Best in State
The best golf courses in Kentucky
Driving through areas of Kentucky, particularly in and around Lexington, most golfers can’t help but think about the rolling terrain—often used for beautiful horse farms—and think to themselves: Wow, this land would make a great golf course.
Thankfully for golfers teeing it up in the Bluegrass State, there are dozens of great courses that have secured some of this sneaky good land for golf. Among those, of course, is Valhalla Golf Club, synonymous with Kentucky golf thanks to Tiger Woods’ epic playoff win over Bob May at the 2000 PGA, plus the 1996 and 2014 PGAs, plus the U.S. victory at the 2008 Ryder Cup—and the only course ranked among the top 200 on our national lists. Most casual golfers might not know other courses in Kentucky, but there are some hidden gems in the state.
The ultra-private Idle Hour Country Club in Lexington falls firmly in that category—we’ve always struggled to obtain enough ballots to meet our minimum requirements (30 ballots over a 10-year cycle), but we were able to rank the Donald Ross original design for the first time in 2023-’24. Lexington Country Club was laid out by Tom Bendelow in 1913.
Keene Trace’s Champion Trace course also hosts the annual Barbasol Championship on the PGA Tour, and there are some great clubs in the Louisville area such as Hurstbourne Country Club, Big Spring, University of Louisville Golf Club and Persimmon Ridge.
Golf in Kentucky deserves the spotlight, and we’re glad to highlight some of the state’s best.
Below you'll find our 2023-'24 ranking of the Best Golf Courses in Kentucky.
We urge you to click through to each individual course page for bonus photography, drone footage and reviews from our course panelists. Plus, you can now leave your own ratings on the courses you’ve played … to make your case why your favorite should be ranked higher.
![1. (1) Valhalla Golf Club](http://golfdigest.sports.sndimg.com/content/dam/images/golfdigest/fullset/2016/12/18/5856b8badcb0bb103ffe9be9_2017-81-Valhalla-GC-hole-18.jpg.rend.hgtvcom.861.646.suffix/1573414559194.jpeg)
![2. (2) The Club at Olde Stone](http://golfdigest.sports.sndimg.com/content/dam/images/golfdigest/fullset/course-photos-for-places-to-play/club-at-olde-stone-kentucky-eighteen-21734.jpg.rend.hgtvcom.861.485.suffix/1688928518318.jpeg)
![3. (NR) Idle Hour Country Club](http://golfdigest.sports.sndimg.com/content/dam/images/golfdigest/fullset/course-photos-for-places-to-play/idle-hour-country-club-kentucky-4382.jpg.rend.hgtvcom.861.574.suffix/1688841010228.jpeg)
![4. (3) Hurstbourne Country Club](http://golfdigest.sports.sndimg.com/content/dam/images/golfdigest/fullset/course-photos-for-places-to-play/hurstbourne-country-club-4380.JPEG.rend.hgtvcom.861.646.suffix/1653343023786.jpeg)
![5. (4) Keene Trace Golf Club: Champion Trace](http://golfdigest.sports.sndimg.com/content/dam/images/golfdigest/fullset/course-photos-for-places-to-play/champion-trace-12544.jpg.rend.hgtvcom.861.574.suffix/1673476447843.jpeg)
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