Why This California Golf Course Is One of the Best in the Country

Since 1966, Golf Digest has released it biennial picks for the 100 Greatest Golf Courses in America. It should come as no surprise that California made several appearances on this prestigious list. But only one Golden State venue cracked the top three. Here’s what the magazine had to say about the stunning Cypress Point Club:

“Glamorous Cypress Point, Alister Mackenzie’s masterpiece woven through cypress, sand dunes and jagged coastline, wasn’t always the darling of America’s 100 Greatest. Golf Digest demoted it to the Fifth Ten back in the early 1970s, saying, “It’s not surprising that good players might find Cypress Point wanting: it has several easy holes and a weak finisher.” Our panel has since changed its collective opinion. In the 2000s, member Sandy Tatum, the former USGA president who christened Cypress Point as the Sistine Chapel of golf, convinced the club not to combat technology by adding new back tees, but instead make a statement by celebrating its original architecture. So Cypress remains timeless, if short, its charm helped in part by superintendent Jeff Markow, who re-established Mackenzie’s unique bunkering with the help of old photographs.”

100 Greatest History: Ranked since 1966. Highest ranking: No. 2, 1987-88. Previous ranking: 3

Read more panelist comments about Cypress Point and get the full list of courses here.