Arcadia Bluffs, GC. Photo: Stephen Szurlej
At the same time, we think you will see within the results some noteworthy discoveries as well. Our readers confirmed the growing reputation of Alabama's Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail for providing quality golf at a great value by ranking the Grand National facility in Opelika No. 1 in the public category (not to mention its Capitol Hill facility in Prattville No. 2).
Bethpage State Park in New York. Photo: Stephen Szurlej
To make the Readers' Choice Awards an annual tradition -- voting for next year's edition will open shortly -- we're going to need your help. Take some time to look through the rankings and see if the thoughts of your peers jibe with your own (we welcome your feedback via e-mail at readerschoice@golfworld.com). And while you're doing it, challenge yourself to consider again just what makes for a great place to play golf.
Methodology
The Readers' Choice Awards are based solely on reader input gathered by Golf Digest Publications' Research Resource Center via an online poll conducted this summer. For a facility to be ranked, it had to receive a minimum number of reader evaluations. (Some venerable places -- Oakland Hills CC and Chicago GC, for example -- do not appear because they did not reach that minimum.) Readers graded facilities based on various criteria (see key above) using a 10-point scale. To arrive at an overall aggregate score for each facility, we calculated the average ratings received in all applicable criteria. The raw scores were weighted to reflect different levels of significance for each of the criteria, with the formula varying based on the category. The overall total then was recalculated to a 100-point scale so a perfect score on every ballot yielded an aggregate of 100. (It's why when reading the accompanying charts a facility's scores in each criteria don't equal its total.) Augusta National GC came closest of all facilities to achieving the perfect 100 score, earning a 98.5.
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