51 - 75 Golf Courses

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List of Courses

51. Portmarnock, Ireland

I have had the pleasure of playing this great links course many times as it is less than an hour from where I live. The course opened in 1894 and is situated on a headland on the outskirts of Dublin. The clubhouse is one of the finest in the world and you are never in a hurry to leave it. Read More

6 Best Holes: 4, 15, 14, 17, 3, 8
Best Par 3: 15
Best Par 4: 4
Best Par 5: 16

52. Oak Hill Country Club (East), USA

I arrived early and was allowed to play 9 holes of the West course before heading out to play the East course which was a lovely treat. This place is magnificent. The clubhouse, the practice area and the staff were all top class. A very welcoming feel to this course which is not always the case in some private clubs. Read More

6 Best Holes: 7, 13, 6, 2, 18, 16
Best Par 3: 11
Best Par 4: 7
Best Par 5: 13

53. Ardfin, Scotland

We must love our golf. It took two flights and a ferry to get to Ardfin but it was worth the effort. Normally you have to stay at the hotel to play the course but my American pal Travis emailed me to say that they were doing a special without having to stay, so my cousin Sean and I booked. Read More

6 Best Holes: 10, 14, 8, 11, 17, 1
Best Par 3: 10
Best Par 4: 14
Best Par 5: 16

54. Rye (Old), England

The course was designed in 1895 by the great Harry Colt. When you arrive at Ryde Golf Club, you may wonder if you are in the right place. There is a clubhouse above the car park and the pro shop is across the road. It does not scream world class golf course, but four hours later you will change your mind as this is a brilliant golf course. Read More

6 Best Holes: 4, 5, 13, 6, 15, 7
Best Par 3: 5
Best Par 4: 4
Best Par 5: 1

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55. St. Patrick's Links, Ireland

It is not easy for golf course developers and designers to find parcels of land to build links courses on nowadays but this stretch of earth is perfect for one. There are huge dunes and the vista out to sea is stunning. The course only opened in 2021 and is superb. As with any new golf course, the course will continue to improve over the coming years. What the owners have achieved deserves huge credit. There is no clubhouse there yet but that will come in time. They have three courses here and they are all excellent links courses. It is a great golf destination. There is a hotel not far from the main clubhouse and the nearby village of Downings is lovely. Read More

This was Tom Doak’s first design in Ireland and the routing is excellent. The 2nd is a lovely par 4 that meanders its way through dunes on both sides. Your second shot plays uphill and is an easy green to miss. The 3rd is an amphitheatre par 3 of 178 yards and is a fine short hole. The view from the 4th tee is stunning and makes you appreciate what a beautiful part of the world this is. The 9th is index (handicap) No.1 and rightly so. It can play as long as 460 yards and swings slightly to the left. The green is difficult due to the slope and somebody in your group is likely to 3 putt here.

The 11th is a belter of a par 4 that measures 472 yards from the tips. Again, like the 9th, your work is not done until the ball is in the hole as the green will test most amateurs. The 13th is not a long par 4 but your drive is blind over a hill which always makes things interesting. The par 4 14th deserves a special mention as the view from the tee box is special looking out towards the Atlantic. It is a dogleg right and a 3 wood might be the best option unless you are into the wind. The green is along the coast and plays uphill. It is a perfect par 4 and is one of the best in Ireland. The best run of holes might be 13 to 16 inclusive.

The 15th only measures 130 yards but hitting the green is a must. The 16th is a long par 4 but plays downhill which is certainly a help as it can measure as long as 534 yards. For amateurs it plays 487 yards but thankfully the contours of the land help to make it reachable in two. The last hole is a tidy par 4 of only 361 yards where you must decide on the tee whether to be adventurous or not. Accuracy is a must here.

