Welcome to the Golfweek’s Best 2026 ranking of the top campus courses in the United States. This list focuses on courses owned and/or operated by colleges or other campuses, with data pulled from Golfweek‘s massive database of course rankings.
The hundreds of members of Golfweek‘s course-ratings panel continually evaluate courses and rate them based on our 10 criteria. They also file a single, overall rating on each course. Those overall ratings on each course are averaged to produce a final rating for each that is then used to compile the Golfweek’s Best course rankings.
Listed with each course below is its average rating, location, designer(s) and whether the course is modern (built in or after 1960) or classic (built before 1960).
1. Yale Golf Course
Average rating: 7.30
Location: New Haven, CT
Designer(s): Charles Blair Macdonald, Seth Raynor, Gil Hanse, Jim Wagner
Era: Classic
Editor's note: Yale Golf Course was recently restored by Hanse and Wagner, but conditions have deteriorated since the restoration was completed, as reported by The Athletic then various other news outlets. The college has vowed to address the turf conditions. Overall, conditioning is just one of 10 criteria used by Golfweek's Best raters when evaluating a course.
2. Culver Academies Golf Course
Average rating: 7.13
Location: Culver, IN
Designer(s): William B. Langford, Theodore J. Moreau
Era: Classic
3. Taconic (Williams College)
Average rating: 7.04
Location: Williamstown, MA
Designer(s): Wayne Stiles, John van Kleek, Gil Hanse, Jim Wagner
Era: Classic
4. Jimmie Austin Golf Club (Oklahoma)
Average rating: 6.57
Location: Norman, OK
Designer(s): Bob Cupp, Perry Maxwell, Tripp Davis
Era: Classic
5. The Rawls Course (Texas Tech)
Average rating: 6.56
Location: Lubbock, TX
Designer(s): Tom Doak
Era: Modern
6. Seminole Legacy Golf Course (Florida State)
Average rating: 6.43
Location: Tallahassee, FL
Designer(s): Jack Nicklaus, Jack Nicklaus Jr.
Era: Modern
7. Eisenhower Golf Course Blue (U.S. Air Force Academy)
Average rating: 6.38
Location: Colorado Springs, CO
Designer(s): Robert Trent Jones Sr.
Era: Classic
8. University Ridge (Wisconsin)
Average rating: 6.37
Location: Madison, WI
Designer(s): Robert Trent Jones Jr.
Era: Modern
T9. PFAU Course (Indiana University)
Average rating: 6.35
Location: Bloomington, IN
Designer(s): Steve Smyers, Fuzzy Zoeller
Era: Modern
T9. U.S. Naval Academy Golf Course
Average rating: 6.35
Location: Annapolis, MD
Designer(s): William S. Flynn
Era: Classic
11. Championship Golf Course (New Mexico)
Average rating: 6.33
Location: Albuquerque, NM
Designer(s): Red Lawrence
Era: Modern
12. Pete Dye River Course of Virginia Tech
Average rating: 6.31
Location: Radford, VA
Designer(s): Pete Dye
Era: Modern
13. Warren Golf Course (Notre Dame)
Average rating: 6.30
Location: Notre Dame, IN
Designer(s): Bill Coore, Ben Crenshaw
Era: Modern
14. Mark Bostick Golf Course (Florida)
Average rating: 6.29
Location: Gainesville, FL
Designer(s): Donald Ross, Bobby Weed
Era: Classic
T15. University of Michigan Golf Course
Average rating: 6.28
Location: Ann Arbor, MI
Designer(s): Alister MacKenzie
Era: Classic
T15. Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex Kampen-Cosler (Purdue)
Average rating: 6.28
Location: West Lafayette, IN
Designer(s): Pete Dye
Era: Modern
17. Great River (Sacred Heart)
Average rating: 6.26
Location: Milford, CT
