Golfweek’s Best: Municipal Courses (2013)
Location
Opened, Architect(s), Avg. rating
1. Bethpage State Park (Black)
Farmingdale, N.Y.
1935, A.W. Tillinghast - 8.03
2. Chambers Bay
University Place, Wash.
2007, Robert Trent Jones Jr., Bruce Charlton - 7.66
3. Butterfield Trail
El Paso, Texas
2007, Tom Fazio - 6.46
4. Torrey Pines (South)
La Jolla, Calif.
1957, William F. Bell - 6.18
5. TPC Scottsdale (Stadium)
Scottsdale, Ariz.
1987, Jay Morrish, Tom Weiskopf - 6.01
6. Arrowhead Pointe
Elberton, Ga.
2003, Robert Walker - 5.98
7. Highlands of Elgin
Elgin, Ill.
2010, Keith Foster, Art Schaupeter - 5.97
8. Pinon Hills
Farmington, N.M.
1990, Ken Dye - 5.97
9. Olympic Course at Gold Mountain
Bremerton, Wash.
1996, John Harbottle - 5.94
10. Indian Wells Golf Resort (Players)
Indian Wells, Calif.
2007, John Fought - 5.81
11. Wintonbury Hills
Bloomfield, Conn.
2003, Pete Dye, Tim Liddy - 5.78
12. TPC Harding Park
San Francisco
1925, Willie Watson - 5.77
13. Bowes Creek
Elgin, Ill.
2009, Rick Jacobson - 5.74
14. Soldier Hollow (Gold)
Midway, Utah
2004, Gene Bates - 5.74
15. Sleepy Hollow
Brecksville, Ohio
1925, Stanley Thompson - 5.70
16. Presidio
San Francisco
1921, Herbert Fowler, Tom Simpson - 5.70
17. Torrey ...
Golfweek’s Best: Municipal Courses (2011-12)
Location
Opened, Architect(s)
Avg. rating
1. Bethpage State Park (Black)
Farmingdale, N.Y.
1935, A.W. Tillinghast
8.00
2. Chambers Bay
University Place, Wash.
2007, Robert Trent Jones Jr., Bruce Charlton
7.76
3. Butterfield Trail
El Paso, Texas
2007, Tom Fazio
6.41
4. Pinon Hills
Farmington, N.M.
1990, Ken Dye
6.28
5. Torrey Pines (South)
La Jolla, Calif.
1957, William F. Bell
6.21
6. TPC Scottsdale (Stadium)
Scottsdale, Ariz.
1987, Jay Morrish, Tom Weiskopf
6.09
7. Highlands of Elgin
Elgin, Ill.
2010, Keith Foster, Art Schaupeter
5.99
8. Olympic Course at Gold Mountain
Bremerton, Wash.
1996, John Harbottle
5.95
9. Arrowhead Pointe
Elberton, Ga.
2003, Robert Walker
5.90
10. Memorial Park
Houston
1936, John Bredemus, Baxter Spann
5.88
11. Indian Wells Golf Resort (Players)
Indian Wells, Calif.
2007, John Fought
5.84
12. TPC Harding Park
San Francisco
1925, Willie Watson
5.80
13. Wintonbury Hills
Bloomfield, Conn.
2003, Pete Dye, Tim Liddy
5.74
14. Torrey Pines (North)
La Jolla, Calif.
1957, William F. Bell
5.73
15. Thunderhawk
Beach Park, Ill.
1999, Robert Trent Jones Jr.
5.68
16. Laurel Hill
Lorton, Va.
2005, Bill Love ...
Golfweek’s Best: Municipal Courses (2010-11)
Year opened, designer(s), Rater's average
1. Bethpage State Park – Black
Farmingdale, N.Y.
1935, A.W. Tillinghast - 8.10
2. Chambers Bay
University Place, Wash.
2007, Robert Trent Jones Jr., Bruce Charlton - 7.76
3. Butterfield Trail
El Paso, Texas
2007, Tom Fazio - 6.56
4. Piñon Hills
Farmington, N.M.
1990, Ken Dye - 6.24
5. Torrey Pines – South
La Jolla, Calif.
1957, William F. Bell - 6.21
6. TPC Scottsdale – Stadium
Scottsdale, Ariz.
1987, Jay Morrish, Tom Weiskopf - 6.09
7. Arrowhead Pointe*
Elberton, Ga.
2003, Robert Walker - 5.90
8. Indian Wells Golf Resort – Players
Indian Wells, Calif.
2007, John Fought - 5.90
9. Highlands of Elgin*
Elgin, Ill.
