Top 10 “Black” Courses in Golf

The color black—which often means a lack of color—signifies darkness and formality to some, power and mystery to others. It’s no different in golf. The “Black tees” generally indicate another step back from the “Blue tees,” meaning, you’re going to encounter the maximum challenge a course can offer.

Dozens of golf courses across the globe apply those connotations to their actual course name. Whether fear-inducing, or merely a flashing beacon that you’re going to need to bring your best, “Black” courses inevitably grab your attention. Here are the top 10 “Black” courses in golf.

10. Black LakeOnaway, Mich.

Situated in the Gaylord area of northern Michigan, Black Lake is a heavily forested course in a pristine environment designed by Rees Jones in 2000 and owned by the United Auto Workers. At 7,035 yards and par 72, it’s a sturdy test, with a 143 slope and 74.8 rating. Yet, as always with Rees Jones, it’s eminently fair, although some may question that assessment after tangling with the 453-yard par-four 4th, the No. 1 handicap hole. The 4th starts from an elevated tee and challenges with a cluster of bunkers in the left side of the landing area and with a colossal trap front-left of the green. A helping slope to the right of the green can help funnel a ball closer to the target. Befitting a course owned by the UAW, Black Lake places a premium on good driving.

black courses
Black Lake

9. Black BullBozeman, Mont.

The name alone sounds forbidding—but this 2008 Tom Weiskopf creation is actually pretty friendly. For starters, it unfolds over the mostly level terrain of the Gallatin Valley, so it’s easily walkable. In addition, at 7,239 yards and par 72 from the “Back 40” tees, the slope is just 130—hardly a beatdown. Third, the set of par fives is gettable, with the 520-yard 3rd hole ranked as the easiest on the course and the 525-yard 15th the second easiest. And in classic Weiskopf fashion, two of the par fours are drivable, meaning, birdie-able, the 346-yard 5th and the 350-yard 17th. Still, there’s plenty to challenge and captivate, from the beefy par threes at 2, 8, and 16, the gorgeously sculpted, sprawling bunkers, and the mountain panoramas throughout.

black bull
Black Bull

8. Tiburón (Black)Naples, Fla.

“Tiburón” is the Spanish word for “shark”—so it’s no surprise that Greg Norman is the architect for this 36-hole Sunshine State standout. What is surprising is that both its Black and Gold courses are so good, they each host prestigious professional tournaments. In late November 2024—as it has since 2013—the Gold Course welcomes the LPGA Tour’s season-ending CME Group Tour Championship. Three weeks later, the Grant Thornton Invitational, a mixed team event, arrives; it was won in 2023 by the duo of Lydia Ko and Jason Day. In February 2024, the PGA Tour Champions’ Chubb Classic presented by SERVPRO touched down at the Black Course, where Stephen Ames triumphed. Laid out next to the 295-room Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort, Naples, both courses are worthy. The Gold, which opened in 1998, sports stacked sod bunkers, massive, crushed coquina shell waste bunkers, and shaved down roughs. There’s no shortage of lakes and wetlands, either. Yet, at 7,382 yards and par 72, the Gold is considered easier than the younger (by three years) 6,949-yard Black thanks to the Gold’s wider fairways. On the Black, huge bunkers, multiple water hazards and avenues of tall pines force accurate driving from every class of golfer.

Tiburón
Tiburón Black

7. Black MesaEspanola, N.M.

In Black Mesa’s early years, it was the sign in the clubhouse that jump-started the buzz: “BIG COURSE, BIG MEDICINE—IT WILL KICK YOUR BUTT.” These days, the layout speaks for itself. Yes, the Tribally owned golf course remains the rugged examination it was when it opened in 2003, though 7,307 yards isn’t what it used to be. Although course conditions have been hit or miss for years, it’s undeniable that this Baxter Spann design is blanketed in unforgettable holes. Set at 5,400 feet in the shadows of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, 25 minutes north of Santa Fe, Black Mesa twists through high sandstone bluffs, stark, rock-encrusted escarpments, and isolated box canyons. Enormous greens and enchanting tranquility are further hallmarks.

black mesa
Black Mesa (photo by L.C. Lambrecht)

6. Lajitas Golf Resort (Black Jack’s Crossing)Lajitas, Texas

Named for U.S. Army General John “Black Jack” Pershing, who chased after Pancho Villa across the Rio Grande, this 2011 design from Lanny Wadkins took its cues from a pre-existing layout on the site from 2006 called the Ambush that featured an optional par-three green located in Mexico, with its tee in Texas. Today’s 7,413-yard par-72 course didn’t retain the gimmick, but as befits the Wadkins style, boasts plenty of risk/reward holes. It also possesses the rugged grandeur of its Big Bend National Park setting, along the edge of the Rio Grande.

