It’s one of golf’s great debates: Where is the best golf in the United States? Like any great debate, there’s subjectivity involved. If you’re talking states, New York and California are the clear leaders. Twenty percent of the nation’s top-200 courses are from either state. What makes it interesting is when you break New York and California down into smaller regions. Isolate courses in Long Island and Westchester County, N.Y., for example, and pit them against courses in a metro area like Philadelphia or Chicago, and now the results get tight.

With March Madness upon us, all the bracket chatter made us want to formulate a definitive ranking of the nation’s best golf regions. Using the scores from our most recent 100 Greatest and Second 100 Greatest rankings, we have determined the Sweet 16 of golf regions. Check out our complete ranking to see where you’ll find the best golf in the U.S.