Hidden Gems: Best Golf in North Dakota

I’m going to tell you something that most golfers won’t believe: North Dakota has genuinely great golf. I grew up there. I learned to play on small-town courses with sand greens and rattlesnakes in the rough, and I spent my summers playing every course I could get to across the state. When I tell people from the coasts that North Dakota has courses worth traveling for, they look at me like I just told them I saw a unicorn at the turn.

But I’m serious. And by the time you finish reading this, you might just add ND to your golf travel list.

The Headliner: Bully Pulpit Golf Course — Medora

Let’s start with the big one. Bully Pulpit, tucked into the Badlands of western North Dakota just outside the Theodore Roosevelt National Park, is one of the most unique golf experiences in the entire country. I’m not exaggerating.

The front nine plays through a river valley — pleasant, tree-lined, fairly conventional. Nice enough. Then you make the turn, and everything changes. The back nine climbs up into the Badlands buttes, with holes carved through layered rock formations, dramatic elevation changes, and views that stretch to the horizon in every direction. The 14th hole, a par 3 that drops nearly 200 feet from tee to green with the painted Badlands canyons as your backdrop, is one of the most photographed holes in the Midwest. Standing on that tee box, wind whipping across the butte, the Little Missouri River snaking through the valley below — it doesn’t feel like North Dakota. It feels like golf on Mars.

Green fee is around $225 (includes cart and range balls), which sounds steep for North Dakota but is genuinely worth it for what you get. Pair it with a steak at the Maltese Burger in Medora and the outdoor Medora Musical, and you’ve got yourself one of the best days in American golf.

Green Fee: ~$225 (cart & range included) | Don’t miss: Holes 13-16, the Badlands stretch

Hawktree Golf Club — Bismarck

Hawktree is probably the best “traditional” course in the state. Jim Engh designed it on rolling prairie terrain just outside Bismarck, and it’s a genuine test of golf. The routing uses the natural elevation changes beautifully — it doesn’t feel manufactured or forced. The greens are slick and undulating, the bunkering is strategic, and the wind… oh, the North Dakota wind. If it’s blowing (and it’s always blowing), Hawktree will chew you up.

I’ve played Hawktree in dead calm and in 30 mph wind, and they feel like two completely different courses. In the wind, club selection becomes pure guesswork. I once hit a 6-iron 210 yards downwind on the 5th hole and then couldn’t reach the next par 3 with a 4-iron into the breeze. That’s North Dakota golf, and honestly, it makes you a better player.

Green Fee: ~$55-$80 | Best holes: 5, 11, 16

The Links of North Dakota — Ray

Here’s one most people haven’t heard of, even within the state. The Links of North Dakota, up near Williston in oil country, is a true links-style course designed by Stephen Kay. No trees. Fescue everywhere. Firm, fast fairways. And wind that makes Hawktree feel calm.

This course was built during the Bakken oil boom and it’s legitimately one of the best links courses in the interior United States. The layout is creative, the conditions are surprisingly excellent for how remote it is, and on a summer evening with the sun setting over the prairie, it’s genuinely beautiful. Getting there is the challenge — Ray, North Dakota is not on the way to anything — but if you make the trip, you’ll be rewarded.

Green Fee: ~$55-$75 | Pro tip: Call ahead, hours can be limited

Minot Country Club — Minot

I know, I know — it’s a private club in a list mostly aimed at travelers. But Minot CC deserves mention because it’s one of the oldest and best-maintained courses in the state. If you have any connection to Minot (military families, this is your course near the air base), it’s a wonderful track with mature trees, well-designed greens, and the kind of classic layout that rewards precision over power.

Riverwood Golf Course — Bismarck

Riverwood is the best muni in the state, and it’s not particularly close. Winding through the cottonwood-lined Missouri River bottomlands, this course is lush, scenic, and a great value. It’s also surprisingly challenging — the river comes into play on several holes, the trees frame tight fairways, and the greens are better than you’d expect from a municipal course. This is where I’d send someone who wants to play good golf in Bismarck without paying Hawktree prices.

Green Fee: ~$35-$50

Prairie West Golf Course — Mandan

Right across the river from Bismarck, Prairie West is another solid option. The layout mixes open prairie holes with some tree-lined stretches along the Heart River. It’s well-maintained, affordable, and a fun course that doesn’t beat you up. Good for a casual round when you want to enjoy the day.

Green Fee: ~$35-$50

The Rose Creek Golf Course — Fargo

Fargo’s best public course sits on the south side of town, and it’s a well-designed track with water features, mature landscaping, and greens that are among the best in the eastern part of the state. If you’re passing through Fargo (and let’s be honest, Fargo is where most people enter North Dakota), Rose Creek is worth a stop.

Green Fee: ~$40-$55

Why North Dakota Golf Is Special

Here’s what I love about golfing in North Dakota, and it’s something you can’t get in most places: space. Courses aren’t crammed next to highways or housing developments. You’re playing in open prairie, Badlands buttes, river valleys — places where the sky is enormous and the nearest building might be a grain elevator three miles away. There’s a freedom to it that’s hard to describe.

The season is short — late April to early October if you’re lucky — and the wind is relentless. But those conditions breed tough golfers and creative shotmaking. You learn to flight the ball, play knockdowns, use the terrain. It’s honest golf on honest land.

And here’s the best part: you’ll almost never wait on a tee. Pace of play in North Dakota is fast because the courses aren’t crowded. A round at Bully Pulpit on a weekday might take 3.5 hours. Try getting that at any “top courses” list darling anywhere else.

The North Dakota Golf Trip

If I were planning a North Dakota golf trip for someone who’d never been, here’s what I’d do:

• Day 1: Fly into Bismarck. Play Hawktree in the afternoon.
• Day 2: Morning round at Riverwood. Drive west to Medora (3 hours). Evening Medora Musical.
• Day 3: Play Bully Pulpit. Take your time. Soak it in. Drive to Theodore Roosevelt National Park after for the scenic loop.
• Day 4: Drive back to Bismarck. Play Prairie West if you have time before your flight.

Total golf cost: roughly $350-$450 (Bully Pulpit is the splurge at $225, but the Bismarck courses are very affordable). Total trip cost including flights, hotel, rental car, and food: maybe $1,000-$1,200. And you’ll have played one of the most unique courses in America (Bully Pulpit) and some seriously underrated golf.

North Dakota won’t ever be on the cover of Golf Digest’s travel issue. And honestly, that’s fine by me. More tee times for the rest of us.