An online survey, developed by the editors of T+L Golf, appeared on from April 16 to June 9. The nominees fell under thirteen regional categories: Hawaii; U.S. West & Northwest; U.S. Southwest, U.S. Midwest; U.S. Florida; U.S. Southeast; U.S. Northeast & Mid-Atlantic, Canada; Mexico & Latin America; Bermuda, Bahamas & The Caribbean; Scotland; Ireland & Northern Ireland; England & Wales. The regional categories were divided into two groups based on the type of golf facility most commonly found in the region, specifically golf resorts or golf courses with separate hotels.
These were the groups, and the regions and questions that fell in each group:
Group 1: Hawaii; U.S. West & Northwest; U.S. Southwest; U.S. Midwest; U.S. Florida; U.S. Southeast; U.S. Northeast & Mid-Atlantic, Canada; Mexico & Latin America; Bermuda, Bahamas & The Caribbean
Group 2: Scotland; Ireland & Northern Ireland; England & Wales
Respondents were first asked to select a region to rate, and then asked to select up to three nominees within each question. Respondents were permitted to complete the survey only once. Responses were tabulated by Beta Research Group. A property's score for each question is an index that reflects how well it did relative to other properties. The index is calculated by dividing the number of votes received by the total number of properties nominated, multiplied by 100.
Ties among the top three properties in any category were broken by a staff vote.



