Golf’s 10 best entrances, ranked

What makes a great golf course entrance? Go ahead, scoff now if you must. It might feel like a meaningless and superficial detail, but when done right, a proper entrance immerses you in the new world you’ve entered and builds anticipation of the course you’ll soon experience. It’s an appetizer that every great golf course has, but where are the very best entrances in the game?

That’s the question we put to our over 1,800 course-rating panelists, who have traveled the country in pursuit of the best course architecture. Along the way, they’ve encountered those historic, serene and inspiring entrances that stuck with them long after they submitted their assessment of the course itself.

If all this feels a bit pretentious, we hear you, but also consider that many of the courses on this list earned their spot by being exactly the opposite—unassuming, minimalist roads with discreet signage leading to some of the top clubs in the country. Until we secure our tee times and permission to cross these coveted gates, let’s live vicariously through those lucky enough to have already done so.

Explore Golf Digest’s new Course Reviews section where you can submit a star rating and evaluation on all the courses you’ve played. We’ve collected tens of thousands of reviews from our course-ranking panelists to deliver a premium experience, which includes course rankings, experts’ opinions, bonus course photography, videos and much more. Check it out here!