17 of the World's Best Golf Courses to Have on Your Radar
The distinct characteristics of our list of the best golf courses around the world prove how unique the popular sport can be. While other sports have standardized dimensions, a golf course is designed to showcase and reflect its natural surroundings. For golfers, playing and practicing in these one-of-a-kind spaces is crucial and can affect their performance. No matter how long you've been playing or have been a fan of the game, one thing's for sure, these courses are worth adding to your travel bucket list. Go ahead, scroll on, and start planning your next trip!
Bethpage (Black Course)
Thick rough, fescue, and complex bunkering line the fairways of this massive 7,468-yard A.W. Tillinghast masterpiece located in Farmingdale, New York. The world-renowned public course has been host to the U.S. Open and PGA Championship and is the future site of the 2025 Ryder Cup.
Torrey Pines (South Course)
Located atop the bluffs overlooking La Jolla, California, beautiful Torrey Pines South is a favorite among locals and tourists alike. The South course winds around a canyon that comes into play on half of the holes, threatening a possible penalty stroke for wayward shots but also provides wonderful upward airflow for hang gliders that famously soar over the fourth hole.
Carnoustie (Championship Course)
Carnoustie has earned the title of “golf’s greatest test” due to its narrow sloping fairways, knee-high rough, cleverly placed fairway bunkers and ditches, and often severe weather conditions that place high demand on any golfer’s game. The final three holes are some of the most difficult finishing holes in the world.
St. Andrews (Old Course)
The Old Course at St. Andrews is the oldest golf course in the world, hosting golfers for over 600 years. Featuring seven double greens, rolling fairways, hidden pot bunkers, and fabled hazards such as the Swilcan Burn and Hell Bunker, The Old Course is a next-level experience.
Pebble Beach
With an average green size of just 3,500 square feet, Pebble Beach has the smallest greens for any PGA Tour hosting site, making mid to long iron approach shots feel like you’re hitting a postage stamp. The public course is home to some of the most recognizable holes in golf, namely the short par-3 7th, the stunning 8th hole overlooking Stillwater Cove, and the iconic 18th which wraps around the Pacific Ocean from tee to green.
Shinnecock Hills
Situated atop the Shinnecock Hills in Southampton, New York, the famed Shinnecock Hills Golf Club is the oldest links course in America. Shinnecock is known for its world-class green complexes with false fronts and fall-off areas around the greens creating all sorts of trouble for golfers.
Cypress Point
Located on the Monterrey Peninsula in California, Cypress Point constantly ranks among the top three courses ever built and is also one of the most notoriously exclusive courses to play. The Alister Mackenzie-designed masterpiece uses the natural terrain featuring coastal dunes, cypress trees, and the rocky coastline of the Pacific Ocean.
Augusta National
Home to the Masters since 1934, the famed August National golf course is known for its distinct green color and perfectly manicured appearance. It's also where some of the most legendary moments in golf’s history were made. The short par-3 12th hole, also known as the “Golden Bell”, is one of the most famous of all time.
Muirfield
Muirfield was founded in 1744 making it the second oldest golf club in the world. Located in Gullane, Scotland, Muirfield is near the ocean but ensures challenging windy conditions. Additionally, with its relatively flat fairways and bunkering that sits in plain sight, the home of The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers is recognized as a difficult but fair test of golf.
Royal Portrush (Dunluce Links)
Named after the Dunluce Castle ruins situated to the west, the Dunluce Links at Royal Portrush is a recurring host of the Open Championship. With rolling fairways paired with tall native grass and views of the neighboring sandhills on three sides and the Atlantic Ocean on the fourth, Royal Portrush provides stunning views no matter which way you look.
Ballybunion (Old Course)
Founded in 1893, the Ballybunion Old Course has been a bucket list destination for golfers everywhere. Tombstones from Killehenny Graveyard lie off the first tee of the private seaside links course where coastal winds, elevation changes, and blind tee and approach shots await those lucky enough to play it.
Winged Foot (West)
The A.W. Tillinghast masterpiece located in Mamaroneck, New York, features notoriously fast and undulating greens, ankle-deep rough, and extensive bunkering that's sure to expose any weakness in even the best golfers. Winged Foot West owns the record of having produced the highest winning score in a major championship in the 1974 U.S. Open won by Hale Irwin.
Riviera
Home to the Genesis Invitational and L.A. Open, Riviera was voted as the PGA Tour's favorite tour stop in a 2019 survey. Situated in a narrow canyon in Southern California’s Pacific Palisades, Riviera is hailed for its straightforward course design and difficult but fair course conditions.
Bandon Dunes
The original course among a sextet of courses that makes up the Bandon Dunes Resort in Bandon, Oregon, the Bandon Dunes golf course is a visual marvel in modern course architecture. The David McLay Kidd design uses the rugged native sand dunes that sit high above the Pacific Ocean to route an iconic golf course that draws on Scotland’s traditional links-style design.
Pine Valley
The highly exclusive Pine Valley Golf Club currently holds the number one spot on Golf Digest’s list of America’s 100 Greatest Golf Courses. Regarded as having some of the most complex and dramatic bunkering and waste areas in the world, Pine Valley offers golfers the ideal blend of varied shot-making, aesthetics, and character.
Oakmont Country Club
Known for its infamous “Church Pews” bunker, heavy rough, and lightning-fast greens, Oakmont Country Club prides itself on its notorious setups. Located in Oakmont, Pennsylvania, the club is a favorite stop for the PGA Tour and has hosted more U.S. Open tournaments than any other golf course in the United States.
Sunningdale (Old Course)
Located in Berkshire, England, The Old course at Sunningdale is an inland golf course built on land owned by St. John’s College, Cambridge. With its large undulating greens and holes lined with heather, gorse and pine, and birch and oak trees, Sunningdale is held in high regard as one of the most aesthetically pleasing courses on the British Isles.
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