Welcome to the Golfweek’s Best 2026 ranking of the top par-3, short and non-traditional private golf courses in the United States. Golfweek’s Best introduced a ranking of these layouts in 2023 to acknowledge a recent and rapid rise in short courses. In 2024 we broke the category into two lists: public-access courses and private layouts.
Basically, they all fit the bill of not being a traditional-length, traditional-par course. And just like the best short courses, we threw out some of the rules used for rating traditional courses and asked our raters to submit one overall score for each course based on how much they enjoyed the design and the environment. Those individual ratings were then combined to form one average rating. Each course had
to receive a minimum number of 10 votes.
For this list, we included each private course’s average rating on a points scale of 1 to 10. We also included each course's 2025 ranking, its location, the designers, the year it opened, the number of holes, the total length and the par.
1. Pine Valley (Short Course)
2025 ranking: 1
Average rating: 8.79
Location: Pine Valley, NJ
Designer(s): Tom Fazio
Year opened: 1992
Details: 10 holes, 2,006 yards, par 31
2. Philadelphia Cricket Club (St. Martins)
2025 ranking: 2
Average rating: 8.02
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Designer(s): William H. Tucker, Keith Foster, Kevin Hargrave
Year opened: 1895
Details: 9 holes, 2,617 yards, par 35
3. Augusta National Golf Club (Par 3 Course)
2025 ranking: 3
Average rating: 7.98
Location: Augusta, GA
Designer(s): George Cobb, Clifford Roberts
Year opened: 1958
Details: 9 holes, 1,115 yards, par 27
4. Oakwood CC (Short)
2025 ranking: 4
Average rating: 7.72
Location: Kansas City, MO
Designer(s): Todd Clark, Ron Whitten
Year opened: 2023
Details: 9 holes, 1,100 yards, par 27
5. Hamilton Farms (Hickory)
2025 ranking: 5
Average rating: 7.70
Location: Far Hills, NJ
Designer(s): Michael
Hurdzan, Dana Fry
Year opened: 1998
Details: 18 holes, 3080 yards, par 54
6. Shelter Harbor (Par 3 Course)
2025 ranking: T9
Average rating: 7.69
Location: Charlestown, RI
Designer(s): Michael Hurdzan, Dana Fry
Year opened: 2005
Details: 9 holes, 1,206 yards, par 27
7. La Quinta The Quarry (Short Course)
2025 ranking: 7
Average rating: 7.66
Location: La Quinta, CA
Designer(s): Tom Fazio
Year opened: 2002
Details: 10 holes, 1,653 yards, par 30
8. Whispering Pines (The Needler)
2025 ranking: 8
Average rating: 7.65
Location: Trinity, TX
Designer(s): Chet Williams, Cole Sanders
Year opened: 2013
Details: 9 holes, 1,682 yards, par 27
9. Scottsdale National (Bad Little 9)
2025 ranking: T9
Average rating: 7.60
Location: Scottsdale, AZ
Designer(s): Jackson Kahn Design
Year opened: 2016
Details: 9 holes, 972 yards, par 27
10. Ballyneal (Mulligan)
2025 ranking: 11
Average rating: 7.57
Location: Holyoke, CO
Designer(s): Tom Doak
Year opened: 2017
Details: 12 holes, informal distance, par 36
11. Crossroads
2025 ranking: T13
Average rating: 7.39
Location: Palmetto Bluffs, SC
Designer(s): Tad King, Rob Collins
Year opened: 2024
Details: Reversible 9 holes, 1,000-3,100 yards, par 27 and par 36
T12. Olympic Club (Cliffs)
2025 ranking: 12
Average rating: 7.36
Location: San Francisco, CA
Designer(s): Tom Weiskopf, Jay Morrish
Year opened: 1994
Details: 9 holes, 1,432 yards, par 27
T12. Desert Mountain (No. 7)
2025 ranking: T13
Average rating: 7.36
Location: Scottsdale, AZ
Designer(s): Wendell Pickett, Bill Brownlee
Year opened: 2019
Details: 18 holes, 3,114 yards, par 54
14. Old Barnwell (Kid’s Course)
2025 ranking: T13
Average rating: 7.21
Location: Aiken, SC
Designer(s): Brian Schneider, Blake Conard
Year opened: 2024
Details: 15 holes, 2,190 yards, No formal par
15. Colorado Golf Club (Short Course)
2025 ranking: 16
Average rating: 7.09
Location: Parker, CO
Designer(s): Bill Coore, Ben Crenshaw
Year opened: 2006
Details: 9 holes, 1,103 yards, par 27
16. Headwaters
2025 ranking: 6
Average rating: 7.07
Location: Cashiers, NC
Designer(s): Tom Fazio
Year opened: 1999
Details: 9 holes, 1,450 yards, par 27
17. The Concession (The Gimme)
2025 ranking: 17
Average rating: 6.99
Location: Bradenton, FL
Designer(s): Chris Cochran
Year opened: 2019
Details: 9 holes, 1,088 yards, par 27
18. Shady Oaks (Little Nine)
2025 ranking: 18
Average rating: 6.92
Location: Fort Worth, TX
Designer(s): Robert Trent Jones Sr., Michael Clayton, Geoff Ogilvy, Mike Cocking, Ashley Mead
Year opened: 1958
Details: 9 holes, 1,228 yards, par 28
19. Olde Farm (Orchard)
2025 ranking: 19
Average rating: 6.78
Location: Bristol, VA
Designer(s): Bobby Weed
Year opened: 2011
Details: 8 holes, informal distance, par 24
20. Eagle Point (Short)
2025 ranking: 20
Average rating: 6.62
Location: Wilmington, NC
Designer(s): Tom Fazio
Year opened: 2023
Details: 9 holes, 1,427 yards, par 27
21. Sutton Bay (Short Course)
2025 ranking: 21
Average rating: 6.60
Location: Agar, SD
Designer(s): Graham Marsh
Year opened: 2003
Details: 9 holes, 1,244 yards, par 27
22. University of Texas Golf Club (Spieth Lower 40)
2025 ranking: 22
Average rating: 6.50
Location: Austin, TX
Designer(s): Roy Bechtol, Jordan Spieth
Year opened: 2017
Details: 6 holes, 532 yards, par 18
23. Bluejack National (The Playgrounds)
2025 ranking: T23
Average rating: 6.32
Location: Montgomery, TX
Designer(s): Tiger Woods
Year opened: 2016
Details: 10 holes, 747 yards, par 30
24. Cape Fear Country Club (Azalea Short Course)*
Average rating: 6.24
Location: Wilmington, NC
Designer(s): Andrew Green
Year opened: 2019
Details: 9 holes, 828 yards, par 27
25. Wickenburg Ranch (Li'l Wick)
2025 ranking: T24
Average rating: 6.19
Location: Wickenburg, AZ
Designer(s): Wendell Pickett, Bill Brownlee
Year opened: 2016
Details: 9 holes, 1,240 yards, par 27
Jason Lusk is Golfweek's travel and golf course architecture editor, as well as the print magazine's creative director. He has written for and designed Golfweek for more than two decades.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: The top 25 private par-3 and short golf courses in the U.S.













