Golf is a game of patience and depending on what course you play on, it can require more tolerance.
A study from the United States Golf Association on over 14,000 golf courses across America, revealed the average difficulty of the courses in every state.
According to the association’s methodology, the average “bogey rating” was calculated for all courses in each state, with states ranked from highest to lowest difficulty based on this rating.
The bogey rating indicates the course difficulty for a player with a handicap of around 20 for men or 24 for women, making it a good measure for amateur, hobby golfers. Additionally, the average “course rating” for each state was calculated, which measures difficulty for a scratch player — an elite-level golfer with a handicap of zero, a status achieved by less than 1% of golfers.
Golfweek’s Best: Top public and private courses in Montana
States with the toughest golf courses in the country
Rank
State
Average Bogey Rating
Average Course Rating
1
Montana
97.42
70.68
2
Hawaii
96.35
70.65
3
Texas
96.22
70.36
4
New Jersey
95.82
69.73
5
Utah
95.14
69.28
6
Illinois
94.85
69.53
7
Washington
94.76
69.33
8
California
94.74
69.33
9
Nevada
94.59
68.95
10
Louisiana
94.45
69.67
11
Arkansas
94.22
69.25
12
Pennsylvania
94.17
68.85
13
North Carolina
93.97
68.63
14
Michigan
93.88
68.59
15
South Dakota
93.85
69.23
16
New Mexico
93.85
68.77
17
South Carolina
93.84
68.54
18
Maryland
93.74
68.78
19
Georgia
93.58
68.43
20
Indiana
93.57
68.98
21
Tennessee
93.42
68.89
21
Wyoming
93.36
68.52
23
Nebraska
93.27
69.20
24
Colorado
93.19
67.68
25
Oklahoma
93.15
68.72
26
Massachusetts
93.15
68.24
27
Arizona
93.12
68.40
28
Iowa
93.10
68.95
29
Deleware
93.08
68.01
30
Oregon
93.01
68.04
31
Virginia
92.93
67.72
32
Vermont
92.90
67.85
33
New Hampshire
92.88
68.19
34
Alabama
92.70
68.27
35
Kansas
92.67
68.14
36
Florida
92.67
67.86
37
Alaska
92.67
68.32
38
Kentucky
92.60
67.76
39
New York
92.59
67.96
40
Minnesota
92.30
67.51
41
North Dakota
92.24
68.55
42
West Virginia
91.75
68.15
43
Ohio
91.23
67.13
44
Connecticut
91.06
66.70
45
Idaho
90.97
66.61
46
Missouri
89.97
66.61
47
Rhode Island
89.85
66.18
48
Wisconsin
89.80
66.14
49
Maine
89.71
66.18
50
Mississippi
89.24
66.09