The Methodology: How Our Panel Ranks America’s 100 Greatest Golf Courses

To arrive at our ranking of America’s 100 Greatest Golf Courses, our panelists play and score courses on seven criteria:

SHOT VALUES
How well do the holes pose a variety of risks and rewards and equally test length, accuracy and finesse?

RESISTANCE TO SCORING
How difficult, while still being fair, is the course for a scratch player from the back tees?

DESIGN VARIETY
How varied are the holes in differing lengths, configurations, hazard placements, green shapes and green contours?

MEMORABILITY
How well do the design features provide individuality to each hole yet a collective continuity to the entire 18?

AESTHETICS
How well do the scenic values of the course add to the pleasure of a round?

CONDITIONING
How firm, fast and rolling were the fairways, how firm yet receptive were the greens and how true were the roll of putts on the day you played the course?

AMBIENCE
How well does the overall feel and atmosphere of the course reflect or uphold the traditional values of the game?

To arrive at a course’s final score, we total its averages in the seven categories, doubling Shot Values. A course needs 60 evaluations over the past 10 years to be eligible for America’s 100 Greatest and the Second 100 Greatest (new Second 100 Greatest ranking to be live shortly).

View the 2019-20 ranking of America’s 100 Greatest Golf Courses