The Best Little Golf Towns in America

Sep 9, 2025, 7:01 PM•golfdigest

Golf Digest

Four places where the game is truly thriving. ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

It took just over a year, but what began as a definition of terms and followed with further input from the PGA of America, readers like you and lots of shoe-leather reporting from our editors, we’ve now picked four communities that we think represent the ideal of what golf should be.

In the order the sun rises, they are Cortland, N.Y., Aiken, S.C., Sioux Center, Iowa and DuPont, Wash.

Respectively, we dispatched Golf Digest writers Mike Stachura, Joel Beall, Drew Powell and Tod Leonard to spend meaningful time in these towns to get to know the local leaders, the courses, the shops, the schools and driving ranges, and try to understand how they all fit together.

May these four towns serve as models for others. Because golf is best when it embraces its egalitarian side, we plan to profile and celebrate more towns in the future. If you live in or near one, please tell us about it with an email to editors@golfdigest.com with “Best Little Golf Towns” as the subject line.

Thank you,

Max Adler, Editorial Director

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