Golfweek's Best 2022: Top public and private courses in Massachusetts

There’s plenty of excellent golf in Massachusetts, but its private side of the game significantly outweighs its public-access offerings. Each of the top 15 private courses in the state is ranked in the top 200 on either of the elite Golfweek’s Best Modern or Classic Courses lists.

That private ranking in Massachusetts is topped by The Country Club’s Composite Course, which was site of the 2022 U.S. Open. The layout also ranks No. 24 among all Classic Courses built before 1960 in the U.S.

Even the top-ranked public-access course in the state is, for the most part, a private club. Cape Cod National in Brewster is essentially a private club that allows limited access to guests of the nearby Wequassett Resort and Golf Club. That access is enough for Cape Cod National to land on the Golfweek’s Best Courses You Can Play list for public-access layouts.

Golfweek’s Best offers many lists of course rankings, with that list of top public-access courses in each state among the most popular. All the courses on this list allow public access in some fashion, be it standard daily green fees, through a resort or by staying at an affiliated hotel. If there’s a will – and deep enough pockets – there’s a tee time.

Also popular are the Golfweek’s Best rankings of top private courses in each state, and that list for Massachusetts is among the elite in the U.S. That list is also included below.

MORE: Best Modern | Best Classic | Top 200 Resort|

Top 200 Residential | Top 100 Best You Can Play

(m): Modern course, built in or after 1960

(c): Classic course, built before 1960

Note: If there is a number in the parenthesis with the m or c, that indicates where that course ranks among Golfweek’s Best top 200 modern or classic courses.

* New to or returning to list

Best public-access courses in Massachusetts

2. Crumpin-Fox

Bernardston (m)

3. Miacomet

Nantucket (m)

4. Farm Neck

Oak Bluffs (m)

5. The Ranch

Southwick (m)

6. George Wright Municipal

Boston (c)

7. Red Tail

Devens (m)

8. Pinehills (Nicklaus)

Plymouth (m)

9. Club at New Seabury (Ocean)

Mashpee (m)

10. Pinehills (Jones)

Plymouth (m)

Best private courses in Massachusetts

2. Myopia Hunt Club

Hamilton (32c)

3. Old Sandwich

Plymouth (24m)

4. Eastward Ho!

Chatham (43c)

5. Essex

Manchester-by-the-Sea (T44c)

6. Boston GC

Hingham (T28m)

7. Kittansett Club

Marion (T49c)

T8. Sankaty Head

Siasconset (T82c)

T8. Whitinsville GC

Whitinsville (T82c)

10. Salem CC

Peabody (T88c)

11. Winchester CC

Winchester (T117c)

12. Taconic

Williamstown (T126c)

13. Nantucket GC

Siasconset (T145m)

14. Worcester CC

Worcester (T136c)

15. Hyannisport Club

Hyannis Port (T139c)

How we rank courses

The hundreds of members of the Golfweek’s Best ratings panel continually evaluate courses and rate them based on 10 criteria on a points basis of 1 through 10. They also file a single, overall rating on each course. Those overall ratings are averaged to produce these rankings.