Ready to hit the links? This Pennsylvania golf course is ranked one of the nation’s best
One Pennsylvania golf course is once again receiving praise as one of the top public options in the country.
The Mystic Rock golf course at the Nemacolin resort in southwest Pennsylvania is now the 80th-best public golf course in the country, according to Golf Digest. The publication’s biennial ranking of the best 100 public golf courses in the U.S. has featured Mystic Rock since at least 2009, and it was ranked No. 72 two years ago.
If you’re hoping to hit the links at this acclaimed golf course this summer, here’s what you need to know.
Mystic Rock golf course
Now recognized as one of the top courses in the country, Mystic Rock was designed in 1995 by famous golf architect Peter Dye, known to some as the “Picasso of golf course design.” Golf Digest lauded the Farmington, Pa., course for its unique layout and features.
“Mystic Rock is one of the more curious courses Pete Dye ever designed, with mostly oval greens and rectangular bunkers,” Golf Digest wrote online. “Because many holes were blasted from rock, some holes have fields of boulders in the rough, and all water hazards are bulkheaded with stacked stone.”
The 18-hole, par-72 course underwent renovations in 2021 to address natural erosion, remove some bunkers and counteract depression in the greens. According to its website, Mystic Rock is scheduled to close between Aug. 22 and 31 as it receives aerification treatment to help its grass grow stronger.
Mystic Rock operates daily between 7:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. The course’s current rates through mid-October charge $315 before 1 p.m. and $245 after 1 p.m, according to its website.
The course is primarily reserved to Nemacolin’s overnight guests and all-access members. Independent play is reserved for those 18 years and older, though minors can play if accompanied by an adult.
Proper casual golf attire with soft spikes only is requested for those hitting the links on Mystic Rock. While denim is discouraged on the golf course, it is acceptable elsewhere around the resort, according to its website.
To learn more about Mystic Rock and reserve a tee time, call 844-873-1708.
A ‘Picasso’ designed this popular PA golf course, ranked as one of the best in the nation
The Nemacolin resort
If golfing isn’t your thing, there’s plenty else to do at Nemacolin resort.
Available activities and resources include paintball, axe-throwing, trail rides, off-road Jeep tours and, of course, more golf, namely at the Shepard’s Rock course, which may be better suited for more experienced golfers. Several acclaimed hotels and restaurants are available for guests hoping to relax and unwind.
One popular attraction in the area is Fallingwater, the famed and historic home designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright. Located just northeast of the resort, Fallingwater is open for guided tours year-round.
America’s greatest public golf courses
Every two years, Golf Digest sets out to rank the nation’s best public golf courses through surveys and analysis. According to the publication, the examination of public courses serves a key role by focusing on greens and fairways that are more accessible to everyday golfers than private options.
“Our public course ranking, on the other hand, is relative to all of us. It’s meant to be both a marker of exemplary golf design and a guide to where you might want to play, either soon or on a special occasion trip,” Golf Digest writes. “The price tags on many of these courses may be forbidding, but they’re nevertheless open to the public, and many of those on the second half of the list are quite reasonably priced for the level of golf they deliver.”
Here’s a look at the top 20 public golf courses featured in Golf Digest’s 2023-24 rankings:
Pebble Beach Golf Links — Pebble Beach, Calif.
Pacific Dunes — Bandon, Ore.
Kiawah Island Golf Resort: The Ocean Course — Kiawah Island, S.C.
Whistling Straits: Straits Course — Sheboygan, Wis.
Shadow Creek — North Las Vegas, Nev.
Pinehurst No. 2 — Pinehurst, N.C.
Bethpage State Park: Black — Farmingdale, N.Y.
Bandon Dunes — Bandon, Ore.
TPC Sawgrass: Stadium — Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.
Erin Hills Golf Course — Hartford, Wis.
Bandon Trails — Bandon, Ore.
Spyglass Hill Golf Course — Pebble Beach, Calif.
Old Macdonald — Bandon, Ore.
Arcadia Bluffs Golf Club: Bluffs Course — Arcadia, Mich.
Pasatiempo Golf Club — Santa Cruz, Calif.
Bandon Dunes Golf Resort: Sheep Ranch — Bandon, Ore.
Sand Valley — Nekoosa, Wis.
Blackwolf Run: River — Kohler, Wis.
French Lick Resort: Pete Dye Course — French Lick, Ind.
Chambers Bay — University Place, Wash.
You can browse Golf Digest’s full 2023-24 rankings of the nation’s top public golf courses online by visiting golfdigest.com/story/americas-100-greatest-public-golf-courses-ranking.
