The Course at Sewanee

Golf Course Rankings are a product of great debate. Even with defined criteria and multiple visits, you're sure not to satisfy everyone. If the rankings don't create a stir we've probably played it too safe or caught lightning in a bottle... South Dakota Top 100 Golf Courses Update All quiet in South Dakota - status quo for 2024... Tennessee Top 100 Golf Courses Update The Top 3 in-state hold their position with Troubadour making an entry at number 4. The other new entry is Fairfield Glade - Heatherhurst Brae at 25. Cattanooga moves up two spots to 6 with the rest of the ranking moving down due to the new entries and Chattanooga moving up. Utah Top 100 Golf Courses Update Black Desert makes a splash with a new entry at 2nd in state. Entrada at Snow Canyon moves up two spots to 6th. 16 of 20 move down with two courses in the top six pushing the rest of the ranking down. West Virginia Top 100 Golf Courses Update The Top 15 gets an overhaul with a new Number One with Pikewood National unseating Pete Dye which moves to runner-up. Williams Country Club moves up 6 spots followed by Glade Springs Stonehaven at Raven at Snowshoe Mountain. Glade Springs Cobb, Guyan, and Glade Springs Woodhaven all drop three spots to make room for the three mentioned previously. Vermont Top 100 Golf Courses Update The Top 15 remained static in the state. Country Club of Barre, Manchester Country Club, Honey Pond Farm, Stowe Country Club and Rutland Golf Club have all found support for inclusion moving forward... Let's see what the future holds. Ohio Top 100 Golf Courses Update The Top 10 sees the most amount of change. Camargo reigns supreme but The Golf Club, Scioto, and Inverness Club all move up which pushes Muirfield Village down. The other riser in the Top 10 is Brookside Country Club up four spots to 7th, entering the Top 10. That shift pushes The Country Club and Kirtland down one spot each respectively. Kentucky Top 100 Golf Courses Update Not much change in state from existing clubs but the addition of three courses shuffles the deck. Park Mammoth debuts at 7th with Audubon Country Club and Nevel Meade entering the state ranking for the first time at 18th and 19th. Massachusetts Top 100 Golf Courses Update One of the more controversial releases, Myopia Hunt rises to 1st place unseating The Country Club. Eastward Ho! also moves past Clyde & Squirrel in a battle of the Titans. Old Sandwich and Essex Country Club also slide to make way for Myopia Hunt and Eastward Ho!. Kittansett also sees a moderate rise amongst very stiff competition, up from 7 to 6. Mid-rank, Worcester Country Club and Dedham move up eight and four spots pushing down their contemporaries with TPC Boston and Whittinsville taking the brunt of the fall. Hawaii Top 100 Golf Courses Update Manele and Kuki'o move up, which means the well-known Kapalua Plantation gets shunted from 2nd to 4th. Makena and Princeville Makai both move up 8 spots in the ranking to 5th and 10th, respectively. Kohanaiki is a moderate riser in the top 10 from 8th to 6th. Georgia Top 100 Golf Courses Update Not much change as you would expect in Georgia with Augusta National, Peachtree and Ohoopee Match Club fixed in the Top 3. The largest risers are Frederica (up 15 to 9th) and McLemore Club (up 23 to 34th). Ocean Forest rises 3 spots from 10th to 7th. Cuscowilla is the biggest faller from 5th to 12th. South Carolina Top 100 Golf Courses Update South Carolina is home to some of the best new golf of the 21st century. Debuting in the Top 10 in 2024 were: Old Barnwell, The Tree Farm, and Quixote. Broomsedge will be added and updated in 2025 when we get more panellists to see it. Aiken also saw a massive 25-spot rise. Lower down the list, Monticello GC and Prestwick CC debuted at 74 and 79 respectively. The biggest fallers were Dunes Golf & Bech Club, which fell from 7 to 