Overall it is an excellent golf course with many great holes and what the owners along with Tom Doak have achieved here in a short time is remarkable. Having another great links course to add to Ireland’s already brilliant list is significant. It’s so great for Donegal to have a golf course in the World’s Top 100 and St. Patrick’s Links will certainly add a lot to the area in terms of tourism in the coming decades. You will love visiting Rosapenna where all three courses deserve to be played.

6 Best Holes: 14, 2, 6, 16, 15, 13
Best Par 3: 15
Best Par 4: 14
Best Par 5: 6

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56. Cruden Bay, Scotland

If ever a golf course could be the drummer in a rock band then it has to be Cruden Bay. It is quite mad in places but excellent everywhere else. The 2nd is played to an elevated green that you must hit. The 3rd is a wild blind driveable par 4 that would not be designed nowadays. The 4th is a stunning par 3 with the bay to your left. It is world class. The 5th is a beautiful par 4 played between the dunes and is index (handicap) 1 for a reason. Read More

6 Best Holes: 5, 4, 17, 7, 14, 13
Best Par 3: 4
Best Par 4: 5
Best Par 5: 13

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57. Sleepy Hollow, USA

This course is located less than an hour north of Manhattan in a lovely part of the world. It must have one of the biggest clubhouses that you will ever see. The mansion was purchased by William Rockefeller and Frank Vanderlip in 1911 and the following year the Sleepy Hollow Country Club was founded. Read More

6 Best Holes: 8, 16, 13, 15, 18, 11
Best Par 3: 16
Best Par 4: 8
Best Par 5: 6

58. St. Georges Hill, England

St. Georges Hill opened in 1913 and designed by the brilliant Harry Colt. It is set in a private estate of houses and facilities that are 5 star all the way. The tennis club nearby looked top class. The cost of property in this area must be frightening. The clubhouse is famous. It is a lovely building that looks over the course from a height. Read More

6 Best Holes: 16, 17, 6, 10, 13, 1
Best Par 3: 8
Best Par 4: 16
Best Par 5: 15

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59. Prestwick, Scotland

In 1851, a group of 57 locals, who met regularly at the Red Lion Inn in Prestwick, decided to form a golf club and purchased two cottages opposite the tavern. The first cottage would become the members clubhouse while the other was given to the greenkeeper, ball maker and club maker Old Tom Morris who went on to design the course, albeit 12 holes at the beginning. Read More

6 Best Holes: 9, 10, 8, 17, 1, 13
Best Par 3: 11
Best Par 4: 9
Best Par 5: 12

60. Royal Lytham & St. Annes, England

A stunning old world clubhouse is the first thing you notice when you arrive here. The second thing you notice is that the first hole is a par 3 of between 174 yards and 204 yards depending on which tees you play from. That must make things interesting at the weekend when the time sheet is quite full with Members. It’s a super par 3 by the way. Read More

6 Best Holes: 3, 9, 18, 12, 2, 14
Best Par 3: 9
Best Par 4: 3
Best Par 5: 7

61. Myopia Hunt Club, USA

Myopia Hunt Club is a foxhunting and private country club in South Hamilton, Massachusetts, northeast of Boston. The club hosted the U.S. Open four times in its early days: 1898, 1901, 1905, and 1908. It was founded in 1882 by J. Murray Forbes. The golf course was designed and built by Herbert C. Leeds

The name “Myopia” is due to some of its founding members having come from the Myopia Club in Winchester, Massachusetts, which had been founded by four brothers with poor vision, or myopia. Today, the Myopia Hunt Club is a drag hunt, meaning that the hounds follow a laid scent rather than live fox which was since to hear.Read More

When completed, Myopia Hunt Club measured 6,539 yards and Leeds made certain that golfers would encounter a multitude of challenging features, including tall mounds, deep bunkers, lightning-fast greens, blind shots requiring substantial carry, deep swales, punishing rough, plateaued greens, as well as a pond and paddock to avoid. So difficult was the course that in the 1901 U.S. Open, not a single professional was able to break 80 in any round.

