Southern Hills Country Club holds the title of Tulsa's best golf course, ranked No. 1 in Oklahoma and No. 28 nationally, but it's private and invite-only, so the top course you can actually book is Cherokee Hills Golf Club at Hard Rock Tulsa.
Keep reading for a closer look at all five of the area's best courses, along with the access details and pricing you need to plan your round.
Southern Hills Country Club (Tulsa) — The State's No. 1 Course
You'll find Southern Hills at 2636 E. 61st St. in Tulsa, but getting on the course requires an invitation — it's a private, members-only club with no public tee times available.
That exclusivity hasn't dented its reputation: Golf Digest has ranked it the best course in Oklahoma every year since 1983, and it currently sits at No. 28 nationally on the 2025-'26 America's 100 Greatest Courses list.
The club actually offers 27 holes split across two distinct designs. The championship Front and Back Nine, built by Perry Maxwell in 1936, went through a historic restoration by Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner in 2019.
A separate West Nine, designed by Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore, opened in 1992 and gives members a shorter, more casual alternative.
On the championship course, you're looking at a par 71 that stretches to 7,481 yards from the tips, with a course rating of 78.2 and a slope of 142 — numbers that put it among the more demanding tracks in the country. The West Nine plays to a par 35 and tops out at 3,301 yards.
What sets Southern Hills apart isn't just difficulty, though. The par-4 12th, at roughly 458 yards, has drawn praise from Arnold Palmer and Ben Hogan as one of the best par 4s in America. Maxwell's design fingerprints show up throughout the course in the form of:
- Saucer-shaped bunkers that catch anything slightly off-line
- Rolling “Maxwell Rolls” greens that demand precise approach shots
- A creek weaving through the front nine
- Downtown Tulsa skyline views from the opening hole
Members also get access to a genuinely comprehensive amenities package — a pool, tennis courts, an indoor practice facility, multiple putting and chipping greens, practice bunkers, and caddie service for those who want the full traditional experience.
But it's the tournament history that really separates Southern Hills from every other course in this list. The club has hosted eight men's majors: three U.S. Opens (1958, 1977, 2001) and five PGA Championships (1970, 1982, 1994, 2007, 2022).
Add in the 2021 Senior PGA Championship and the 2024 U.S. Women's Amateur, and you're looking at one of the most decorated championship venues in the country.
The PGA of America confirmed in May 2025 that Southern Hills will host the 114th PGA Championship in May 2032 — making it the first course ever to host the event six times.
The Patriot Golf Club (Owasso) — Dramatic Terrain with a Mission
Located at 5790 N. Patriot Dr. in Owasso, The Patriot is a private club open to members and their guests only — reach out through patriotgolfclub.com if you're hoping to arrange access.
Golf Digest ranks it the No. 4 course in Oklahoma for 2025-'26, a testament to both its design pedigree and its terrain.
Robert Trent Jones II led the design, working alongside Bruce Charlton and Jay Blasi to open the course in 2010 as part of the Stone Canyon development northeast of Tulsa.
The result plays to a par 72 across 7,158 yards from the championship tees, with a course rating around 73.4 and a slope of 135 — though some sources put the tips as high as 142-144. Bentgrass greens and Meyer zoysia fairways round out the playing surface.
What makes The Patriot memorable is its land. The site moves through four distinct landforms — limestone canyon, meadow, prairie, and woodlands — with elevation changes of up to 150 feet from top to bottom.
That drama starts immediately: the opening par-5 1st tees off from a launchpad roughly 140 feet above the fairway, making it one of the more talked-about starting holes in the state.
Golfers also encounter a quirk not found on most courses — an alternating par-3 6A and 6B that functions as an unofficial “19th hole.” Every hole on the course carries the name of a famous American patriot, tying the design back to the club's broader identity.
That identity runs deeper than golf. The Patriot is home to the Folds of Honor Foundation, founded by PGA professional and F-16 pilot Lt. Col. Dan Rooney to fund scholarships for the families of fallen and disabled service members. The club honors that mission daily, playing “Taps” every afternoon at 1 p.m.
On the competitive side, The Patriot hosts the Korn Ferry Tour's Compliance Solutions Championship, a Korn Ferry Tour Finals event that's been held there since 2025.
The 2025 edition, played October 2-5, saw Adrien Dumont de Chassart win by seven strokes at 33-under 251 — the lowest 72-hole score relative to par in Korn Ferry Tour history.
