Which major city has the most World Top 100 courses within 100 miles?

If you want to visit one city to tick off as many of GOLF’s Top 100 Golf Courses in the World as possible, there is one clear destination.

New York City has a whopping 11 Top 100 World golf courses within a 100-mile radius (i.e. a reasonable distance for a golf day trip), more than double that of any other city in the world. The next closest were London and Edinburgh in Britain, both of which have five Top 100 courses within 100 miles.

But a trip to the Big Apple could be a perfect starting point with six of those courses within a 30-mile radius, including major championships like Winged Foot’s West course and Bethpage Black, one of the most accessible World Top 100 courses.

Further along the eastern side of Long Island you’ll find Hamptons staples and perennial top 10s Shinnecock and National Golf Links of America, as well as Friar’s Head and Maidstone.

If you live in New York City, you’ll be spoiled for choice with fantastic golf, even if it’s harder to get to due to the city’s famous traffic.

Still, if you’re hoping to check off a big chunk of the Top 100 courses, there’s no better place to start than New York!

Keep reading below for all of GOLF’s Top 100 World Courses within 100 miles of New York City.

No. 5: Shinnecock Hills (133 miles)

Venue for five US Opens since 1986, most recently in 2018 – this is William Flynn’s design masterpiece. In addition to getting a beautiful, spacious plot of land to work on, Flynn was given something almost as valuable: time. Work started in 1928 and the track did not open until 1931. It’s true that the Great Depression began during construction, but the grace with which the holes flow across the site is a tribute to the practical, slow construction process.

No. 6: National Golf Links of America (132 miles)

NGLA, or ‘National’ as it is known, first brought Seth Raynor and CB Macdonald together and what they created epitomizes strategic design. Some of the template holes, including the Alps 3rd, the Redan 4th, the Short 6th and the Leven 17th, are demonstrably superior to their namesake holes in the UK that Macdonald copied. Legendary golf writer Bernard Darwin summed it up nicely when he opined: “The National Links is truly a great course; even as I write this I feel my allegiance to Westward Ho!, to Hoylake, to St Andrews teetering towards its fall.”

No. 23: Friar’s Head (69 miles)

Tree-studded dunes, open meadows and cliff views of Long Island Sound highlight the experience of this 2003 Bill Coore-Ben Crenshaw design. Even more impressive is how seamlessly the golfer is transported between these different environments. The sandy stretches – including those of 7-10 and 13-18 – are fascinating, but holes like the maddening 5th with its undulating ground contours and the classic dogleg 6th that tempts you to hug the corner of the tee are design highlights in their own right. Continued refinements, no matter how small, ensure that Friar’s Head is as important as any other course in the country.

Hale Irwin survived the 1974 US Open “Massacre at Winged Foot” to win with seven over par. Geoff Ogilvy didn’t fare much better in 2006, when his total of five took home the trophy. Mark Brooks, the 1996 PGA Champion, summarized this Golden Age AW Tillinghast design this way: “There are probably six hard holes, six really hard holes and six impossible holes.” Eeriely shaped, pear-shaped greens, cavernous bunkers and a parade of rugged par-4s define the problems. On a difficulty scale of 1 to 10, Jack Nicklaus once rated the West course a 12. That said, Gil Hanse’s amazing green expansion has brought back an exciting element of creativity that few parkland courses can match.

No. 49: Maidstone (97 miles)

Maidstone’s glorious location on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean is once again clearly visible, thanks to a recent restoration by Coore & Crenshaw. Maintaining coastal dunes is an art form: expose too much sand and it will blow away; cover it up and you lose the sense of place. Maidstone has found the perfect balance. Adding to the enjoyment of the romantic location is an exceptional array of Willie and John Park greens, many of which feature dramatic false fronts. Maidstone is a dream course to play regularly, partly because demand changes daily depending on the weather.

No. 51: Somerset Hills (31 miles)

Thanks to a 25-year restoration with meticulous attention to detail, Somerset Hills has reached the point where some herald it as AW Tillinghast’s best design for regular play. The two nines are diverse: the first is located on more open land, while the second jumps into the forest where Tillinghast has incorporated natural water features to perfection. Tillinghast’s time in Scotland is reflected on holes such as the Redan 2nd and the par-5 9th with its attractive cross-hazard. One diehard New Yorker noted, “It’s enough to make you want to live in New Jersey.”

No. 52: Garden City (32km)

Devereux Emmet and Walter Travis share credit for this old-fashioned design seen throughout Hempstead Plain on Long Island. The water is 10 miles long both north and south, so sea breezes are a frequent companion. Laurie Auchterlonie won the 1902 US Open here with record scores, thanks to the debut of the longer, more durable Haskell ball. Garden City’s sloping greens, like the 10th and 15th, are landscape architecture at its highest. To understand what it means to ‘make the most of the land’, study the small plot surrounding the clubhouse with the 1st, 2nd and 18th holes, each in its own right.

No. 56: Bethpage – Black (47 miles)

The Black intimidates golfers with a sign at the first tee that states the course is “for highly skilled golfers only.” Among them? Tiger Woods, who won the ‘People’s Open’ in 2002, as the US Open became known. Woods was the only golfer to break par over 72 holes, thanks to the rugged, uphill par-4s, huge bunkers and wrist-breaking rough technique found on this Rees Jones-restored AW Tillinghast layout. The Black enjoys one of the great routes, highlighted by the masterful way in which Tillinghast has arranged the fairways and greens from the second hole in a valley all the way to the dogleg left of the ninth. The par-5 4th and its iconic cross bunkering is a world beater.

No. 70: Baltusrol – Lager (27 km)

Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner’s 2020 restoration showcases Tillinghast’s immense talent for innovative bunker patterns and fascinating greens. Central obstacles are again in abundance here, most famous at the 2nd and 17th holes, where large bunker complexes criss-cross the fairways. Equally impressive is the diagonal bunker scheme that flows into the 5th fairway, making it one of the best 400-yarders in the country. Although the center of the site is topographically tame, that is exactly where Tillinghast has created some of the best greens. Take time to study both green pads of the par 3s on the back nine, as each is a masterclass in creating something from nothing.

No. 77: Sleepy Hollow (47 miles)

This Westchester County golf course has always had a spectacular component, thanks to its breathtaking views of the Hudson River, especially on the 15th and 16th holes. What the holes lacked was playing interest from 50 meters. That changed in 2016 when Gil Hanse embarked on a two-year project to infuse the greens with a CB Macdonald flair that, well, even Macdonald would appreciate.

Neither as tall nor as strong as its illustrious West siblings, the East enjoys its own dedicated fanbase due to the variety and encouraging way in which ground game options are now presented. Much attention has been paid to the cutting lines, with short, neat fairway grass on the high side of the entrance to all greens. More than a few Winged Foot aficionados consider the 13th and 17th to be the best par-3s on the property, a seemingly bizarre claim until you play them. Spend time building greens like 1st and 11th and you’ll wonder what AW Tillinghast understood about green building that eludes most other architects.

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