Ranked · 10 courses · updated 2026

The Best Municipal and Public Courses in the US

America's greatest gift to public golf is the major championship muni: city owned courses where, for the price of a tee time, anyone can walk the same fairways as a US Open champion. Here are the ten best municipal and public courses in the country, ranked, with our verdict and how to get on.

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By the GolfForKings editorial desk · How we rank · Last reviewed June 2026

Photograph: Torrey Pines Golf Course: South Course, Henry Mayer, via Google

How we chose them

This list celebrates the democratic heart of American golf: courses owned by cities, counties and states, or otherwise open to any golfer who books, with no membership required. We weighed design quality, championship pedigree, conditioning, the value relative to private equivalents, and the sense of occasion of playing a course the public truly owns. We leaned toward layouts that have hosted, or could host, a major or national championship, because the idea that a city muni can stage a US Open is uniquely American. A handful, like Bethpage and Torrey Pines, have done exactly that.

Architects, restorations and host championships were verified at the time of writing. Access varies: some take tee times months ahead, some run a daily lottery, and resident rates often undercut visitor rates sharply, so we note how to get on rather than quoting prices. Walking is part of the appeal at several. The verdicts and order are ours and locals will defend their home muni to the last. If you want a public golf road trip built around any of these, with tee times secured, that is exactly what our concierge does.

The ranking

Bethpage Black

A.W. Tillinghast, 1936 · Farmingdale, New York · state owned

The most famous municipal course in the world and the proof that a state park layout can stage the biggest events in golf. A.W. Tillinghast's brutal 1936 Black course on Long Island hosted the US Open in 2002 and 2009, the 2019 PGA Championship and the 2025 Ryder Cup. The warning sign by the first tee, advising that the Black is an extremely difficult course recommended only for highly skilled golfers, is golf's most quoted notice. New York residents pay a modest rate, and a famous queue or advance booking gets you on. Public golf at its most heroic.

Plan a New York golf trip

Pebble Beach Golf Links

Neville and Grant, 1919 · California · resort public access

The most beautiful public course in America and a regular US Open venue, open to anyone willing to book a tee time through the resort. Jack Neville and Douglas Grant routed it along the cliffs of Carmel Bay in 1919, and the closing holes above the Pacific are the most photographed in golf. It has hosted six US Opens and the 2023 US Women's Open, more than any course in the last half century. The green fee is famously steep and effectively requires a resort stay for priority, but it remains, technically and gloriously, a public course.

Plan a Pebble Beach trip

Torrey Pines, South Course

William Bell, 1957 · Rees Jones redesign · San Diego muni

A San Diego city course on the cliffs above the Pacific that has twice crowned a US Open champion, in 2008 and 2021. William Bell laid out the South in 1957, and a Rees Jones redesign toughened it for championship golf. It hosts the PGA Tour's Farmers Insurance Open every January, yet any golfer can book a tee time, with San Diego residents paying a fraction of the visitor rate. The ocean views, the championship pedigree and the genuine municipal access make it one of the great value experiences in American golf.

Plan a San Diego golf trip

Chambers Bay

Robert Trent Jones Jr, 2007 · Washington · county owned

A startling links style course built inside an abandoned sand and gravel quarry on Puget Sound, owned by Pierce County, Washington. Robert Trent Jones Jr embraced the vertical, treeless terrain and fescue turf to create something that looks transplanted from the British Isles, and it hosted the 2010 US Amateur and the 2015 US Open barely eight years after opening. Firm, fast, walking only and dramatic, with Puget Sound and the lone fir tree as the backdrop. A bold modern statement of what public golf can be.

Plan a Pacific Northwest golf trip

TPC Harding Park

Watson and Whiting, 1925 · San Francisco · city owned

A classic San Francisco muni that shares its architects, Willie Watson and Sam Whiting, with the neighboring Olympic Club. Restored and elevated to TPC standard, Harding Park hosted the 2020 PGA Championship, the 2009 Presidents Cup and a WGC Match Play, proof that a tree lined city course beside Lake Merced can hold the biggest fields. Locals pay a resident rate and any golfer can book, and the cypress framed, cool coastal setting gives it real character. One of the finest big event munis in the country.

Plan a San Francisco golf trip

Cog Hill, No. 4 Dubsdread

Dick Wilson and Joe Lee, 1964 · Rees Jones 2008 · Chicago public

The best public golf in the Chicago area and a long time proving ground for the game's best. Dick Wilson and Joe Lee built Dubsdread in 1964, and a 2008 Rees Jones renovation sharpened it for the modern tour, hosting the PGA Tour's BMW Championship from 2009 to 2011 and the Western Open many times before that. The deep bunkering and demanding finish make it a stern, honest test, and it is open to any golfer who books. A daily fee classic with genuine championship history.

