Gothenburg, Neb.
6,805 yards, par 72; Greens fee: $36.75 and up; 308-537-7700
playwildhorse.com | GOLFCOURSE.com Profile
South-central Nebraska is a long way from anywhere, but it's worth the trail ride to get to Wild Horse. This "Carnoustie of the Corn Belt" tumbles through windswept, treeless terrain, where half the battle is keeping the ball from trundling into links-like bunkers and tall native grasses. So complete is the test offered that Wild Horse has been described as the public version of nearby Sand Hills. That comes as no surprise: course architects Dave Proctor and Dave Axland were instrumental in helping Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw create that celebrated course. 2. Rustic Canyon Golf Course
Moorpark, Calif.
6,935 yards, par 72; Greens fee: $35 and up; 805-530-0221,
rusticcanyongolfcourse.com | GOLFCOURSE.com Profile
Less than an hour's drive from downtown Los Angeles, Rustic Canyon uses Old World design challenges to achieve golf's most delicate balance: testing top-level players while providing a hugely enjoyable experience that reminds less-skilled why they play the game. The design team of Gil Hanse, Jim Wagner and Geoff Shackelford deployed heaving fairways that lead to firm, fast greens, all protected by bold and imaginative bunkering. Washes and environmentally protected areas crisscross the routing, but most holes are wide enough to accommodate multiple means of approach. The only variables in a round here are your levels of skill and hubris: Rustic Canyon will let you thrive or perish on either one.
3. Old Works Golf Course
Anaconda, Mont.
7,705 yards, par 72; Greens fee: $39 and up; 406-563-5989,
oldworks.org | GOLFCOURSE.com Profile
Whenever your tree-loving kids tell you that golf is bad for the environment, tell 'em about Old Works. Thirty miles west of Butte, Jack Nicklaus capped a Federal EPA Superfund site and built a typically strong test of golf atop it. The most memorable feature is the black slag bunkers; the slag is from an old copper smelting plant, the remnants of which forms a unique backdrop to many holes.
4. Lakewood Shores Resort (Gailes Course)
Oscoda, Mich.
6,954 yards, par 72; Greens fee: $45 and up; 989-739-2075,
lakewoodshores.com | GOLFCOURSE.com Profile
Just like Wild Horse, Lakewood Shores in remote northeast Michigan is another faux links that scores high in the value department. It's all about the gales at the Gailes: the premium is on controlling your trajectory in the wind off gusts off Lake Huron. Master that and the only challenge is avoiding the deep (and often blind) bunkers and wispy fescue grasses that line the rippling fairways.
5. The Links at Hiawatha Landing
Apalachin, N.Y.
7,150 yards, par 72; Greens fee: $38.75 and up; 607-687-6952,
hiawathalinks.com | GOLFCOURSE.com Profile
Hiawatha Landing has way too many trees to be confused with a links, but the gorgeous golden fescues that frame the fairways are as attractive as anything across the pond. Located about three hours northwest of New York City, just west of Binghamton, this Brian Silva/Mark Mungeam design is highlighted by jagged edge bunkers that melt into the landscape.
6. Gold Mountain Golf Complex (Olympic Course)
Bremerton, Wash.
7,140 yards, par 72; Greens fee: $38 and up; 360-415-5432,
goldmt.com | GOLFCOURSE.com Profile
This 10-year-old gem from designer John Harbottle III is a ray of sunshine for golfers in the perpetually rainy Pacific Northwest. Sitting just across Puget Sound, west of Seattle, the Olympic Course is routed through avenues of tall firs and was a deserving host of the 2006 USGA Amateur Public Links.
7. Willinger's Golf Club
Northfield, Minn.
6,809 yards, par 72; Greens fee: $39 and up; 952-652-2500,
willingersgc.com | GOLFCOURSE.com Profile
Don't let the name deter you: this course only sounds like some guy's backyard project. Willinger's is 30 miles from downtown Minneapolis but sports a wild, way-out-there ambiance. The opening nine is flattish and wanders around multiple marshland areas, but the layout really comes alive on the topsy-turvy back nine that's tucked into the trees.
8. Pinon Hills Golf Course
Farmington, N.M.
7,249 yards, par 72; Greens fee: $36.50 and up; 505-326-6066,
fmtn.org/pinonhills | GOLFCOURSE.com Profile
It's not too long ago that the only reason folks drove miles out of their way to Four Corners region of the Southwest was to pose for pictures while straddling the only dot on the U.S. map where four states touch each other. Now Pinon Hills, in farthest northwestern New Mexico, gives golfers a better reason to rack up the miles. Sandstone outcroppings and deep canyons serve as handsome hazards on this Ken Dye design, but it's the wildly undulating greens that can send scores skyward.
9. The Links of North Dakota
Ray, N.D.
7,092 yards, par 72; Greens fee: $40 and up; 701-568-2600,
linksnd.com | GOLFCOURSE.com Profile
New Yorker Stephen Kay was turned loose on this treeless site overlooking Lake Sakakawea in northwest North Dakota and the results is the Dornoch of the Dakotas: a near-authentic links experience with fast-running fairways, 82 ingeniously placed bunkers, and a location that will let you play until 10:00 p.m. in the height of summer. And all for $40!
10. Gray Plantation Golf Club
Lake Charles, La.
7,238 yards, par 72; Greens fee: $46 and up; 337-562-1663,
graywoodllc.com | GOLFCOURSE.com Profile
Wayward hitters will find plenty of intimidation at Gray Plantation, and not just from the water hazards that lurk on 12 holes-many of those hazards are teeming with alligators. In the heart of Cajun Country, architect Rocky Roquemore carved wide fairways from a forest of tall pines but what Rocky giveth he taketh away with the occasional forced carry to an island green.
