76 - 100 Golf Courses

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List of Courses

76. Royal Cinque Ports, England

This course was founded in 1891 and is located along the English south coast in Kent. It is quite close to Royal St. Georges and Prince’s Golf Clubs. Playing all three on consecutive days would be quite the golf trip. It held the Open Championship in 1909 and again in 1920. It would have held more but was badly flooded on a couple of occasions. This course is good enough to host an Open Championship at some future point if required. Read More

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

77. Machrihanish, Scotland

We ended up playing Machrihanish and Machrihanish Dunes on the same day and we really enjoyed both courses. It’s not an easy part of the world to get to but driving three hours from Glasgow could be worse, as the scenery in this rugged part of Scotland is raw and beautiful. We stayed in the lovely village of Campbeltown which is close by. Read More

6 Best Holes: 1, 5, 7, 14, 12, 8
Best Par 3: 15
Best Par 4: 1
Best Par 5: 12

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78. Te Arai North, New Zealand

This course only opened in October 2023 and I got to play it a year later. You would think the course was there for 20 years. Tom Doak did a super job with the design. The huge parcel of land that the owners bought to build both Te Arai’s along with Tara Iti is an incredible piece of earth and must have been a designers dream to be let loose on. Read More

6 Best Holes: 13, 2, 17, 10, 4, 16
Best Par 3: 2
Best Par 4: 13
Best Par 5: 11

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79. Cape Wickham, Australia

Cape Wickham is located at the northern tip of King Island in Australia and is roughly halfway between Melbourne and Tasmania. The course is brilliant but the club needs some infrastructure as when I was there, there was just a very small building which acted as a clubhouse. There was accommodation on site and it was poor. Read More

6 Best Holes: 18, 9, 16, 5, 1, 8
Best Par 3: 17
Best Par 4: 18
Best Par 5: 9

80. Royal Porthcawl, Wales

We flew to Wales in the morning, played Royal Porthcawl and flew back to Dublin that evening. My cousin Sean and my pal Gary thought I was mad to suggest it but it all worked out well. This is the No. 1 course in Wales and is easy to see why. The club was founded in 1891 but moved to its current location 4 years later which was a very good idea when you see the surroundings. Read More

6 Best Holes: 8, 13, 2, 15, 14, 16
Best Par 3: 14
Best Par 4: 13
Best Par 5: 8

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81. St. Enodoc (Church), England

St. Enodoc Golf Club has such a pretty idyllic setting along the coast of Cornwall in south west England. I can see why property is expensive in this area as I would imagine a lot of English people retire to this beautiful part of the world. Perhaps the fact that we played it on a sunny May day, probably helped. Read More

6 Best Holes: 3, 18, 9, 17, 6, 2
Best Par 3: 17
Best Par 4: 3
Best Par 5: 1

82. Royal Aberdeen, Scotland

Royal Aberdeen Golf Club is situated on the north east coast of Scotland facing out onto the North Sea. It is a short drive from Aberdeen which is where we stayed. I would suggest maybe staying in another town besides Aberdeen. The club was founded in 1780 and claims to be the 6th oldest golf club in the world. This course is famous for having one of the best front nines in the world and we all agreed that was true. The thing that surprised us the most was the fact that the back nine was super also. The size of the sand dunes here are some of the biggest you will see on any golf course. Read More

6 Best Holes: 9, 8, 14, 2, 4, 16
Best Par 3: 8
Best Par 4: 9
Best Par 5: 2

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83. Te Arai South, New Zealand

This links course only opened in 2022 and was designed by Coore and Crenshaw. It is located just over an hour’s drive from Auckland. There are 3 courses here now, along with Tara Iti and Te Arai South. Tara Iti is fully private and you must be invited by a Member. The other two courses are open to the public on alternate days. Sitting around the Te Arai clubhouse has to be one of the nicest places in the world to be. It is so friendly and easy going. It’s a classy place but there is no dress code which is refreshing. The huge putting green is a source of great entertainment. Dan, Eanna, Aussie Sam and I stayed around the clubhouse and the putting green for hours after our round. We had a great laugh. A day to remember. Read More

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

84. Ganton, England

This inland links in North Yorkshire was founded as Scarborough Golf Club in 1891 and then changed its name to Ganton Golf Club in 1907. It was originally designed by Tom Chisholm. Since then modifications to the course have been made by people including James Braid, J.H. Taylor, Harry Vardon, Harry Colt, Dr. Alister Mackenzie and Tom Simpson. What a list! From Leeds Bradford airport, it is about a 90 minute drive. Read More

6 Best Holes: 8, 18, 11, 15, 4, 16
Best Par 3: 17
Best Par 4: 8
Best Par 5: 13

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85. Eastward Ho, USA

What a stunning place to build a golf course! Eastward Ho is located on the beautiful Cape Cod peninsula and is about 90 minutes south of Boston. Everything about this club is perfect. It must be a huge treat to live in this greater area and to be a Member here. The clubhouse and the pro shop are stunning and have all the old world charm that you could wish for. The staff here were so friendly and helpful too.

