TheGrint HQ
8 minutes
Updated
October 30, 2026
These hidden gem golf courses are the public-access courses golfers on TheGrint rate highest in each state that aren't on TheGrint's 2026 Top 100. We picked one course in 41 states, from Paako Ridge in New Mexico and Eagle Eye in Michigan to The Preserve in Mississippi, all ranked by golfers who played them rather than by a panel.
Each pick links to its course page in TheGrint's golf course directory, with the scorecard for every set of tees. Where we have a full state guide, the state name links to it.
Famous courses get most of the attention. These are the ones golfers keep rating highly that don't make the national lists, which makes them good targets for a road trip or a weekend round.
On TheGrint, a hidden gem is a course that golfers rate near the top of its state but that isn't on the 2026 Top 100 U.S. Public or U.S. Private list. For this list, each pick had to meet four tests:
We looked at the three highest-rated courses outside the Top 100 in every state and picked the best one that passed all four tests. In nine states, all three were private or member clubs, or we couldn't confirm public access, so we left those states out rather than stretch the definition.
The West picks range from a Nicklaus course built on an old copper smelter site in Montana to desert golf in New Mexico and Nevada. Here are the 12 West picks, with each course's TheGrint Rating, where it ranks among rated courses in its state, and TheGrint Difficulty:
| State | Course | City | TheGrint Rating | State rank | Plays harder than |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alaska | Settlers Bay Golf Course | Wasilla | 78.6 | 2nd of 10 | 69% |
| Arizona | Grayhawk Golf Club: Raptor | Scottsdale | 92.3 | 44th of 344 | 98% |
| California | Rams Hill Golf Club | Borrego Springs | 92.6 | 77th of 857 | 81% |
| Hawaii | Princeville Makai Golf Club: Makai Course | Princeville | 91.8 | 14th of 79 | Not yet rated |
| Idaho | Circling Raven Golf Club | Worley | 92.3 | 6th of 97 | 91% |
| Montana | Old Works Golf Course | Anaconda | 89.5 | 13th of 62 | 95% |
| Nevada | Wolf Creek Golf Club | Mesquite | 92.2 | 11th of 100 | 95% |
| New Mexico | Paako Ridge Golf Club: 1 & 3 | Sandia Park | 92.8 | 2nd of 68 | 99% |
| Oregon | Gearhart Golf Links | Gearhart | 91.2 | 17th of 163 | 58% |
| Utah | Wasatch Mountain: Mountain | Midway | 89.0 | 17th of 122 | 50% |
| Washington | Wine Valley Golf Club | Walla Walla | 91.7 | 13th of 241 | 68% |
| Wyoming | Bell Nob Golf Club | Gillette | 88.5 | 5th of 28 | 99% |
The Midwest picks include a city-owned course in Missouri and the course that shares its grounds with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Here are the 11 Midwest picks, with each course's TheGrint Rating, where it ranks among rated courses in its state, and TheGrint Difficulty:
| State | Course | City | TheGrint Rating | State rank | Plays harder than |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Illinois | Cantigny Golf: Lakeside/Hillside | Wheaton | 91.7 | 55th of 552 | Not yet rated |
| Indiana | Brickyard Crossing Golf Course | Indianapolis | 92.1 | 17th of 365 | 99% |
| Iowa | Spirit Hollow Golf Course | Burlington | 90.5 | 19th of 175 | 98% |
| Kansas | Sand Creek Station Golf Course | Newton | 89.3 | 9th of 114 | 90% |
| Michigan | Eagle Eye Golf Club | Bath | 92.8 | 33rd of 784 | 97% |
| Minnesota | Giants Ridge: The Legend | Biwabik | 92.7 | 14th of 377 | 93% |
| Missouri | Mozingo Lake Golf Course: Sechrest 18 | Maryville | 91.2 | 20th of 238 | 97% |
| North Dakota | Hawktree Golf Course | Bismarck | 90.0 | 2nd of 47 | 83% |
| Ohio | The Virtues Golf Club | Nashport | 91.3 | 57th of 586 | 93% |
| South Dakota | Golf Club at Red Rock | Rapid City | 90.0 | 7th of 47 | 88% |
| Wisconsin | Blackwolf Run: Original Championship | Kohler | 92.8 | 27th of 446 | 99% |
The South mixes resort and casino courses with three of the hardest courses on this list. Here are the 12 South picks, with each course's TheGrint Rating, where it ranks among rated courses in its state, and TheGrint Difficulty:
| State | Course | City | TheGrint Rating | State rank | Plays harder than |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail at Ross Bridge | Birmingham | 92.4 | 15th of 185 | 97% |
| Arkansas | The Ridges at Village Creek: North/West | Wynne | 91.4 | 10th of 107 | 99% |
| Delaware | Bear Trap Dunes: Black Bear/Grizzly | Ocean View | 88.7 | 8th of 43 | 69% |
| Kentucky | Nevel Meade Golf Course | Prospect | 89.5 | 13th of 183 | 62% |
