Longest Public Golf Courses in America

Distance is the one golf course claim you do not have to take anyone’s word for. A slope rating involves judgment calls. A “best conditioned” claim requires someone to have walked the fairways recently. Yardage is just a number on a scorecard, and it does not change based on who is doing the measuring.

So we sorted our course directory the plain way: every US course tagged public, ranked by total yardage, longest first. No subjective filter, no “best of” judgment call. What came out the other end is a list of courses built to test the game’s biggest hitters, stretching from an Alabama resort to the shore of Lake Tahoe.

A word on what “public” means here: these are courses our directory classifies as public access, which covers both municipal courses and daily-fee resort and private-management tracks that sell tee times to anyone. It is not a certification from any outside ranking body, just how each course is filed in our records. Several of these are resort courses attached to a hotel, so “public” does not always mean “walk-up.”

How we picked: These rankings come directly from our course directory’s yardage field for courses tagged public and located in the United States. We range-checked every result against slope and course rating to rule out data-entry errors before including it, and dropped a handful of records above 9,000 yards that did not hold up to that check. We have not played these courses. Everything below is drawn from directory data, and every course links through to its full record. Yardages and green fees change, so confirm both before you book.

Jump to the comparison table if you just want the list.

Longest Public Golf Courses in America Comparison Table

Course	Location	Par	Yardage	Slope	Green Fees
Renaissance Ross Bridge	Birmingham, AL	72	8,191	135	$$$
Capitol Hill - The Judge	Prattville, AL	72	7,794	144	$
Kinderlou Forest	Valdosta, GA	72	7,781	N/A	$$
Purgatory Golf Club	Noblesville, IN	72	7,754	142	$$
Old Union Golf Club	Blairsville, GA	72	7,667	144	$
Saratoga National	Saratoga Springs, NY	72	7,625	143	$$$$
Avalon Lakes	Warren, OH	72	7,551	143	$$
Bayside Resort	Selbyville, DE	72	7,545	N/A	$$$
Edgewood Tahoe	Stateline, NV	72	7,532	136	$$$$

1. Renaissance Ross Bridge Golf Resort & Spa

Location: Birmingham, AL Holes: 18 · Par: 72 · Length: 8,191 yards · Slope: 135

At 8,191 yards, Ross Bridge is the longest course in our entire public directory, not just this list. That is close to 400 yards clear of the next entry here, and our records list it as a resort course with a golf cart included and equipment for rent, the kind of full-service operation that usually accompanies a course built to championship scale.

The course rating of 78.5 against a slope of 135 tells you the difficulty is real but not extreme relative to that yardage. A slope in the mid-130s is firmly above the national average of 113, without being the punishing number some shorter courses on this list post. The length itself is the test.

Green fees run $90 to $125 according to our records, which is not cheap but is well short of what a course this long usually costs at a private club.

Who should skip it: Short hitters. Playing 8,191 yards from tees that are anywhere close to that number means a lot of long-iron and hybrid approaches, even for a solid ball-striker.

Full details: Renaissance Ross Bridge Golf Resort & Spa

2. Capitol Hill Golf Course: The Judge Golf Course

Location: Prattville, AL Holes: 18 · Par: 72 · Length: 7,794 yards · Slope: 144

The Judge is one of three 18-hole courses at the Capitol Hill complex, and by far the longest and hardest of the three in our records. The other two play to 6,232 and 5,921 yards. A slope of 144 is among the highest on this entire list, which combined with 7,794 yards makes this one of the more demanding rounds a public golfer can book in the state.

Opened in 1999, water is in play according to our directory and the course carries more than 100 bunkers. That volume of sand on a course already defending itself with length and water is a real combination, not a padding of the scorecard.

Green fees of $45 to $64 are the lowest on this list by a wide margin for a course this long and this difficult.

Who should skip it: High handicappers looking for a forgiving round. Slope 144 will punish a wayward score regardless of how far you hit it.

Full details: Capitol Hill Golf Course - The Judge Golf Course

3. Kinderlou Forest Golf Club

Location: Valdosta, GA Holes: 18 · Par: 72 · Length: 7,781 yards

Kinderlou Forest is the longest course in Georgia in our public records, just 13 yards behind the Judge Course above it. Our directory does not have a slope or course rating on file for this one, so we cannot make the same difficulty comparison we can elsewhere on this list. The yardage alone is what earns it a spot here.

Green fees of $65 to $75 sit in the middle of this list, and the course opens early, with tee times available from 7 a.m. according to our records.

