The hardest golf courses in Winston-Salem, North Carolina
The hardest 18-hole golf courses within about 25 miles of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, ranked by USGA slope rating from each course's longest men's tees, with course rating as the tiebreaker. 12 courses have complete, verified tee data.
Also covers Clemmons, High Point, Advance and Lexington.
The Cardinal
Greensboro, NC, USASlope rating 142, 74.7 course rating, Gold tees, 6,953 yds
PrivatePete Dye
- 5.0Conditions
- 2.5Layout
- 3.5Scenery
- NRFacilities
- Challenging
- Driving range
- Hidden gem
Oak Valley Golf Club
Advance, NC, USASlope rating 142, 74.1 course rating, Black tees, 7,033 yds
PublicArnold Palmer & Ed Seay
- 4.0Conditions
- 4.0Layout
- 3.0Value
- 4.0Scenery
- 3.0Facilities
Greensboro Country Club - Carlson Farm Course
Greensboro, NC, USASlope rating 140, 75.4 course rating, Orange tees, 7,296 yds
PrivateDonald Steel & Ellis Maples
- 4.0Conditions
- NRLayout
- NRScenery
- NRFacilities
- Driving range
- Restaurant
- Bar
Championship
Tanglewood Park Golf Club
Clemmons, NC, USASlope rating 140, 74.6 course rating, Gold tees, 7,101 yds
PublicRobert Trent Jones Sr. & MacCurrach Golf
- 3.5Conditions
- 4.0Layout
- 4.0Value
- 3.2Scenery
- 3.4Facilities
Course was in decent shape, terrific layout sold greens, inexpensive and overall a lot of fun!
Written by
@money50
Salem Glen Country Club
Clemmons, NC, USASlope rating 138, 73.1 course rating, Gold tees, 6,714 yds
PublicGlen Day & Jack Nicklaus
- 3.0Conditions
- 3.0Layout
- 4.0Value
- 2.0Scenery
- 2.7Facilities
Tee to Green was very good shape, especially fairways. Greens were extremely quick.
Written by
@FringeGuy
- Driving range
- Grass range
- Fast greens
Sapona Country Club
Lexington, NC, USA
Slope rating 138, 72.4 course rating, Blue tees, 6,620 yds
(East) Grandover Resort & Conference Center
Greensboro, NC, USA
Slope rating 137, 74.5 course rating, Gold tees, 7,100 yds
Forsyth Country Club
Winston-Salem, NC, USA
Slope rating 136, 72.0 course rating, Red tees, 6,790 yds
Oak Hollow Golf Course
High Point, NC, USA
Slope rating 133, 71.3 course rating, Blue tees, 6,564 yds
Winston Lake Golf Course
Winston-Salem, NC, USA
Slope rating 133, 70.6 course rating, Back tees, 6,263 yds
(Old North State) Old Town Club
Winston-Salem, NC, USA
Slope rating 132, 73.5 course rating, Black tees, 6,833 yds
Reynolds Park Golf Course
Winston-Salem, NC, USA
Slope rating 123, 69.8 course rating, Blue tees, 6,534 yds
How we rank
This ranking uses published scorecard data from each course’s longest men’s tees, the same tee set for every course. Only 18-hole courses with a yardage for every hole, a total that matches the hole-by-hole sum, and a par between 54 and 80 are included, and the tees must carry a single slope rating (55–155) and course rating. Courses whose scorecard duplicates another course’s are left out until the data is fixed. Courses are ordered by slope rating, then course rating, then Course Vaults score. Only open courses with a published Course Vaults score (at least 5 explicit ratings) are eligible, and a page is published only when at least 5 courses qualify. City pages include courses within about 25 miles of Winston-Salem, so nearby suburbs can appear. Rankings refresh about hourly.
FAQ
The Cardinal is #1 on Course Vaults in and around Winston-Salem, North Carolina at Slope 142 (74.7 course rating · Gold tees · 6,953 yds). 12 courses qualify for this list.
This ranking uses published scorecard data from each course’s longest men’s tees, the same tee set for every course. Only 18-hole courses with a yardage for every hole, a total that matches the hole-by-hole sum, and a par between 54 and 80 are included, and the tees must carry a single slope rating (55–155) and course rating. Courses whose scorecard duplicates another course’s are left out until the data is fixed. Courses are ordered by slope rating, then course rating, then Course Vaults score. Only open courses with a published Course Vaults score (at least 5 explicit ratings) are eligible, and a page is published only when at least 5 courses qualify. City pages include courses within about 25 miles of Winston-Salem, so nearby suburbs can appear. Rankings refresh about hourly.
Slope rating is the USGA measure of how much harder a course plays for a bogey golfer than for a scratch golfer, from 55 to 155 (113 is average). Course rating is the expected score for a scratch golfer from the same tees.
Yes. It includes qualifying courses within about 25 miles of Winston-Salem, not only courses whose address is in the city.
This page was last generated Nov 12, 2026, 4:04 AM EST. Scores and eligibility are recomputed about every hour.
