CapRock Ranch

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas for fans of Top100golfcourses.com. It's been 3 long years since we last released a USA Top 100 ranking, but the wait is finally over! We're excited to unveil our new and improved rankings, which reflect the many changes that have taken place in the US golf scene since our last release. New minimalist design courses continue to be opened emphasizing width off the tee and placing a premium on playing to the right area to set up the best approach angle to the greens. Firm and fast playing surfaces encourage golfers to use the ground game, which is often the best option. There is also significant activity regarding new courses being built in warmer more southern climates where golf can be played year-round. North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida are leading the way. At Top100golfcourses.com, we're committed to providing the most trusted and reliable rankings in the industry. That's why we've invested heavily in our panel of experts, which includes some of the most well-traveled and architecturally engaged golfers in the country and the world. We have made a significant investment in expanding and improving our panels in every major golf country around the world. Our US panel is now three times larger than before, and we are proud to have eight members who have played the US Top 100 and several others who have played over 1,000 different golf courses. Significant movement in the new US ranking release, with 14 new entries, 50 courses dropping, 25 moving up, and only 11 holding their position. Among the newcomers to the US Top 100 Rankings is CapRock Ranch, a collaboration between Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner. This stunning course debuted in last year’s Top 100 in the World rankings and offers the best of both worlds: spectacular caprock views and holes routed along the cliffs of a massive ravine, as well as inland holes that traverse the perfect dune landscape of the sand hills. The newly restored Lido Golf Club, a faithful recreation of the original course designed by Charles B. Macdonald and Seth Raynor, has made a stunning debut in our rankings, entering as a massive favorite among our panel. It's a big, bold, and challenging course, located in the sandy hills of Wisconsin at Sand Valley Resort. Michael Keiser Jr. brought in Tom Doak and Brian Schneider, along with amateur golf historian Peter Flory, to complete the restoration. Two new golf courses in South Carolina are spearheading the growth of a new major golf destination in the greater Augusta area. The Tree Farm, a long-time dream of PGA Tour pro Zac Blair, was the first on the scene. The Tree Farm has been lauded for its routing prowess, thanks to the work of none other than Tom Doak and Kye Goalby. Its neighbor, Old Barnwell, showcases the sublime work of two veteran architects in Brian Schneider and Blake Conant. These two gems are quickly gaining momentum and critical acclaim from golf lovers lucky enough to receive invites to visit them. With their stunning scenery and challenging layouts, they are poised to become two of the most sought-after golf destinations in the US. The last several years have seen many historic championship courses undergo major restorations, many of which have improved in the rankings as well. Among these are Los Angeles (North), Oak Hill (East), Oakland Hills (South), Congressional (Blue), Inverness, Scioto, Southern Hills, Baltusrol (Lower), and Olympic (Lake). What rises must fall, and so it is with golf courses. Some once-great courses have seen their popularity wane in recent years, due in part to the decline of penal golf course design. Pete Dye, a master of this style, has seen some of his best courses fall victim to this trend. Kiawah Island's Ocean Course, Whistling Straits' Straits Course, and TPC Sawgrass are all examples of courses that have seen their rankings drop in recent years. Other golf courses that have experienced significant ranking declines this year include Muirfield Village, Bandon Dunes (Old Macdonald), the Streamsong courses, and Sebonack. So, without further ado, here is our 2023 USA Top 100 ranking: View the USA Top 100 Rankings Here

Q & A with Bill Coore Interview with M. James Ward SOUTHAMPTON, NY. The tandem of Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore are among the world's finest golf course creators. The duo have reshaped -- no pun intended -- by re-emphasizing classical golf architecture with some of the finest modern designs including the likes of Sand Hills in Nebraska, Friar's Head on Long Island, NY, Bandon Trails in Oregon, Sand Valley in Wisconsin and among others Streamsong (Red) in Florida, as well as major restoration work with the likes of Pinehurst #2 leading the way, and as course consultants to this year's US Open site – Shinnecock Hills. Among their upcoming newest layouts is Ozarks National in Branson, Missouri opening later this year. In sum, the twosome continues to bring to life golf architecture that embodies designs working in total concert with their native sites. Backgrounder Like his partner Ben Crenshaw, Bill Coore was exposed to traditional golf architecture during his formative years. A native North Carolinian, Coore played much of his early golf at the Donald Ross courses of Pinehurst and the Perry Maxwell designed Old Town Club in Winston-Salem. A 1968 graduate of Wake Forest University, Coore began his professional design and construction career in 1972 with the firm of Pete Dye and Associates. Under Dye’s guidance, Coore was introduced to the elements of creative design and physical construction. It was also Dye that first introduced Coore to the written classics of golf architecture – the same books