Reynolds Plantation, GA: No. 1 for the second straight year.
Welcome to GolfCourseHome®'s Second Annual "Best of the Best" Rankings—our compendium of honors reflecting all major media rankings of golf courses and golf communities for this year.
The "rankings season," which extends from October to March, is full of varied lists from Best in State to the 100 Greatest, offering multiple ways to shine.
How We Rank Them
GolfCourseHome does not send out field researchers and raters in pursuit of its own, proprietary ranking system. Instead we harness the value in each ranking list and synergize it into a whole that's worth even more than the sum of its parts. A community may grab an occasional accolade or two, but when the awards stack higher and higher, you know the community is special.
Topping our list for the second year in a row is Reynolds Plantation which has received 13 awards from major magazines of every sort for its many golf courses and for the community in general.
GolfCourseHome's 2009 "Best of the Best” Rankings
The Top 10 Summary
1. Reynolds Plantation, Greensboro GA - 13 major magazine awards
2. Sea Pines, Hilton Head, SC – 10 major magazine awards
3. Homestead Preserve, Hot Springs , VA – 11 major magazine awards
4. Barton Creek Resort & Spa, Austin, TX – 9 major magazine awards
5. Palmetto Bluff, Bluffton , SC – 7 major magazine awards
6. The Powder Horn, Sheridan , WY – 5 major magazine awards
7. Desert Mountain , Scottsdale , AZ – 6 major magazine awards
8. Bay Creek, Cape Charles , VA – 5 major magazine awards
9. Briar’s Creek, Johns Island, SC – 4 major magazine awards
10. Kingsmill on the James, Williamsburg, VA – 5 major magazine awards
The Best of the Rest....
Colleton River Plantation, Bluffton, SC – 5 major magazine awards
Running Y Ranch, Klamath Falls, OR – 5 major magazine awards
Suncadia, Roslyn WA – 5 major magazine awards
Belfair, Bluffton SC – 4 major magazine awards
Branson Creek, Hollister, MO – 4 major magazine awards
Spring Island, Spring Island SC – 5 major magazine awards
The Cliffs Communities, Travelers Rest, SC – 4 major magazine awards
Montreux, Reno, NV – 4 major magazine awards
The Top 10 (with Details)
1. Reynolds Plantation, Greensboro GA commands a vast, wooded perch on Lake Oconee and uses that prime site to ultimate advantage. Its stable of golf courses and other desirable amenities lifts Reynolds Plantation to the pinnacle of the golf rankings, both for its courses and its overall amenities.
• Top 100 Golf Community 2009 by Travel + Leisure Golf
• A Premier Property by LINKS Magazine, 2008
• No. 97 on Golfweek’s Top 100 Residential Golf Courses (Great Waters course)
• No. 95 on Golfweek’s Top 100 Residential Golf Courses (Oconee course)
• No. 71 on Golfweek’s Top 100 Residential Golf Courses (Creek Club)
• No. 55 on Golfweek’s Top 100 Resort Golf Courses (Great Waters course)
• No. 76 on Golfweek’s Top 100 Resort Golf Courses (Oconee course)
• A Golfweek Best You Can Play in the U.S. (Great Waters, Oconee and National courses)
• No. 97 on Golf Digest’s 100 Greatest Public Courses (Great Waters)
• No. 18 on Golf Digest’s Best in Georgia (Great Waters)
• No. 20 on Golf Digest’s Best in Georgia (Oconee)
• No. 42 on 100 Top Courses You Can Play by GOLF Magazine (GW)
• No. 58 on 100 Top Courses You Can Play by GOLF Magazine (Oconee)
• Click here for more information about Reynolds Plantation!
2. Sea Pines, Hilton Head SC is an iconic Hilton Head community on a huge waterfront site with a long list of great amenities but one in particular that garners close attention from the raters—Pete Dye’s Harbour Town Golf Links.
• Top 100 Golf Community 2009 by Travel + Leisure Golf
• A Premier Property by LINKS Magazine, 2008
• No. 28 on Golfweek’s Top 100 Modern Golf Courses
• No. 12 on Golfweek’s Top 100 Resort Golf Courses
• No. 15 on America’s 100 Greatest Public Courses by Golf Digest
• No. 75 on America’s 100 Greatest Courses by Golf Digest
• No. 4 on Golf Digest’s Best in South Carolina
• No. 40 on 100 Top Courses in the U.S. by GOLF Magazine
• No. 14 on 100 Top Courses You Can Play by GOLF Magazine
• A Golfweek Best Course You Can Play in the U.S.
• Click here for more information about Sea Pines!
3. Homestead Preserve enjoys its glory from the lofty rankings and ratings garnered by the famed Cascades Course and a sister course at the historic Homestead resort property.