When you drive in, it feels just like old world which was pretty cool. There is no modern large tarmac car park. You just park wherever suits you. There is no pretentious clubhouse but just some lovely old buildings. The pro shop is perched on a wee hill overlooking the practice green, the first tee, the 16th green and the 18th green.

The first two holes give you a false sense of security. There were 276 yards (par 4) and 488 yards (par 5 downhill) and you think that maybe you are in for an easy day. That feeling does not last long as the next three holes are extremely tough. The 3rd hole is a 252 yard par 3 while the 4th hole has one of the most wickedly fast and sloping greens you could wish to play. The 5th is a par 4 that played 417 yards where precision is required as well as distance.

The 6th is a stunning short par 4 where again the green is a huge defence for the course. The greens at Myopia were extremely fast but also they were in mint condition. The 9th is a wonderful par 3 and Alex, my caddie mentioned that it was like their postage stamp. It played 138 yards but has a very narrow green that is surrounded by lots of bunkers. Not many amateurs walk off here with a par.

I think the front nine was slightly my favourite of the two nines but the back nine is mostly excellent too. Your drive on the 10th is a blind shot over a hill but a par awaits if you manage to hit the fairway. The 12th is a wonderful par 4 that is rightly index (handicap) No. 1 and measures 451 yards. It meanders its way to a small green where you cannot go left or long. The 16th is another lovely par 3 that plays downhill but does measure 192 yards. The 18th is a perfect finishing hole where your drive is all important. There is a beautiful large tree that guards the green on the right hand side.

The experience at Myopia is wonderful. The course is excellent with some of the best greens you will ever see. The three par 3’s are all belters. I was lucky to have Alex as my caddie. He is also the caddie master at Myopia. He was very knowledgeable and a lovely guy too. We had a great chat on the way round about most topics but it was lovely to learn so much about the history of this brilliant golf course on a sunny autumn day.

6 Best Holes: 9, 4, 12, 3, 18, 6
Best Par 3: 9
Best Par 4: 4
Best Par 5: 15

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62. Les Bordes New, France

You know you have reached somewhere very special just on the 3km driveway that takes you from the entrance of Les Bordes through the Sologne Forest all the way to the clubhouse area. This is a 1,550 acre estate where all you can hear are the birds. It is heaven on earth. It must have been so exciting for Gil Hanse to have arrived here, walked around and then to have started the routing of this great new course.

The New Course which opened in July 2021, was designed by Gil, the architect of some of the world’s most celebrated restorations and new courses. His portfolio includes Castle Stuart and Ohoopee Match Club, as well as extensive restorations of several U.S. Open venues including Winged Foot, The Country Club in Boston and Los Angeles Country Club. In addition, Gil Hanse has restored or renovated more than twenty courses perennially included on Top 100 lists including Merion and Fishers Island Club. Read More

The job he did here was top class. You must take a buggy from the clubhouse about 2km to the first tee. The first is a beautiful par 4 of over 400 yards. Straight away you get the heathland in a forest feel. The stretch of holes from 5th to the 7th is really excellent. The 5th is index (handicap) No. 1 and rightly so. It played 499 yards for us and is a par 4!! The 5th is a super par 5 that just keeps meandering to the right. It played 529 yards for us. The 7th might be the signature hole on the whole course. It only measured 135 yards for us but you simply must hit the green as there are 4 large bunkers that surround the green. Also, there are various slopes that can take a reasonable tee shot off the green. It is a classic short hole.

The 10th is a picturesque tee shot where you must hit over water but if you do hit the fairway then a par should be yours. The 11th is a belter of a par 4 where you can choose to hit either a long iron short of trouble or maybe a driver to try and carry a large bunker down the left. This tee shot plays tricks with your eyes and mind. The green is sideways to the fairway which makes it narrow.

