The Best Golf Courses in New York State
New York holds three of the ten greatest courses in America, all within a few miles of one another on eastern Long Island, plus the public colossus of Bethpage Black, a Tillinghast classic in Westchester and championship golf upstate. Most of the best are private, so we have ranked the ten and told you plainly which you can actually play. Here are the finest courses in the Empire State, with our verdicts.
Photograph: Bethpage Black Golf Course, via Google
How we chose
We ranked these courses on the quality of the golf, their design pedigree and championship history, and the experience of playing them, then weighed access honestly, because a list that ignores whether you can get on is no use to a travelling golfer. New York is unusual: it holds an extraordinary cluster of the greatest private courses in the world on eastern Long Island, yet its public golf is led by one of the most famous municipal courses anywhere. We have flagged each course private or public so you know exactly where you stand.
The result is a list that runs from untouchable private masterpieces to the bucket list public round you can book today. For most visitors the trip is built around Long Island, with Shinnecock, National and Sebonack the holy trinity of Southampton and Bethpage Black the headline you can play, then extended west to Winged Foot or upstate to Oak Hill and Turning Stone. Where a course is private, treat it as aspirational or a round to chase through a member; where it is public, build the trip around it.
The 10 best golf courses in New York State
Shinnecock Hills Golf Club
The best course in New York and one of the top five in America, Shinnecock is a windswept links over rolling Long Island moorland, its modern routing the work of William Flynn. A founding club of the USGA, it has staged five US Opens and is set for a sixth in 2026. Pure, exposed and strategic, with the wind as its great defence, it is championship golf at its most timeless. Strictly private.
National Golf Links of America
C.B. Macdonald's links masterpiece, opened in 1911 next door to Shinnecock, is the most important course in American golf history, a study of the great template holes of Britain reimagined on the shore of Peconic Bay. Quirky, bold and endlessly admired, it sits inside the national top ten and shaped everything that followed in American design. Private and revered.
Fishers Island Club
Seth Raynor's seaside gem on a small island off the eastern tip of Long Island Sound is one of the most beautiful and least seen great courses in the world, reachable only by ferry or private boat. A run of holes along the water, Raynor template greens and total seclusion make it a holy grail for course hunters. It sits inside the national top ten. Extremely private.
Winged Foot Golf Club, West Course
A.W. Tillinghast's brawny parkland West Course in Westchester is one of the great US Open venues, a relentless test of long, exacting par 4s and fiercely bunkered, sloping greens. It has crowned champions across the decades, most recently Bryson DeChambeau in the 2020 US Open, and remains a benchmark of championship difficulty. Private, and the best golf within reach of New York City.
Sebonack Golf Club
The modern entry in the Southampton holy trinity, Sebonack is a rare collaboration between Jack Nicklaus and Tom Doak, a big, dramatic course on a glorious site running down to Great Peconic Bay. It opened in 2006 and quickly earned its place among the national elite, hosting the 2013 US Women's Open. Bold, scenic and beautifully conditioned. Private.
Oak Hill Country Club, East Course
The great championship course of upstate New York, Donald Ross's tree lined East Course in Rochester has hosted more major championships than almost any club in America, US Opens, PGA Championships and a Ryder Cup among them, most recently the 2023 PGA won by Brooks Koepka after a restoration of the Ross design. Stern, classical parkland golf. Private.
Maidstone Club
A pure, understated links among the dunes at East Hampton, Maidstone is the most charming of the Long Island greats, a Willie Park Jr design where a handful of holes run right along the Atlantic shore. Short by modern standards but full of subtlety, wind and character, it is a connoisseur's favourite and one of the truest seaside experiences in America. Private.
Garden City Golf Club
One of the oldest and most historic clubs in the country, Garden City on western Long Island is a firm, fast, walking only men's club course of great strategic depth, laid out by Devereux Emmet and refined by Walter Travis. It hosted an early US Open and US Amateurs, and remains a beloved throwback, all fescue, deep bunkers and clever ground. Private.
Bethpage State Park, Black Course
The people's championship course, and the best public golf in the state by a distance. Tillinghast's brutal Black Course on Long Island carries its famous warning sign about the strenuous round ahead, has hosted two US Opens and the 2025 Ryder Cup, and yet anyone can book it through the state reservation system. Long, punishing and unforgettable, it is the round to plan a New York trip around.
Atunyote at Turning Stone
The standout playable course of central New York, Tom Fazio's Atunyote at the Turning Stone Resort near Utica is a polished, generous championship layout that has hosted PGA Tour and Korn Ferry Tour events. With two more strong resort courses alongside it and full public access, it is the best golf trip base upstate and a fine pairing with a Bethpage round on a wider New York tour. Public.
Designers, opening years, championship history and access verified June 2026 from course, USGA and tour sources; access policies and fees change, so always confirm current rates and how to play directly before booking. Check tee time availability.
Plan your New York golf trip
Tell us which of these appeals and roughly when and who is travelling, and one concierge matches the courses to your group, secures the playable tee times at Bethpage Black, Atunyote and the wider Long Island public golf, and costs the trip to the head, with no obligation.
New York golf questions
What is the best golf course in New York State?
By the consensus of national rankings, Shinnecock Hills in Southampton is the best course in New York State, a William Flynn links on eastern Long Island that sits inside the top five courses in America and hosts the US Open, with another scheduled for 2026. It is a private club, so for the travelling golfer the best course you can actually play is Bethpage Black, the public state park course in Farmingdale that hosts US Opens and the 2025 Ryder Cup.
Can you play the best New York courses without a membership?
Mostly not. New York's greatest courses, Shinnecock Hills, National Golf Links, Fishers Island, Winged Foot, Sebonack, Oak Hill, Maidstone and Garden City, are private and need a member or a guest invitation. The standout exceptions are public: Bethpage Black, the famous state park course on Long Island, and Atunyote at Turning Stone Resort in central New York, both of which anyone can book, plus the other Bethpage courses and a strong field of daily fee golf.
How do you get a tee time at Bethpage Black?
Bethpage Black is a public course run by New York State, and tee times are released on a reservation system that favours New York residents, with a non resident option at a higher fee. The course is walking only at weekends, famously tough, and demand is high, so book the moment your window opens or have a trip planner secure the time. Always confirm current reservation rules and fees directly before booking.
Where are most of New York's best courses?
The greatest concentration is on eastern Long Island, in and around Southampton, where Shinnecock Hills, National Golf Links, Sebonack and Maidstone sit within a few miles of one another, with Fishers Island a ferry ride off the eastern tip. Westchester, just north of New York City, holds Winged Foot, and there is championship golf upstate at Oak Hill in Rochester and at Turning Stone near Utica. A New York golf trip usually centres on Long Island.
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Researched and written by the GolfForKings editorial desk. Designers, opening years, championship history and access verified June 2026. Rankings are our editorial judgement. Last reviewed June 2026.