Building the Ultimate Must Play Golf Course - The 2025 Musties
About this episode
The episode celebrates the best golf courses of 2025 with the inaugural Must Play Awards, highlighting standout courses based on a detailed evaluation rubric.
It’s awards season on Must Play, and we’re closing out 2025 by celebrating the Must Play golf courses that defined our year (and lumping in 2024). In the final episode of 2025, Shawn and T.J . debut the inaugural 2025 Must Play Awards (also known as The Musties) honoring the best golf courses that stood out across our episodes in each respective ranking factor on the Must Play Test. If this is your first time tuning in, every course featured on Must Play is evaluated using our 10-question Must Play rubric, designed to determine whether a course earns Must Play status or falls short into a Should Play. Over the years of providing golf course reviews, we realized something important: not every one of the best golf courses checks every box, but many dominate in specific areas that deserve recognition. That realization led to The Musties. In this episode, we break down each question from our grading rubric and nominate four Must Play golf courses per category, ultimately selecting one winner. Each course that takes home a Mustie holds that title for a full year and earns an automatic nomination to defend it in 2026. From unforgettable hot dogs to signature holes and as well as the…
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- Sheep Ranch Review - Is This the Best Golf Course at Bandon Dunes?
- Tiburón Golf Club Preview w/ Heather from SwingScribe
- Deciding What Courses We Must Play in 2026
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