2010, Keith Foster, Art Schaupeter - 5.86
10. Memorial Park
Houston
1936, John Bredemus; Baxter Spann (1996) - 5.85
11. Soldier Hollow – Gold
Midway, Utah
2004, Gene Bates - 5.83
12. Olympic Course at Gold Mountain
Bremerton, Wash.
1996, John Harbottle - 5.80
13. Laurel Hill
Lorton, Va.
2005, Bill Love - 5.78
14. Haggin Oaks – MacKenzie
Sacramento, Calif.
1932, Alister MacKenzie - 5.75
15. TPC Harding Park
San Francisco
1925, Willie Watson - 5.74
16. Wintonbury Hills
Bloomfield, Conn.
2003, Pete Dye, Tim Liddy - 5 ...
Talk of the towns
• Rankings list: Golfweek’s Best: Municipal Courses (2010-11)
Municipal Courses list looks a lot like last year’s list, with the top six courses remaining unchanged.
Arrowhead Pointe crashed the party at No. 7. That eastern Georgia layout leads a list of nine courses that weren’t on last year’s list. The newcomers include Neshanic Valley, at No. 48, which returns after a year’s absence.
The Black Course at Bethpage State Park, which has hosted two U.S. Opens in the past nine years, remains a formidable force in the Golfweek’s Best rankings.
Aside from being No. 1 on the Municipal list, it’s No. 1 among public-access courses in New York, and No. 21 on the Classic (pre-1960) list.
The list includes two other major-championship sites: Chambers Bay, which hosted the 2010 U.S. Amateur and is scheduled to host the 2015 U.S. Open; and Torrey Pines – South, which hosted the 2008 U.S. Open.
Municipal golf historically has been positioned as a low-cost, no-frills alternative to privately operated courses. That’s changed in recent years. Twenty-eight of the 50 courses were built since 1995, and many of those are positioned in the marketplace as ...
Marvelous munis
• Click here for Golfweek’s Best Municipal Courses
It will come as a surprise to no one that the Black Course at Bethpage State Park once again occupies the top spot on Golfweek’s Best Municipal Courses list for 2009-10. The A.W. Tillinghast masterpiece, which Rees Jones buffed up a decade ago, last year played host to its second U.S. Open in seven years.
The runner-up to the Black again this year is Chambers Bay, the University Place, Wash., links that will play host to the U.S. Amateur this summer.
What might come as a surprise is the strong debut by Butterfield Trail, a Tom Fazio design near the El Paso, Texas, airport that supplanted Torrey Pines’ South Course, another U.S. Open venue, at No. 3. Torrey Pines, in fact, this year got bumped two spots to No. 5, one notch below Piñon Hills, a 20-year-old Ken Dye design that put tiny Farmington, N.M., on the golf map.
Butterfield Trail is one of three newcomers to this list, joining Washington County Golf Course (No. 35) in Hartford, Wis., and Ol’ Colony (No. 49) in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
One of the things that is striking about this ...
2010 Golfweek’s Best Municipal Courses
Golfweek’s Best: Municipal Courses (2009-2010)
1. Bethpage State Park (Black) 8.07
Farmingdale, N.Y.
1935, A.W. Tillinghast; Rees Jones (1998)
2. Chambers Bay 7.61
University Place, Wash.
2007, Robert Trent Jones Jr., Bruce Charlton
3. Butterfield Trail* 6.33
El Paso, Texas
2007, Tom Fazio
4. Piñon Hills 6.18
Farmington, N.M.
1990, Ken Dye
5. Torrey Pines (South) 6.18
San Diego
1957, William F. Bell
6. TPC Scottsdale (Stadium) 6.13
Scottsdale, Ariz.
1987, Jay Morrish, Tom Weiskopf
7. Indian Wells Golf Resort (Players) 5.95
Indian Wells, Calif.
2007, John Fought
8. Memorial Park 5.88
Houston
1936, John Bredemus; Baxter Spann (1996)
9. Olympic Course at Gold Mountain 5.83
Bremerton, Wash.
1996, John Harbottle
10. Harding Park 5.83
San Francisco
1925, Willie Watson
11. Wintonbury Hills 5.72
Bloomfield, Conn.
2003, Pete Dye, Tim Liddy
12. Thunderhawk 5.71
Beach Park, Ill.
1999, Robert Trent Jones Jr.
13. Shepherd’s Crook 5.70
Zion, Ill
1999, Keith Foster
14. Laurel Hill 5.67
Lorton, Va.
2005, Bill Love
15. Torrey Pines (North) 5.66
San Diego
1957, William F. Bell
16. Indian Wells Golf Resort (Celebrity) 5.63
Indian ...