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Bandon Dunes, Pacific Dunes

Tom Doak, 2001 · Oregon · resort public access

Although a destination resort rather than a city muni, Bandon is unapologetically public, and Tom Doak's Pacific Dunes is the jewel any golfer can book. Routed along the Oregon clifftops in 2001, with the ocean in play and the holes draped over wild dunes, it regularly tops the public course rankings. Walking with caddies, no carts and a links purity that recalls Scotland or Ireland make it a pilgrimage. It earns a place here as the standard bearer for great American golf that asks nothing more than a tee time.

Plan a Bandon Dunes trip

Whistling Straits, The Straits

Pete Dye, 1998 · Wisconsin · resort public access

Pete Dye's windswept links along two miles of Lake Michigan shoreline, part of the Kohler resort but open to public play. The Straits staged the PGA Championship in 2004, 2010 and 2015 and the 2021 Ryder Cup, and its hundreds of bunkers, tumbling dunes and constant lake wind make it one of the most demanding and visually striking tests in the country. Caddies and walking only add to the occasion. It belongs here as a major championship venue any golfer can book a round on.

Plan a Whistling Straits trip

Pinehurst No. 2

Donald Ross, 1907 · North Carolina · resort public access

The most decorated resort course in America that anyone can play, and a permanent US Open anchor site. Donald Ross's 1907 design, restored by Coore and Crenshaw in 2011, hosts the US Open and US Women's Open on a rotation and yet welcomes resort guests the rest of the year. Its crowned greens and lack of rough make it a relentless examination of the short game. Public access to a course of this championship stature, in the cradle of American golf, makes No. 2 essential on any list of great open courses.

Plan a Pinehurst trip

Goat Hill Park

1952 · Ludwig Keehn redesign · Oceanside, California muni

The soul of municipal golf in one quirky, beloved hillside course in Oceanside, California. Opened in 1952 and reworked by Ludwig Keehn into an eighteen hole short course, Goat Hill is a community owned muni that locals fought to save and revive, now a cult favorite for its fun, walkable, unpretentious golf and welcoming spirit. It will never host a major, and that is the point: it represents the everyday public golf that keeps the game alive. We include it as a deliberate counterweight to the championship giants above.

Plan a Southern California golf trip

Architects, restorations and host championships verified June 2026. Access varies by course, from advance tee times to daily lotteries, with resident rates often well below visitor rates. Several are walking only. Always confirm access and fees directly before booking. Check tee time availability. For where to stay, see our partner hotel rates.

Play America's great public courses

Tell us which of these munis and public icons are on your list and roughly when. One concierge handles the tee times, the resident versus visitor rates, the lotteries and the routing between cities, and costs the trip to the head, with no obligation.

US public golf questions

What is the best municipal golf course in America?

Bethpage Black on Long Island is our pick, a Tillinghast state park course that has hosted two US Opens, a PGA Championship and the 2025 Ryder Cup. Torrey Pines South in San Diego and Chambers Bay in Washington are the other munis to have staged a US Open, and TPC Harding Park has hosted a PGA Championship.

Can anyone really play these courses?

Yes, that is what defines this list. None requires membership. The city munis like Bethpage, Torrey Pines and Harding Park take public tee times, usually with cheaper resident rates, and the resort courses like Pebble Beach, Pinehurst and Whistling Straits take public bookings, though often with a resort stay for priority. Always confirm the booking method, as some use lotteries.

How do you get a tee time at Bethpage Black?

New York State residents can book by phone or online a set number of days ahead, and there is a famous tradition of overnight queuing in the parking lot for next day times. Non residents pay a higher rate and book a shorter window ahead. For peak season weekends, plan well in advance and confirm the current reservation rules.

Are public courses cheaper than private clubs?

Often dramatically so, especially for residents. A round at a city muni can cost a fraction of a comparable private club, which is the magic of public golf. The resort icons on this list, such as Pebble Beach and Whistling Straits, are an exception and carry premium green fees, but access is still open to any golfer who books.

The Tee Sheet

Muni restorations, lottery openings and the resident rate windows worth knowing. Every other week.

Researched and written by the GolfForKings editorial desk. Course designers, founding years and host events verified June 2026. Last reviewed June 2026.