Hardest Public Golf Courses in North Dakota

The hardest public golf course in North Dakota is Hawktree Golf Club in Bismarck, with a slope of 140 and a course rating of 74.7 from the Falcon tees (7,085 yards). It is a public course, open to all golfers. Next are Riverwood Golf Course (slope 132) and Prairie West Golf Course (slope 130).

4 hardest public courses in North Dakota, by slope

Every course here has had its public access checked against a named source.

RankCourseCityAccessSlopeCourse ratingTeeYardsAccess checked
1Hawktree Golf ClubBismarckPublic14074.7Falcon7,085Nov 2026 source
2Riverwood Golf CourseBismarckMunicipal13274.8Black7,066Nov 2026 source
3Prairie West Golf CourseMandanMunicipal13072.8Black6,714Nov 2026 source
4Bully Pulpit Golf CourseKilldeerPublic12873.9Black6,873Nov 2026 source

How this list is built

Each course is ranked by the highest slope rating from its men's tees. Women's ratings are used only where a course publishes no men's rating. Only regulation 18-hole courses are included; nine-hole courses are left out.

Only courses whose public access Stymie has checked against the club's own site or another named source are listed, and private clubs are left out. That is why this list differs from the hardest golf courses in North Dakota, which ranks every rated course.

Courses are checked in order from the highest slope down, and the list stops at the first course whose public access has not been checked yet, so nothing here skips over an unchecked course. Courses that were checked and could not be confirmed as open to the public are left out. 71 golf courses in North Dakota have a slope rating on file, and Stymie has checked access for 5 of them so far.

North Dakota public course FAQ

What is the hardest public golf course in North Dakota?

Of the North Dakota courses Stymie has checked for public access, Hawktree Golf Club in Bismarck has the highest slope rating: 140 from the Falcon tees, with a course rating of 74.7. Riverwood Golf Course is next at 132. Courses are checked from the highest slope down, so no unchecked course ranks above the ones listed.

What is the hardest municipal course in North Dakota?

Riverwood Golf Course in Bismarck, with a slope rating of 132 from the Black tees. It ranks No. 2 on this list of checked public courses.

Can anyone play Hawktree Golf Club?

Yes. Hawktree Golf Club is a public course, open to all golfers. Stymie checked its access in Nov 2026 against golfn.com. Tee-time policies change, so confirm with the course before you go.

How is difficulty measured?

By slope rating, which measures how much harder a course plays for a bogey golfer than for a scratch golfer. It runs from 55 to 155, and 113 is standard difficulty. Each course is ranked by the highest slope from its men's tees, and only regulation 18-hole courses are included. Course rating, the score a scratch golfer is expected to shoot, is shown alongside.

More North Dakota golf

Hardest public courses in nearby states

Hardest public golf courses in every state