As part of GOLF’s rigorous ratings process for our newly released Top 100 Courses in the U.S. and Top 100 Courses You Can Play rankings, our fleet of 100-plus expert panelists identified the best golf courses in every state.
You can check out the links below to browse all of our course rankings, or scroll down to see the best courses in Pennsylvania. And if you’re looking to create your own trip in the future, you’d be wise to let GOLF’s new Course Finder tool assist you. Here, you can toggle all of our lists — Top 100 public, best munis, best short courses, best par-3s and more — or filter by price to create the perfect itinerary for your next trip.
GOLF’s other course rankings: Top 100 Courses in the World | Top 100 Courses in the U.S. | Top 100 Courses You Can Play | Top 100 Value Courses in the U.S. | America’s Best Municipal Courses | The 100 Best Short Courses in the World
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The best golf courses in Pennsylvania (2024/2025)
SYMBOL GUIDE
# = Top 100 Course in the U.S.
Y = Top 100 You Can Play in the U.S.
V = Top 100 Value Course in the U.S.
P = Public/Resort
Ed. note: Some courses were omitted from our rankings because they did not receive enough votes.
1. Oakmont (Oakmont) [#]
No course thrives more on looking mean. Indeed, the beauty of Oakmont is how it doesn’t doll itself up, and yet to a purist, the view from the crest of the hill on 15 is as breathtaking as any in the country. The barren landscape possesses few trees and no water, just drainage ditches that traverse the land. Daunting carries aren’t the issue, either, and the greens are huge, so what’s the big deal? The question is answered at the 1st, with a green that follows the natural contours and slopes away from the player. The club prides itself on the pace and firmness of its world-renowned putting surfaces, so let the beating commence! For a course known for its difficulty, what gets lost in the shuffle is the brilliance of its quartet of short par-4s, at 2, 11, 14 and 17.
2. Merion – East (Ardmore) [#]
What makes Merion so distinctive is its remarkable variety. Some par-4s are short; others are monsters with the delta being as much as 200 yards. One par-3 is tiny, at 115 yards; the others measure 236, 246 and 256. The famous par-4 11th, where Bobby Jones clinched the 1930 Grand Slam, is slashed by a creek, while the par-4 16th demands a shot over an abandoned stone quarry. In short, Merion has everything, including sub-air and irrigation systems that lend more control over the firmness and speed of the playing surfaces. The recently expanded greens have created a plethora of new hole locations around the greens’ perimeters, and the player’s chess match with the clever design is more intense than ever.
3. Fox Chapel (Pittsburgh) [#]
This Tom Marzolf restoration was a strict return to Raynor’s 1925 vision, some of which had been lost based on advice that the club received from A.W. Tillinghast in the 1930s. Raynor fans are left with plenty to relish, including the Lion’s Mouth bunker brought back at 9, the Double Plateau green reinstated at 13, and the famous Bottle hole bunkering scheme returned at 16. All the approach areas were sand-capped, with the resulting firmer surfaces allowing for short-game creativity. Additionally, short grass now surrounds the green pads, ensuring that options abound for recovery shots. Panelist Barry Doyle has suggested that Fox Chapel might now be home to Raynor’s best set of greens.
4. Aronimink (Newton Square) [#]
Donald Ross always thought Aronimink would be his masterpiece. Over the years, a who’s who of great architects gently tweaked this suburban Philly classic, and while the course never lost its greatness, bits of Ross’s genius were slowly chipped away. Almost 20 years of patient restoration — most recently led by Gil Hanse — have brought Ross’ original vision back to life. Today, the famous Tudor clubhouse overlooks a course with larger greens and more treacherous bunkers that is once again the “supreme test” Ross intended.
5. Philadelphia Cricket – Wissahickon (Flourtown) [#]
Keith Foster’s 2013 restoration, which features both great variety and spaciousness, brought all of A.W. Tillinghast’s design sparkle back. Some greens are open across the front and beg for a running shot while others are perched and heavily defended. The design reflects Tillinghast’s genius for diverse green settings. His famous trademark, the Great Hazard (a mammoth central bunker that bisects the fairway), is particularly well done at PCC’s 7th hole. The course also is home to one of the East Coast’s best finishers, a tough, risk-reward par-4 with a creek that comes into play if you don’t hug the left side of the fairway off the tee.
6. Lancaster (Lancaster)
7. CC of Scranton (Clarks Summit)
8. Rolling Green (Springfield)
9. Huntington Valley (Huntington Valley)
10. Manufacturers (Fort Washington)
11. Saucon Valley – Old (Bethlehem)
12. Sunnehanna (Johnstown)
13. Laurel Valley (Ligonier)
14. Allegheny (Sewickley)
15. Saucon Valley – Weyhill (Bethlehem)
16. Lehigh (Allentown)
17. Gulph Mills (King of Prussia)
18. Longue Vue (Verona)
19. Stonewall – Old (Elverson)
20. Philadelphia CC – Spring Mill (Gladwyne)
21. Llanerch (Havertown)
22. Applebrook (Malvern)
23. Saucon Valley – Grace (Bethlehem)
24. Pittsburgh Field Club (Pittsburgh)
25. LuLu (Glenside)
How we rank our courses
For our newly released Top 100 U.S. and Top 100 You Can Play lists — a process that helped us create 50 best-in-state rankings — each panelist was provided a ballot that consisted of 609 courses. Beside the list of courses were 11 “buckets,” or groupings. If our panelists considered a course to be among the top three in the U.S., they ticked that first column. If they believed the course to be among Nos. 4-10, they checked that column, followed by 11-25, 26-50, and so on out to 250+ and even a column for “remove.” Panelists were also free to write in courses that they felt should have been included on the ballot.
Points were assigned to each bucket; to arrive at an average score for each course, we divide its aggregate score by the number of votes. From those point tallies, the courses are then ranked accordingly. It is an intentionally simple and straightforward process. Why? Because it historically has produced results that are widely lauded. Like the game itself, there’s no need to unnecessarily complicate things or try to fix something that already works so well.
The key to the process is the experience and expertise of our panel. Hailing from 15 nations and all the worldwide golf meccas, each of our 127 handpicked panelists has a keen eye for architecture, both regionally and globally. Many of our panelists have played more than 1,000 courses in 20-plus countries, some over 2,000. Their handicaps range from +5 to 15.
Because the nature of course rating is so intensely subjective, no one opinion carries the day. The only way, then, to build meaningful consensus is to incorporate this diversity of panelists and experiences into one ranking.
