The longest 9-hole regulation course in the country is Sapelo Hammock Golf Club (GA), at 5,808 yards — ahead of Mary Calder Golf Club (GA) at 5,040 yards and Siloam Springs Country Club (AR) at 5,037 yards.
All 1,791 9-hole regulation courses with a published scorecard are ranked below, along with 5 more lists: toughest test, hardest from the tips, widest tee spread, oldest, highest above sea level.
Nine holes at par 34 or above. A nine is not half a course — it is the format most of rural America plays, and its yardages and ratings only compare to other nines, which is what this cut is for.
Each list counts only the courses that publish that figure, so the totals differ between them. Slope and course rating measure difficulty, not quality. How this is worked out.
Who runs them
The same 1,830 9-hole regulation courses by the access type each record publishes — never guessed from a name or a fee. Courses that publish no type keep their own row.
| Access type | 9-hole regulation courses | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Public | 755 | 41.3% | |
| Private | 266 | 14.5% | |
| Semi-private | 442 | 24.2% | |
| Resort | 36 | 2.0% | |
| Municipal | 59 | 3.2% | |
| Military | 16 | 0.9% | |
| Access not stated | 256 | 14.0% |
Longest
— the top 25 of 1,791 courses with a published scorecard
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.
Toughest test
— the top 25 of 972 courses with a USGA slope rating for its men’s tees
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
— the top 25 of 199 courses with a USGA course rating for its men’s tees
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.
Widest tee spread
— the top 25 of 1,640 courses with two or more tee sets of different lengths
| # | Course | State | Widest tee spread |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | King Rail Reserve Golf Course | MA | 2,835 yds between tees |
| 2 | Siloam Springs Country Club | AR | 2,738 yds between tees |
| 3 | Ouachita Country Club | AR | 2,640 yds between tees |
| 4 | Mary Calder Golf Club | GA | 2,619 yds between tees |
| 5 | Round Mountain Golf Club | NV | 2,580 yds between tees |
| 6 | Atwood Country Club | KS | 2,441 yds between tees |
| 7 | Adams Springs Golf Course | CA | 2,436 yds between tees |
| 8 | Hidden Bridge Golf Club | WY | 2,424 yds between tees |
| 9 | Mossland Memorial Golf Course | CO | 2,420 yds between tees |
| 10 | Garnett Country Club | KS | 2,407 yds between tees |
| 11 | Lucky Hills Golf Course | PA | 2,383 yds between tees |
| 12 | Bayouside Golf Club | LA | 2,361 yds between tees |
| 13 | Country Club of Jackson Cypress Course | MS | 2,341 yds between tees |
| 14 | Highland Links Cape Cod | MA | 2,307 yds between tees |
| 15 | Twin Lakes Golf Course | NC | 2,305 yds between tees |
| 16 | Muskeg Meadows Golf Course | AK | 2,300 yds between tees |
| 17 | Mt Kineo Golf Course | ME | 2,215 yds between tees |
| 18 | Bay Creek Resort Club Nicklaus Course | VA | 2,178 yds between tees |
| 19 | Bobby Jones Golf Course The Magnolia Nine | GA | 2,129 yds between tees |
| 20 | Cascades Golf Course | NJ | 2,089 yds between tees |
| 21 | Pelican Point Golf Club Get Golf Ready Course | LA | 2,075 yds between tees |
| 22 | Bobby Jones Golf Course The Azalea Nine | GA | 2,062 yds between tees |
| 23 | Golf Club of Incline Village | NE | 2,034 yds between tees |
| 24 | Bella Collina Towne Golf Club Muirfield Course | CA | 2,010 yds between tees |
| 25 | Bella Collina Towne Golf Club Carnoustie Course | CA | 1,938 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
— the top 25 of 1,347 courses with an opening year
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 1,830 courses with a coordinate we could sample
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.
When they opened
Opening year by decade, where the record carries one — 1,347 of the 1,830 in this cut. 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.
| Decade opened | 9-hole regulation courses | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 4 | 0.3% | |
| 1890s | 42 | 3.1% | |
| 1900s | 38 | 2.8% | |
| 1910s | 49 | 3.6% | |
| 1920s | 189 | 14.0% | |
| 1930s | 103 | 7.6% | |
| 1940s | 56 | 4.2% | |
| 1950s | 110 | 8.2% | |
| 1960s | 286 | 21.2% | |
| 1970s | 135 | 10.0% | |
| 1980s | 88 | 6.5% | |
| 1990s | 125 | 9.3% | |
| 2000s | 107 | 7.9% | |
| 2010s | 13 | 1.0% | |
| 2020s | 2 | 0.1% |
Where they are
The 12 states with the most, of 51 that have at least one. Each links to that state's own page, where its courses are ranked against the rest of the state rather than against this cut.
| State | 9-hole regulation courses | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Iowa | 172 | 9.4% | |
| New York | 139 | 7.6% | |
| Kansas | 76 | 4.2% | |
| Massachusetts | 75 | 4.1% | |
| Michigan | 75 | 4.1% | |
| Pennsylvania | 71 | 3.9% | |
| Illinois | 68 | 3.7% | |
| Wisconsin | 63 | 3.4% | |
| California | 58 | 3.2% | |
| Minnesota | 52 | 2.8% | |
| Oklahoma | 52 | 2.8% | |
| North Carolina | 51 | 2.8% |
39 more states have at least one and are not shown here. Every one of them is in the course search.