If your visit happens to line up with early October, you'll want to plan around tournament week rather than expect casual access.
The Golf Club of Oklahoma (Broken Arrow) — Tom Fazio's Lakeside Finish
Tucked at 20400 E. 141st St. in Broken Arrow, The Golf Club of Oklahoma is a private course, so access runs through club membership rather than public booking. Golf Digest has it ranked No. 8 in Oklahoma for 2025-'26, an improvement from its previous No. 10 spot.
Tom Fazio designed the course across 525 wooded acres, giving golfers five different sets of tees to choose from depending on how much challenge they want.
From the championship Black tees, the course plays to a par 72 across 7,183 yards. Rating and slope figures shift depending on the source — GolfPass lists the tips at 76.6/146, Visit Tulsa puts them at 75.3/141, and GolfLink has them lower still at 74.8/134 — so expect some variation based on which tee set and data source you're comparing.
The course builds toward its best golf rather than front-loading it. The final four holes wrap around Lake Kadashan, and that stretch is where The Golf Club of Oklahoma earns its reputation:
- The par-3 15th (about 177 yards) features an unusually large, tiered green that punishes anything but a precise approach
- The downhill par-3 17th (about 180 yards) plays to a peninsula green, water in front and behind
- The par-5 18th (about 545 yards) hugs the lake the entire way to the clubhouse
Reviewers consistently single out the course's par 3s as some of the strongest in the region, and the closing stretch is often cited as the reason to play here over other private clubs in the area.
Beyond golf, the club doubles as a wedding and event venue, so you'll find infrastructure built for more than just tee times — a pro shop, restaurant, and full practice facilities support both golfers and event guests.
Competitively, the course has tournament history from the early '90s: it hosted the Ben Hogan Tour's Tulsa Open in both 1991 and 1992, with Frank Conner winning in a playoff over Tom Lehman the first year and Steve Lowery taking the title the next.
Cedar Ridge Country Club (Broken Arrow) — A Toughened Classic
Cedar Ridge sits at 10302 S. Garnett Rd. in Broken Arrow, and like the other elite courses on this list, it's private.
Golf Digest ranks it No. 9 in Oklahoma for 2025-'26, a slight dip from its previous No. 7 position, though its historical credentials run deep — Golf Digest notes the club was a member of America's 100 Greatest Courses from 1977 until 1985.
Joe Finger designed the original course, which opened in 1969. It stayed largely true to that layout for decades until Tripp Davis led a restoration in 2016-2017, restyling the bunkers, rebuilding tees and greens, and clearing trees to open up sightlines and playing corridors.
The course plays to a par 71, stretching to somewhere between 7,290 and 7,322 yards depending on the source, with a course rating in the 76.7-77.5 range and a slope between 138 and 142. Greens are Cato-Crenshaw bentgrass, and fairways run Bermuda.
A creek threads through the property, but it's the closing stretch that defines Cedar Ridge's reputation as one of the tougher tests in the state.
The finish features back-to-back par 4s measuring roughly 497 and 495 yards — a brutal one-two punch for golfers already fatigued after 16 holes. Earlier in the round, the par-4 3rd (379 yards) stands out as both the signature hole and the course's No. 1 handicap hole.
Cedar Ridge's tournament résumé is arguably the most varied of any course in the Tulsa area:
- Hosted the 1983 U.S. Women's Open, won by Jan Stephenson
- Held an LPGA Tour event from 2004 through 2009, with winners including Annika Sorenstam (twice), Cristie Kerr, and Paula Creamer
- Hosted a LIV Golf League event May 12-14, 2023, which the tour said drew its largest crowd to that point
That mix of major championship history, LPGA tenure, and a modern LIV stop makes Cedar Ridge a course with something to prove to golfers at every level — and its 2016-2017 restoration suggests the club is actively working to reclaim its earlier standing among the nation's elite.
Cherokee Hills Golf Club at Hard Rock Tulsa (Catoosa) — Best Course You Can Actually Book
If the first four courses on this list are out of reach without a member connection, Cherokee Hills is where you should actually be booking your tee time.
Sitting adjacent to the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa off I-44 and Route 66 in Catoosa, it's about 20 minutes from downtown Tulsa and open to anyone — book online or by phone, no invitation required.
