Golfweek’s Top 50 Casino Golf Course List Again Dominated by Tribal Resorts
This week, Golfweek released their list of the top 2024 casino resort golf courses, and once again, tracks controlled by sovereign tribes dominate the rankings.
It should come as no surprise that Shadow Creek, a casino golf course owned by MGM Resorts in Las Vegas, has been voted the best in the US for years. It costs a whopping $1,250 as well.
The Beau Rivage Resort & Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi, is home to MGM's Fallen Oak Golf Course, which comes in second. With its Pete Dye Course in Indiana, French Lick, another commercial casino, is tied for third place. The renowned Old White track at The Greenbrier in West Virginia is associated with French Lick.
At this point, the tribes start to dominate the list of the Top 50 Casino Golf Courses, taking the sixth through ninth spots.
The Yocha Dehe Golf Club, which is owned and run by the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation and is affiliated with the Cache Creek Casino Resort in California, is also tied for third place. Barona Creek Golf Club, located at the Barona Resort & Casino close to San Diego, ranks number six. The resort and golf course are owned by the Barona Band of Mission Indians.
The We-Ko-Pa Casino Resort in Scottsdale and its Saguaro Course at the We-Ko-Pa Golf Club are the sources of number seven. The Bois Forte Band of Chippewa owns The Wilderness at Fortune Bay Resort Casino in Minnesota, which is ranked number eight. And No. 9 is the Oneida Indian Nation-owned Atunyote Golf Course at the Turning Stone Resort Casino in New York.
Leaders in Resort Golf
Tribal nations dominate the remaining top 40 golf courses at casinos, even though they make up half of the top 10. According to a count by Casino.org, tribal golf courses make up 24 of the remaining 40.
At a fraction of the price of playing at an MGM facility, tribal golf courses provide top-notch, championship-caliber courses and memorable golfing experiences (provided you're not a high roller playing $5K a hand at blackjack in exchange for a free round at Shadow Creek).
We-Ko-Pa's Saguaro Course in sunny, balmy Arizona is offering rounds for $170 this weekend, while a round at MGM's Fallen Oaks costs $275 and a round at The Greenbrier's Old White costs $665 for non-hotel guests.
Rates are much lower at the Fantasy Springs Resort Casino's Eagle Falls Golf Course in the Coachella Valley of Southern California.
This weekend's round costs just $125 before 1 pm and includes a cart, range balls, four bottles of water, and a $20 get $20 free slot play coupon. It is owned by the Cabazon Band of Cahuilla Indians and is ranked No. 24 on Golfweek's list. After 1 pm, the greens cost is reduced to $100.
How Rankings Are Determined for Courses
According to Golfweek, hundreds of course raters continuously assess courses and assign rankings based on ten criterion points.
These conditions include the routing of each course, the overall land plan, the greens and surrounding area, the design integrity of the classic courses and the shaping quality of the modern ones, the variety and memorability of the par 3s, par 4s, and par 5s, the management of trees and landscapes, conditioning and ecology, and the "walk in the park test." Determining whether the environment is worthy of four hours of your time is the latter.
The ultimate rating assigned to each course is calculated by averaging those overall values.
