Best golf courses near Buffalo, NY

The Robert Trent Jones-designed golf course at Crag Burn Golf Club opened in 1972. The course is built over gentle sloping terrain, set on a former estate featuring sprawling fairways lined by tall fescue and inviting putting surfaces surrounded by bunkers and flowing creeks. The course is set up as two distinct nines with the front nine constructed in a parkland-style and the back nine fashioned after Scottish links courses. The immediate course property is devoid of houses and includes stretches of woodland holes, which add to the visual aesthetic and tranquil setting.

The Country Club of Buffalo was originally founded in 1894 and played host to the 1912 U.S. Open before relocating to a new property in the 1920s. The course played by the members today debuted in 1926 and was designed by Donald Ross. Routed through an old quarry, the course features winding fairways dotted with exposed limestone formations, as well as undulating putting surfaces guarded by deep bunkers and natural grass walls. The standout holes at the Country Club of Buffalo are the dramatic par-3 sixth, played to a green surrounded by former quarry walls, and the par-4 18th, with a green nestled under a natural rock garden. Since 1926, the course has been renovated by a number of famous architects, including Robert Trent Jones in 1954, Geoffrey Cornish in 1965 and ‘83, and William Schreiner in 1996, all the while keeping its inherent Donald Ross charm.

Located to the east of Buffalo and originally founded in 1903, Park Country Club of Buffalo debuted its C.H. Alison-designed golf course in 1927. The course is built along the subtle rolling terrain of the Ellicott Creek floodplain and completed a 15-year renovation in 2016 headed by Ian Andrews aimed at restoring original design characteristics to the course. The course now includes bunkers restored to original specifications, reclaimed and expanded greensites, and open views and playing windows as a result of extensive tree removal. Host of the 1934 PGA Championship, Park Country Club is known for its collection of difficult holes played alongside the creek, most notably the par-4 18th with a forced carry over the water, and its stately clubhouse—designed by Clifford Hendehack, the architect of many famous golf clubhouses, found at top clubs like Winged Foot and Ridgewood.

Grover Cleveland Golf Course may be the cheapest U.S. Open course you can play. For just $18 on weekdays, you can play this muny that hosted the 1912 U.S. Open—won by John McDermott—when it was then the private Country Club of Buffalo. Grover Cleveland, originally founded as the Country Club of Buffalo, was designed by Walter Travis and redesigned by Donald Ross. In 1925, the country club sold the course to the City of Buffalo, and it was subsequently renamed Grover Cleveland Golf Course, after the former city mayor and U.S. President. A year later in 1926, the newly public layout hosted the U.S. Amateur Public Links. Today, the par-69 tips out at just over 5,600 yards, making it not only the most affordable, but the most playable former U.S. Open venue you can play.

Situated between Buffalo and Niagara Falls, Sheridan Park is a walkable municipal that hosted the 1962 U.S. Amateur Public Links. The course dates back to the 1930s and plays over rolling hills with many water hazards in play.