22. California Top 100 Golf Courses California is one of the deepest states in the USA regarding golf. The Top 5 are in the Top 100 in the World. The next 8 are in the Top 100 in the USA. In 2024, we updated the in-state rankings. At 94th, Desert Dunes dropped in the ranking but was also out of contention with its closure... That means Indian Wells Celebrity pops back in at 100. Ladera debuted at 12th which puts it in the USA Top 100 - the question will be where? Lake Merced, Hillcrest, Rolling Hills and Wilshire all moved up significantly with recent renovations. Perhaps the biggest news was in the Top 10. Olympic Club Lake dropped 3 spots with Monterrey Peninsula moving up 3. As well, LACC moved up 1 spot to 2 with Pebble Beach slipping 1 spot to 3. New York Top 100 Golf Courses Update New York also received an update in 2024 but things were more or less static. Garden City moved down 3 with Oak Hill East and Sleepy Hollow Upper moving up 6 spots each respectively. The Top 10 had a decent shuffle too. Oak Hill East got to 6th and Sleepy Hollow up 6 to 10th. The Big 5 in state contenders stayed the same with 11 of the top 16 being shuffled around. Pennsylvania Top 100 Golf Courses Update Pennsylvania was quiet in between rankings with 4 courses moving down a single spot to make way for Longue Vue to move up 5 spots to break the top 20. Florida Top 100 Golf Courses Update Florida has had a massive overhaul. 14 golf courses have fallen from the Top 100 Ranking. They are as follows: Crandon Hideout - Florida Orange County National - Crooked Cat Kelly Plantation Regatta Bay Orchid Island World Golf Village - King & Bear Pensacola Mission Inn - Las Colinas BallenIsles - East Amelia Island - Long Point Southern Hills Plantation La Groce CC The 14 New Entries include: McArthur Back Yard The Dye Course at White Oak The Park West Palm Belleair CC - West Course & East Course Panther National Apogee West Course Cabot Citrus Farms - Karoo Coral Ridge CC Club Adena - Ocala Grove XXIII Bradenton CC Lost Tree Quail Ridge South Hammock Dunes Club - Creek Grey Oaks - The Pine Course Movers and shakers include RedStick, Southern Dunes, Loxahatchee, and Broken Sound Old all moving up. With the 14 new entries and 14 golf courses dropped, there were massive adjustments. Some courses moved down more than others and they included Isleworth and Turnberry Isle - Soffer. Where the dust settles you'll have to wait and see! New Jersey Top 100 Golf Courses Update The Top 2 golf courses in New Jersey don't see any movement - fitting as they are Pine Valley and Somerset Hills. However, Baltusrol Lower moves up 2 pushing Plainfield and Ridgewood down. Hollywood swaps spots with Baltusrol Upper moving up 1 to 6th. Union League National, the Fry Straka addition from 2022, debuts at 16. Old York falls out after being closed. Wisconsin Top 100 Golf Courses Update Wisconsin isn't a traditional golf market but with the recent new builds, it has become a premier golf destination. New Entries include Tom Doak's Lido and Sedge Valley, both at Sand Valley. The significant riser is Lac Le Belle, with Grand Geneva Brute the biggest faller. As we publish only 40 courses on our list, Eagle Springs Golf Resort and House on the Rocks Springs drop off the ranking but stay on the website. Illinois Top 100 Golf Courses Update Illinois' big three remained as they were but the recent work at Medinah No. 3 moved it up 5 spots. Conway Farms and Olympia Fields North also moved up in the Top 10. Michigan Top 100 Golf Courses Update The biggest riser is Bloomfield Hills up 10. The biggest faller was Point O'Woods, which was down 6. Barton Hills moves up 5 to enter the top 15. Franklin Hills moves up 2 to enter the top 5. New entries include American Dunes at 39 and Harbor Shores at 43. Most of the other movers are incidental the new entries and the big four movers and shakers.

