Golfweek’s Best 2025: Top Private Golf Courses in Every State, Ranked

Golfweek has released its annual Best 2025 list, identifying the premier private golf course in each of the 49 states that boast a rated private club. Alaska, which lacks any qualifying facilities, is the lone omission.

The selections stem from year-round evaluations by Golfweek’s nationwide panel of hundreds of raters. Each panelist scores courses on ten specific criteria using a 1-to-10 point scale and submits a single overall rating. Those overall figures are averaged to create the final pecking order.

Every course honored is strictly private; public, resort, or daily-fee play is not accepted. Golfweek also publishes a separate ranking of the top public-access layouts in each state for golfers seeking open-tee options.

Courses are designated as either modern (m) or classic (c). The modern label applies to layouts built in 1960 or later, while classic refers to those constructed before 1960. When a number precedes the (m) or (c), it indicates the club’s position on Golfweek’s national Top 200 Modern or Top 200 Classic lists.

The complete state-by-state roll call can be found in Golfweek’s digital edition, offering members and industry observers a definitive snapshot of America’s most esteemed private fairways and greens for 2025.