The toughest course in the Burlington-South Burlington-Barre, VT combined area is Sugarbush Golf Course, at slope 139 — ahead of Vermont National Country Club at slope 136 and Burlington Country Club at slope 134.
All 20 courses in the area with a USGA slope rating for its men’s tees are ranked below, along with 5 more lists: hardest from the tips, longest, widest tee spread, oldest, highest above sea level.
Burlington-South Burlington-Barre, VT is a combined statistical area as the U.S. Office of Management and Budget delineates it — the boundary is theirs, not ours. Each list counts only the courses in the area that publish that figure, so the totals differ between them. Slope and course rating measure difficulty, not quality — nothing here ranks how good a course is.
Toughest test
— all 20 courses with a USGA slope rating for its men’s tees
| # | Course | Toughest test |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sugarbush Golf Course | slope 139 |
| 2 | Vermont National Country Club | slope 136 |
| 3 | Burlington Country Club | slope 134 |
| 4 | Country Club of Vermont | slope 133 |
| 5 | Kwiniaska Golf Club | slope 129 |
| 6 | Champlain Country Club | slope 128 |
| 6 | Country Club of Barre | slope 128 |
| 8 | West North at Cedar Knoll Country Club | slope 124 |
| 9 | West South at Cedar Knoll Country Club | slope 123 |
| 10 | Northfield Country Club | slope 122 |
| 10 | South North at Cedar Knoll Country Club | slope 122 |
| 12 | Alburg Country Club | slope 121 |
| 13 | Essex Country Club | slope 117 |
| 14 | Bakersfield Country Club | slope 115 |
| 14 | Richford Country Club | slope 115 |
| 16 | Montpelier Elks Country Club | slope 114 |
| 17 | Enosburg Falls Country Club | slope 112 |
| 18 | The Links at Lang Farm | slope 106 |
| 19 | Wilcox Cove Cottages Golf | slope 100 |
| 20 | Arrowhead Golf Course | slope 66 |
The highest USGA slope rating published for any of the men’s tee sets. Slope rates difficulty for a bogey golfer relative to a scratch golfer — a rated figure issued by the golf association, not an opinion about the course. Men’s ratings only, because a tee is rated separately for men and for women and the two scales do not compare; a course rated only for women is not in the running rather than converted.
Hardest from the tips
— all 15 courses with a USGA course rating for its men’s tees
| # | Course | Hardest from the tips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vermont National Country Club | rating 74.4 |
| 2 | Kwiniaska Golf Club | rating 72.7 |
| 3 | Country Club of Vermont | rating 72.6 |
| 4 | Burlington Country Club | rating 71.6 |
| 5 | Sugarbush Golf Course | rating 71.1 |
| 6 | Champlain Country Club | rating 71.0 |
| 6 | Country Club of Barre | rating 71.0 |
| 8 | West North at Cedar Knoll Country Club | rating 70.8 |
| 9 | Essex Country Club | rating 70.4 |
| 10 | Alburg Country Club | rating 70.1 |
| 11 | Northfield Country Club | rating 69.1 |
| 12 | West South at Cedar Knoll Country Club | rating 68.5 |
| 13 | South North at Cedar Knoll Country Club | rating 68.1 |
| 14 | Enosburg Falls Country Club | rating 66.8 |
| 15 | The Links at Lang Farm | rating 60.4 |
The highest USGA course rating published for any of the men’s tee sets — the score a scratch golfer is expected to shoot. Men’s ratings only, for the same reason as slope: the men’s and women’s ratings of one tee are different measurements. It measures difficulty and nothing else; it is not a quality score and never orders these pages by how good a course is.
Longest
— all 25 courses with a published scorecard
| # | Course | Longest |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vermont National Country Club | 7,075 yds |
| 2 | Kwiniaska Golf Club | 6,848 yds |
| 3 | Country Club of Vermont | 6,788 yds |
| 4 | West North at Cedar Knoll Country Club | 6,598 yds |
| 5 | Essex Country Club | 6,545 yds |
| 6 | Alburg Country Club | 6,537 yds |
| 7 | West North at Cedar Knoll Country Club | 6,480 yds |
| 8 | Burlington Country Club | 6,471 yds |
| 9 | Sugarbush Golf Course | 6,321 yds |
| 10 | Country Club of Barre | 6,315 yds |
| 11 | West South at Cedar Knoll Country Club | 6,309 yds |
| 12 | Champlain Country Club | 6,287 yds |
| 13 | Rocky Ridge Golf Club | 6,282 yds |
| 14 | West South at Cedar Knoll Country Club | 6,213 yds |
| 15 | South North at Cedar Knoll Country Club | 6,045 yds |
| 16 | Enosburg Falls Country Club | 5,588 yds |
| 17 | The Links at Lang Farm | 3,905 yds |
| 18 | Northfield Country Club | 2,973 yds |
| 19 | Bakersfield Country Club | 2,970 yds |
| 20 | Richford Country Club | 2,908 yds |
| 21 | Montpelier Elks Country Club | 2,584 yds |
| 22 | Blush Hill Country Club | 2,472 yds |
| 23 | Wilcox Cove Cottages Golf | 1,705 yds |
| 24 | Arrowhead Golf Course | 1,434 yds |
| 25 | Woodbury Golf Course | 1,264 yds |
The longest tee set the course publishes, in yards from the tips. Compared against every course that publishes a scorecard — length is a measurement, not a verdict on the golf.
