | Bowling Green, Fla. | Gil Hanse | 2017 | 7.45 |
| 16 | Gamble Sands | Brewster, Wash. | David McLay Kidd | 2014 | 7.45 |
| 17 | Kapalua (Plantation) | Lanai, Hawaii | Bill Coore, Ben Crenshaw | 1991 | 7.41 |
| 18 | Arcadia Bluffs (Bluffs) | Arcadia, Mich. | Warren Henderson, Rick Smith | 1999 | 7.38 |
| 19 | Sea Pines Resort (Harbour Town Golf Links) | Hilton Head Island, S.C. | Pete Dye | 1970 | 7.34 |
| 20 | Streamsong Resort (Blue) | Bowling Green, Fla. | Tom Doak | 2012 | 7.32 |
| 21 | Fallen Oak | Saucier, Miss. | Tom Fazio | 2006 | 7.25 |
| 22 | Four Seasons Resort Lanai (Manele) | Lanai, Hawaii | Jack Nicklaus | 1993 | 7.25 |
| 23 | Omni Homestead Resort (The Cascades) | Hot Springs, Va. | William S. Flynn | 1923 | 7.21 |
| 24 | Sea Island (Seaside) | St. Simons Island, Ga. | Charles H. Alison, Harry S. Colt, Tom Fazio, Joe Lee | 1929 | 7.10 |
| 25 | Blackwolf Run (River) | Kohler, Wis. | Pete Dye | 1988 | 7.03 |
| 26 | Erin Hills | Erin, Wis. | Dana Fry, Michael Hurdzan | 2006 | 7.03 |
| 27 | Mossy Oak GC | West Point, Miss. | Gil Hanse | 2016 | 6.98 |
| 28 | Forest Dunes, The Loop (Red & Black) | Roscommon, Mich. | Tom Doak | 2016 | 6.98 |
| 29 | Silvies Valley Ranch (Hankins) | Seneca, Ore. | Dan Hixson | 2018 | 6.97 |
| 30 | Mid Pines | Southern Pines, N.C. | Donald Ross | 1921 | 6.97 |
| 31 | The Prairie Club (Dunes) | Valentine, Neb. | Tom Lehman, Chris Brands | 2010 | 6.97 |
| 32 | Highland Course at Primland | Meadows of Dan, Va. | Donald Steel | 2006 | 6.95 |
| 33 | Silvies Valley Ranch (Craddock) | Seneca, Ore. | Dan Hixson | 2018 | 6.93 |
| 34 | Pinehurst No. 4 | Pinehurst, N.C. | Gil Hanse | 2018 | 6.91 |
| 35 | The Greenbrier (Old White TPC) | White Sulphur Springs, W.Va. | Charles Blair Macdonald, Seth Raynor, Lester George | 1914 | 6.83 |
| 36 | Montage Palmetto Bluff (May River) | Bluffton, S.C. | Jack Nicklaus | 2004 | 6.83 |
| 37 | The Dunes G&BC | Myrtle Beach, S.C. | Robert Trent Jones Sr. | 1949 | 6.82 |
| 38 | Pine Needles | Southern Pines, N.C. | John Fought, Donald Ross | 1927 | 6.82 |
| 39 | Forest Dunes (Forest Dunes/Weiskopf) | Roscommon, Mich. | Tom Weiskopf | 2002 | 6.78 |
| 40 | Keswick Hall & GC | Charlottesville, Va. | Pete Dye | 2014 | 6.77 |
| 41 | Sand Hollow (Championship Course) | St. George, Utah | John Fought, Andy Staples | 2008 | 6.77 |
| 42 | French Lick Resort (Pete Dye Course) | French Lick, Ind. | Pete Dye | 2009 | 6.75 |
| 43 | Whistling Straits (Irish) | Mosel, Wis. | Pete Dye | 2000 | 6.75 |
| 44 | Golden Horseshoe (Gold) | Williamsburg, Va. | Robert Trent Jones Sr., Rees Jones | 1963 | 6.74 |
| 45 | Caledonia Golf & Fish Club | Pawleys Island, S.C. | Mike Strantz | 1994 | 6.71 |
| 46 | Giant’s Ridge (Quarry) | Biwabik, Minn. | Jeff Brauer | 2004 | 6.71 |
| 47 | Cascata | Boulder City, Nev. | Rees Jones | 2000 | 6.69 |
| 48 | We-Ko-Pa (Saguaro) | Fort McDowell, Ariz. | Bill Coore, Ben Crenshaw | 2006 | 6.66 |
| 49 | Arcadia Bluffs (South Course) | Arcadia, Mich. | Dana Fry, Jason Straka | 2018 | 6.65 |
| 50 | Old Waverly GC | West Point, Miss. | Bob Cupp, Jerry Pate | 1988 | 6.65 |