The 50 best golf courses in the Northeast, according to GOLF Magazine’s expert raters
Shinnecock Hills is a classic — and timeless — American test.
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GOLF Magazine recently unveiled its 2022-23 ranking of the Top 100 Courses in the U.S. But why stop there? To better illuminate the scope of epic golf around the nation, we’ve broken the country into four regions and ranked the top 50 in each. The takeaway: whatever part of the U.S. you call home, you don’t lack for world-class options. Below, you’ll find the top 50 courses in the West.
Other regional rankings: Top 50 in the Southeast | Top 50 in the Midwest | Top 50 in the West
The newest Top 100 ranking features courses from every corner of our great country, a collection of grades from our expert raters that spans from sea to shining sea (and even beyond that). And while a significant chunk of the U.S. is represented in our list, no list of the greatest courses in the country would be complete without a robust showing from the sport’s North American homeland: the Northeast.
By landmass, this area might be less than one-fifth of America, but by influence, it’s far larger. Many of the United States Golf Association’s “founding clubs” can be traced back to this corner of the United States, and many more of the best courses in the world, by our raters’ standards, live within its borders. The top course on GOLF’s list (and six of the top 10 selections) hail from this tiny corner of the world, including such blue blood selections as Shinnecock, National and Oakmont and newer additions to the list like Baltusrol and Congressional.
In short, our raters agree that there’s a lot to love from the Northeast.
READ THE FULL LIST HERE | Read more about our raters’ methodology here
The 50 best golf courses in the Northeast
1. Pine Valley — Pine Valley, N.J. (George Crump/H.S. Colt, 1918)
2. Shinnecock Hills — Southampton, N.Y. (Howard Toomey/William Flynn, 1931)
3. National Golf Links of America — Southampton, N.Y. (C.B. Macdonald, 1911)
4. Oakmont — Oakmont, Pa. (Henry Fownes, 1903)
5. Merion — Ardmore, Pa. (Hugh Wilson, 1912)
6. Fishers Island — Fishers Island, N.Y. (Seth Raynor, 1926)
7. Friar’s Head — Baiting Hollow, N.Y. (Bill Coore/Ben Crenshaw, 2003)
8. Winged Foot (West) — Mamaroneck, N.Y. (A.W. Tillinghast, 1923)
9. The Country Club (Clyde/Squirrel) — Brookline, Mass. (TCC Members/Willie Campbell, 1899)
10. Somerset Hills — Bernardsville, N.J. (A.W. Tillinghast, 1918)
11. Garden City — Garden City, N.Y. (Devereaux Emmet, 1899/Walter Travis, 1906)
12. Maidstone — East Hampton, N.Y. (John Park/Willie Park Jr., 1922)
13. Bethpage Park (Black) — Farmingdale, N.Y. (A.W. Tillinghast, 1935)
14. Sleepy Hollow — Scarborough, N.Y. (C.B. Macdonald/Seth Raynor, 1913/A.W. Tillinghast, 1929/Gil Hanse, 2017)
15. Oak Hill (East) — Pittsford, N.Y. (Donald Ross, 1921/Andrew Green, 2020)
16. Baltusrol (Lower) — Springfield, N.J. (A.W. Tillinghast, 1922)
17. Myopia Hunt — So. Hamilton, Mass. (H.C. Leeds, 1898)
18. Winged Foot (East) — Mamaroneck, N.Y. (A.W. Tillinghast, 1923)
19. Quaker Ridge — Scarsdale, N.Y. (A.W. Tillinghast, 1926)
20. Old Sandwich — Plymouth, Mass. (Bill Coore/Ben Crenshaw, 2004)
21. Eastward Ho! — Chatham, Mass. (Herbert Fowler, 1922)
22. The Creek — Locust Valley, N.Y. (C.B. Macdonald/Seth Raynor, 1923)
23. Congressional (Blue) — Bethesda, Md. (Devereux Emmet, 1924/Andrew Green, 2020)
24. Essex — Manchester-by-the-Sea, Mass. (Donald Ross, 1917)
25. Pikewood National — Morgantown, W. Va. (J. Robert Gwynne/John Raese, 2009)
26. Kittansett — Marion, Mass. (William Flynn/Fred Hood, 1922)
27. Piping Rock — Locust Valley, N.Y. (C.B. Macdonald, 1911)
28. Plainfield — Plainfield, N.J. (Donald Ross, 1916)
29. Ridgewood (W/E) — Paramus, N.J. (A.W. Tillinghast, 1929)
30. Aronimink — Newton Square, Penn. (Donald Ross, 1928)
31. Glens Falls — Queensbury, N.Y. (Donald Ross, 1920)
32. Newport — Newport, R.I. (William F. Davis, 1899/A.W. Tillinghast, 1924)
33. Baltimore (Five Farms East) — Baltimore, Md. (A.W. Tillinghast, 1926)
34. Hollywood — Deal, N.J. (Walter Travis, 1915)
35. Fox Chapel — Pittsburgh, Pa.
36. Philadelphia Cricket (Wissahickon) — Flourtown, Pa.
37. Mountain Ridge — West Caldwell, N.J.
38. Boston Golf Club — Hingham, Mass.
39. Sebonack — Southampton, N.Y.
40. Baltusrol (Upper) — Springfield, N.J.
41. Sankaty Head — Nantucket, Mass.
42. Lancaster Country Club — Lancaster, Pa.
43. Blind Brook Golf Club — Purchase, N.Y.
44. Whippoorwill — Armonk, N.Y.
45. Wannamoisett — Rumford, R.I.
46. St. George’s — East Setauket, N.Y.
47. Salem Golf Club — Peabody, Mass.
48. CC of Fairfield — Fairfield, Conn.
49. Atlantic — Bridgehampton, N.Y.
50. Wykagyl — New Rochelle, N.Y.
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