Old Works Golf Course ranked as the most underrated across the US, while Fairview Mountain Golf Club takes the top spot in Canada.
Whether its Pebble Beach, Bethpage Black or Whistling Straits, America is home to some of the most iconic golf courses that are also available to the public.
These are the standouts, but golfers are always looking for those hidden gems or courses that not many people may know about.
With this in mind, the golf betting team at Betway decided to rank some of the most underrated golf courses in the country using a series of metrics such as: Google Rating, Golf Digest Rating, Price, Rainfall and Peak Wind Speeds.
Using these factors, each golf course was scored out of 100 and according to the data, the Old Works golf course in Montana ranked first for the most underrated across the US with a score of 90.10.
Designed by Jack Nicklaus’ team, the Old Works ranked highly for both Google Rating (4.7) and Golf Digest Rating (4). The price of $125 was the 6th cheapest from the 39 courses that were used in the study.
Warm Springs Creek also gives a picturesque and cultural feel across the 18 holes with golfers having to negotiate this throughout the round.
Another famous name associated with an underrated golf course is the Arnold Palmer Signature Course at Y Resort, Oregon.
The course website claims that Oregon gets over 300 days of sunshine which shows with an average of 14.06 inches in rainfall, one of the lowest in the rankings.
With strong Google and Golf Digest ratings, it’s no surprise that the course ranks second with a score of 89.91.
Rounding off the top 3 is the Circling Raven golf course, based in Idaho, with a score of 85.61.
A course that spans over 620 acres, giving golfers a chance to feel isolated in nature whilst on their round.
Golf Digest gave a rating of 4.1, a better rating than the two top. However, for a round of golf it would cost $229, a significant increase on the top two in the rankings.
Wine Valley Golf Club, Washington (85.48) and Tetherow, Oregon (82.46) made the top five with reasonable scores.
Rank | Course | Location | Total score |
1 | Old Works | Montana | 90.10 |
2 | Running Y Resort Arnold Palmer Signature Golf Course | Oregon | 89.91 |
3 | Circling Raven | Idaho | 85.61 |
4 | Wine Valley Golf Club | Washington | 85.48 |
5 | Tetherow | Oregon | 82.46 |
6 | Sweetens Cove | Tennessee | 82.09 |
7 | Sunriver – Crosswater | Oregon | 81.86 |
8 | The Quarry at Giants Ridge | Minnesota | 80.94 |
9 | Palouse Ridge | Washington | 80.60 |
10 | Sand Valley – Mammoth Dunes | Wisconsin | 79.47 |
British Columbia dominates the golf scene in Canada
When it came to underrated golf courses across Canada, the provenience of British Columbia was home to the top 5 in the shape of Fairview Mountain, Sun Peaks Resort, Salmon Arm Golf Club – Championship Course, Talking Rock Resort and Greywolf Golf Course.
Fairview Mountain was ranked as the top underrated golf course in Canada, with a near perfect Golf Pass rating of 4.9.
The course is built for all levels of golfers with over 200 feet in elevation based in the heart of Oliver, and it’s no surprise that this hidden gem was scored 89.54/100.
Looking outside of British Columbia, the Rocky Crest golf course in Ontario ranked 6th overall for underrated golf courses.
Although Golf Pass gave a perfect rating of 5, the area is suspect to rainfall with average inches of 43 across the year which brings the score down slightly.
So, those are the most underrated golf courses across America and Canada. Public courses are usually available to golfers all of levels and with each golf club wanting to make sure their courses are always in pristine condition, who knows how the ranking will look in 12 months time. Although the professionals are winding following the FedEx Cup, there’s still plenty of golf in 2026 and to keep up to date with the latest content and odds, please head over to our golf page!
Methodology
Using desk research, we sourced the top slightly lesser-known golf courses in both the US and Canada. We then collected each metric for every golf course:
Google rating (Rating for the course was taken into account. If this was not available, rating for the club was used)
Golf Digest rating for US courses/GolfPass for CA courses
Price of a full round during peak season (USD for US courses/CAD for CA courses) (Lower prices scored higher)
Rainfall per year in local area (inches)
Average wind speed in windiest month of the year (MPH)
Each course was then given a normalised score based on how it performed in the metrics above and the courses were ranked from highest score to lowest.
Data correct as of September 2026.
