Back in the 1960s, an Ohio kid checked in on the construction of what would become the highest-ranked course in the state. The design was The Golf Club, and the kid was Jack Nicklaus—a curious observer to the work being done by Pete Dye. Nicklaus, who by 1966 was a career Grand Slam winner, would sign up with Dye as his player consultant, starting a partnership that included Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head Island, site of an annual tour stop since 1969. The host venue to the PGA Tour’s Memorial Tournament for more than 35 years, Jack’s Muirfield Village Golf Club actually sits on land that Nicklaus and Dye prospected back in the late 1960s, although that project didn’t come to fruition. By the time Muirfield Village came to be in 1974, Nicklaus and Dye had split. Fast-forward almost four decades, and Nicklaus’ design company has eight offices in six countries, with Jack designing more than 300 courses and growing his business into one of the most successful design firms of his generation.
Here’s a look at Nicklaus’ best courses—ranked in the order our Golf Digest course-ranking panelists scored them based on our most recent America’s 100 Greatest Golf Courses ranking and Golf Digest’s Second 100 Greatest courses. Note: Our previous ranking of Nicklaus’ best courses included international courses, but with our new World 100 Greatest Courses ranking going live in a few weeks, we’ve removed them for now and will republish this list when the new ranking goes live!
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!