My friend Ben and I played with a Member along with a Japanese visitor named Mr. Nishimura. Ben and I are pals from College which was about 35 years ago and he has lived in Boston most of his life since then. It was great for him to play Eastward Ho as he had heard so much about it and it certainly lived up to all his expectations. The Member we played with was a super nice fellah and Mr. Nishimura is also trying to play the top 100 courses in the world. He played off 5 and he was 78 years of age. He is still an excellent golfer. He was an inspiration.Read More

We had a beautiful autumn day which made the course sparkle even more. The first was a nice par 4 that has a large bunker in the middle of the fairway. The 3rd is a good par 4 that has a blind tee shot but it’s a short hole and is driveable if you happen to choose the correct line of the tee. The 7th was a super par 3 of 168 yards for us. It is played to a raised green so we could only see the very top of the flag and it was into a strong breeze. The front nine finished with two very good par 4’s and played just under 400 yards for us but again we were into the wind.

The 10th is a belter. It is a long par 3 and measured 201 yards for us where the breeze was not helping. Two of our group hit brilliant tee shots here but I was not one of them. The 11th is a class par 5 and when you stand on the tee, you are not sure where to aim. You must be brave and try to aim down the left half of a huge roller coasting fairway. Your second may shot is likely to be a blind one. This is a truly great three shot hole.

The 15th is a stunner of a par 3 with water all the way along the left. It was only 145 yards for us but it can play as long as 187 yards. You simply must hit the green here off the tee or else you are in trouble. The 16th was a tough par 4 of 407 yards as again we were into the wind. A five here was just fine. The final hole can be played as a par 4 or 5. It happened to be a par 4 of 448 yards for us on the day we played it and that was just about fine as we had a strong win helping us. It’s always nice to finish with a par.

As I mentioned earlier, basically everything about Eastward Ho is perfect. The scenery was jaw dropping at times but obviously a sunny day helped us appreciate the course to its fullest. This course opened in 1922 and was designed by William Herbert Fowler. The course has undergone some recent renovations and was in excellent condition. Just another example of why golf courses that were designed maybe 100 years ago are often better than ones designed in recent history. We had a magical day at Eastward Ho. Ben and I would highly recommend the course if you ever get the chance to play it. The travelling is a pain but getting to play courses as good as this, makes it all worthwhile.

6 Best Holes: 11, 10, 18, 8, 15, 7
Best Par 3: 10
Best Par 4: 18
Best Par 5: 11

86. Int. Golf Links Aberdeen, Scotland

The owner of this course usually does things on a large scale and this course must have some of the biggest sand dunes ever used for a links course. The course opened only in 2012 after many objections from locals. The course looks like it has been there for decades. Read More

6 Best Holes: 14, 8, 4, 9, 11, 18
Best Par 3: 3
Best Par 4: 14
Best Par 5: 4

87. Utrecht De Pan, Holland

When you think of Holland, you might think of football, flat land, tulips and the brilliant city of Amsterdam but you wouldn’t think of golf. Can you name one famous Dutch golfer? I couldn’t either. So before I played Utrecht De Pan, I thought the course would be ok but I was way off. This course is a belter. You could think that you were close to Sunningdale or Wentworth as it is a beautiful heathland course. Read More

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

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88. Naruo, Japan

To get to play Naruo you must be invited by a Member and I was very lucky for that to happen. This is a super course with many great stretches on it. The first is a gem of a par 4 with such a beautiful first tee shot. Holes 7, 8 and 9 are stunning holes with the 8th being a particular favourite. It is a narrow drive out through trees. It is quite a sharp dogleg left and then the green is surrounded on two sides by more trees. Read More

