In celebration of the colleges that made the men's and women's NCAA National Golf Championship Finals at Concession Golf Club, we're publishing a special college golf edition of Power Rankings. We've looked up the home golf clubs of these finalists (including individual finalists) to see which have been rated the best on Golf Advisor.
It should be noted that some golf teams play their golf at publicly accessible (and even affordable) venues, while other home courses -- such as University of Texas, University of Alabama and Duke University -- are at courses that are private and thus don't have nearly the amount of reviews.
Other college golf teams such as University of Washington and University of Oregon claim a handful of courses as their home. TCU, in fact, lists 26(!?) home courses on their team site. So we've selected these schools' public venues with the best reviews.
The 10 courses below, however, represent not only some of the best facilities in college golf but also let anyone, alum or not, play a round. Ratings are pulled from September 2013 thru May 20, 2015.
Golf Advisor's Top 10-rated home courses for golf teams competing in the NCAA Championship Finals
1. Kampen at Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex (Purdue University): In West Lafayette, Indiana native Pete Dye rebuilt the historic course on Purdue's campus in 1997, and it's now a beast at over 7,400 yards. Most recently at Purdue, Dye has begun work on renovating Purdue's other course, Ackerman Hills.
2. Cobblestone Park (University of South Carolina): 27-hole Cobblestone Park has a stellar 4.73/5 rating, and it's a prime example why football coach and golf nut Steve Spurrier elected to continue his coaching career with the Gamecocks after leaving the NFL. The golf teams make use of the club's 16-acre practice facility and challenging P.B. Dye design in the state's Olde English District.
3. University of Georgia, Athens: Golf Advisor Senior Writer Mike Bailey visited the course in 2014 and had very kind words to say about the Robert Trent Jones Sr. design in this course photo gallery.
4. Olympic Course at Gold Mountain (University of Washington): A top public course in Washington state, the Huskies hosted a regional final for the NCAAs, and thanks perhaps to some home cooking, managed to qualify for the finals, tying for fourth place.
5. Sewailo Golf Club (University of Arizona): The Tucson area's newest golf course, the University of Arizona moved to this Notay Begay-designed resort course in 2013 from Arizona National, which was undergoing a management change around this time. Managed by Troon Golf, Sewailo was Golf Advisor's third best golf course in Arizona in 2014.
6. Finley Golf Club at the University of North Carolina: Scenic, secluded and challenging, Tom Fazio rebuilt this classic course in 1999 and is now regularly named one of the top public collegiate courses in the U.S.; Golf Advisor raters award it particularly high marks for course conditions and facilities.
7. Rawls Golf Course at Texas Tech: Up in Lubbock, this challenging, often windy Tom Doak design was rated the best course in Texas on Golf Advisor in 2014. The course earns excellent Staff Friendliness and Value category ratings.
8. Southwood Golf Club (Florida State University): Florida State operates Don Veller Seminole Golf Club near campus, which is home to the golf team's practice area and clubhouse, and gets four-plus stars on Golf Advisor. But the golf team plays many of their rounds and hosts the Seminole Intercollegiate at Southwood, a more modern, semi-private facility with a Fred Couples and Gene Bates design.
9. Tournament Course at Golf Club of Houston (University of Houston): The University of Houston gets to take advantage of PGA Tour-worthy facilities -- not to mention conditions that are said to rival Augusta National -- at this 36-hole club that hosts the Shell Houston Open.
10. Stone Creek Golf Club (University of Illinois): Designers Tim and Dick Nugent built Stone Creek in 1999. Some reviewers balk at the pace of play here, but the conditioning and facility ratings are stellar.
Minimum 10 reviews needed since 2013
Meanwhile, Bailey recently named his eight favorite college courses. We're curious what your campus favorites are as well. Let us know by leaving a course review or in the comments below.