That accessibility doesn't come at the cost of quality. Golfweek's Best 2025 rankings place Cherokee Hills at No. 4 among Oklahoma's public-access courses, and it's the only Tulsa-metro course to crack that state's top five. Golf Digest backs that up with a 3.4-star public rating.
The course has serious design roots. Perry Maxwell — the same architect behind Southern Hills — laid out the original course in 1924. Tripp Davis handled a full redesign in 2004, updating the layout while preserving Maxwell's old-school character.
Depending on which tees you play, you're looking at a par 70 that runs anywhere from 6,635 to 6,855 yards, with a course rating between 72.7 and 73.8 and a slope of 126 to 129.
Bentgrass greens round out the playing surface. Those numbers put it well below the length and difficulty of the private clubs on this list, but the terrain still demands attention: rolling elevation changes, natural rock outcroppings, and Maxwell's characteristically tricky greens all conspire to make it play longer and tougher than the scorecard suggests.
Pricing is straightforward and public:
- Roughly $50 on weekdays, $60 on weekends
- $40 for seniors (55+) any day
- $30 for twilight rounds after 5:30 p.m., with cart and range balls included
- Some sources list a top rate as high as $70 for 18 holes
Beyond the round itself, Cherokee Hills benefits from its location next to a full resort. The Champions Grill handles dining, and golfers staying at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino get easy access to a pool, fitness center, and lodging — making a stay-and-play trip simple to put together without needing to coordinate multiple bookings across town. For visiting golfers who want the best game they can actually play, Cherokee Hills is the clear answer.
Where to Play If You Want Value or Can't Get Private Access
Not every trip to Tulsa calls for a $50-plus round, and not every golfer has a member connection lined up. That's where the city's municipal courses come in — solid, well-maintained golf at a fraction of the cost of the private clubs or even Cherokee Hills.
LaFortune Park Golf Course, at 5501 S. Yale Ave. in Tulsa, is the more central option. It offers an 18-hole championship layout alongside a separate 18-hole lighted par-3 course and a lighted driving range, making it a good pick if you want to practice after dark or bring along a less experienced golfer.
Rates run roughly $29-$45 on weekdays and $36-$53 on weekends, with the exact price depending on whether you're walking or riding. Discounts are available for seniors, twilight play, juniors, and veterans/first responders.
Page Belcher Golf Course, located at 6666 S. Union Ave., offers even more golf for less money — 36 holes split across two courses, Olde Page and Stone Creek.
Green fees run about $23 on weekdays and $28 on weekends, cart included, and the facility operates cashless. Olde Page carries real pedigree, too, having hosted the 1988 U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links. Both LaFortune Park and Page Belcher fall under the city's Tulsa Golf system, alongside Mohawk Park and Meadowbrook.
Booking and planning tips
A few practical notes will save you a wasted trip:
- Book through the courses' official sites (tulsagolf.org, lafortuneparkgolf.com, hardrockcasinotulsa.com) or through GolfNow/GolfPass for public courses.
- Call ahead to confirm current pricing, since rates shift seasonally.
- Ask about aeration schedules — greens maintenance can affect playability on short notice.
- Check the dress code before you go; most courses require collared shirts and prohibit denim or cut-offs.
Matching the course to your situation
- If you have a member connection, prioritize Southern Hills first, then The Patriot, The Golf Club of Oklahoma, or Cedar Ridge, arranged well in advance through your host.
- If you're booking on your own with no private access, Cherokee Hills at Hard Rock Tulsa is your best bet, ideally on a weekday for the lower rate.
- If value or multiple rounds matter most, LaFortune Park and Page Belcher's Olde Page deliver quality golf at some of the most affordable prices in the country relative to course quality.
One more thing worth checking before you book: tournament schedules. If your trip lands during a scheduled event — the Korn Ferry Tour's Compliance Solutions Championship at The Patriot in early October, for example — plan around that week, since access for casual play won't be available.
Conclusion
Tulsa's golf scene runs from Southern Hills, a major-championship venue ranked the best in Oklahoma, down to affordable municipal rounds at LaFortune Park and Page Belcher.
Most visitors will get the best return on Cherokee Hills at Hard Rock Tulsa, the top public-access course in the metro with easy online booking.
Whichever course fits your access and budget, calling ahead to confirm rates and tee times will make sure your round goes as planned.
