Your 2022 picks: Our top 10 golf course ranking lists (No. 1 is a private affair)

Sure, the kiddos are said to have sugar plums dancing in their heads tonight, but we know what will be bouncing around in yours — a future golf trip.

For the final days of 2022, we’ve been offering up a snapshot of the top 10 stories from each of Golfweek’s most popular sections, including travel, the PGA and LPGA tours, instruction and fitness. Here’s what we’ve already counted down.

Today, we’re focusing on one of our most important areas — golf course lists. The tracks featured in these lists are from all around the globe.

Here’s a look at the top 10 golf course lists, as clicked on by you:

10

Top public and private courses in Florida

The 17th green at the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. (Photo: by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)

The No. 1 public-access course in Florida isn’t really a surprise, seeing how it has been broadcast worldwide into living rooms during each year’s Players Championship for decades. The Players Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass ranks as one of legendary designer Pete Dye’s top five masterpieces, perplexing PGA Tour pros since it opened in 1980, and it ties for No. 15 on Golfweek’s Best list of all modern courses in the U.S.

Here’s more on the best in Florida.

9

Mexico, Caribbean, Atlantic islands and Central America

No. 6 at Casa de Campo’s Teeth of the Dog in the Dominican Republic (Jason Lusk/Golfweek)

Ah, palm trees and warm breezes.

Welcome to the Golfweek’s Best 2022 list of top golf courses in Mexico, the Caribbean, the Atlantic islands and Central America.

Here’s a look at a list that will have dreaming of faraway places.

8

12 best golf courses in Ireland and Northern Ireland

Hogs Head in Waterville, Ireland (Courtesy of Hogs Head/Evan Schiller)

What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Ireland and Northern Ireland? The green waves of Emerald Isle? An ice-cold pint of Guinness? Rory McIlroy?

One thing that should not go overlooked is the beauty of both Irish and Northern Irish golf.

Here’s a list to wet your whistle.

7

30 under 30: The top golf courses opened since 1992 in the U.S.

Pacific Dunes at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort in Oregon (Courtesy of Bandon Dunes Golf Resort)

It’s been a crazy string of decades in golf design, with construction going gangbusters through the 1990s and early 2000s before grinding nearly to a complete halt after the financial crisis of 2007 and ’08. Things have picked up a bit in recent years, especially when considering high-end destinations scattered in far-flung locales around the U.S.

Here’s our list of the best 30 courses under 30 years of age.

6

Top 100 U.S. public-access courses ranked

Streamsong’s Red Course (Courtesy of Streamsong/Laurence Lambrecht)

Santa’s checking a list and checking it twice, but here’s a list you can keep checking back on throughout the year. Hopefully, while crossing off the ones you’ve played.

All the courses on this list allow public access in some fashion, be it standard daily green fees, through a resort or by staying at an affiliated hotel. If there’s a will, there’s a tee time.

Here’s the top 100 you can play.

5

Best Modern Courses 2022: From Bandon Dunes to Kiawah Island, the top 200 golf courses built after 1960

Ian Poulter walks down the fairway of the third hole with Harry Higgs and Billy Horchel during the third round of the CJ Cup at Shadow Creek Golf Course. (Photo: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports)

Some love the history and classic design of an old course, but many love to see the newer designs, especially those as gorgeous as these.

Welcome to the Golfweek’s Best 2022 list of the Top 200 Modern Courses built in or after 1960 in the United States.

4

Best Classic Courses 2022: From Pebble Beach to Pinehurst, the top 200 golf courses built before 1960

Shinnecock Hills in New York. (Photo: David Cannon/Getty Images)

And of course, there are those who will always love the classics.

And we present the Golfweek’s Best 2022 list of the Top 200 Classic Courses before 1960 in the United States.

3

Top 200 Residential Golf Courses in the U.S.

The 12th hole at Estancia in Arizona, a golf course designed by Tom Fazio (Courtesy of Estancia)

There’s a reason why golf course communities continue to gain in popularity, as having access to a course right in your neighborhood makes life a little easier.

Here’s our list of the top 200 residential courses, those that wind through neighborhoods throughout the land.

2

Golfweek's Best Courses You Can Play 2022: State-by-state rankings for public-access layouts

No. 5 at Arcadia Bluffs’ Bluffs course in Michigan (Courtesy of Arcadia Bluffs)

Looking to peg it up at the best public-access golf courses in each state? We have you covered.

With this 2022 list of Golfweek’s Best Courses You Can Play, we present the top public-access courses in each state, as judged by our nationwide network of raters.

1

Golfweek's Best Private Courses 2022: State-by-state rankings of private courses

Prairie Dunes in Kansas (Courtesy of Prairie Dunes)

In the past, the public-access lists have always led our end-of-year recaps. As with many things, however, 2022 had to be a little different.

Instead, our top golf course list, in terms of clicks from readers like you, is Golfweek’s Best 2022 list of top private golf courses in the U.S., as judged by our international panel of raters.

Here’s the list.