Golf Digest ranked the best states for public golf and put Wisconsin at No. 1.

Wisconsinites probably know that their state has some gems when it comes to public golf courses. If the rest of the country didn't know that already, it might now.

Golf Digest ranked the best states for public golf and gave Wisconsin the No. 1 ranking. The ranking is helped along by the Straits Course of Whistling Straits, which was ranked fourth among America's 100 greatest public courses, not to mention No. 10 Erin Hills, No. 17 Sand Valley Course (at Sand Valley Golf Resort) and seven other courses in the top 100.

The ranking nudged Wisconsin just ahead of California and Michigan, which tied for second.

"Wisconsin — named here as the best state for public golf — prioritize excellent public-access courses but lack as many elite private clubs of many other states," Drew Powell wrote for Golf Digest. "In taking these two rankings together, California comes out as the state with the best combination of private and public golf, ranking near the top on both lists."

But in strictly public courses, Wisconsin is tops.

Others in the top 100 were the River course at Blackwolf Run (No. 18), Sand Valley's Mammoth Dunes course (26), Sentryworld (52), the Irish Course at Whistling Straits (56), the Links course at Lawsonia (62), the Meadow Valleys course at Blackwolf Run (74) and The Bull at Pinehurst Farms (88).

On the Straits Course, Golf Digest wrote, "Pete Dye transformed a dead flat abandoned army air base along a two-mile stretch of Lake Michigan into an imitation Ballybunion at Whistling Straits, peppering his rugged fairways and windswept greens with 1,012 (at last count) bunkers. There are no rakes at Whistling Straits, in keeping with the notion that this is a transplanted Irish links. It has too much rub-of-the-green for the comfort levels of many tour pros, which is what makes it a stern test for top events, such as three PGA Championships, the 2007 U.S. Senior Open and 2021 Ryder Cup."

On Erin Hills: "Despite the rumor, Erin Hills wasn’t designed specifically to host a U.S. Open. Its original concept was to be a simple, affordable, lay-of-the-land layout, to prove Mother Nature is indeed the best golf architect. The concept changed — some greens moved, one blind par 3 eliminated — as the quest for a U.S. Open grew. That dream came true: after trial runs hosting the 2008 U.S. Women’s Public Links and the 2011 U.S. Amateur, Erin Hills hosted the U.S. Open in 2017, the first time the event had ever been in Wisconsin.

"Brooks Koepka won with a 72-hole score of 16-under, leading some to conclude Erin Hills was too wide and defenseless. In truth, what it lacked that week was the usual gusty winds that would have effectively narrowed the slanted, canted fairways. Had the par been adjusted to 70 instead of 72 as is usual for most Opens, the score would likely have been closer to 8-under."

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Golf Digest ranked Wisconsin the No. 1 state for public golf