The toughest course in the Greenville-Anderson-Greer, SC metro area is Chanticleer at Greenville Country Club, at slope 150 — ahead of The Cliffs at Glassy Golf Course at slope 148 and The Reserve at Lake Keowee at slope 148.
All 17 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.
Greenville-Anderson-Greer, SC is a metro 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 17 courses with a USGA slope rating for its men’s tees
| # | Course | Toughest test |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chanticleer at Greenville Country Club | slope 150 |
| 2 | The Cliffs at Glassy Golf Course | slope 148 |
| 2 | The Reserve at Lake Keowee | slope 148 |
| 4 | Keowee Springs Golf Course | slope 143 |
| 5 | Linkside at Pebble Creek Country Club | slope 142 |
| 5 | Thornblade | slope 142 |
| 7 | Green Valley Country Club | slope 139 |
| 8 | Greer Golf | slope 137 |
| 8 | Smithfields Country Club | slope 137 |
| 10 | Bonnie Brae Golf Course | slope 134 |
| 10 | Furman University Golf Course | slope 134 |
| 12 | Holly Tree Country Club | slope 133 |
| 12 | Riverside at Greenville Country Club | slope 133 |
| 14 | Carolina Springs Golf Club | slope 131 |
| 15 | Southern Oaks | slope 127 |
| 16 | Paris Mountain Country Club | slope 126 |
| 17 | Lakeside Country Club | slope 121 |
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 17 courses with a USGA course rating for its men’s tees
| # | Course | Hardest from the tips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chanticleer at Greenville Country Club | rating 74.9 |
| 1 | Thornblade | rating 74.9 |
| 3 | Green Valley Country Club | rating 74.8 |
| 4 | The Reserve at Lake Keowee | rating 74.5 |
| 5 | Linkside at Pebble Creek Country Club | rating 74.2 |
| 6 | Keowee Springs Golf Course | rating 73.9 |
| 7 | Furman University Golf Course | rating 73.6 |
| 8 | Smithfields Country Club | rating 73.5 |
| 9 | Holly Tree Country Club | rating 73.4 |
| 10 | The Cliffs at Glassy Golf Course | rating 73.1 |
| 11 | Carolina Springs Golf Club | rating 72.7 |
| 12 | Riverside at Greenville Country Club | rating 72.6 |
| 13 | Bonnie Brae Golf Course | rating 71.4 |
| 13 | Greer Golf | rating 71.4 |
| 13 | Lakeside Country Club | rating 71.4 |
| 16 | Southern Oaks | rating 70.7 |
| 17 | Paris Mountain Country Club | rating 69.7 |
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
— the top 25 of 30 courses with a published scorecard
| # | Course | Longest |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Keowee Springs Golf Course | 7,200 yds |
| 2 | The Reserve at Lake Keowee | 7,112 yds |
| 3 | Cliffs Valley Golf Course | 7,050 yds |
| 4 | Furman University Golf Course | 7,031 yds |
| 5 | Thornblade | 7,024 yds |
| 6 | The Preserve at Verdae Golf Club | 7,021 yds |
| 7 | Green Valley Country Club | 6,952 yds |
| 8 | The Walker Course at Clemson University | 6,911 yds |
| 9 | Linkside at Pebble Creek Country Club | 6,902 yds |
| 10 | Chanticleer at Greenville Country Club | 6,864 yds |
| 11 | The Cliffs at Glassy Golf Course | 6,805 yds |
| 12 | Carolina Springs Golf Club | 6,803 yds |
| 13 | Smithfields Country Club | 6,796 yds |
| 14 | Holly Tree Country Club | 6,790 yds |
| 15 | Southern Oaks | 6,710 yds |
| 16 | Legacy Pines Golf Club | 6,689 yds |
| 17 | Riverside at Greenville Country Club | 6,660 yds |
| 18 | Fox Run Country Club | 6,556 yds |
| 19 | Bonnie Brae Golf Course | 6,546 yds |
| 20 | Lakeside Country Club | 6,488 yds |
| 21 | Rolling S Golf Club | 6,477 yds |
| 22 | Lakeview Golf Club | 6,470 yds |
| 23 | Boscobel Golf Club | 6,459 yds |
| 24 | Saluda Valley Golf Course | 6,357 yds |
| 25 | Greer Golf | 6,350 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
— the top 25 of 30 courses with two or more tee sets of different lengths
| # | Course | Widest tee spread |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Reserve at Lake Keowee | 4,648 yds between tees |
