# The Best Private Golf Courses in the New York City Metro Area

Source: https://thecourserankings.com/blog/the-best-private-golf-courses-in-the-new-york-city-metro-area/

NYC Metro Rankings


The metro private list is the deepest in the world: two US Open rota courses on Long Island, the Westchester classics, Baltusrol and Somerset Hills in New Jersey, and Liberty National 25 minutes from Wall Street. Ranked on golf first, with access and price covered in the companion money guides.

**Our take:** Our top five: 1. Shinnecock Hills, 2. National Golf Links of America, 3. Winged Foot West, 4. Somerset Hills, 5. Friar's Head. Liberty National is the most relevant course on this list for a Downtown golfer, ranked on convenience in the downtown playbook.

## The top five

Shinnecock is the best championship test in America that also works as a members course. National Golf Links is the most enjoyable great course in the metro and the template golf standard. Winged Foot West is a severe examination, ranked third here on architecture and history. Somerset Hills is the most underrated Tillinghast in the country. Friar's Head is the modern entry, Coore and Crenshaw on potato fields above the Sound.

## The next five

6. Garden City Golf Club, the purest golf only club in the metro. 7. Baltusrol Lower, championship scale in Springfield, about 45 minutes from Downtown. 8. Sebonack, the Nicklaus and Doak collaboration next to National. 9. Sleepy Hollow, the most scenic Westchester course after its restoration work. 10. Quaker Ridge, Tillinghast in Scarsdale, quietly one of the best walks in the metro.

## The Downtown footnote

Liberty National in Jersey City sits about 25 minutes from the Financial District with ferry access and the Statue of Liberty behind the greens. On pure golf it sits below this top ten. On usefulness to a Downtown member or guest, nothing in the metro beats it, which is why the club cost guide treats proximity as its own tier.

## Notable omission: Winged Foot East and the second courses

Several metro clubs have two courses that would headline most states. The East at Winged Foot, Baltusrol Upper, and the Creek and Piping Rock on Long Island all sit just outside this list and anchor the county rankings.

## Reader responses

If you could hold one metro membership, golf only, which club and why?

Please cite a specific hole, a price, or a round you have played. Selected reader responses are featured in follow up coverage.

## FAQ

**What do these clubs cost?**

Clubs do not publish figures. Industry reporting puts the metro elite tier well into six figures for initiation, with annual dues commonly in the $25,000 to $40,000 range. Those are estimates. The tiers and the math are in our club cost guide. Prices in this guide were checked in October 2026 against published course listings and recent reporting. Greens fees move by season, day, and residency, so confirm the exact rate when you book. Private clubs do not publish initiation fees or dues. Every private figure here is an estimate band based on public reporting, labeled as an estimate, and the only accurate number comes from a club's membership office.

**Can guests play these courses?**

Only as a member's guest, with guest fees commonly $200 to $400 plus caddie at the top tier, again as reported estimates.

**Reader responses are open.** Please cite a specific hole, a price, or a round you have played.