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Golfweek's Best Top 25 public-access short, par-3 and non-traditional courses

jason lusk
·4-min read
No. 3 (50-130 yards, shown from behind) of the new short course, The Chain, at Streamsong in Florida (Courtesy of Streamsong/Bill Hornstein)
No. 3 (50-130 yards, shown from behind) of the new short course, The Chain, at Streamsong in Florida (Courtesy of Streamsong/Bill Hornstein)

The greatest trend in golf development over the past decade has been the introduction of short courses at so many resorts and private clubs. These par-3 and other non-traditional layouts are nothing new, of course, but there’s been increased focus and capital allocation on providing guests and members a fun and fast loop that doesn’t focus on traditional length.

To acknowledge the rapid rise for short courses, Golfweek’s Best introduced a ranking of these layouts in 2023. This year we go a step further, breaking the category into two divisions with the top public-access and private lists of short, par-3 or other non-traditional courses. This is the ranking for the public-access layouts, which can include resorts, municipal courses and daily-fee operations.

Click here for the private list

Basically, they all fit the bill of not being a traditional-length, traditional-par course. And just like the best short courses, we threw out some of the rules used for rating traditional courses and asked the raters to submit one overall score for each course based on how much they enjoyed the design and the environment. Those individual ratings were then combined to form one average rating, which is listed for each course. Each course had to receive a minimum number of 10 votes. We have received thousands of votes over the past 18 months.

As for how we decided which courses fit the bill: All of these would be shorter than 2,700 yards if they were nine holes, compared to a traditional course typically being made up of nines measuring 3,100 to 3,800 yards.

For this list, we included each course’s average rating on a points scale of 1 to 10. We also included their locations, the designers, the year they opened, the number of holes, the total length and the par.

Nos. 1-5

Quick Sands at Gamble Sands in Washington (Courtesy of Gamble Sands)
Quick Sands at Gamble Sands in Washington (Courtesy of Gamble Sands)

1. Bandon Dunes Golf Resort (Bandon Preserve) 8.13Bandon, Ore.; Bill Coore, Ben Crenshaw, 2012; 13 holes, 1,609 yards, par 39

2. Sand Valley (The Sandbox) 7.64Nekoosa, Wis.; Bill Coore, Ben Crenshaw, 2018; 17 holes, 1,652 yards, par 51

3. Big Cedar Lodge (Top of the Rock) 7.61Ridgedale, Mo.; Jack Nicklaus, 1996; 9 holes, 1,420 yards, par 27

4. Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail (Magnolia Grove Short) 7.56Mobile, Ala.; Robert Trent Jones Sr., Roger Rulewich, 1992; 18 holes, 3,140 yards, par 54

5. Gamble Sands (Quicksands) 7.44Brewster, Wash.; David McLay Kidd, 2020; 14 holes, 1,610 yards, par 42

Nos. 6-10

Golden Gate Park Golf Course in San Francisco after an extensive renovation (Courtesy of Golden Gate Golf Course/Riley Largent)
Golden Gate Park Golf Course in San Francisco after an extensive renovation (Courtesy of Golden Gate Golf Course/Riley Largent)

6. Golden Gate Park 7.37San Francisco, Calif.; Jay Blasi, 2024; 9 holes, 1,177 yards, par 27

7. Pinehurst Resort (The Cradle) 7.31Pinehurst, N.C.; Gil Hanse, Jim Wagner, 2017; 9 holes, 789 yards, par 27

8. Big Cedar Lodge (Mountain Top) 7.23Ridgedale, Mo.; Gary Player, 2017; 13 holes, 1,912 yards, par 39

9. Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail (Grand National Short) 7.20Opelika, Ala.; Robert Trent Jones Sr., Roger Rulewich, 1992; 18 holes, 3,126 yards, par 54

10. Palm Beach Par 3 7.18Palm Beach, Fla.; Dick Wilson, Joe Lee, Raymond Floyd, 1961; 18 holes, 2,572 yards, par 54

Nos. 11-15

Shorty's at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort in Oregon (Courtesy of Bandon Dunes Golf Resort)
Shorty's at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort in Oregon (Courtesy of Bandon Dunes Golf Resort)

11. Bandon Dunes Golf Resort (Shorty’s) 7.05Bandon, Ore.; Dave Axland, Rod Whitman, Keith Cutten, 2024; 19 holes, 1,997 yards, par 57

12. Prairie Club (Horse) 6.98Valentine, Neb.; Gil Hanse, Geoff Shackelford, 2010; 10 holes, 1,125 yards, par 30

T13. Destination Kohler Blackwolf Run (The Baths) 6.95Kohler, Wis.; Chris Lutzke, 2021; 10 holes, 1,362 yards, par 30

T13. Shangri-La (The Battlefield) 6.95Monkey Island, Okla.; Tom Clark, Kevin Atkinson, 2023; 18 holes, 2,741 yards, par 54

15. The Park West Palm (The Lit 9) 6.89West Palm Beach, Fla.; Gil Hanse, Jim Wagner, 2023; 9 holes, 679 yards, par 27

Nos. 16-20

The par-3 Staple course at PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, one of six courses at the resort (Courtesy of PGA National)
The par-3 Staple course at PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, one of six courses at the resort (Courtesy of PGA National)

16. Boar's Head (The Nest) 6.88Charlottesville, Va.; Davis Love III, 2020; 6 holes, 667 yards, par 18

17. PGA National (The Staple) 6.87Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.; Andy Staples, 2021; 9 holes, 802 yards, par 27

18. Streamsong (The Chain) 6.76Bowling Green, Fla.; Bill Coore, Ben Crenshaw, 2024; 19 holes, 2,916 yards, no set par

T19. Forest Dunes (Bootlegger) 6.57Roscommon, Mich.; Keith Rhebb, Riley Johns, 2020; 10 holes, 1,135 yards, par 30

T19. Schoolhouse Nine 6.57Sperryville, Va.; Mike McCartin, 2015; 9 holes, 1,216 yards, par 27

Nos. 21-25

No. 6 at Winter Park Golf Course in Florida (Courtesy of Winter Park Golf Course)
No. 6 at Winter Park Golf Course in Florida (Courtesy of Winter Park Golf Course)

21. Audobon Park 6.56New Orleans; Dennis Griffiths, 2002; 18 holes, 4,220 yards, par 62

22. Mountain Shadows (Short Course) 6.34Paradise Valley, Ariz.; Jack Snyder, Forrest Richardson, 1961; 18 holes, 2,310 yards, par 54

23. Winter Park CC 6.27Winter Park, Fla.; Harley A. Ward, Dow George, Keith Rhebb, Riley Johns, 1914; 9 holes, 2,480 yards, par 35

24. Pebble Beach Golf Resorts (The Hay) 6.26Pebble Beach, Calif.; Tiger Woods, 2021; 9 holes, 670 yards, par 27

25. Treetops (Threetops) 6.23Gaylord, Mich.; Rick Smith, 1992; 9 holes, 1,435 yards, par 27

This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Golfweek's Best Top 25 public-access short, par-3 and non-traditional courses