The last 3 holes are a stunning way to finish off the course. You will not play many better par 4’s than the 16th here. There is a forest on both sides of your tee shot with bunkers down the left. It played 446 yards for us and my pal Peter hit a good tee shot and was still left with nearly 200 yards from the pin. The 17th is a great par 3 that played 166 yards for us but again if you stray then be prepared to suffer. There are bunkers front and left while there is a large slope to the right. The 18th is a par 5 that played 503 yards for us. If you smash a drive then it may be possible to carry the large lake in front of the green and get on the green in two. Otherwise you can go right of the lake and creep up on the green that way.

We loved our day at Morfontaine the previous year. It is located to the north of Paris while this time we were 2 hours south of Paris. Les Bordes and Morfonatine are two experiences that are very different. They are set in forests, they are brilliant golf courses but the peace and quiet is something that you rarely get to sample.

It is no wonder that the Les Bordes New course made the World’s Top 100 within two years of opening. It is well deserved. Everything about Les Bordes is top class – the golf courses, the clubhouse and surroundings while the staff could not be more pleasant and helpful. The whole experience was something special and one that my pal Peter and I will never forget.

6 Best Holes: 16, 7, 6, 17, 11, 5
Best Par 3: 7
Best Par 4: 16
Best Par 5: 6

63. Casa De Campo, Dominican Republic

It was obviously a total coincidence that our family holiday ended up in the Dominican Republic and that two famous golf courses are located there. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it! Casa DE Campo (Teeth of the Dog) and Punta Espada are two stunning golf courses and well worth playing if you ever visit that part of the world. Pete Dye designed this course and he did a super job. Read More

6 Best Holes: 5, 15, 7, 6, 17, 18
Best Par 3: 5
Best Par 4: 15
Best Par 5: 3

64. The Lido, USA

This course opened in 2023 in central Wisconsin and is a direct and pretty much exact copy of The Lido Golf Club which opened in 1914 on Long Island. The original was designed by C B Macdonald and contained many classic templates such as Alps, Eden and Redan style holes. Sadly the original was used as a military base in World War 2 and was destroyed. The people at Sand Valley resort have done an amazing job to replicate that old classic. Read More

6 Best Holes: 4, 16, 12, 8, 18, 17
Best Par 3: 16
Best Par 4: 12
Best Par 5: 4

65. Haagsche (Royal Hague), Holland

A beautiful clubhouse is the first thing you notice when you arrive and the view you get of it as you walk up the 18th hole is even more beautiful. We were a 3 ball and we teed off behind some 4 balls and we thought we would be held up. That is not the case in Holland. We never got to see them again. Pace of play in Holland is the most important thing for local golfers. We spoke with a member afterwards and he said if a 4 ball takes more than 3 1/2 hours to play 18 holes then they run the risk of being reported to the club’s committee. Interesting. Read More

6 Best Holes: 18, 6, 14, 13, 7, 15
Best Par 3: 8
Best Par 4: 6
Best Par 5: 18

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66. Whistling Straits, USA

Whistling Straits is a public course and if you can, you gotta play it. It’s brilliant. When we played it the fog came in and as the round went on we could see less and less. Eventually, we asked the caddies to put down a towel in front of us so we knew where to aim. When we finished we asked the head pro David Albrecht if we could play the course again the next day as we had flown from Ireland and he said no problem which was very nice of him. David is a super guy. The following day was perfect with blue skies. We had a wonderful time. Read More

6 Best Holes: 18, 17, 4, 8, 7, 5
Best Par 3: 17
Best Par 4: 18
Best Par 5: 5

67. Kingsbarns, Scotland

This beautiful links course sits upon 1.8 miles of shoreline and only opened in the year 2000. It certainly feels like it has been there a lot longer than that. Since then it has been one of the 3 courses that host the Dunhill Links Championship along with St. Andrews and Carnoustie. In 2017 it hosted the Women’s British Open. It has the most brilliant location as it is only a fifteen minute drive from St. Andrews itself. The clubhouse is discreet and is certainly not overbearing on the course.. Read More