| Louisiana | Koasati Pines at Coushatta | Kinder | 90.5 | 3rd of 98 | 79% |
| Maryland | Rum Pointe Seaside Golf Links | Berlin | 91.6 | 18th of 159 | 85% |
| Mississippi | The Preserve Golf Club | Vancleave | 92.8 | 4th of 80 | 94% |
| Oklahoma | Shangri-La Resort: Legends/Champions | Afton | 91.8 | 14th of 141 | 96% |
| South Carolina | Sea Pines: Atlantic Dunes | Hilton Head Island | 92.4 | 39th of 330 | 99% |
| Tennessee | Hermitage Golf Course: President's Reserve | Old Hickory | 88.9 | 25th of 239 | 86% |
| Texas | Fields Ranch: East | Frisco | 90.3 | 68th of 667 | 99% |
| Virginia | Magnolia Green Golf Club | Moseley | 92.3 | 20th of 302 | 98% |
The Northeast picks run from the mountains around Killington, Vermont, to the Jersey Shore just outside Atlantic City. Here are the 6 Northeast picks, with each course's TheGrint Rating, where it ranks among rated courses in its state, and TheGrint Difficulty:
| State | Course | City | TheGrint Rating | State rank | Plays harder than |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Connecticut | Connecticut National Golf Club | Putnam | 89.8 | 31st of 166 | 51% |
| New Jersey | Atlantic City Country Club | Northfield | 92.8 | 36th of 289 | 52% |
| New York | Saratoga National Golf Club | Saratoga Springs | 92.1 | 58th of 684 | 99% |
| Pennsylvania | Olde Stonewall Golf Club | Ellwood City | 91.5 | 62nd of 583 | 99% |
| Rhode Island | Meadow Brook Golf Course | Wyoming | 87.2 | 19th of 51 | 93% |
| Vermont | Green Mountain National Golf Course | Killington | 88.8 | 12th of 58 | 87% |
Nine of the 41 picks play harder than 99% of rated courses on TheGrint: Paako Ridge (NM), Bell Nob (WY), Brickyard Crossing (IN), Blackwolf Run's Original Championship course (WI), The Ridges at Village Creek (AR), Atlantic Dunes at Sea Pines (SC), Fields Ranch East (TX), Saratoga National (NY) and Olde Stonewall (PA).
For a gentler round, Wasatch Mountain's Mountain course in Utah plays harder than 50% of rated courses, and Connecticut National in Putnam harder than 51%. For more on difficulty, see the hardest golf courses golfers rank among the best, and check what tees to play before a hard course.
TheGrint Rating is a score out of 100 built from golfers' reviews and their head-to-head course rankings on TheGrint. It is not the Course Rating™ that the USGA® and authorized golf associations assign to each set of tees.
How we counted: ratings, ranks and difficulty come from TheGrint's directory state and course pages on October 27 and 30, 2026, and change as golfers add reviews. Access rules change too, so check with the course before you book. For more on the national lists, see how TheGrint Top 100 works.
The best way to find a hidden gem near you is to sort your state by golfer rating and look past the courses you already know.
A hidden gem golf course is one that golfers rate highly but that isn't on the big national lists. On TheGrint, it means a public-access course near the top of its state's golfer ratings that isn't on the 2026 Top 100. Our list picks one in each of 41 states.
Five picks share the highest TheGrint Rating on this list, 92.8: Paako Ridge in New Mexico, Eagle Eye in Michigan, The Preserve in Mississippi, Blackwolf Run's Original Championship course in Wisconsin and Atlantic City Country Club in New Jersey. Paako Ridge ranks 2nd of 68 rated courses in New Mexico, and The Preserve 4th of 80 in Mississippi.
We looked at the three highest-rated courses outside the 2026 Top 100 in each state and picked the best one that has a state rank, is open to public play and has 18 holes. Ratings come from golfers' reviews and head-to-head rankings on TheGrint, checked in the directory in late October 2026.
All 41 are daily-fee, municipal or resort courses that take public tee times, based on how they operate as of October 2026. Some resort courses give priority or better rates to hotel guests, and policies change, so check with the course before you plan a trip.
In the nine states we left out, the three highest-rated courses outside the Top 100 were private or member clubs, or we couldn't confirm public access. You can still browse every state, including Florida, Georgia and North Carolina, in TheGrint's golf course directory, sorted by golfer rating.
Check the scorecard and your tees before you go, then keep score in TheGrint with free GPS distances, and rank the course when you're done to help other golfers find it. Get started with TheGrint.
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