Looking for the best public-access golf courses in Oklahoma? When it comes to the top two, you’re in for an academic endeavor. Keep an eye out for Cowboys and Sooners.
Golfweek ranks courses by compiling the average ratings – on a points basis of 1 to 10 – of its more than 750 raters to create several industry-leading lists of courses. That includes the popular Best Courses You Can Play list for courses that allow non-member tee times. These generally are defined as layouts accessible to resort guests or regular daily-fee players.
No. 1 on that list in Oklahoma is Karsten Creek (pictured atop this story) in Stillwater, a Tom Fazio-designed layout that serves as the home course for the Oklahoma State golf teams. Opened in 1994, Karsten Creek was named for Ping Golf founder Karsten Solheim, and the course plays around Lake Louise, named for Solheim’s wife.
Besides being the top public-access layout in Oklahoma, Karsten Creek ranks No. 30 on the Top 100 Golfweek’s Best Courses You Can Play list for the whole United States, and it is No. 69 on Golfweek’s Best list of Modern Courses built in or after 1960 in the U.S.
Jimmie Austin Golf Club at the University of Oklahoma (Courtesy of Tripp Davis/Branden Hart)
The No. 2 public-access layout in Oklahoma is Jimmie Austin Golf Club at the University of Oklahoma in Norman. The club originally was laid out by Perry Maxwell and opened in 1951, and it was reworked by Bob Cupp in 1996 and again by Tripp Davis in 2017. It has since impressed raters considerably and has climbed to No. 7 on Golfweek’s Best Campus Courses list for facilities operated by colleges or other schools. It also ranks No. 174 on Golfweek’s Best Classic Courses list for all layouts opened before 1960 in the U.S.
(Editors note: Karsten Creek is not included on Golfweek’s Best Campus Courses list because it is not operated by Oklahoma State, even though it hosts the school’s teams.)
No. 3 on the public-access list for Oklahoma is Chickasaw Pointe in Kingston, followed by No. 4 Shangri-La Resort in Afton and No. 5 Cherokee Hills in Catoosa.
from Golfweek https://ift.tt/3vjQI5B