Each year, we publish the three lists that are the foundation of our course-ratings program: Golfweek’s Best 2020: Top 200 Classic Courses, Golfweek’s Best 2020: Top 200 Modern Courses and Golfweek’s Best 2020: Best Courses You Can Play.
These are the best courses you can play in California.
- Pebble Beach Golf Links, Pebble Beach (No. 9 c)
- Pasatiempo, Santa Cruz (No. 32 c)
- Spyglass Hill, Pebble Beach (No. 33 m)
- Torrey Pines (South), San Diego (No. 109 c)
- Rustic Canyon, Moorpark (No. 151 m)
- Rams Hill, Borrego Springs (No. 198 m)
- CordeValle, San Martin (m)
- Torrey Pines (North), San Diego (m)
- Yocha Dehe at Cache Creek Casino, Brooks (m)
- PGA West (Stadium), La Quinta (m)
- Links at Spanish Bay, Pebble Beach (m)
- Barona Creek, Lakeside (m)
- Poppy Hills, Pebble Beach (m)
- Bayonet, Seaside (c)
- Pelican Hill (Ocean North), Newport Coast (m)
- The Grand GC, San Diego (m)
- Pelican Hill (Ocean South), Newport Coast (m)
- Baylands Golf Links, Palo Alto (m)
- Trump National, Rancho Palos Verdes (m)
- Desert Willow (Firecliff), Palm Desert (m)
- SilverRock, La Quinta (m)*
- PGA West (Nicklaus), La Quinta (m)
- The Golf Club at Copper Valley (formerly Saddle Creek), Copperopolis (m)
- TPC Harding Park, San Francisco (c)*
- Oak Quarry, Riverside (m)*
- Maderas, Poway (m)
- La Quinta Resort (Mountain), La Quinta (m)*
- Quail Lodge, Carmel (m)*
- Aviara, Carlsbad (m)
- Indian Wells Golf Resort (Players), Indian Wells (m)
*New to the list in 2020
(m): modern
(c): classic
Golfweek’s Best 2020: Top 30 Campus Courses
The rankings below reflect where these courses fall among the top 30 Campus Courses in the United States.
T-14. Stanford Golf Course, 6.07
Stanford, Calif.; William P. Bell, George C. Thomas Jr., John Harbottle III, 1930
Golfweek’s Best 2020: Top 50 Casino Courses
The rankings below reflect where these courses fall among the top 50 Casino Courses in the United States.
8. Barona Creek, 6.50
Lakeside, Calif.; Gary Roger Baird, Todd Eckenrode; 2001
18. Yocha Dehe at Cache Creek Casino, 6.16
Brooks, Calif.; Brad Bell; 2008
T-29. Journey at Pechanga, 5.79
Temecula, Calif.; Arthur Hills, Steve Forrest; 2008
T-29. Eagle Falls 5.79
Indio, Calif.; Clive Clark; 2008
41. The Links at Rolling Hills (formerly Sevillano Links), 5.53
Corning, Calif.; Mike Stark; 2007
Golfweek’s Best 2020
- Top 100 Best Courses You Can Play
- Best Courses You Can Play, state by state
- Top 200 Modern Courses
- Top 200 Classic Courses
- Best Private Courses, state by state
- Top 30 Campus Courses
- Top 50 Casino Courses
How we rate them: The members of our 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 together to produce a final rating for each course. Then each course is ranked against other courses in its state, or nationally, to produce the final rankings.