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Black Jack’s Crossing (photo by Lajitas Golf Resort)

5. Black Desert ResortIvins, Utah

The final championship course in the design career of Tom Weiskopf resulted in the aptly named Black Desert, a 7,417-yard par-72 layout near St. George in southwestern Utah that formally opened in 2023. Home to a PGA Tour event in mid-October and to the LPGA Tour in 2025, Black Desert features fairways that zigzag through ancient black lava fields, with holes backdropped by red sandstone mountains. Filled with variety and replete with risk/reward options, Black Desert boasts two of Weiskopf’s signature drivable par fours, the 350-yard 5th and the 326-yard 14th.

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Black Desert Resort (photo by Brian Oar)

4. Forest Dunes (The Loop – Black)Roscommon, Mich.

Opened in 2016, The Loop at Forest Dunes is a novel reversible routing from Tom Doak and Renaissance Golf Design. Roomy fairways, a paucity of bunkers, short grass around the greens, and distinctive tilts on the greens allow for clockwise play (Black Course) one day and counterclockwise (Red Course) the next.  Doak noted that while both courses play similarly, the 6,704-yard par-70 Black starts off more ominously with a brutish 469-yard par four but plays a tad easier than its sibling down the homestretch.

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The Loop (photo by Evan Schiller)

3. Black Diamond Ranch (Quarry)Lecanto, Fla.

A reliable Top 100 entry through the years, few courses in Florida are as distinctive as the Quarry at Black Diamond Ranch, a 1988 Tom Fazio design. Holes 13 through 17 play around, over, and into a yawning 100-foot chasm lined with white limestone rock. Adding to the ambience are rustic backdrops of rolling horse pastures and citrus orchards that depict anything except the typical development course. Its off-the-beaten path location, 75 miles north of Tampa and 20 minutes east of the Gulf of Mexico, adds to the allure.

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Black Diamond Ranch (photo courtesy Escalante Golf)

2. Streamsong BlackBowling Green, Fla.

Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner crafted an unusual par-73 layout atop a massive sandy tract in central Florida—and at 7,320 yards, it earns its “Black” designation through mystery and difficulty. Hewn from reclaimed phosphate mining land, the golf canvas features a sandy base, gigantic, dune-like spoil piles, and unusually rolling (for Florida) terrain. Equipped with tremendous variety from hole to hole, the Black is brawnier than its elder siblings, Red and Blue, with wider fairways, bigger bunkers, larger greens, and more expansive long views. Ramps, banks, knobs, and at times funky contours can help funnel the ball to the proper target, once you learn the course’s secrets. Still, the key to scoring respectably lies in solving the puzzles presented by the wildly undulating putting surfaces.

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Streamsong Black (photo by L.C. Lambrecht)

1. Bethpage BlackFarmingdale, N.Y.

At the height of the Great Depression in the mid-1930s, the State of New York decided that the public should have its own U.S. Open-worthy course. Blending equal parts Pine Valley and Winged Foot, architect A.W. Tillinghast delivered the goods, with help from Joseph Burbeck. Located on Long Island, about an hour’s drive east of New York City, the walking-only Black scares golfers with a sign at the first tee: “Warning—The Black Course is an extremely difficult course which we recommend only for highly skilled golfers.” Among the highly skilled? Tiger Woods, Lucas Glover, and Brooks Koepka, who have captured majors here. The game’s best will get reacquainted with the Black in September 2025, when Bethpage hosts the Ryder Cup. Massive bunkers, wrist-fracturing rough, glassy greens, and uphill climbs combine to send scores soaring, especially on the set of brutish par fours. Bethpage Black is lasting proof that public golf courses needn’t be dumbed down merely to move players through.

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Bethpage Black (photo by Getty Images)

 

What “Black” golf courses would you add to this list?

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Tom Richards
3 months ago

Citrus Club La Quinta CA: Back Black! 10 years ago Feb 2014 I played the 2nd hole (576 yds) from the black tee box, longest hole of the course and birdied it! Since then I have never made it again!. When Easter was near I invited 3 of my buddies to play from the black tees on Good Friday. None of us birdied it. But for the next 9 years we continued to play the Citrus Black on Good Friday while increasing the players to 72. I look forward to Good Friday April 18, 2025. Amen!

Kevin O’Brien
3 months ago

A big omission; The Golf Club at Black Rock, Idaho.

Larry LaCross
Reply to  Kevin O’Brien
3 months ago

Yes indeed it is.

JD Hill
3 months ago

Black Creek in Chattanooga deserves to be on that list!

Bob Trump
3 months ago

Black Horse in Seaside, CA

Larry LaCross
Reply to  Bob Trump
3 months ago

Once great but now with all the homes they built there it’s lost some luster

T Gags
3 months ago

Blackwolf Run in Kohler WI

Larry LaCross
Reply to  T Gags
3 months ago

No doubt about it.

Larry LaCross
3 months ago

I grew up playing Bethpage Black, and it is still in my top 5 courses I have played in my 70 years. I love Black Diamond but the uniqueness is just the quarry holes. Black Mesa is just so different I go back every other year to play it. Black Desert is a great course but IMO only for the lava and views.

Bill Baird
2 months ago

The River Course at Black Wolf Run

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