| 2 | Keowee Springs Golf Course | 2,600 yds between tees |
| 3 | Holly Tree Country Club | 2,288 yds between tees |
| 4 | The Walker Course at Clemson University | 2,244 yds between tees |
| 5 | Furman University Golf Course | 2,038 yds between tees |
| 6 | Green Valley Country Club | 2,001 yds between tees |
| 7 | The Preserve at Verdae Golf Club | 1,999 yds between tees |
| 8 | Cliffs Valley Golf Course | 1,997 yds between tees |
| 9 | The Cliffs at Glassy Golf Course | 1,956 yds between tees |
| 10 | Linkside at Pebble Creek Country Club | 1,820 yds between tees |
| 11 | Thornblade | 1,798 yds between tees |
| 12 | Smithfields Country Club | 1,727 yds between tees |
| 13 | Legacy Pines Golf Club | 1,715 yds between tees |
| 14 | Southern Oaks | 1,710 yds between tees |
| 15 | Carolina Springs Golf Club | 1,612 yds between tees |
| 16 | Riverside at Greenville Country Club | 1,586 yds between tees |
| 17 | Middle Back at Rolling Green Golf Club | 1,543 yds between tees |
| 18 | Chanticleer at Greenville Country Club | 1,526 yds between tees |
| 19 | Boscobel Golf Club | 1,513 yds between tees |
| 20 | Fox Run Country Club | 1,506 yds between tees |
| 21 | Lakeside Country Club | 1,484 yds between tees |
| 22 | Lakeview Golf Club | 1,434 yds between tees |
| 23 | Paris Mountain Country Club | 1,362 yds between tees |
| 24 | Rolling S Golf Club | 1,359 yds between tees |
| 25 | Greer Golf | 1,320 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 19 courses with an opening year
| # | Course | Oldest |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverside at Greenville Country Club | opened 1895 |
| 2 | Lakeside Country Club | opened 1929 |
| 3 | Paris Mountain Country Club | opened 1938 |
| 4 | Furman University Golf Course | opened 1955 |
| 4 | Greer Golf | opened 1955 |
| 6 | Green Valley Country Club | opened 1958 |
| 7 | Bonnie Brae Golf Course | opened 1961 |
| 8 | Carolina Springs Golf Club | opened 1968 |
| 9 | Chanticleer at Greenville Country Club | opened 1970 |
| 10 | Woodhaven Golf Club | opened 1971 |
| 11 | Holly Tree Country Club | opened 1973 |
| 12 | Linkside at Pebble Creek Country Club | opened 1974 |
| 13 | Smithfields Country Club | opened 1984 |
| 14 | Southern Oaks | opened 1989 |
| 14 | Thornblade | opened 1989 |
| 16 | The Cliffs at Glassy Golf Course | opened 1991 |
| 17 | 3 S Greenville | opened 1997 |
| 18 | The Reserve at Lake Keowee | opened 2002 |
| 19 | Keowee Springs Golf Course | opened 2008 |
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 31 courses with a coordinate we could sample
| # | Course | Highest above sea level |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Cliffs at Glassy Golf Course | 2,498 ft |
| 2 | Cliffs Valley Golf Course | 1,143 ft |
| 3 | Middle Back at Rolling Green Golf Club | 1,097 ft |
| 4 | Paris Mountain Country Club | 1,061 ft |
| 5 | 3 S Greenville | 1,039 ft |
| 6 | Green Valley Country Club | 1,037 ft |
| 7 | Furman University Golf Course | 995 ft |
| 8 | The Reserve at Lake Keowee | 953 ft |
| 9 | Linkside at Pebble Creek Country Club | 936 ft |
| 10 | The Preserve at Verdae Golf Club | 934 ft |
| 11 | Riverside at Greenville Country Club | 929 ft |
| 12 | Thornblade | 917 ft |
| 13 | Bonnie Brae Golf Course | 911 ft |
| 14 | Southern Oaks | 906 ft |
| 15 | Chanticleer at Greenville Country Club | 900 ft |
| 16 | Smithfields Country Club | 899 ft |
| 17 | Lakeview Golf Club | 877 ft |
| 18 | Saluda Valley Golf Course | 872 ft |
| 19 | Keowee Springs Golf Course | 871 ft |
| 20 | Legacy Pines Golf Club | 843 ft |
| 21 | Greer Golf | 841 ft |
| 22 | Fox Run Country Club | 827 ft |
| 23 | Carolina Springs Golf Club | 823 ft |
| 24 | Boscobel Golf Club | 795 ft |
| 25 | Woodhaven Golf Club | 793 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.