that Crenshaw was then collecting and studying. The information within these books was to later form the foundation for the Coore and Crenshaw partnership. During the succeeding ten years, Coore was involved in the design, construction and maintenance of golf courses in Florida, North Carolina, Virginia, Canada, and Texas. Coore formed his own design company in 1982. Thereafter, he completed courses at Rockport Country Club in Rockport, Texas (featured in the 1986 issue of the USGA Golf Journal) and Golf du Medoc in Bordeaux, France – named one of the ten best courses in France and one of the top fifty courses in Europe. Bill Coore and his wife, Sue, reside in Scottsdale, Arizona. Ben and yourself have been consultants at Shinnecock Hills, what’s your take on the course’s best hole? COORE: In my opinion, there is no best hole at Shinnecock Hills and fortunately there is no worst hole or even less good holes. There is a collection of 18 distinctive, extremely high quality holes that fit seamlessly together. What’s the most underrated hole? COORE: The first hole may be the most underrated because of its position in the round, and it's not one of the course’s most difficult holes, yet it is a marvelous introduction to what is about to be experienced. The view from the first tee located so near the iconic clubhouse, the angle of the fairway to the tee shot, the bunkering, the contouring of the green, its surrounds and the precision demanded of the shots played to the green combine to make it one of the most attractive and interesting holes on the course. Shinnecock is considered to be one of the most impressive courses in the world. Why is that? COORE: The most impressive overall feature of the course is the amazingly interesting way in which the holes lay on the natural landforms and are oriented in such a way that holes play toward all major points on the compass, therefore assuring that during a round the almost always present winds will be encountered at every possible angle. I'm not sure I can think of another course about which that can be said. Golfers have their own respective bucket list of courses to see/play. What’s yours? COORE: Amazingly enough, during my travels, I have yet to see Muirfield in Scotland, so that would certainly be on my bucket list. What’s the hardest thing about being a golf architect? COORE: If you’re successful in the business, saying "no" to a given project. In so many ways you do wish to say "yes" but if you don't feel as if you can really attain the goals set by the ownership it's best not to go forward. What’s the tipping point in making that decision? COORE: Ben and I have been good naturedly kidded about taking forever to make a decision. When we first started we knew we had to run the operation as a business but we also wanted it to be fun too. Truthfully, when we first started we wondered if anyone would hire us. When making a decision we're going to study the site. We're going to listen to what the ownership wants. We're also going to be candid to ourselves -- can we accomplish the goals being set? Sometimes a given site requires extreme alterations and we may not be the appropriate fit to do what is being sought. What’s the most satisfying aspect for Ben and yourself? COORE: The early stages are the most rewarding, discovering the natural attributes and spending time with the ownership on the property. The whole discovery process shows whether the site plays to our design strengths. Can we accomplish the goals set by ownership in tandem with our skills? It's tough when you like an owner personally and professionally and really want to see things move forward to make that dream a reality, but there are times when you don't see how we can make that happen. What have you learned from when you first started creating courses to what you do today? COORE: When you're a young designer there's a temptation to show what you can do. You often try to do too much. It's understandable to happen -- particularly early in a career. It's tempting not to have much restraint. We've believed that if we could mange our impulses we'd be better off. We try to establish the concept and the goals collectively with the guys we work with to allow that process to evolve and come to life. If something happens in the field – even by mistake – that seems to be a better end result then our team is free to move in a better manner. If you allow the process to happen and don't get hung up on some preconceived concept so many wonderful things can in fact happen. What’s harder to do, a completely new course or one being restored? COORE: A restored course by far. You have to first decide what are you going to restore it to. This happened during our time at Pinehurst #2. The course had gone through various looks over the years and when we got involved that question needed answering. Are you going to go back to its earliest days by using aerial photography? Or is there some interim period of time? So one needs to ask restore it to when and what. When Ben and yourself walk onto a property for the first time, what generally do you both discuss? COORE: The very first day can prompt some general impressions of the potential a given site has to offer. We will assess if the site plays to our strengths. Does it have interesting natural features? Is it adaptable to golf if it doesn't need major alterations? What are the most interesting features and whether we can work with that site? Can we do it justice? Clearly, when talking with the ownership, you get some guidance on what the goals are to be. From what you have mentioned, you spend plenty of time listening to others. How important is that in getting the final assessment on whether you will be involved? COORE: It's an absolute priority.