Designer(s): Tommy Fazio
Era: Modern
18. Boar’s Head Resort Birdwood (Virginia)
Average rating: 6.25
Location: Charlottesville, VA
Designer(s): Lindsay Ervin, Davis Love III
Era: Modern
19. Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex Ackerman-Allen (Purdue)
Average rating: 6.24
Location: West Lafayette, IN
Designer(s): Pete Dye
Era: Classic
20. Ohio State University Golf Club Scarlet
Average rating: 6.19
Location: Columbus, OH
Designer(s): Alister MacKenzie, Jack Nicklaus
Era: Classic
21. Course at Sewanee (University of the South)
Average rating: 6.14
Location: Sewanee, TN
Designer(s): Albion W. Knight, Gil Hanse
Era: Modern
22. Palouse Ridge (Washington State)
Average rating: 6.13
Location: Pullman, WA
Designer(s): John Harbottle III
Era: Modern
23. Duke University Golf Club
Average rating: 6.11
Location: Durham, NC
Designer(s): Robert Trent Jones Sr., Rees Jones
Era: Classic
T24. The Orchards (Mount Holyoke)
Average rating: 6.08
Location: South Hadley, MA
Designer(s): Donald Ross
Era: Classic
T24. Vanderbilt Legends Club North
Average rating: 6.08
Location: Franklin, TN
Designer(s): Bob Cupp, Tom Kite
Era: Modern
26. Finley Golf Club (North Carolina)
Average rating: 6.04
Location: Chapel Hill, NC
Designer(s): Tom Fazio, Davis Love III
Era: Modern
T27. Stanford Golf Course
Average rating: 6.01
Location: Stanford, CA
Designer(s): William P. Bell, George C. Thomas Jr., John Harbottle III
Era: Classic
T27. Radrick Farms (Michigan)
Average rating: 6.01
Location: Ann Arbor, MI
Designer(s): Pete Dye
Era: Modern
29. Vanderbilt Legends Club South
Average rating: 6.00
Location: Franklin, TN
Designer(s): Bob Cupp, Tom Kite
Era: Modern
30. University of Georgia Golf Course
Average rating: 5.93
Location: Athens, GA
Designer(s): Robert Trent Jones Sr., Davis Love III
Era: Modern
31. Lonnie Poole GC (N.C. State)
Average rating: 5.88
Location: Raleigh, NC
Designer(s): Arnold Palmer
Era: Modern
32. R&S Sharf Golf Course (Oakland)
Average rating: 5.76
Location: Rochester, MI
Designer(s): Warren Henderson, Rick Smith
Era: Modern
33. University of Maryland Golf Course
Average rating: 5.73
Location: College Park, MD
Designer(s): George Cobb, Bill Love
Era: Classic
34. Forest Akers West (Michigan State)
Average rating: 5.71
Location: Lansing, MI
Designer(s): Bruce Matthews, Arthur Hills
Era: Classic
35. Walker Golf Course (Clemson)
Average rating: 5.70
Location: Clemson, SC
Designer(s): D.J. DeVictor
Era: Modern
T36. Denison Golf Club
Average rating: 5.67
Location: Granville, OH
Designer(s): Donald Ross, Michael Hurdzan
Era: Classic
T36. Keith Hills Orange and Black (Campbell)
Average rating: 5.67
Location: Lillington, NC
Designer(s): Dan Maples, Ellis Maples
Era: Modern
38. Finkbine Golf Course (Iowa)
Average rating: 5.59
Location: Iowa City, IA
Designer(s): Robert Bruce Harris
Era: Classic
39. Georgia Southern Golf Course
Average rating: 5.58
Location: Statesboro, GA
Designer(s): Robert Walker
Era: Modern
40. Furman Golf Club
Average rating: 5.46
Location: Greenville, SC
Designer(s): R.K. Webel, Walter Cosby, Kris Spence
Era: Classic
Jason Lusk is Golfweek's travel and golf course architecture editor, as well as the print magazine's creative director. He has written for and designed Golfweek for more than two decades.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Golfweek ranks the top 40 college and campus courses in the U.S.