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In its third "Metro Golf" survey, which appears in the upcoming August issue (on newsstands July 12,) Golf Digest lists 330 metro areas and details the best—and worst—cities for golfers nationwide.

Based on varying criteria outlined below, Alabama’s twin cities of Auburn and Opelika (a place more commonly known for its passion for college football than golf,) was selected as the top American metropolitan area for a golfer to live.

According to the National Golf Foundation, over 80% of all U.S. golfers play more than half of their golf on public courses. Therefore, Golf Digest’s "Metro Golf" ranking focuses exclusively on public golf. The rankings comprise the 330 Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) defined by the U.S. Census Bureau and include the central city, the entire county in which it is located, and in some instances, neighboring counties that are socially and economically integrated with the city (i.e. commuting zones).

Golf Digest ranked the MSAs based on such criteria as number of public courses per capita, weather, and quality and value of golf. Golf Digest has conducted three "Metro Golf" rankings since 1998.

This year, Auburn-Opelika owes its No.1 rank to multiple three star-plus courses in the area (including the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail’s Grand National, Auburn Links, Indian Pines and Saughatchee CC,) as well as the number of golf holes in the area per population of golfers (there are eight golf courses within 15 minutes of the center of town) and the high marks in the weather category (Auburn-Opelika’s average daily high temperatures drop slightly below 60 degrees only in December and January).