Widest tee spread
— all 23 courses with two or more tee sets of different lengths
| # | Course | Widest tee spread |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | West North at Cedar Knoll Country Club | 3,489 yds between tees |
| 2 | Vermont National Country Club | 3,010 yds between tees |
| 3 | Country Club of Vermont | 1,986 yds between tees |
| 4 | Burlington Country Club | 1,672 yds between tees |
| 5 | Kwiniaska Golf Club | 1,602 yds between tees |
| 6 | West South at Cedar Knoll Country Club | 1,579 yds between tees |
| 7 | Alburg Country Club | 1,477 yds between tees |
| 8 | Sugarbush Golf Course | 1,428 yds between tees |
| 9 | West North at Cedar Knoll Country Club | 1,404 yds between tees |
| 10 | South North at Cedar Knoll Country Club | 1,347 yds between tees |
| 11 | Champlain Country Club | 1,323 yds between tees |
| 12 | West South at Cedar Knoll Country Club | 1,293 yds between tees |
| 13 | Essex Country Club | 1,195 yds between tees |
| 14 | Country Club of Barre | 1,189 yds between tees |
| 15 | Enosburg Falls Country Club | 1,097 yds between tees |
| 16 | Rocky Ridge Golf Club | 1,052 yds between tees |
| 17 | The Links at Lang Farm | 1,031 yds between tees |
| 18 | Richford Country Club | 577 yds between tees |
| 19 | Northfield Country Club | 480 yds between tees |
| 20 | Arrowhead Golf Course | 421 yds between tees |
| 21 | Bakersfield Country Club | 360 yds between tees |
| 22 | Blush Hill Country Club | 274 yds between tees |
| 23 | Montpelier Elks Country Club | 154 yds between tees |
Yards between the longest and shortest published tee sets — how far the course moves to fit a different player. Courses publishing a single tee set are not in the running, because one set is an unmeasured spread rather than a narrow one.
Oldest
— all 21 courses with an opening year
| # | Course | Oldest |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Montpelier Elks Country Club | opened 1902 |
| 2 | Champlain Country Club | opened 1915 |
| 3 | Burlington Country Club | opened 1924 |
| 3 | Country Club of Barre | opened 1924 |
| 5 | Northfield Country Club | opened 1927 |
| 6 | Richford Country Club | opened 1929 |
| 7 | Wilcox Cove Cottages Golf | opened 1947 |
| 8 | Enosburg Falls Country Club | opened 1962 |
| 9 | Alburg Country Club | opened 1964 |
| 9 | Kwiniaska Golf Club | opened 1964 |
| 11 | Sugarbush Golf Course | opened 1965 |
| 12 | Essex Country Club | opened 1983 |
| 13 | Bakersfield Country Club | opened 1987 |
| 14 | South North at Cedar Knoll Country Club | opened 1994 |
| 14 | West North at Cedar Knoll Country Club | opened 1994 |
| 14 | West South at Cedar Knoll Country Club | opened 1994 |
| 17 | Arrowhead Golf Course | opened 1997 |
| 18 | Country Club of Vermont | opened 1998 |
| 18 | Vermont National Country Club | opened 1998 |
| 20 | The Links at Lang Farm | opened 2002 |
| 21 | Woodbury Golf Course | opened 2003 |
The year the course opened, as published. Ranked oldest first. An opening year is not a design credit and not a renovation date — a course that opened in 1921 and was rebuilt in 1998 still opened in 1921.
Highest above sea level
— the top 25 of 26 courses with a coordinate we could sample
| # | Course | Highest above sea level |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Woodbury Golf Course | 1,497 ft |
| 2 | Sugarbush Golf Course | 1,493 ft |
| 3 | Country Club of Barre | 1,127 ft |
| 4 | Blush Hill Country Club | 971 ft |
| 5 | Northfield Country Club | 828 ft |
| 6 | Richford Country Club | 768 ft |
| 7 | Bakersfield Country Club | 764 ft |
| 8 | Country Club of Vermont | 674 ft |
| 9 | Montpelier Elks Country Club | 639 ft |
| 10 | West North at Cedar Knoll Country Club | 548 ft |
| 10 | West South at Cedar Knoll Country Club | 548 ft |
| 12 | Essex Country Club | 545 ft |
| 13 | South North at Cedar Knoll Country Club | 488 ft |
| 14 | West South at Cedar Knoll Country Club | 476 ft |
| 15 | The Links at Lang Farm | 472 ft |
| 16 | Enosburg Falls Country Club | 452 ft |
| 17 | Rocky Ridge Golf Club | 432 ft |
| 18 | Vermont National Country Club | 418 ft |
| 19 | Burlington Country Club | 402 ft |
| 20 | Champlain Country Club | 375 ft |
| 21 | Kwiniaska Golf Club | 370 ft |
| 22 | West North at Cedar Knoll Country Club | 367 ft |
| 23 | Arrowhead Golf Course | 333 ft |
| 24 | Alburg Country Club | 163 ft |
| 25 | Apple Island Resort Golf Course | 156 ft |
Height above sea level at the course’s own published coordinate, sampled from the USGS 3DEP elevation model. THIS IS A FIGURE WE DERIVED, not one the course publishes — anybody can re-query the same public dataset at the same coordinate and get the same number, but no scorecard states it. Because every course carries a coordinate, this is the only board here whose field is nearly the whole database rather than the courses that publish a particular figure. Elevation changes how far a ball carries; it says nothing about whether a course is good.