For much of golf’s history, the idea of a hole measuring 700 yards or more would have seemed excessive. Today, such distances are no longer quite so extraordinary. The world’s longest holes are an eclectic group, spread across very different landscapes and created for very different reasons. Some belong to expansive resort courses, others to championship layouts, while a handful have become famous largely because of the sheer scale of the challenge they present. From a former world-record holder in North Carolina to an extraordinary par 7 measuring over 1km in South Korea, these are the 10 longest golf holes in the world. 10. Black Mountain Golf Club (North Carolina, USA) Hole 17 | 747 yards (683m) | Par 6 The 17th at Black Mountain is one of the survivors from an era when exceptionally long golf holes were still something of a novelty. At 747 yards, the par six was once recognised as the longest golf hole in the world - a distinction that helped put this small North Carolina club on the golfing map. The hole is part of Black Mountain's older nine-hole layout, which dates back to the 1960s, and its extraordinary length was a deliberate feature rather than an accident of modern championship-course design. From the back tees, the fairway climbs and falls through the foothills, with the green sitting far enough away that it disappears from view for much of the hole. For a course that otherwise has a relatively modest footprint, the 17th is an impressive piece of real estate. Its 747 yards are now exceeded by several holes built in the decades since, but the hole retains its place in golf's long-hole folklore. It is also a reminder of how quickly perceptions of distance have changed. What was once a world record is now the shortest hole in this particular top ten. 9. TPC Colorado (Colorado, USA) Hole 13 | 773 yards (707m) | Par 5 TPC Colorado opened in 2018 at Heron Lakes near Berthoud, with Arthur Schaupeter’s design set against open Colorado terrain and views towards the Front Range. The 7,991-yard course was built with tournament golf in mind and has since become a regular Korn Ferry Tour venue. The 13th, named “Longer Still”, is its defining hole. At 773 yards from the TOUR tees, it is the longest hole on a PGA TOUR course and the longest par five in PGA TOUR golf. Its principal feature is the enormous 108-yard Hell Bunker, which runs along the left side of the fairway and creates the key decision after the drive: challenge it to gain ground or lay back and accept a longer approach. At altitude, the hole does not play quite as severely as the yardage suggests, but its scale remains remarkable. More importantly, the length is integrated into the design rather than simply added as a spectacle, giving No. 13 a strategic identity that has made it one of the most recognisable holes in modern American golf. 8. The Reserve at Moonlight Basin (Montana, USA) Hole 17 | 777 yards (710m) | Par 5 Set at 7,500 feet above Big Sky in the Rocky Mountains, The Reserve at Moonlight Basin is one of Jack Nicklaus’ most dramatic mountain courses. Built across the former Moonlight Basin ski area, the 8,000-yard layout moves through forest and open mountain terrain, with more than 1,000 feet of elevation change across the property. The 17th is the signature expression of that setting. At 777 yards, it is already extraordinary on the card, but the hole plunges downhill towards the green, with the change in elevation and thin mountain air making the distance considerably less daunting than it first appears. A large fairway bunker sits around 370 yards from the back tee, beyond which the fairway reveals the full scale of the descent towards the green. It is a fittingly theatrical hole for a course where elevation is central to the experience. The 17th was also one of the holes that came to wider attention when Moonlight Basin hosted The Match in 2021 – when Bryson DeChambeau and Aaron Rodgers defeated Phil Mickelson and Tom Brady – putting its spectacular setting and remarkable yardage on national television. 7. Penati Golf Resort - Legend course (Trnava Region, Slovakia) Hole 15 | 783 yards (716m) | Par 6 Opened in 2012, the Legend Course at Penati occupies a sandy, pine-covered site near Senica, with Nicklaus Design using the natural character of the property to create wide, undulating fairways and extensive waste areas. The course forms part of Slovakia’s largest golf resort and was the first Nicklaus Design course in the country. The 15th is the course’s defining feature. It has 11 teeing positions, allowing it to be played at very different lengths, but from the back tees, it stretches to 783 yards and becomes a par 6. The fairway is split by a large waste bunker, with further bunkering framing the second landing area before the hole finally turns towards the green. The hole gained international attention when the European Challenge Tour used the full 783-yard version during the Slovakia Challenge in 2015, 2016 and 2019. In regular play, however, it is generally shortened and played as a par 5 - a useful reminder that the extraordinary version seen on the professional circuit is only one interpretation of Central Europe’s longest hole. 6. Theodora Golf Club (Transylvania, Romania) Hole 18 | 804 yards (735m) | Par 6 Theodora Golf Club sits outside Alba Iulia on the banks of the Mureș, occupying a remarkably flat 56-hectare site. Opened in 2018, the resort was created around an 18-hole championship course, with a large lake excavated in front of the clubhouse providing material to shape the otherwise level ground. That lake is central to the character of the closing hole. The 18th stretches over 800 yards from the back tees, with the approach eventually leading to an island green shared with the 9th. The arrangement gives what might otherwise be a straightforwardly expansive hole a much more distinctive finish. Theodora itself describes the 18th as the longest par 6 in Europe, and it has become the defining feature of a relatively young