• A Links Magazine Premier Property
• No. 2 on Golfweek’s Top 100 Residential Golf Courses (Cascades)
• No. 47 on Golfweek’s Top 100 Classic Golf Courses (Cascades)
• No. 13 on Golfweek’s Top 100 Resort Golf Courses (Cascades)
• No. 82 on Golfweek’s Top 100 Resort Golf Courses (Lower Cascades)
• A Golfweek Best Course You Can Play in the U.S. (Cascades and Lower Cascades)
• No. 16 on America’s 100 Greatest Public Courses by Golf Digest (Cascades)
• No. 97 on America’s 100 Greatest Courses by Golf Digest (Cascades)
• No. 2 on Golf Digest’s Best in Virginia (Cascades)
• No. 61 on 100 Top Courses in the U.S. by GOLF Magazine (Cascades)
• No. 17 on 100 Top Courses You Can Play by GOLF Magazine (Cascades)
• Click here for more information about Homestead Preserve!
4. Barton Creek Resort & Spa, Austin, TX, was vital to the emergence of the Texas Hill Country as a sophisticated golf and resort destination. It also helped spread Tom Fazio’s stellar course-design reputation throughout the Southwest. The residential component of Barton Creek is a golf- and spa-lover’s way of enjoying this award-winning community on a daily basis.
• Top 100 Community by Travel + Leisure Golf
• A Golfweek Best Course You Can Play in the U.S. (Fazio Foothills and Fazio Canyons)
• No. 26 on Golfweek’s Top 100 Resort Courses (Canyons)
• No. 60 on Golfweek’s Top 100 Resort Courses (Foothills)
• No. 83 on America’s 100 Greatest Public Courses by Golf Digest (Canyons)
• No. 19 on Golf Digest’s Best in Texas (Canyons)
• No. 29 on Golf Digest’s Best in Texas (Foothills)
• No. 71 on 100 Top Courses You Can Play by GOLF Magazine (Foothills)
• No. 67 on 100 Top Courses You Can Play by GOLF Magazine (Canyons)
• Click here for more information about Barton Creek Resort & Spa!
5. Palmetto Bluff, Bluffton SC is perhaps the most highly lauded community of recent vintage in the entire U.S. Current awards for this 20,000-acre resort/residential Lowcountry property:
• Top 100 Golf Community by Travel + Leisure Golf
• A Premier Property by LINKS Magazine
• No. 54 on Golfweek’s Top 100 Residential Golf Courses
• No. 30 on Golfweek’s Top 100 Resort Golf Courses
• A Golfweek Best Course You Can Play in the U.S.
• No. 22 on Golf Digest’s Best in South Carolina
• No. 52 on 100 Top Courses You Can Play by GOLF Magazine.
• Click here for more information about Palmetto Bluff!
6. The Powder Horn, Sheridan WY shines in the eyes of course and resort raters partly thanks to its dramatic Western setting. But through the years the golf experts have continued to see the Powder Horn course as a super-solid test of shotmaking. The community around it earns laurels for superior design and amenities.
• A Premier Property by LINKS Magazine
• No. 16 on Golfweek’s Top 100 Residential Golf Courses
• No. 76 on Golfweek’s Top 100 Modern Golf Courses
• A Golfweek Best Course You Can Play in the U.S.
• No. 4 on Golf Digest’s Best in Wyoming
• Click here for more information about The Powder Horn!
7. Desert Mountain, Scottsdale AZ is an upscale and highly influential Arizona enclave that helped put Scottsdale on the map. Its collection of Indian-named golf courses, all by Jack Nicklaus, make it a must-play compound for all fans of Jack.
• Top 100 Golf Community by Travel + Leisure Golf
• A Premier Property by LINKS Magazine
• No. 76 on Golfweek’s Top 100 Residential Golf Courses (Chiracuhua course)
• No. 94 on Golfweek’s Top 100 Residential Golf Courses (Geronimo course)
• No. 18 on Golf Digest’s Best in Arizona (Chiracua)
• No. 24 on Golf Digest’s Best in Arizona (Geronimo)
• Click here for more information about Desert Mountain!
8. Bay Creek, Cape Charles, VA is a golf and marina community that has built its reputation steadily since opening its first golf course in 2003. A one-two punch of golf course designs by Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus is part of the community’s charm, as is the peaceful Chesapeake Bay environment around it.
• Top 100 Community by Travel + Leisure Golf
• No. 96 on Golfweek’s Top 100 Resort Golf Courses (Nicklaus course)
• A Golfweek Best Course You Can Play in the U.S. (Nicklaus)
• No. 7 on Golf Digest’s Best in Virginia (Nicklaus)
• No. 12 on Golf Digest’s Best in Virginia (Palmer course)
• Click here for more information about Bay Creek!
9. Briar’s Creek, SC is a private Lowcountry retreat that boasts one of the top four or five Rees Jones golf courses anywhere. Lovely marshland views and a lively club community make it a leader among the new breed of Carolina properties.
• Top 100 Community by Travel + Leisure Golf
• No. 56 on Golfweek’s Top 100 Residential Golf Courses
• No. 8 on Golf Digest’s Best in South Carolina
• No. 90 on 100 Top Courses in the U.S. by GOLF Magazine
• Click here for more information about Briar’s Creek
10. Kingsmill on the James, Williamsburg, VA is a resort community that adds special appeal to the Williamsburg destination. A longtime stop on the professional golf tours, the community is known for its 2,900 acres of woodland fronting a broad, historic river.
