About Public Gems
Great golf shouldn't require a membership. Public Gems helps you discover the best public golf courses in America — from bucket-list championship tracks to hidden municipal gems that locals love.
Why Public Gems?
Public Gems was built by golfers who got tired of relying on outdated top-100 lists and generic review sites to find great public courses. After years of playing courses across the country, we built Public Gems to answer one question: what's the best public course I can play right now, for my budget?
We believed that the best public courses — the ones with great routing, honest pricing, and a walking-friendly attitude — weren't getting the recognition they deserved. Too many ranking systems favor expensive resort courses or rely solely on expert panels. Public Gems puts value and accessibility on equal footing with quality and prestige.
Our Mission
We want every golfer to find their next favorite course. Whether you're traveling and need a great round nearby, or hunting for the best value in your state, Public Gems helps you discover, compare, and book the best public golf in America.
Public Gems is editorially independent. No course can pay for a higher ranking or score. Every Gems Index rating is computed algorithmically from verifiable data — green fees, course difficulty, architect pedigree, player reviews, and facility amenities.
How the Gems Index Works
Every course on Public Gems is rated by the Gems Index, a composite score from 0 to 100 across five weighted dimensions:
- Course Quality (30%) — USGA course rating, slope, architect pedigree, number of holes, and facility amenities. A challenging, well-designed 18-hole course by a recognized architect scores highest.
- Value (25%) — Green fee relative to course quality. Walking allowed and resident discounts earn bonuses. A $30 muni with a 73 course rating scores higher than a $250 resort with the same rating. This dimension is what makes Public Gems different — we reward affordability.
- Condition & Experience (20%) — Aggregate player ratings and review volume. Courses with consistently high marks from hundreds of golfers score higher than those with a handful of reviews.
- Playability (15%) — Multiple tee boxes, walkability, forward tee yardage under 5,200 yards, and par-3 or executive course options. Courses that welcome all skill levels score highest.
- Prestige (10%) — Tournament history (PGA Tour, USGA championships, state amateurs), architect recognition, and year established. Historic courses with competitive pedigree earn a prestige bonus.
The Gems Index is recalculated whenever we update our course data. Scores can change as green fees adjust, new reviews come in, or courses host tournaments.
Where Does Our Data Come From?
Public Gems aggregates data from multiple public sources to build the most complete picture of every public course in America:
- GHIN (Golf Handicap and Information Network) — Club registry, course ratings, and slope data from the USGA's official system.
- Google Places API — Addresses, phone numbers, hours, player ratings, review counts, and course photos.
- Published green fee schedules — We check course websites directly for current pricing. Fees are updated regularly.
- National ranking publications — Golf Digest, Golf Magazine, and Golfweek top-100 public course lists are cross-referenced for prestige scoring.
We currently track 5,600+ public, municipal, resort, and military courses across all 50 states. If a course is missing or has incorrect data, let us know at tim@publicgems.com.
Editorial Independence
Public Gems does not accept payment in exchange for rankings, scores, or favorable placement. Course listings are free. The Gems Index is computed algorithmically — no human editor can override a score. We may earn referral fees from tee-time booking links, but these partnerships never influence how courses are rated or ranked.