A new study ranks all 50 states for a golf getaway. Alaska finishes last but not because the golf is bad.
If you’re planning a golf trip, Alaska probably isn’t at the top of your list.
A new study from luggage shipping company My Baggage ranks it dead last. In its Golf Getaway rankings, Alaska scored 37.7 out of 100 behind New Mexico (39.8) and West Virginia (44.0). Florida took first place with a perfect 100 followed by North Carolina (90.1) and California (85.7).
My Baggage compared all 50 states across six factors: course availability, course quality, value for money, playable months, airport accessibility and local prices. Most of the data comes from GolfPass, with climate, airport and price figures from NOAA, the FAA and the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
Why Alaska finished last
Alaska’s problem isn’t the quality of its golf. Its average GolfPass course rating is 4.0 out of 5, matching Florida and California. Its value-for-money rating of 4.2 beats them both. What hurt the scores is how much golf there is and how long you can play it.
- Fewer courses than anywhere else. Alaska has 26 GolfPass-listed courses, the fewest of any state and about 53 times fewer than Florida’s 1,377. The National Golf Foundation lists Alaska as last in the country by course count. Course availability makes up 25 percent of the study’s score.
- The shortest season. The study counts three playable months, based on statewide normal highs between 55°F and 90°F (about 13°C to 32°C). That’s the fewest in the country (Hawaii leads with 12).
- Getting there. Alaska logged 5.1 million airport boardings in 2024, more than 20 other states but a fraction of Florida (108.6 million) or California (113 million).
Alaska scored zero on both course availability and playable months. Those two categories account for 45 percent of the total which is why strong ratings and good value couldn’t save it.
The 10 worst states for a golf getaway
A few of these results are worth a closer look:
- Hawaii has the longest season in the country but ranks 46th. Its 12 playable months are offset by a value rating of 3.8, tied for the lowest in the study, and a local price index of 110.0 (the US average is 100), second-highest after California. It also has only 91 listed courses.
- New Mexico’s issue isn’t the weather. It has nine playable months, but its 3.7 average course rating is the lowest in the study, tied with Texas, and it has only 101 listed courses.
- New England puts three states in the bottom 10: New Hampshire (47th), Connecticut (45th) and Massachusetts (41st). Short seasons and higher prices hurt them.
The best states and one surprise
At the other end, the South and Midwest each place four states in the top 10. The surprise is Vermont which ranks eighth with only 74 courses but has the highest course rating (4.3) and value rating (4.4) of any state. Florida wins on sheer volume; Vermont wins on quality.
My takeaways
Rankings like this are a fun way to start an argument so here’s where I land on a few of them.
Florida deserves No. 1. I lived there for more than a decade and there’s really no way around it. It’s a great spot for golf and there’s no shortage of places to play.
Colorado deserves better than 26th. I’ve played a lot of golf in Colorado and, in my book, it should absolutely be a top golf destination. The study’s seven-month season is what holds it back but that’s a statewide temperature average that includes the mountains. In the higher-elevation areas, the thinner air adds extra distance off the tee which makes it a really good trip for the ego.
Georgia’s ranking comes with a catch. The study has Georgia fourth, thanks to an 11-month season and Atlanta’s busy airport. But I live here and I don’t think course availability is great. Georgia’s 459 listed courses rank 13th by count and, measured per resident, the state is among the 10 lowest in the country. It also varies a lot depending on where you are in the state which a statewide ranking can’t show.
New Mexico surprised me. I’ve never played golf there and it doesn’t look like I’ll be planning a trip any time soon but I’d always thought of it as a sneaky hub for great golf. The study says otherwise. The weather isn’t the problem so the ranking comes down to course ratings and a smaller course count.
Iowa and Kansas beating Arizona also surprised me. I’ve played a lot of golf in Arizona but the heat makes the season tough so I understand that part. Arizona came in 23rd behind Iowa (7th) and Kansas (9th).
What the ranking does and doesn’t tell you
This is a ranking of states, not destinations, and it favors places with lots of courses, long seasons and big airports. Statewide averages also don’t reflect conditions at any one resort or region.
My Baggage CEO Paul Stewart says a low ranking doesn’t rule a state out. “A lower-ranking state can still make a great golf break” although it helps to plan around a shorter season or fewer courses.
This is one way to rank the best states for golf travel. What do you think? Does Alaska at the bottom make sense? Did any state’s ranking surprise you? And what are your top five states for a golf getaway? Let us know in the comments.
Source: My Baggage Golf Getaway study. Data from GolfPass, US Census Bureau, NOAA, FAA and the Bureau of Economic Analysis, accessed September 2026. National Golf Foundation figure via GCSAA.
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