6 Best Holes: 12, 15, 7, 18, 11, 4
Best Par 3: 15
Best Par 4: 7
Best Par 5: 12

68. Ballyneal, USA

This course only opened in 2006 and was designed by Tom Doak. The name Ballyneal comes from a combination of the two owners Jim and Rupert O’Neal’s surname along with wanting to have an Irish feel to it and so the name Ballyneal came about. Read More

6 Best Holes: 2, 13, 8, 17, 7, 9
Best Par 3: 11
Best Par 4: 2
Best Par 5: 8

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69. Castle Stuart, Scotland

Located in northern Scotland, this course is a handy 5 minute drive from Inverness Airport. It is beautifully located along the banks of the Moray Firth. The course opened in 2009 and was designed by two Americans – managing partner Mark Parsinen and the brilliant Gil Hanse. Gil is one of only a few modern designers who deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as designers from 100 years ago. Read More

6 Best Holes: 11, 13, 7, 5, 15, 3
Best Par 3: 11
Best Par 4: 13
Best Par 5: 18

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70. Royal Melbourne East, Australia

This course may live a little in the shadow of the West course but make no mistake the East course is top class too. When the club hosts a pro event they usually take six holes from the East course and twelve from the West course and that shows that both courses are of quite a similar standard. Read More

6 Best Holes: 16, 2, 18, 13, 9, 12
Best Par 3: 16
Best Par 4: 2
Best Par 5: 10

71. Bandon Trails, USA

Bandon Trails starts out as a links course, then moves inland and finishes back up as a links course again. That might sound a little odd but it works really well. All credit to Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw for a great layout. Everyone that goes to Bandon Dunes has different opinions on what order they would rate the 5 courses but my friend Ben and I had the same order. We put Bandon Trails in second place out of the five. Read More

6 Best Holes: 13, 7, 16, 6, 18, 4
Best Par 3: 17
Best Par 4: 13
Best Par 5: 16

72. Royal Liverpool, England

This course is also known as Hoylake and opened in 1869. Before that the land was used as a racecourse for the Liverpool Hunt Club. The course was redesigned by Harry Colt early on in the 20th century. It has been host to 13 British Opens, most recently in 2023. Read More

6 Best Holes: 11, 10, 5, 12, 16, 9
Best Par 3: 11
Best Par 4: 10
Best Par 5: 16

73. Bandon Dunes, USA

This was the first of 5 courses to open at the resort and did so in 1999. The course is perched on a bluff high above the Pacific Ocean where the views may distract you on many occasions. It is one of the best golf resorts in the world where nothing is overlooked as they say except the ocean. You will need to book at least 12 months in advance if you wish to play and stay here. Read More

6 Best Holes: 5, 16, 15, 4, 6, 12
Best Par 3: 15
Best Par 4: 5
Best Par 5: 18

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74. Victoria, Australia

Yet another beautiful sand belt course in Melbourne. You get a real sense of Victoria GC being a great members club. There was a lovely atmosphere in the clubhouse. They raise national flags for visitors right beside the putting green and it was nice to see the Irish flag blowing in the breeze. The course opened in 1927 and the Prime Minister at the time, Stanley Bruce, hit the opening tee shot. Since then it has held the Australian Men’s Open 4 times – 1961, 1981, 2002 and 2022. Read More

6 Best Holes: 4, 7, 11, 6, 13, 16
Best Par 3: 4
Best Par 4: 11
Best Par 5: 9

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75. Cabot Links, Canada

This course opened in 2012 some 3 years before its sister course, Cabot Cliffs opened. The setting for these 2 courses in Nova Scotia is perfect. You will never get tired of the views. The accommodation on site is excellent as is the food and pub. There is a pool table in the pub to keep you entertained in the evening. Read More

6 Best Holes: 18, 6, 16, 4, 15, 11
Best Par 3: 7
Best Par 4: 18
Best Par 5: 11