Review of the Month June 2018 – Sweetens Cove I recently helped the Top 100 staff with their rankings of courses in my home state of Tennessee. I was amazed that they ranked this 9 hole course third in the state and commented that while the course may be pretty good I can't imaging it is better than several of the other top rated courses. The staff kept to their guns and kept the course ranked at #3 in the state and I was encouraged by editor in chief Keith Baxter to take the trip 120 miles down the road from Knoxville to play Sweeten's Cove and see what all the fuss was about. Several of my friends had played here and raved about the course as well so I was looking forward to the adventure. Bringing along Ruth, my brave wife and new golf enthusiast, we arrived an hour and a half before our tee time because of a miscalculation of the time change. There really is nothing there except a 250 square foot shack and a portable toilet, but a quick glimpse of the property gave a hint of the excitement to follow. The course sits in a flat bottom next to the Sequatchie River and is nestled within a set of beautiful mountains that dominate the scenery. The plain is nearly treeless and almost has the appearance of an inland links. Architect Rob Collins solved two problems with the site with one blow by digging out some drainage ponds to improve the water drainage of the flat area and then using the dirt to create subtle contouring of the fairways and not too subtle contouring of the greens. What he created is an absolute masterpiece of a golf course. The course starts with a strong 563 par 5. A dangerous bunker guards the left side of the fairway and requires a 260 yard carry, but there is ample room right. The serpentine-like green rolls around a large frightening appearing bunker that protects almost every conceivable hole location. The back right part of the green, which was our pin position of the day, is almost dell like and demanded a sure, precise approach. The second is a 375 yard par four influenced by two bunkers about 275 yards off the tee. The heavily sloped green has no bunkers and does not need any. A steep slope to the front and right places a premium and a precise approach. Three is another long par 5, running over 580 yards. The tee shot appears much tighter than it looks since the right bunker visible off the tee is actually almost 300 yards away and out of range for most players. This hole is dominated by a long tree that bisects the probably 50-yard wide green. Once again there are no bunkers but severe contouring both front and back require almost perfect placement of the approach. Four is a redan-style par 3 playing 169 yards but the green is massive and must be 60 yards from front to back with an almost endless amount of slope and contour. There is also bunkering left, back and long with a slope off the right front once again so that an almost perfect shot has to be played to gain access to the pin. Five is a beautiful short driveable par 4. The green has a huge slope to the left and the front right of the green is guarded by another rugged bunker. An approach from the left can be flown up to the plateau but the green is crowned so going over is a real possibility. You can't discount the chance to play a bump and run shot here as well. This is just a fantastic short hole. Six is the most demanding hole on the course, 456 yards with a hazard down the left side which runs all the way up to the green. Fairway bunkers to the right prevent a bailout. The bold play with a firm draw off the tee can open up the hole and allow a shorter approach to the subtle yet contoured green. Seven is another shorter par 4 of 328 yards with a long bunker running about 70 yards down the fairway to the green on the left side. There is some room right here, but once again the steep contours on the front of the green require an absolutely perfect shot to get near the hole. Eight is a fun hole totally dominated by the heavily mounded biarritz green. The pin was located almost in the middle in a dell protected by mounds left and right. Once again there are no greenside bunkers but none are needed. Nine is a beautiful short par 3 back over a waste area up to the first hole with a wide flowing green offering an infinite variety of pin placements. This course absolutely floored me. I have enjoyed the wonderful green complex designs of Tom Doak and Coore/Crenshaw but this course matches or exceeds many of the designs I have played by those famous architects. Each hole presents a unique challenge from the tee to the green that requires thought, conviction and precision. I honestly believe if they could find room for nine more holes and build them to the quality of this nine you would have a Top 100 USA course on your hands. As it is this is a fantastic test of golf that is ridiculously inexpensive to play. The course is easy to walk and is very easy to get to, being about 2.5 miles off Interstate 24 about 30 miles from Chattanooga. It is a shame more courses like this can't be built. Fun, challenging, exciting and enjoyable don't even start to scratch the surface to describe this place. Come see for yourself what all the excitement is about. By Richard Smith, Knoxville, Tennessee (including photos) Review of the Month June 2018 selected by Editor-in-Chief, Keith Baxter – click to read more about Sweetens Cove.