Romanian resort that has steadily established itself on the European golf map. 5. The Links at Kahite Golf Club (Tennessee, USA) Hole 9 | 808 yards (739m) | Par 6 The Links at Kahite opened in 2002 as the third course in Tellico Village, occupying a natural setting between Tellico Lake and the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains. The links-style layout has six sets of tees, stretches to 7,170 yards and is notable for its 93 bunkers and tall fescue framing some of the fairways. The 9th is the course's defining hole: an 739-metre par 6 that runs in a notably direct line across the landscape. From the back tees it measures 808 yards, while the blue tees bring it down to 721, making the hole a very different proposition depending on where it is played from. The course's own guide describes it simply as a unique hole, with the fairway rewarding players who can keep successive shots in play. Its position at the turn also gives Kahite an unusual rhythm. After eight holes that establish the character of the course, the 9th opens out into one of the most distinctive holes in Tennessee golf before the back nine heads back towards the mountains. 4. Meadows Farms Golf Course (Virginia, USA) Hole 12 | 841 yards (769m) | Par 6 Meadows Farms is very much the product of its founder, Bill “Farmer” Meadows, who built the course on former farmland after taking up golf later in life. It opened in 1993 with an intentionally unconventional character: the 27-hole layout includes a baseball-themed hole, a waterfall green and an island green, alongside the hole that became its calling card. The 12th stretches to 841 yards from the championship tees, running downhill before turning right, crossing two lakes and climbing towards a large elevated green. A three-leaf-clover-shaped bunker guards the approach. The sequence gives the hole considerably more shape and interest than its raw length might suggest. For decades it was promoted as the longest golf hole in the United States, a distinction that helped make this eccentric Virginia course a destination in its own right. The current course still describes No. 12 as its signature hole and the longest in the country, as recognised by the Guinness Book of World Records. 3. The Links Golf Club (Idaho, USA) Hole 9 | 842 yards (770m) | Par 6 The Links Golf Club in Post Falls opened in 1999 on the broad, open Rathdrum Prairie, with owner and designer Emmett Burley shaping the course in the tradition of Scottish links golf. There are few trees or water hazards to interrupt the prairie landscape, leaving wind, wide fairways, deep bunkers and rough to define its character. The 9th has been the course's signature hole from the beginning. It was originally measured at 738 yards from the black tees, but subsequent changes have transformed it into an 842-yard par 6, now the longest hole on the course and one of the longest in America. That extra distance has only amplified the hole's original links character. With no trees or water to dictate the route, the scale of the prairie is laid bare, while the wind can have a considerable influence on successive shots. The green itself has two distinct levels, adding another layer to a hole that has evolved from an unusual feature into the defining landmark of The Links. 2. Satsuki Golf Club - Sano course (Kanto Region, Japan) Hole 7 | 964 yards (881m) | Par 7 Satsuki Golf Club’s Sano Course opened in 1979 in the hills of Tochigi Prefecture, with broad fairways laid through a landscape of trees and gentle elevation changes. The 18-hole course measures more than 7,200 yards from the back tees, but it is the seventh hole on the outward nine that has made the club internationally known. At 964 yards, the seventh was recognised by Guinness World Records as the world’s longest golf hole and remains the defining feature of the course. It is not simply a long, open stretch: the hole has trees crowding the tee shot, OB on both sides and a relatively narrow fairway, creating pressure from the outset. There are two greens, with the left measuring the full 964 yards and the right 924. The club’s own playing strategy reflects the scale of the hole: rather than simply attacking distance on every shot, the objective is to keep successive balls in play and leave the final approach within comfortable range. For many years, Satsuki’s seventh was the benchmark by which the world’s longest holes were measured. Gunsan Country Club has since surpassed it in sheer yardage, but the Japanese par-7 remains the more established name in the record books. 1. Gunsan Country Club - Jeongeup course (Jeonbuk State, South Korea) Hole 3 | 1,098 yards (1,004m) | Par 7 Gunsan Country Club is an extraordinary property in its own right. Built on a former salt field on Korea’s west coast, the sprawling complex now has 81 holes across more than 1,000 acres, with lakes accounting for roughly 380 acres of the site and 26 bridges linking the courses. The third on the Jeongeup Course is the hole that gives Gunsan its international reputation. At 1,004 metres from the black tees, it is a par 7 and the longest hole in this ranking. The hole is also the No. 1 handicap on its nine, with water running along the left and bunkers placed to complicate the long sequence of shots required to reach the green. Its scale is matched by an unusual sense of place. The hole emerged from the transformation of the old salt works into one of Asia’s largest golf complexes, and its local nickname, the “1004 Hole”, is a play on the 1,004-metre length. Gunsan has built much of its identity around these extreme holes, with a 661-metre par 6 elsewhere on the property, but the Jeongeup third remains the defining feature. At 1,098 yards, it is comfortably longer than Satsuki’s 964-yard seventh and takes the top spot here by distance. Guinness World Records, however, has historically recognised Satsuki’s hole, so the distinction between the longest hole by yardage and the Guinness record is worth keeping in mind.