Lush and green conditions with crisp mowing lines, immaculate landscape and bright bunkers might be how you define great conditioning. Not us. About 15 years ago, Golf Digest changed our Conditioning category in our 100 Greatest ranking criteria to emphasize firm and fast conditions and reward courses that achieved ideal playing conditions with less water usage, at the urging of the American Society of Golf Course Architects.
The old definition asked panelists, “How would you rate the playing quality of tees, fairways and greens when you last played the course?” Our definition now reads: “How firm, fast and rolling were the fairways? How firm yet receptive were the greens? And how true were the rolls of putts?” There’s nothing about the color of turf, or the condition of bunkers and tee boxes.
Not only is our definition more environmentally sustainable, but firm conditions accentuate the architectural nuances of a course. Based on panelist scores from our new America’s 100 Greatest and Second 100 Greatest rankings, we’ve ranked the 30 best conditioned golf courses in the United States. At first glance, the top of this list is not surprising, as the top five courses are comprised of the first six on the 100 Greatest list, though in a different order. Further down, though, you’ll find many courses that are ranked much higher in Conditioning than their overall course ranking.
Most notably, The Quarry at La Quinta is ranked 85th on our 100 Greatest list but has the sixth-highest Conditioning score of any course. Also having a large disparity between the overall and Conditioning rankings are Double Eagle Club (Overall: 136th, Conditioning: 28th), Diamond Creek (Overall: 95th, Conditioning: 27th), Congaree Golf Club (Overall: 40th, Conditioning: 17th), and The Alotian Club (Overall: 37th, Conditioning: 13th).