• A Premier Property by LINKS Magazine
• Top 100 Community by Where to Retire Magazine
• No. 95 on Golfweek’s Top 100 Resort Courses (River course)
• A Golfweek Best Course You Can Play in the U.S. (River)
• No. 4 on Golf Digest’s Best in Virginia
• Click here for more information about Kingsmill!
The Best of the Rest
Colleton River Plantation, Bluffton SC is spread across a romantic landscape of marsh and woodland—terrain that inspired two great modern course designers to do some of their finest work, as the rankings prove:
• Top 100 Golf Community by Travel + Leisure Golf
• A Premier Property by LINKS Magazine
• No. 67 on Golfweek’s Top 100 Residential Golf Courses (Nicklaus course)
• No. 95 on Golfweek’s Top 100 Residential Golf Courses (Dye course)
• No. 20 on Golf Digest’s Best in South Carolina (Nicklaus course)
• Click here for more information about Colleton River Plantation!
Running Y Ranch, OR is a high-country community where members take adventure outings, ride horseback, go birding and play plenty of golf on Oregon’s only Arnold Palmer-designed golf course.
• Top 100 Golf Community by Travel + Leisure Golf
• A Premier Property by LINKS Magazine
• A Golfweek Best Course You Can Play in the U.S.
• No. 66 on America’s 100 Greatest Public Courses by Golf Digest
• No. 9 on Golf Digest’s Best in Oregon
• Click here for more information about Running Y Ranch!
Suncadia, Roslyn WA represents a finely honed blend of resort ambience with a distinctive private golf community, Tumble Creek, within its borders. Its honors reflect that versatile profile:
• Top 100 Golf Community by Travel + Leisure Golf (Tumble Creek)
• A Premier Property by LINKS Magazine (Tumble Creek)
• A Golfweek Best Course You Can Play in the U.S. (Prospector course)
• No. 10 on Golf Digest’s Best in Washington (Prospector)
• No. 4 on Golf Digest’s Best in Washington (Tumble Creek)
• Click here for more information about Suncadia!
Belfair, Bluffton SC is a double-Fazio venue in the oak-studded Lowcountry of South Carolina, not far from Hilton Head Island attractions.
• Top 100 Golf Community by Travel + Leisure Golf
• A Premier Property by LINKS Magazine
• No. 81 on Golfweek’s Top 100 Residential Golf Courses (West course)
• No. 25 on Golf Digest’s Best of South Carolina (East course)
• Click here for more information about Belfair!
Branson Creek, Hollister, MO is new to our Best of the Best list for 2009. It is one of the most admired resort -and-club properties ever to emerge from the woodland beauty of the Ozarks region. As the ratings show, Branson Creek’s Tom Fazio-designed golf course is worth going out of your way for.
• A Golfweek Best Course You Can Play in the U.S.
• No. 60 on Golf Digest’s 100 Greatest Public Courses
• No. 7 on Golf Digest’s Best in Missouri
• No. 76 on 100 Top Courses You Can Play by GOLF Magazine
• Click here for more information about Branson Creek!
Spring Island, Spring Island SC is one of the great environmental and cultural club communities in the U.S., a place where history, a love of nature and high-toned amenities come together seamlessly.
• Top 100 Golf Community by Travel + Leisure Golf
• A Premier Property by LINKS Magazine
• No. 27 on Golfweek’s Top 100 Residential Golf Courses
• No. 89 on Golfweek’s Top 100 Modern Golf Courses
• Click here for more information about Spring Island!
Forest Dunes, Roscommon, MI is a secluded jewel of a golf community and just one of only 16 Audubon International Signature Gold Sanctuaries worldwide. Tom Weiskopf designed the Forest Dunes course, determined to give it classic lines and contours along with intense strategic appeal.
• No. 24 on Golfweek’s Top 100 Residential Golf Courses
• No. 82 on Golfweek’s Top 100 Modern Golf Courses
• A Golfweek Best Course You Can Play in the U.S.
• No. 20 on Golf Digest’s 100 Greatest Public Courses
• No. 6 on Golf Digest’s Best in Michigan
• Click here for more information about Forest Dunes!
The Cliffs Communities, Travelers Rest, SC is a leading innovator among Southeastern U.S. communities, as evidenced by these honors:
• Top 100 Golf Community by Travel + Leisure Golf
• A Premier Property by LINKS Magazine
• No. 11 on Golf Digest’s Best in North Carolina (Cliffs Walnut Cove)
• No. 6 on Golf Digest’s Best in South Carolina (Cliffs Keowee Vineyards)
• Click here for more information about The Cliffs!
Montreux, Reno, NV occupies a beautiful site in the Lake Tahoe region and draws visitors year-round—not just during it PGA Tour stop.
• Top 100 Golf Community by Travel + Leisure Golf
• A Premier Property by LINKS Magazine
• No. 83 on Golfweek’s Top 100 Residential Courses
• No. 4 on Golf Digest’s Best in Nevada
• Click here for more information about Montreux!
Click here to see the 2008 Best of the Best!
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