Golfweek’s Best 2020: Top 50 Casino Golf Courses

Welcome to Golfweek’s Best Casino Courses in the United States, first published in the November/December print issue of Golfweek.

Welcome to Golfweek’s Best Casino Courses in the United States, first published in the November/December print issue of Golfweek.

The top 10 on this list held steady since 2018, but there was plenty of movement in the rest of the rankings as 33 courses changed position, including three that moved onto the list.  

Kalispel Golf and Country Club in Spokane, Washington, formerly Spokane Country Club, jumped onto the list at No. 30. The Champions course at Thornberry Creek in Oneida, Wisconsin, also moved into the top 50 at No. 40, and Rocky Gap Casino Resort in Flintstone, Maryland, made it onto the list at No. 44.

Worth noting, the names of the courses at Talking Stick in Scottsdale, Ariz., have changed. The North course is now the O’odham course (No. 34), and the South course was renamed Piipaash (No. 46). Also, Sevillano Links in Corning, Calif., was renamed The Links at Rolling Hills (No. 42). 

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 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.

French Lick’s Donal Ross Course (Courtesy of French Lick Resort)

Golfweek’s Best: Top 50 Casino Courses

Rank Course Location Designer(s) Year
Opened
Avg. 
Rating
1 Shadow Creek North Las Vegas, Nev. Tom Fazio 1990 8.09
2 Fallen Oak Saucier, Miss. Tom Fazio 2006 7.25
3 The Greenbrier
(Old White TPC)
White Sulphur Springs, W.Va. Charles Blair Macdonald,
Seth Raynor, Lester George
1914 6.86
4 French Lick
(Pete Dye Course)
French Lick, Ind. Pete Dye 2009 6.75
5 We-Ko-Pa (Saguaro) Fort McDowell, Ariz. Bill Coore,
Ben Crenshaw
2006 6.67
6 Salish Cliffs Shelton, Wash. Gene Bates 2011 6.55
7 Wilderness at Fortune Bay Tower, Minn. Jeff Brauer 2004 6.54
8 Barona Creek Lakeside, Calif. Gary Roger Baird,
Todd Eckenrode
2001 6.50
9 Nemacolin Woodlands (Mystic Rock) Farmington, Pa. Pete Dye 1995 6.44
10 Spirit Hollow Burlington, Iowa Rick Jacobson 2000 6.41
11 The Preserve GC Vancleave, Miss. Jerry Pate 2006 6.34
12 Turning Stone Resort (Atunyote) Verona, N.Y. Tom Fazio 2004
6.21
13 French Lick (Donald Ross Course) French Lick, Ind. Donald Ross 1917 6.19
14 Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Maricopa, Ariz. Brian Curley,
Lee Schmidt
2002 6.17
15 Edgewood Tahoe GC Stateline, Nev. George Fazio 1968 6.17
16 We-Ko-Pa (Cholla) Fort McDowell, Ariz. Scott Miller 2001 6.15
17 Firekeeper Mayetta, Kan. Jeff Brauer, Notah Begay III 2011 6.13
18 Meadows at Mystic Lake Prior Lake, Minn. Garrett Gill,
Paul Miller 

2005
6.12
19 Yocha Dehe at Cache Creek Casino Brooks, Calif. Brad Bell 2008  6.10
20 Sweetgrass GC Harris, Mich. Paul Albanese 2008 6.07
21 Circling Raven Worley, Idaho Gene Bates 2003 6.05
22 Sandia Golf Club Albuquerque, N.M. Scott Miller 2005 5.95
23 Tatanka GC Niobrara, Neb. Paul Albanese 2015 5.94
24 Lake of Isles (North) North Stonington, Conn.  Rees Jones 2005  5.93
25 The Greenbrier (Greenbrier) White Sulphur Springs, W.Va.  Seth Raynor,
George O’Neil, Jack Nicklaus
1924 5.92
26 Sewailo GC Tucson, Ariz. Notah Begay III, Ty Butler  2013
5.89
27 Belterra GC Florence, Ind. Tom Fazio 2001 5.82
28 Journey
at Pechanga
Temecula, Calif. Steve Forrest, Arthur Hills  2008 5.81
29 Turning Stone (Shenendoah) Verona, N.Y. Rick Smith 2000 5.81
30 Kalispel G&CC Spokane, Wash. Jim Barnes 1910 5.79
31 Seneca Hickory Stick Golf Lewiston, N.Y. Robert Trent Jones Jr. 2010 5.78
32 Riverside
(Blue Top Ridge)
Riverside, Iowa Rees Jones 2007 5.78
33 Dancing Rabbit GC (Azaleas) Philadelphia, Miss. Tom Fazio,
Jerry Pate
1997 5.75
34 Talking Stick (O’odham, formerly North) Scottsdale, Ariz. Bill Coore,
Ben Crenshaw
1998 5.73
35 Dancing Rabbit GC (Oaks) Philadelphia, Miss. Tom Fazio,
Jerry Pate 
1999 5.72
36 Apache Stronghold San Carlos, Ariz. Tom Doak 1999 5.71
37 Eagle Falls Indio, Calif. Clive Clark 2008 5.70
38 Turning Stone (Kaluhyat) Verona, N.Y. Robert Trent Jones Jr. 2003  5.70
39 Sequoyah National GC Whittier, N.C. Robert Trent Jones Jr.,
Notah Begay III
2009 5.65
40 Thornberry Creek at Oneida (Champions) Oneida, Wis. Rick Jacobson 2004 5.63
41 Inn of the Mountain Gods Mescalero, N.M. Ted Robinson 1976 5.59
42 The Links at Rolling Hills Corning, Calif. Mike Stark 2007 5.53
43 Shell Landing GC Gautier, Miss. Davis Love III 2002  5.50
44 Rocky Gap Casino Resort Flintstone, Md. Jack Nicklaus 1998 5.50
45 Whirlwind GC (Cattail) Chandler, Ariz. Gary Panks 2002 5.48
46 Talking Stick (Piipaash, formerly South) Scottsdale, Ariz. Bill Coore,
Ben Crenshaw
1998 5.44
47 Whirlwind GC (Devil’s Claw) Chandler, Ariz. Gary Panks 2000 5.42
48 Mohegan Sun GC Baltic, Conn. Geoffrey Cornish,
Robert McNeil
1960 5.30
49 Cherokee Hills Tulsa, Okla. Tripp Davis, Perry Maxwell 1924 5.16
50 Windance CC Gulfport, Miss. Mark McCumber 1986 5.13