GOLF has released its latest rankings of the 100 Best Golf Courses in the World (2025-2026), and while Pine Valley once again took the top spot, there were three newcomers and two returnees to the rankings. Here we introduce you to them.
CapRock is part of a group of relative newcomers to a region of the Nebraska Sandhills that is bursting with new jobs. But plans for it had been in development for years, giving Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner time to figure out how to best use a landmark spot where sandhills butt up against the Snake River canyon. They took full advantage of that millennia-old danger, pinning multiple greens along the cliffs and delving into the drama of the drop-offs. The canyon plays a particularly compelling role in a constellation of par-3s that appeal to your inner Evel Knievel.
But CapRock is not a drumbeat of forced carries. Wandering through the dunes, the course swings through all the cardinal points and offers an arsenal of ground game options. While its light-on-the-land aesthetic has echoes of Sand Hills – the OG of the region, whose minimalist ethos helped spark a movement – CapRock has a personality all its own.
Two years ago, when GOLF tallied the votes for the 2023-2024 rankings, CapRock finished just outside the Top 100. The field was still maturing, and only a handful of panelists had seen it. This year’s breakthrough is an emphatic statement for a course that is deeply rooted in the environment and yet a very special place.
Josh Sens is a senior writer and course evaluator for GOLF Magazine and GOLF.com.
#stunner #Nebraska #cracked #World #Top #rankings