Vermont, United States
Rutland Country Club in Vermont traces its origins to a 1902 George Low layout on a former 382-acre farm, expanded to 18 holes by Stiles & Van Kleek in 1927. Its Otter Creek terrain, elevation changes, and bentgrass greens make it a compelling destination for a Vermont golf holiday.
Rutland Country Club in Vermont traces its origins to a 1902 George Low layout on a former 382-acre farm, expanded to 18 holes by Stiles & Van Kleek in 1927. Its Otter Creek terrain, elevation changes, and bentgrass greens make it a compelling destination for a Vermont golf holiday.
Rutland Country Club offers one of New England's most historically layered golf experiences — a 1902 George Low layout reshaped by Stiles & Van Kleek into an 18-hole par 70 where Otter Creek bisects the terrain and no two holes share the same elevation. The layout has served as the proving ground for Vermont's best amateur golfers for over a century.
Rutland Country Club's origins predate its current site. The Rutland Golf Club was established in 1897 on Clement Road, with a three-hole layout that hosted a putting contest that October — the first recorded competitive golf event in Vermont. In 1901, the club was incorporated under Vermont law, and in 1902, a group of members led by Club President John Woodfin and Treasurer James Button purchased a 382-acre farm from John Baxter for $4,648, establishing its permanent home at 275 Grove Street.
Carnoustie-born George Low designed the original nine-hole layout in 1902, having already laid out more than twenty courses whilst serving as professional at Baltusrol. The club remained a nine-hole facility for its first 25 years. By the middle of the 1920s, the membership had doubled in size, prompting the engagement of Wayne Stiles and John Van Kleek to revamp the original holes and add a further nine. The first three holes of the Low layout were retained; the remaining six were upgraded with new tees, bunkers, and greens, and a new nine was brought into play on the upland portion of the property. The expanded 18-hole layout opened in 1927. Rutland Country Club was among the seven founding member clubs of the Vermont Golf Association when it was established in 1902.
The layout divides naturally between a front nine running along flatter ground near Otter Creek and a back nine that climbs into the hillside above, with the river coming into play across five holes. Bentgrass covers both fairways and greens throughout. In The Life and Work of Wayne Stiles, authors Bob Labbance and Kevin Mendik describe the routing, architectural features, and diversity of holes as placing Rutland Country Club in the top echelon of courses designed by Stiles and Van Kleek.
The par-three sequence is the course's most celebrated feature. The 3rd plays to a small, slanted green set in a pocket with a rock wall left and bunkers elsewhere; the 5th requires a full carry from an elevated tee across the river to a perched, sloping putting surface; the 12th is deceptively difficult with bunkers short-right and greenside-left; and the 17th drops approximately 40 feet over a short span to its putting surface. The Vermont Amateur Championship has returned to Rutland Country Club on multiple occasions, a testament to a layout that continues to test the state's elite players.
Now in 2026, the course is currently in a restoration process to bring the golf course back to Stiles & Van Kleek original design.
The latest ranking of the Top 100 Golf Courses in the World serves as the ultimate global golf bucket list. Most members of our World Top 100 Panel are seasoned golfers, each playing 20-30 of these courses annually while travelling extensively over decades to form their opinions on others. We recognise that opinions vary—even among our panel members. Rankings are subjective, and there are undoubtedly 50 or more courses in the UK and USA alone that could easily fit onto this list. Links Golf Pilgrimages The rankings
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