1/15/2025
What makes a golf course enjoyable or inspiring to play? Golfers remain picky about what speaks to them. Awareness of the finer points of golf course architecture continues to spread beyond just the design aficionados, but most golfers rely on instinct and scenery when evaluating a particular layout.
Principles like hole variety, challenge without brutality and scenery remain at the top of many golfers' wish lists when they head out to play. A superior layout can make up for some other negative aspects of the golf experience, too. Golfers may be willing to put up with indifferent service or sluggish pace of play if it means playing a golf course they really enjoy.
These 25 golf courses' layouts were particularly popular among golfers throughout 2024, with each of them being reviewed a minimum of 10 times in order to qualify. Don't treat this list as any sort of definitive statement on course architecture; instead, use it to inspire a future trip to a potentially underrated hidden gem. For the complete list of Top 25 Public Course Layouts click here.