This list of 10 of America’s greatest golf courses, ranked by FindTheBest.com, is ordered in accord with their "Smart Rank," a weighted average of the review scores from such authoritative golf sources as Golf Digest, Golf.com, and Golflink.com.
1. Augusta National Golf Club, Augusta, Ga.
Founded by golf star Bobby Jones and investment banker Clifford Roberts and designed by Jones and Alister MacKenzie, Augusta, Georgia, is home to the prestigious Masters Golf Tournament.
Top: On Sunday, April 13, 1997, almost 50 years to the day after Jackie Robinson became the first black Major League Baseball player, Tiger Woods became the first African-American to win the Masters, and did so by an amazing 12 shots. He’s seen here celebrating his win after his final putt.
Bottom: Golfers play the 16th hole at the Augusta National Golf Club during the first round of the Masters tournament on April 7, 2011.
In August 2012, the private club admitted its first two female members, Condoleezza Rice and Darla Moore.
2. Cypress Point Club, Pebble Beach, Calif.
Top: Singer-comedian Dean Martin, center, gags it up with golfer Arnold Palmer, left, on the practice putting green at Cypress Point Golf course before the start of the 25th annual Crosby National Pro-Am, on Jan. 20, 1966, at Pebble Beach, Calif., near Monterey.
Bottom left: Actor James Garner pauses at Cypress’ third tee to smile at the sun that finally broke through heavy morning clouds during the Crosby Pro-Am practice round on Jan. 31, 1984. The Crosby is infamous for bad weather.
Bottom right: Singer-actor Bing Crosby, amateur golf partner of Ben Hogan, plays his third shot to the 18th green from under a Cypress tree during the annual Bing Crosby Pro-Amateur Golf Tournament on Jan. 13, 1956. Crosby took a bogey five on the hole. Hogan and Crosby had a best score of 60 for the first round.
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3. Oakmont Country Club, Oakmont, Pa.
Top: Patty Sheehan wears on her head the lid of the trophy awarded to the winner of the U.S. Women's Open Championship on July 27, 1992, at Oakmont Country Club in Oakmont, Pennsylvania. Sheehan defeated Juli Inkster in an 18-hole playoff by two strokes to win the tournament.
Middle: Jack Nicklaus points to Arnold Palmer as they wait on the first tee prior to their practice round for the U.S. Open at Oakmont on June 14, 1994.
Bottom: Colin Montgomerie of Scotland tees off on the 18th hole during his practice round for the U.S. Open at Oakmont on June 14, 1994.
4. Pebble Beach Golf Links, Pebble Beach, Calif.
Top: Phil Mickelson putts on the seventh green of the Pebble Beach Golf Links during the second round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am golf tournament on Friday, Feb. 7, 2014.
Bottom: Jimmy Walker lifts his trophy on the 18th green of the Pebble Beach Golf Links after winning the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am golf tournament Sunday, Feb. 9, 2014. Walker shot a 2-over-par 74 to finish at total 11-under-par. At left is broadcaster Jim Nantz.
5. National Golf Links of America, Southampton, NY
Top: Spectators line the 16th hole to watch the match of Max Homa and Michael Kim, of the United States, against Garrick Porteous and Rhys Pugh, of Britain and Ireland, during the second day of the Walker Cup golf tournament at National Golf Links of America on Sunday, Sept. 8, 2013, in Southampton, New York.
Bottom: The victorious United States team poses with the Walker Cup after Day 2 of the 2013 Walker Cup at National Golf Links of America.
6. Winged Foot Golf Course – West Course, Mamaroneck, NY
Bobby Jones (Robert Tyre “Bobby” Jones) drives off the 10th tee during the third round of play in the U.S. Open at the Winged Foot Golf Course in Mamaroneck, New York, on June 29, 1929.
7. Pacific Dunes, Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, Bandon, Oregon
Golfers prepare to tee off at the 13th hole of the Pacific Dunes course at the Bandon Dunes Golf Resort outside Bandon, Oregon, on June 8, 2005. The course emerges from shore pines to impressive 60-foot sand dunes.
8. Seminole Golf Club, Juno Beach, Fla.
In the 1920s, E.F. Hutton and Martin Sweeny were determined to build the finest golf course in Florida on a 140-acre site along the coast in Palm Beach County. The unique site had both ocean frontage, elevation (the primary dune line is 45 feet above sea level), and an additional hazard imposed by varying trade winds. Donald Ross was chosen to design it in 1929, and so the Seminole Golf Course in Juno Beach was born.
Each year Ben Hogan would spend 30 days at Seminole preparing for the Masters, saying, “If you can play Seminole, you can play any course.” Guests at the private club have included President Eisenhower, the Duke of Windsor, John F. Kennedy, the Rev. Billy Graham, Bing Crosby, and Gary Cooper.
9. Shinnecock Hills Golf Course, Southhampton, NY
This view is from the 18th green looking back toward the 18th fairway at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton on Long Island, New York.
The oldest formal organized golf club in the United States (1891) with the oldest golf clubhouse in the U.S. (1892), and the first to admit women, which it did from its opening, Shinnecock Hills has hosted the U.S. Open four times in three different centuries and is scheduled to host it again in 2018. In 2000, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
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10. The Country Club, Brookline, Mass.
Top: The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts, was established in 1882 as an equestrian and social club and did not introduce golf until 1893.
Bottom: American golfer Francis B. Ouimet, center, shakes hands with Harry Vardon, left, and Ted Ray, both of Britain, at the 1913 U.S. Open golf championship at The Country Club. This was the legendary Open where a 20-year-old amateur (Ouimet), and his 10-year-old caddie Eddie Lowery defeated Vardon and Ray, the two top British professionals of the day, an astounding feat recounted in the book and movie titled "The Greatest Game Ever Played."
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