Camargo is the top ranked course in Ohio.
Patrick Koenig
As part of GOLF’s rigorous rating process for our recently released Top 100 Courses in the US and Top 100 Courses to Play rankings, our panel of 100-plus experts identified the best golf courses in every state.
You can check out the links below to browse all levels of our courses, or scroll down to see the best courses in Ohio. And if you’re looking to create your own tour next time, you’d be wise to let the new GOLF Course Finder tool help you. Here, you can browse all of our lists — Top 100 public, best munis, best short courses, best par-3s and more — or filter by price to create the perfect itinerary for your next trip.
Other rankings of GOLF courses: Top 100 Courses in the World | Top 100 Courses in the US | Top 100 Courses to Play | Top 100 Value Courses in the US | America’s Best Municipal Studies | 100 Best Short Courses in the World
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Best Golf Courses in Ohio (2024/2025)
SECOND GUIDE
# = Top 100 Courses in the US
Y = Top 100 to Play in the US
V = Top 100 Value Courses in the US
P = Public/Resort
Ed. Note: Some courses were not included in our list because they did not receive enough votes.
1. Camargo (Cincinnati) [#]
This low-key creation of 1926 Seth Raynor in Suburban Cincinnati sports deep bunkers and large, square greens on a course full of valleys and ravines. The usual quartet of Raynor template one-shot holes (Redan, Short, Biarritz and Eden) are here and rival his best set. Further improvements are underway, including mowing the lines, but the course will never be closed for water restoration. Why? Because the club has always been a good steward of its course.
2. Inverness (Toledo) [#]
Andrew Green’s renovation restored Donald Ross’ features, deleted those that were missing and added length to test today’s tournament players. Few courses can claim to be the best set of two-shooters, headlined by the 6th, 7th, 9th, 15th, 17th and 18th holes. Inverness’s home hole famously measures just under 400 yards and is one of the most interesting close-ups in the game. What’s worse is that modern designers are determined to create finishers that reward mind over muscle.
3. Muirfield Village (Dublin) [#]
Acquired by Jack Nicklaus in 1966 to be his hometown equivalent of Bobby Jones’ Augusta National, this 1974 collaboration with Desmond Muirhead was an instant smash, both for its strategic design and its flawless shape. Equally impressive is the way Nicklaus has seamlessly integrated the spectator areas into the closing pits, using hills and an amphitheater style to give patrons clear views of the action. It’s hard to imagine the pros now trying to drive the sliver green on 14 but that’s how the game has changed – but the hole still isn’t easy. Those are beautiful buildings. Performance over 2020 saw the impossible: one of the best sets of par-5s on the list just got even better.
Keyur Khamar/PGA Tour
4. The Golf Club (New Albany) [#]
One of Pete Dye’s first masterpieces, this 1967 country house in the suburbs of Columbus is where Jack Nicklaus first learned about design, as an unpaid consultant. With bunkers and water hazards lined with railroad ties and tall traditional grass spread throughout, this course left no doubt that Dye was a generational talent in the works. Golf had never seen holes like the 3rd and 13th. The golf course was about to move to a more exciting place, one that valued diversity and the use of grass textures and contrasts. Dye’s contributions to modern design cannot be overemphasized.
5. Scioto (Dublin) [#]
This Donald Ross gem returns to the US Top 100 after an absence of many years, thanks to the restoration of Andrew Green. By returning the 8th and 17th greens to their original locations, Green removed remnants of Dick Wilson’s 1950s redesign. The nearby Ross trail that cuts through 110 acres of rolling parkland is the star feature and could be re-appreciated, thanks to much-needed tree removal. Green’s touch of green reconstruction and buildings in the classic style of Ross completes the picture of the Golden Age. This was the course of Jack Nicklaus’ youth and golfers will appreciate the smart shots required to hit certain holes on these challenging greens.
6. Moraine (Kettering) [#]
Even in the golf-rich Buckeye region, the course has long held a special place, including hosting the 1945 PGA Championship won by Bryon Nelson. Although admired, it did not generate today’s level of love until Keith Foster’s restoration in 2015 when the trees were cut down and the area was allowed to breathe again. Now, golfers soak up the unique landscape and understand that this Golden Age design by Alex “Nipper” Campbell is set on a glacial moraine.
John Cavalier
7. The Country Club (Cleveland)
8. Brookside (Canton)
9. Kirtland (Willoughby)
10. Canterbury (Beachwood)
11. Firestone – South (Akron) [Y, P]
12. Double Eagle (Galena)
13. NCR – South (Kettering)
14. Pepper Pike Club (Pepper Pike)
15. Sand Ridge (Chardon)
How we measure our courses
In our newly released US Top 100 and Top 100 To Play programs – a process that helped us create the top 50 rankings – each panel list was given a vote that included 609 subjects. Next to the list of subjects were 11 “buckets” or clusters. If our panelists consider a course to be among the top three in the US, they check that first column. If they believe the course is between No. Team members were also free to write in subjects they felt should have been included in the vote.
Points are awarded for each bucket; to arrive at the average score for each subject, we divide the cumulative score by the number of votes. From those points, lessons are then calculated accordingly. It is a deliberately simple and straightforward process. Why? Because historically it has produced highly commendable results. Like the game itself, there’s no need to make things unnecessarily complicated or try to fix something that already works perfectly.
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