TheGrint HQ
6 minutes
Updated
October 26, 2026
The best golf course in New York, according to golfers on TheGrint, is Shinnecock Hills Golf Club (98.5), No. 2 on TheGrint's 2026 Top 100 U.S. Private list. The best public course is Bethpage Black (96.7), No. 8 on the U.S. Public list. New York has 11 courses on the 2026 Top 100: ten private and one public.
This guide covers all 11, the highly rated public courses just outside the Top 100, and how hard each one plays. Rankings come from golfers who played the courses, not a panel.
Every course links to its page in TheGrint's directory of 849 New York golf courses, with the full scorecard for every set of tees.
The best golf courses in New York are the 11 on TheGrint's 2026 Top 100, led by Shinnecock Hills. They are also the 11 highest-rated courses in the state. Here they are with their list and rank, TheGrint Rating out of 100, and TheGrint Difficulty:
| Top 100 list and rank | Course | City | TheGrint Rating | Plays harder than |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. Private, 2 | Shinnecock Hills Golf Club | Southampton | 98.5 | 97% |
| U.S. Private, 6 | National Golf Links of America | Southampton | 98.1 | 85% |
| U.S. Private, 13 | Friar's Head | Riverhead | 98.0 | 78% |
| U.S. Private, 32 | Sebonack Golf Club | Southampton | 97.6 | 95% |
| U.S. Private, 36 | Winged Foot Golf Club: East | Mamaroneck | 97.4 | 88% |
| U.S. Private, 41 | Hudson National Golf Club | Croton-on-Hudson | 97.3 | 80% |
| U.S. Private, 55 | Sleepy Hollow Country Club | Briarcliff Manor | 97.0 | 97% |
| U.S. Private, 64 | Oak Hill Country Club: East | Rochester | 96.9 | 99% |
| U.S. Private, 69 | Winged Foot Golf Club: West | Mamaroneck | 96.8 | 99% |
| U.S. Public, 8 | Bethpage State Park: Black | Farmingdale | 96.7 | 99% |
| U.S. Private, 81 | Fishers Island Club | Fishers Island | 96.6 | 97% |
Private clubs need a member invitation. The full lists are on TheGrint's 2026 Top 100 U.S. Private list and the U.S. Public list.
New York's top-ranked golf clusters in three areas:
Just outside the Top 100, the next-highest-rated private clubs are Crag Burn Golf Club in East Aurora, near Buffalo, and Glen Oaks Club in Old Westbury, both at 96.1.
Bethpage Black is the best public golf course in New York on TheGrint and the state's only course on the 2026 Top 100 U.S. Public list. After it, the highest-rated courses you can book are mostly upstate. Each ranks in the top 130 of New York's 684 well-reviewed courses:
Access types can change, and some resort courses limit play to guests, so check each course's page and the course itself before you book.
Bethpage Black, Oak Hill's East Course and Winged Foot's West Course all play harder than 99% of rated courses on TheGrint, so there isn't a single hardest New York course in the data. Among public courses, Saratoga National, Atunyote and Ferry Point also reach 99%.
The top of the list isn't the hardest, though. National Golf Links of America plays harder than 85% of rated courses and Friar's Head 78%, yet both rank in the top 13 of the U.S. Private list. For more, see the hardest golf courses golfers rank among the best, and check what tees to play before you take one on.
TheGrint Rating is a score out of 100 built from golfers' reviews and their head-to-head course rankings on TheGrint. TheGrint Top 100 uses those signals, including the Course Ranking Game, and gives more weight to golfers who have played more courses.
How we counted: ratings, difficulty and state ranks come from TheGrint's New York directory and course pages on October 26, 2026. Ratings update as golfers add reviews and rankings. For more on the lists, see how TheGrint Top 100 works.
TheGrint has the scorecard, ratings and difficulty for every course before you go, and GPS and scoring when you get there.
Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton is the best golf course in New York according to golfers on TheGrint, with a TheGrint Rating of 98.5. It is No. 2 on TheGrint's 2026 Top 100 U.S. Private list. National Golf Links of America (98.1) and Friar's Head (98.0) are next.
Bethpage Black in Farmingdale is the best public golf course in New York on TheGrint, with a TheGrint Rating of 96.7. It is No. 8 on TheGrint's 2026 Top 100 U.S. Public list and the only New York course on that list. It plays harder than 99% of rated courses.
The highest-rated public courses in upstate New York on TheGrint include Saratoga National in Saratoga Springs (92.1), Deerfield Country Club near Rochester (91.9), Atunyote at Turning Stone Resort (91.2) and Leatherstocking in Cooperstown (91.2). None is on the 2026 Top 100.
TheGrint's golf course directory lists 849 golf courses in New York: 439 public, 180 semi-private and 230 private. Rochester has the most of any city with 11, followed by Schenectady with 10 and Buffalo with 9. Each course page has a free scorecard for every set of tees.
Bethpage Black, Oak Hill's East Course and Winged Foot's West Course all play harder than 99% of rated courses on TheGrint. TheGrint Difficulty doesn't rank courses within that top 1%, so no single New York course is the hardest in the data.
Pick a course, check the scorecard and your tees, then keep score in TheGrint with free GPS distances and live scoring for your group. Rank the course when you're done to help shape next year's Top 100. Get started with TheGrint.
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