What are the best U.S. states for golf? A friendly podcast debate

Even if our 50 states might seem divided some days, here’s something harmless we can argue about: which of those states make the best golf destinations.

The topic came up on a recent episode of GOLF’s new travel-focused podcast, Destination Golf, in which my co-host, Simon Holt, and I, went back and forth, each of us ticking off our four favorite states for golf.

Simon’s first choice was tough to top. He went with Oregon, which you might say has an unfair advantage as the home of Bandon Dunes Golf Resort. At Bandon alone, as Simon pointed out, all five of their 18-holers (Pacific Dunes, Bandon Dunes, Old Macdonald, Bandon Trails and Sheep Ranch) are on GOLF’s list of Top 100 Courses You Can Play. But Oregon golf is more than its southern coast. Head inland into the high desert, and you come upon two other Top 100 tracks, the Nicklaus and Fazio designs at Pronghorn, while over in the Portland area, a bright constellation of public-access courses await.

As a counter, I offered Wisconsin. I was thinking of Sand Valley, with its four great big-boy courses (Sand Valley, Mammoth Dunes, Sedge Valley and their semi-private sibling the Lido), but also of Kohler, Erin Hills, Lawsonia Links, SentryWorld and on. The Badger State punches well above its weight.

Being greedy, I also claimed my home state of California. A trip here, I suggested, could progress from San Francisco (Harding Park), south through Santa Cruz (Pasatiempo) and Monterey (Pebble Beach), then on to Los Angeles (Rustic Canyon) before turning east toward Palm Springs. The golf-loving Rat Pack hung out there for good reason.

But California is a big state, and Simon isn’t someone who, as he puts it, “likes to spend a lot of time behind a windshield.” With that in mind, he shot back with North Carolina (you could spend a lifetime playing golf in the Sandhills without getting bored); South Carolina (Myrtle Beach and Hilton Head, to name just two high-quality/great-value swaths of the state); and Florida, where Streamsong and Cabot Citrus Farms highlight a rich roster of first-rate resorts.

With my two remaining picks, I went with New York (Bethpage Black was the biggie I had in mind, but there are four other courses within that single state park, all worth playing) and Michigan, where, at the peak of summer, it stays light past 9 p.m. That gives lots of time to squeeze in rounds at must-plays like Belvedere, Forest Dunes, Arcadia Bluffs, American Dunes and others. Eight hours later, you can get up and do it all again. 

You can listen to the entire best-state conversation here.

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