What are the most difficult golf courses in the U.S.? See where Texas ranks in the Top 10

Admin November 11, 2024

Golf is a game of patience and depending what course you play on, it can require more tolerance.

A study from the United States Golf Association on over 14,000 golf courses across America, revealed the average difficulty of the courses in every state.

According to their methodology, the average “bogey rating” was calculated for all courses in each state, with states ranked from highest to lowest difficulty based on this rating.

The bogey rating indicates the course difficulty for a player with a handicap of around 20 for men or 24 for women, making it a good measure for amateur, hobby golfers. Additionally, the average “course rating” for each state was calculated, which measures difficulty for a scratch player — an elite-level golfer with a handicap of zero, a status achieved by less than 1% of golfers.

Here is a look at where Texas ranked for the most difficult courses to play in the U.S.

States with the hardest golf courses in America

State	Average Bogey Rating	Most difficult course	Most difficult course rating
Montana	97.42	The Reserve at Moonlight Basin	75.91
Hawaii	96.35	George Fazio Course	74.85
Texas	96.22	Maridoe Golf Club	77.28
New Jersey	95.82	Hodakowski	76.70
Utah	95.14	Copper Rock Golf Course	73.61
Illinois	94.85	Rich Harvest Farms	76.93
Washington	94.76	The Links at Moses Pointe	73.91
California	94.74	’16 USWO	80.20
Nevada	94.59	D’Andrea Golf Club	73.94
Louisiana	94.45	The University Club	72.65

States with the trickiest golf courses in the country

Rank	State	Average Bogey Rating	Average Course Rating
1	Montana	97.42	70.68
2	Hawaii	96.35	70.65
3	Texas	96.22	70.36
4	New Jersey	95.82	69.73
5	Utah	95.14	69.28
6	Illinois	94.85	69.53
7	Washington	94.76	69.33
8	California	94.74	69.33
9	Nevada	94.59	68.95
10	Louisiana	94.45	69.67
11	Arkansas	94.22	69.25
12	Pennsylvania	94.17	68.85
13	North Carolina	93.97	68.63
14	Michigan	93.88	68.59
15	South Dakota	93.85	69.23
16	New Mexico	93.85	68.77
17	South Carolina	93.84	68.54
18	Maryland	93.74	68.78
19	Georgia	93.58	68.43
20	Indiana	93.57	68.98
21	Tennessee	93.42	68.89
21	Wyoming	93.36	68.52
23	Nebraska	93.27	69.20
24	Colorado	93.19	67.68
25	Oklahoma	93.15	68.72
26	Massachusetts	93.15	68.24
27	Arizona	93.12	68.40
28	Iowa	93.10	68.95
29	Deleware	93.08	68.01
30	Oregon	93.01	68.04
31	Virginia	92.93	67.72
32	Vermont	92.90	67.85
33	New Hampshire	92.88	68.19
34	Alabama	92.70	68.27
35	Kansas	92.67	68.14
36	Florida	92.67	67.86
37	Alaska	92.67	68.32
38	Kentucky	92.60	67.76
39	New York	92.59	67.96
40	Minnesota	92.30	67.51
41	North Dakota	92.24	68.55
42	West Virginia	91.75	68.15
43	Ohio	91.23	67.13
44	Connecticut	91.06	66.70
45	Idaho	90.97	66.61
46	Missouri	89.97	66.61
47	Rhode Island	89.85	66.18
48	Wisconsin	89.80	66.14
49	Maine	89.71	66.18
50	Mississippi	89.24	66.09

Texas golf fans react to trying to play like professionals

Golf fans at the Maridoe Golf Club in Dallas express their desire to play like the professionals. According to GolfFlux, most beginning golfers have handicap indexes between 20 and 36 or even higher.

How do you find your golf handicap?

USGA suggests the following equations will help you find your handicap score:

Calculate the Handicap Differential for each round: To do this, subtract the Course Rating from your score, multiply the result by 113 (the standard slope rating), and then divide by the Slope Rating of the course. Formula: (Score – Course Rating) × 113/Slope Rating = Handicap Differential
Choose the lowest Handicap Differentials: If you have more than 20 scores, take the lowest 10 handicap differentials. With fewer than 20 scores but at least five, the number of differentials used decreases proportionally (e.g., if you have only five scores, you would use only the lowest one).
Calculate the average of these lowest Handicap Differentials: Sum up all your selected lowest Handicap Differentials and divide by the number of differentials you are using. Formula: The sum of Handicap Differentials / Number of Handicap Differentials
Multiply the average by 0.96 (or 96%): This step includes the “bonus for excellence” factor, which rewards exceptional play. The result is your Handicap Index. Formula: Average of lowest Handicap Differentials × 0.96 = Handicap Index