With the Presidents Cup rosters finally confirmed after both captains announced their six respective picks on Tuesday, the countdown to Medinah Country Club is officially on. Team International will head to Illinois looking to end Team USA’s dominance of the Presidents Cup and lift the trophy for only the second time in the competition’s history, having last tasted victory in 1998 at Royal Melbourne in Australia. It will be no easy task, though. Team USA boasts enormous depth, with major winners, extensive Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup experience, and the world’s number one-ranked player, Scottie Scheffler, among its ranks. But can Geoff Ogilvy’s International side cause an upset at Medinah? Top100 takes a closer look at both rosters, the key players to watch and the venue that could play a crucial role in deciding who will lift the Presidents Cup. Medinah No. 3: A new-look stage for the Presidents Cup There are few more appropriate venues for the 2026 Presidents Cup than Medinah No. 3. Completed in 1928 by renowned architect Tom Bendelow, the course has spent almost a century building a reputation as one of American golf’s great championship venues. Five major championships, a Ryder Cup and countless memorable moments have followed, including Tiger Woods’ victories in the 1999 and 2006 PGA Championships and Europe’s remarkable “Miracle at Medinah” in 2012 – widely regarded as one of the greatest comebacks in sporting history. But the course that welcomes the Presidents Cup will look considerably different from the one that hosted those events. After decades of incremental changes that increasingly narrowed the playing corridors and placed a premium on length, Medinah No. 3 underwent a major transformation by Australian firm OCM Golf, led by Geoff Ogilvy, Michael Cocking and Ashley Mead. The renovation, completed in 2024, sought to restore the scale and strategic character of Bendelow’s original design. Wider fairways, larger greens, expansive bunker complexes and the removal of hundreds of trees have opened up the landscape, resulting in a fascinating mix of old and new. At more than 7,650 yards from the championship tees, Medinah can still stretch the world's best players, but the increased width means distance alone should not dictate how the course is played. Instead, players will be faced with strategic decisions from the tee and into the greens, with different angles potentially offering very different rewards. The closing holes could provide some of the most dramatic moments of the week. Lake Kadijah now plays a prominent role on the inward nine, with the 16th crossing diagonally towards the water and the 17th offering another demanding one-shot test alongside the lake. The 18th, meanwhile, has been returned to its original corridor, providing a fitting finish to a course that has undergone such a significant rebirth. There is one particularly intriguing subplot for the International team. Their captain, Geoff Ogilvy, was part of the team responsible for reimagining Medinah No. 3. While intimate knowledge of a golf course is no guarantee of success, Ogilvy will know better than most how the redesigned holes are intended to be played, where the opportunities lie and which mistakes the course is designed to punish. The United States may arrive with the deeper roster and home advantage, but Ogilvy’s intimate knowledge of the course could help to level the playing field. With the course now offering considerably more strategic options than the penal layout of recent decades, the question is whether Ogilvy can use that knowledge to help his players find an advantage. Team USA: The Favourites On paper, Team USA looks extremely difficult to beat. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler headlines a formidable 12-man roster that also includes major champions Collin Morikawa, Wyndham Clark and Justin Thomas, while Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay add a wealth of team-match experience. The automatic qualifiers – Scheffler, Cameron Young, Clark, Sam Burns, Russell Henley and Morikawa – are joined by captain’s picks Schauffele, Thomas, Cantlay, Chris Gotterup, Jackson Koivun and Jacob Bridgeman. Snedeker's selections have made an already strong side even more imposing. Schauffele, Thomas and Cantlay bring considerable Presidents Cup and Ryder Cup experience, while the inclusion of 21-year-old Koivun adds an exciting new dimension. Koivun, Gotterup and Bridgeman will all make their Presidents Cup debuts at Medinah. The Americans therefore have an attractive blend of proven stars and youthful talent, with strength throughout the 12-man roster. Add home advantage and an 11-match winning streak, and it is easy to see why they arrive as overwhelming favourites. The challenge for Brandt Snedeker will be turning that individual quality into the right pairings and combinations – particularly in the foursomes. If he can do that, Team USA will take some stopping. The full Team USA roster can be found below: Scottie Scheffler Cameron Young Wyndham Clark Sam Burns Russell Henley Collin Morikawa Jacob Bridgeman Patrick Cantlay Chris Gotterup Jackson Koivun Xander Schauffele Justin Thomas Team International: The Underdogs The International team enters Medinah as the clear underdog, but Geoff Ogilvy has assembled a side with plenty of experience and enough quality to make life uncomfortable for the Americans. Si Woo Kim, Ryan Fox, Hideki Matsuyama, Min Woo Lee, Tom Kim and Adam Scott qualified automatically, before Ogilvy added Corey Conners, Sungjae Im, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Nick Taylor, Nico Echavarria and Ryo Hisatsune with his six captain’s picks. There is plenty of Presidents Cup experience within the group, particularly through Scott, Matsuyama, Tom Kim, Si Woo Kim and Im. Ogilvy has also opted for three rookies in Taylor, Echavarria and Hisatsune, betting on a mixture of current form and players he believes can thrive in the team environment. It will also be a Presidents Cup debut for New Zealander and Champion Golfer of the Year, Fox. The obvious concern is star power. Si Woo Kim is the only International player inside the world's top 20, while the Americans boast Scheffler alongside a deep collection of elite players. But this is where Ogilvy's role could prove crucial. With a team that may lack the depth of the USA, the International captain will need to find the right combinations and maximise every available point. If his players embrace the occasion and the new-look Medinah rewards their style, they may have a genuine chance of making this a contest. After all, Medinah has already witnessed some extraordinary comebacks and championship moments. The 2026 Presidents Cup could provide another chapter in its remarkable history. The full Team International roster can be found below: Si Woo Kim (South Korea) Ryan Fox (New Zealand) Hideki Matsuyama (Japan) Min Woo Lee (Australia) Tom Kim (South Korea) Adam Scott (Australia) Christiaan Bezuidenhout (South Africa) Corey Conners (Canada) Nico Echavarria (Colombia) Ryo Hisatsune (Japan) Sungjae Im (South Korea) Nick Taylor (Canada)