Delaware's five best golf courses are Wilmington Country Club (South Course), Bidermann Golf Club, Heritage Shores Golf Club, Bayside Resort Golf Club, and Bear Trap Dunes Golf Club—ranging from championship layouts that have hosted PGA Tour events to top-ranked public facilities along the coast.
Keep reading to discover what makes each course special, from their unique designs and standout holes to the experiences they offer golfers of every skill level.
Delaware's Premier Golf Destinations
Don't let Delaware's size fool you—the First State delivers remarkable variety in golf experiences.
You'll find everything from ultra-private championship layouts with fewer than 300 members to top-ranked public facilities that welcome daily play.
The state earned national attention in 2022 when it hosted its first-ever PGA Tour event, drawing over 126,000 spectators and proving Delaware belongs in conversations about serious golf destinations.
The geography tells two distinct stories:
Northern Delaware – Rolling Brandywine Valley terrain shapes courses with elevation changes, tree-lined fairways, and classic parkland aesthetics
Southern Delaware – Coastal links-style designs feature open meadows, natural sand dunes, marshland routing, and water hazards that create dramatic seaside golf
Whether you're chasing an exclusive private club experience or planning a resort-style golf vacation, Delaware accommodates both.
The five courses featured here earned their spots through consistent recognition from Golf Digest, Golfweek, and GolfPass's Golfers' Choice rankings.
Together, they represent the pinnacle of Delaware golf across every category—from championship pedigree and architectural significance to conditioning, guest experience, and pure playability.
Wilmington Country Club (South Course)
Wilmington Country Club's South Course holds Delaware's top ranking for good reason—it's where legendary architect Robert Trent Jones Sr. crafted a championship layout in 1959 that stretches beyond 7,500 yards from the tips and plays to par 71.
The club itself dates back to 1901, but relocated to its current site in the 1950s specifically to accommodate Jones's ambitious design vision.
The course made history in 2022 when it hosted the BMW Championship, marking Delaware's first-ever PGA Tour event. Patrick Cantlay claimed victory in front of 126,000+ spectators, and the national exposure validated what local golfers already knew—this course can challenge the world's best.
Andrew Green has since modernized the layout to meet contemporary championship standards while respecting Jones's strategic design philosophy.
What makes the South Course formidable:
The rolling Brandywine Valley terrain provides natural movement throughout the round.
Tight fairway landing areas demand accuracy off the tee, while high flash-faced bunkers guard approaches.
Large, multi-tiered greens serve as the ultimate test—miss in the wrong spot and you're facing treacherous two-putts or worse.
Jones balanced the routing with thoughtful variety.
The strategic short par-4 11th hole rewards smart positioning over raw power, while the demanding long par-4 5th asks you to execute under pressure.
The course also features a strong collection of par-3s that require precision with every club in your bag, ensuring no aspect of your game gets a free pass.
Long before its PGA Tour debut, Wilmington Country Club established itself as a proving ground for elite amateur talent.
The course has hosted six USGA championships, including the 1971 U.S. Amateur, building a storied championship pedigree that continues today.
This remains a private club experience, but its influence on Delaware golf—and now its place in professional golf history—extends far beyond its membership.
Bidermann Golf Club
Often called “the most exclusive club you've never heard of,” Bidermann Golf Club ranks #2 in Delaware according to Golf Digest while maintaining near-total anonymity outside golf's innermost circles.
This level of privacy is intentional—the club exists on Henry Francis du Pont's former private estate adjacent to the famous Winterthur Museum, where golf has been played since the 1920s.
The course began as a 9-hole layout designed by Devereux Emmet, but its transformation came in 1965 when Dick Wilson expanded it to 18 holes across 300 acres.
Wilson, an understudy of legendary architect Bill Flynn and one of the premier post-World War II designers, created a traditional parkland course that measures 6,808 yards from the back tees and plays to par 72 with a slope rating of 133.
Andrew Green handled a sensitive renovation in 2014, updating infrastructure while preserving Wilson's strategic design intent.
The numbers tell the exclusivity story:
Fewer than 300 members share access to the course, resulting in only 8,000 rounds played annually.
For context, many public courses see that volume in a single month during peak season.
This scarcity of play keeps conditions pristine and creates the most intimate golf experience Delaware offers.
Wilson's design philosophy mirrors Donald Ross—practical on the surface but deeply strategic underneath.
Native grasslands separate holes throughout the routing, while subtle elevation changes create interest without theatrics.
The greens serve as the primary defense, and the course reveals multiple challenge layers that only become apparent over repeated plays.
You won't fully understand Bidermann in one round.
The club famously maintains just one rule: “the ball must be lifted from any flower bed and dropped no nearer the hole without penalty.”
No tee times are required.
Minimal signage appears anywhere on the property.
Everything about Bidermann speaks to understated elegance—the kind of place where golf tradition runs so deep it doesn't need to announce itself.
Heritage Shores Golf Club
Heritage Shores Golf Club earned the title of #1 Public Golf Course in Delaware according to GolfPass's Golfers' Choice 2025 rankings, representing the finest publicly accessible golf the state offers.
Renowned architect Arthur Hills designed this links-style layout, which opened in 2007 within a 55+ active adult community in Bridgeville developed by Brookfield Residential.
