It's our own score. We build it from published facts and link every source. We don't copy reviews, show star averages or sell rankings.
What goes into the score
| Ingredient | Weight | What it measures |
|---|---|---|
| Recognition | 40% | Where the course places on three major public-course rankings: Golf Digest's America's 100 Greatest Public Courses, Golfweek's Best Courses You Can Play and GOLF's Top 100 Courses You Can Play. A course that's not on a list gets no points for that list. |
| Value | 40% | Quality for the green fee: how the course's peak fee compares with the least expensive course we score. Lower fees score higher. |
| Access | 20% | How easy it is to book as a non-member. Daily-fee and municipal courses score highest. Resorts, courses that require a stay and private clubs that take outside play score a little lower. |
Recognition and value count equally, so the score doesn't simply favor the most expensive courses.
Price tiers
| Tier | Peak green fee |
|---|---|
| $ | under $200 |
| $$ | $200 to $399 |
| $$$ | $400 to $550 |
| $$$$ | over $550 |
Courses that require a stay
Some courses only take resort guests. For those, we add the cheapest required on-site room per golfer per night (two golfers sharing) to the green fee, place the course in the tier that total falls into, and tag it "stay required".
The badge
Each course shows a badge like 99 · $. The number is the share of the other courses in the same price tier that it outscores, from 1 to 99. There is no second national number. A 99 · $ course isn't being compared with a $$$$ course.
City pages
On a city page we compare each course with the other courses in that city and price tier. If a city tier has fewer than five courses, we show the course's place instead of a number, for example "1st of 3 $ courses in Scottsdale".
Earned badges such as "We-Ko-Pa Saguaro · 99 · $$ · data as of Oct 2026" go to at most one course per tier in each city. Nobody can pay for one.
Trip Ease (a separate rating)
For trips, we show a separate Trip Ease rating: drive time to the main airport, drive time to the nearest budget hotel, and the number of restaurants within about 3 miles. Trip Ease is never mixed into the Whacker Score.
What the score is not
- It's not an official ranking.
- We're independent: not affiliated with Golf Digest, Golfweek or GOLF. We don't use their logos.
- We don't call a course "best" or "#1" unless the claim comes with its score, tier and date.
- If Eric has played a course, the page says so with the date, tees and fee he paid.
- Ads, affiliate links and bookings never change a score or a position. No affiliate or booking money links go live without Eric's OK.
Drafted with AI assistance from the sources listed, fact-checked against each source, scores recalculated independently. First-hand notes are Eric's own. Method version 2, 10/26/2026.