Best Links Golf Courses in the USA
Playing a true Scottish links golf course is a truly stimulating experience… Wind howling off the coast. Undulating fairways. Firm greens that demand the artistry of a bump and run over flying it high and sticking it. Fescue. And more fescue. That’s what’s in store for you at an authentic links golf course, and while we can’t buy everyone airplane tickets to experience the birthplace of golf, we can lead you to the 10 best links-style golf courses in the United States.
- Noblesville, Indiana
- A swift departure from the quintessentially flat farmland of Indiana, Purgatory Golf Club is set on breathtaking terrain just outside of Indianapolis that begged to be transformed into a links course. And much like the belief in religious mythology that Purgatory is about overcoming obstacles to attain eternal happiness, Purgatory Golf Club embodies that same philosophy with more than 130 bunkers and rugged fescue grasses that one must avoid to succeed at this heavenly course.
- Orlando, Florida
- The wavy topography of Orlando proved to be the perfect canvas for Jack Nicklaus to pay homage to the Old Course at St. Andrews with the Grand Cypress Resort – New Course. Much like the North, South and East courses at Grand Cypress, water comes into play at the New Course more than at a traditional links course, but Nicklaus compensates for the modern design with numerous pot bunkers, stone bridges and walls, consistent mounding and double greens that bring golfers back into the Scottish feel.
- Scottsdale, Arizona
- Atypical of a links-style golf course, Talking Stick Golf Club – The O’odham Course is set in the dramatic desert terrain of Phoenix to create a truly unique golf experience in the Southwest. And despite the unexpected setting that is also home to the Piipaash Course, designers Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw created The O’odham Course as a links masterpiece with crowned greens and close-cropped approaches that encourage golfers to play just as the game was originally played in Scotland—low to the ground.
- Bolingbrook, Illinois
- Renowned designers Arthur Hills and Steve Forrest transformed what was once an open field into the brilliant links layout at Bolingbrook Golf Club. Featuring elevated tees, double greens, fescue-lined fairways, and steady breezes that make the course feel much closer to Lake Michigan than it actually is, Bolingbrook Golf Club is a great links test that demands intelligent decision making and a steady commitment to keep the ball out of Chicago’s infamous wind!
- Streamsong, Florida
- Weaving through decades-old sand dunes and natural bunkers, Streamsong is home to one of the most stunning natural landscapes in America. Designed by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw, Streamsong – Red is the result of a shared philosophy that strategic golf is the most rewarding, and with striking landforms, rolling terrain and stretches of open savannah, this links layout creates exciting angles and implores golfers to creatively use the undulating land to their advantage. Simply put, Red is amazing but don’t forget to play Black and Blue, too.
- Nantucket Island, Massachusetts
- Akin to a course on the eastern coastline of Scotland, Miacomet Golf Course is set on a gorgeous parcel of Nantucket Island that the Native Americans referred to as “Miacomet,” or “the meeting place.” And today, Miacomet can be described as the place where New England golf meets classic Scottish links. Featuring large greens of up to 6,000 square feet, expansive bunkers, pesky fescue and stiff seaside breezes, Miacomet is truly a treat for every true links enthusiast.
- Green Lake, Wisconsin
- Considered one of the best classic golf courses in the country, The Golf Courses at Lawsonia – Links is an authentic links style track that has remained virtually unchanged since Bill Langford and Ted Moreau designed it in 1930. Taking full advantage of Wisconsin’s sandy soil, Lawsonia – Links plays firm and fast just like the courses in Scotland, but unlike the majority of the courses there, visitors to The Golf Courses at Lawsonia can also try their hand at a parkland layout on site with the Woodlands.
- Isle of Palms, South Carolina
- Never exceeding a well-struck wooden longnose away from the Atlantic Ocean, Wild Dunes Resort – Links Course is Tom Fazio’s first design and still among one of his best. Set next to the Harbor Course on the northern tip of Isle of the Palms, Wild Dunes conjures up the feeling of playing on the coast of Ireland with lush rolling fairways lined by native, windswept dune grass. The only thing that’s missing is knicker-clad golfers and a lighthouse in the distance.
- Hamburg, New Jersey
- Consistently ranked the top course at Crystal Springs Resort and all of New Jersey, the Ballyowen Golf Club at Crystal Springs Resort is a links-style masterpiece that’s spread out on over 250 acres of rolling farmland atop an impressive plateau. If this Roger Rulewich design with fescue-lined fairways overlooking the Wallkill River doesn’t make you feel like you’re playing a heathland-style course in Ireland, the bagpiper playing outside of the Ballyowen clubhouse surely will.
- University Place, Washington
- Acclaimed host of the 2015 U.S. Open Championship, Chambers Bay is a Robert Trent Jones Jr. design that checks off virtually every box of what a true traditional links course should be. Seaside setting. Sandy soil. Thick fescue. Prominent winds. No trees (except for the famous Lone Fir). And then throw in spectacular views of the Olympic Mountains and Puget Sound, and Chambers Bay is the best links-style course in the U.S.