The course stretches just over 7,000 yards from the championship tees and plays to par 72.
Water defines the Heritage Shores experience—hazards appear on almost every hole, creating both visual drama and strategic challenge throughout the round.
The signature moment comes at the closing hole, a 530-yard par-5 where a lake runs along the left side for the final half of the hole.
Long hitters face a tempting risk-reward decision: lay up safely or attempt to reach the green in two shots over water.
Hills incorporated five tee boxes that accommodate golfers of all skill levels while maintaining championship integrity.
You're never playing a watered-down version of the course—just one that matches your abilities.
This thoughtful design philosophy extends to the practice facilities, which rank among Southern Delaware's finest.
The two-acre all-grass driving range lets you work on your game properly, complemented by multiple putting greens and dedicated short game areas where you can dial in your wedges and touch around the greens.
Recent improvements have elevated Heritage Shores:
KemperSports took over management in 2024, bringing enhanced conditioning and programming to an already strong foundation.
The course has consistently ranked in the top 10 of Delaware's public courses for the past five years, but the 2025 #1 ranking represents the culmination of steady improvements across both course conditions and guest experience.
When you combine Hills's thoughtful routing with meticulous maintenance and top-tier service, you get Delaware's best public golf—and it's not particularly close.
Bayside Resort Golf Club
Bayside Resort Golf Club holds the distinction of being Delaware's first Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course.
Located in Selbyville, just 4.5 miles from Fenwick Island beach, this semi-private facility opened in the late 2000s and has been voted the #1 public course in Delaware by Golfweek Magazine for 14 consecutive years.
That kind of sustained excellence speaks volumes.
The course stretches to 7,545 yards from the championship tees, showcasing Nicklaus's design versatility in ways that set it apart from typical single-character layouts.
The Golden Bear himself explained: “Golfers at Bayside enjoy three distinctly different golf experiences all in one golf course.
Some holes are richly tree-lined, others wind through marshland and still others boast wide-open fairways.”
This variety creates uniquely engaging golf rarely found on a single property.
The routing maximizes coastal drama and strategic interest:
Stunning holes along the Assawoman Bay coastline alternate with forest-lined corridors and open meadowland.
Strategically placed pot bunkers defend elevated greens, many surrounded by tightly mown chipping areas that demand precision around the greens.
Water hazards come into play on more than half the holes, forcing you to think through club selection and shot shape rather than just grip it and rip it.
The par-3 13th at 158 yards stands out as particularly memorable.
You're looking at a water carry to a small green framed by soaring pines and deep bunkers—the kind of hole that stays with you long after the round ends.
Miss your target and you're scrambling for bogey.
The 7,300-square-foot clubhouse opened in 2010 and serves as more than just a golf facility.
The Cove Bar & Grill, outdoor deck, and fire pit create a gathering spot for golfers and community residents alike.
When you combine championship golf with resort-quality amenities just minutes from the beach, you understand why Bayside has maintained its #1 ranking for over a decade.
Bear Trap Dunes Golf Club
Bear Trap Dunes Golf Club offers one of the most unique golf experiences on the Eastern Shore with 27 holes of championship golf just three miles west of Bethany Beach in Ocean View.
Designed by Rick Jacobson, a former associate of Jack Nicklaus, the course has earned a 4-star rating from Golf Digest's Best Places to Play and consistently ranks among Delaware's top five public courses.
The three nine-hole layouts—Grizzly, Kodiak, and Black Bear—can be combined in various configurations to create different 18-hole experiences.
This flexibility means you can play the course multiple times and face distinct challenges each round, adding replay value that standard 18-hole designs can't match.
Jacobson created a distinctive coastal aesthetic with winding bentgrass fairways lined by native wetland grasses that drift into stunning natural sand dunes.
The strategic use of sand dunes, grassy hollows, bunkers, and water hazards requires you to think your way through each hole rather than simply overpower it.
Four strategically placed tee sets accommodate golfers of all skill levels, while impeccably groomed oversized greens provide multiple pin positions that keep the course fresh throughout the season.
Understanding the visual challenge:
The apparent narrowness and constantly bending fairways present the course's primary challenge, though here's the secret—the visual intimidation often exceeds the actual difficulty for players who commit to their lines.
Trust your shot shape and the fairways open up more than they initially appear.
Bear Trap Dunes sits within a 700-home community managed by Carl M. Freeman Golf, offering complete resort amenities including indoor/outdoor pools, fitness facilities, tennis courts, and restaurant and banquet facilities.
The complimentary beach shuttle service connects you to Bethany Beach in minutes, combining championship golf with vacation-home convenience.
This blend of serious golf and resort lifestyle has made it a favorite among both locals looking for variety and visiting golfers planning extended coastal stays.
Conclusion
Delaware punches well above its weight in golf quality, offering everything from PGA Tour-tested championship layouts to consistently top-ranked public courses along the coast.
Whether you're seeking the exclusivity of Bidermann, the championship pedigree of Wilmington Country Club, or the accessible excellence of Heritage Shores and Bayside, these five courses deliver world-class golf experiences.
Pick the one that matches your access level and playing style, then discover why Delaware golf deserves more attention than it typically receives.