Who should skip it: Anyone relying on a cart-path-only round. Our data does not list a walking restriction here, but a course built at this scale plays long between greens and the next tee regardless of the walking policy.

Full details: Kinderlou Forest Golf Club

4. Purgatory Golf Club

Location: Noblesville, IN Holes: 18 · Par: 72 · Length: 7,754 yards · Slope: 142

The longest course in Indiana in our directory, and the name is doing some work. A course rating of 78.1 against par 72 is one of the higher ratings on this list, meaning it plays hard for a scratch golfer even before accounting for the slope.

Green fees of $65 put it in the same range as Kinderlou Forest, and tee times open at 7 a.m. according to our records.

Who should skip it: Golfers looking for a quick nine or a short warm-up round. This is a full-scale test that rewards a full day, not a quick loop.

Full details: Purgatory Golf Club

5. Old Union Golf Club

Location: Blairsville, GA Holes: 18 · Par: 72 · Length: 7,667 yards · Slope: 144

Old Union ties Capitol Hill’s Judge Course for the highest slope on this list at 144, but does it at nearly 130 fewer yards. High slope paired with slightly shorter yardage usually points to trouble concentrated in specific holes rather than sustained length across all eighteen.

Located in the north Georgia mountains, the course rating of 76.8 is solidly above par. Green fees of $39 to $59 make this the most affordable course on the entire list.

Who should skip it: Golfers on a tight budget who also want a forgiving score. You can get the low price or the easy round here, not both.

Full details: Old Union Golf Club

6. Saratoga National Golf Club

Location: Saratoga Springs, NY Holes: 18 · Par: 72 · Length: 7,625 yards · Slope: 143

The longest public course in New York in our records, and the only entry on this list built with a golf school on site according to our directory, alongside the usual putting green and teaching pro. That is worth noting if you are traveling to play this one and want lessons built into the trip.

At $185, this is the second-most expensive round on the list. The slope of 143 backs up the price with a genuinely difficult test, not just a resort markup.

Who should skip it: Budget golfers. This is the priciest way to play a long course on this entire list outside of Edgewood Tahoe.

Full details: Saratoga National Golf Club

7. Avalon Lakes Golf Course

Location: Warren, OH Holes: 18 · Par: 72 · Length: 7,551 yards · Slope: 143

Opened in 1967, Avalon Lakes is the oldest course on this list in our records, just a year ahead of Edgewood Tahoe below it. Our directory marks walking as not allowed here, which is worth knowing before you book — every other course on this list with walking data on file permits it.

A slope of 143 against 7,551 yards keeps this near the top of the list for difficulty as well as length, and our records show more than 100 bunkers in play.

Who should skip it: Anyone who prefers to walk. This is a cart-mandatory round according to our directory, regardless of how you’d rather play it.

Full details: Avalon Lakes Golf Course

8. Bayside Resort Golf Club

Location: Selbyville, DE Holes: 18 · Par: 72 · Length: 7,545 yards

Bayside is the newest course on this list, opened in 2005, and one of two entries here without a slope rating on file in our directory. Like Kinderlou Forest, the case for including it rests on yardage alone.

Green fees of $110 to $125 are on the higher end of this list, and our records show more than 100 bunkers here as well. Walking is not allowed, the same restriction as Avalon Lakes.

Who should skip it: Golfers who want to walk their round. Between the cart mandate and the green fee, this is a course built around the cart experience, not against it.

Full details: Bayside Resort Golf Club

9. Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course

Location: Stateline, NV Holes: 18 · Par: 72 · Length: 7,532 yards · Slope: 136

The only course on this list on the West Coast, sitting on the shore of Lake Tahoe. Built in 1968, it is the second-oldest course here after Avalon Lakes, and at $110 to $240 it carries the widest green fee range and the highest ceiling on this entire list. That spread points to heavy seasonal pricing around the Tahoe tourist calendar.

Walking is allowed according to our records, a rarity among the longer courses on this list, most of which are cart-only or don’t specify.

Who should skip it: Anyone booking without checking the season first. That $110-to-$240 spread means the wrong week can cost more than double the right one.

Full details: Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course

Frequently Asked Questions

None of these courses play their full yardage for a casual round. Back tees this long are built for tournament setups and single-digit handicaps chasing a number, not for a Saturday foursome. If you want the length as a bucket-list test, Ross Bridge and Capitol Hill’s Judge Course give you the most yardage for the money. If you want the same category of difficulty without traveling to Alabama, Old Union and Purgatory post slope ratings just as high at a shorter walk.

Browse more courses by state in our course directory.