Caddie TapHow Many Golf Courses Are There in the U.S.?
July 9, 2026 · Caddie Tap course data team
The short answer, per the National Golf Foundation: about 16,000 golf courses at roughly 14,000 facilities — numbers that have held steady for about five years after a ~13% contraction from the 2006 peak.
Which states have the most
Florida has led the nation for decades with roughly 1,250–1,290 courses (World Population Review, LINKS): year-round weather plus the country's largest retiree population. California (~963), Michigan (~868), New York (~830) and Texas (~825) follow — and Michigan is the quiet champion of public golf, with more publicly playable courses than 45 states have courses at all.
Browse the GPS-mapped directory by state
Our database maps courses hole-by-hole — greens, tees, hazards and playing lines, the data behind every number on this blog. Browse the states we cover most deeply (546 hole-mapped courses across 28 states, of 1,100+ nationwide):
| State | GPS-mapped courses in our directory |
|---|---|
| Alabama | 4 |
| Arizona | 53 |
| California | 129 |
| Colorado | 25 |
| Washington DC | 5 |
| Florida | 50 |
| Georgia | 20 |
| Illinois | 24 |
| Indiana | 3 |
| Kansas | 3 |
| Massachusetts | 9 |
| Maryland | 8 |
| Michigan | 24 |
| Minnesota | 12 |
| North Carolina | 11 |
| New Jersey | 4 |
| New Mexico | 3 |
| Nevada | 22 |
| New York | 7 |
| Ohio | 23 |
| Oklahoma | 7 |
| Oregon | 3 |
| Pennsylvania | 19 |
| South Carolina | 3 |
| Tennessee | 14 |
| Texas | 41 |
| Washington | 7 |
| Wisconsin | 13 |
Counting is harder than it sounds
"How many courses" depends on what you count: a 36-hole facility is one property but two courses, executive and par-3 layouts blur the line, and courses open and close every year. That's why NGF tracks facilities and courses separately — and why our own directory counts only what we can verify hole-by-hole with GPS geometry.
Get Caddie Tap — Free on the App StoreFAQ
How many golf courses are there in the United States?
Roughly 16,000 courses across about 14,000 facilities, according to the National Golf Foundation — a supply that has held steady for about five years after contracting ~13% from its 2006 peak.
Which state has the most golf courses?
Florida, and it isn't close — around 1,250–1,290 courses, a lead it has held for decades. California, Michigan, New York and Texas round out the top five.
Are most U.S. golf courses public or private?
Public, decisively: only about 28% of current U.S. supply is private — though more than half of the new courses in development are planned as private clubs.
Data: Caddie Tap GPS course database — distances measured along each hole's playing line, middle-tee geometry.