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The best public-access and private golf courses in Washington, ranked

A general view of the 17th hole as a train passes behind the green during the first round of stroke play at the 2022 U.S. Women's Amateur at Chambers Bay in University Place, Wash. on Monday, Aug. 8, 2022. (Darren Carroll/USGA)
A general view of the 17th hole as a train passes behind the green during the first round of stroke play at the 2022 U.S. Women's Amateur at Chambers Bay in University Place, Wash. on Monday, Aug. 8, 2022. (Darren Carroll/USGA)

Looking to play the best golf courses in Washington? Welcome to our annual Golfweek’s Best ranking of public-access and private courses.

Following are the rankings for both types of courses, as judged by our nationwide network of raters. The hundreds of members of our course-ratings panel continually evaluate courses and rate them 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 all our Golfweek’s Best course rankings.

The courses on the first 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, there’s a tee time – no membership required.

KEY: (m) modern, built in 1960 or after; (c) classic, built before 1960. For courses with a number preceding the (m) or (c), that is where the course ranks on Golfweek’s Best lists for top 200 modern and classic courses in the U.S.

* indicates new or returning to the rankings

Best public-access courses in Washington

Gamble Sands in Washington (Courtesy of Gamble Sands/Brian Oar)
Gamble Sands in Washington (Courtesy of Gamble Sands/Brian Oar)

1. Chambers Bay 2. Gamble Sands 3. Wine Valley Book your tee time at Wine Valley today 4. Gold Mountain (Olympic) Book your tee time at Gold Mountain today 5. Palouse Ridge T6. Salish Cliffs T6. Indian Canyon 8. Kalispel 9. White Horse* Book your tee time at White Horse today T10. Suncadia (Rope Rider)* Book your tee time at Suncadia today T10. Suncadia (Prospector)* Book your tee time at Suncadia today

Best private courses in Washington

Aldarra in Washington (Courtesy of Aldarra)
Aldarra in Washington (Courtesy of Aldarra)

1. Aldarra 2. Sahalee (South/North) T3. Seattle GC T3. Suncadia (Tumble Creek) 5. Tacoma G&CC

This article originally appeared on Golfweek: The best public-access and private golf courses in Washington, ranked