6 Best Holes: 15, 8, 16, 18, 7, 1
Best Par 3: 15
Best Par 4: 8
Best Par 5: 7

89. Paraparaumu Beach, New Zealand

This course is situated on the north island of New Zealand and is a 45 minute drive from the beautiful city of Wellington. If you get the chance, stay a couple of nights in Wellington as it’s a lovely city. The basin reserve is the main cricket stadium in the city and is used for some test matches. It is worth visiting and is in the centre of the city. Read More

6 Best Holes: 13, 16, 11, 3, 5, 2
Best Par 3: 16
Best Par 4: 13
Best Par 5: 12

90. Yangtze Dunes, China

This has often been listed as the No. 1 course in China and is a proper links course which was a nice surprise. The clubhouse must be one of the biggest in the world. I stayed onsite the night before and the accommodation was good. It is one of the toughest courses that I’ve played. You must be long off the tee and extremely accurate as there is plenty of trouble about. Read More

6 Best Holes: 3, 13, 4, 2, 16, 9
Best Par 3: 14
Best Par 4: 13
Best Par 5: 3

91. Valderrama, Spain

This course played host to the Ryder Cup in 1997 when famously the European side was captained by the legend that was Seve. This is the No. 1 course out of the 400 that there are in Spain. There is an elegance and beauty to the clubhouse that greets you as you enter along with the perfect practice area. It feels special from the start. It opened in 1974 and was designed by Robert Trent Jones. Read More

6 Best Holes: 16, 18, 17, 8, 10, 15
Best Par 3: 15
Best Par 4: 16
Best Par 5: 17

92. Yas Links, United Arab Emirates

There are a lot of fine golf courses in the Middle East and Yas Links is widely regarded as the No. 1 course in the whole region. It has Links in the name but it is more like a Links style or maybe an inland Links rather than a proper Links that people in Ireland or Britain would know. The course took three years to build and only opened in 2010. There are seven holes along the coastline with most of those on the back nine. The front nine is decent with some good holes such as No. 3, 8 and 9. The 8th is a nice par 3 along the water’s edge and the 9th is a tough par 4 with water and bunkers there to catch a poor drive. Read More

6 Best Holes: 18, 9, 17, 13, 16, 3
Best Par 3: 17
Best Par 4: 9
Best Par 5: 18

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93. Wentworth, England

How is Wentworth not more highly rated on some of the golfing lists? It has the design, the history, the course condition and is a brilliant heathland golf course. It deserves to be ranked much higher than it is currently. It was designed by Harry Colt and played host to the Ryder Cup in 1953. It staged the World Matchplay from 1967 to 2007 and has also staged the No. 1 European Tour event, namely the BMW PGA Championship every year since 1984. Read More

6 Best Holes: 15, 13, 3, 14, 9, 11
Best Par 3: 14
Best Par 4: 15
Best Par 5: 17

94. Olympic Club, USA

The Olympic Club is a private social club in San Francisco and is the oldest athletic club in the US. It has two 18 golf courses, namely the Lake and the Ocean course, and it has a 9 hole par 3 course, which is the Cliffs course. The Lake course is the most famous and has held numerous golf championships over the years including 5 US Opens where the 54 hole leader failed to win on each occasion. The course is certainly tough enough to host a US Open. It is going to host the 2028 PGA Championship and also the Ryder Cup in 2033.Read More

What is remarkable about the Olympic Club is how busy the place is. They have the 2 ½ golf courses, a gym, a swimming pool, a huge clubhouse that appears to host a lot of events and a large membership base who may have access to some facilities but perhaps not the golf courses. It is an excellent use of the great facilities they have. The more people that have access to places like this, the better.

I did not expect this course to be so tough and even after the first hole, I still had no idea and it is reasonably kind par 5 to start with. The 2nd was a strong par 4 while the 3rd is a super par 3 of some 211 yards from the amateur tees. The rough was thick and difficult to get out of so missing the short grass off the tee was a significant penalty. It is quite rare for amateurs to play a course nowadays where the rough is so dense. More of it, I say.

The 8th hole along with the 18th are probably the most photographed holes here as the beautiful clubhouse is in the background. The 8th played 177 yards for us but it is slightly uphill and played into the wind so it required a 200 yards shot on the day to a green that has many bunkers to protect it. It is a super short hole.

There are so many strong par 4’s on this course but on the back nine the 10th, 12th, 14th and 18th deserve a special mention. The 10th is a dogleg right of some 434 yards from an elevated tee. The 12th tee shot is played through a short but tricky corridor of trees to a smallish green that has receptive bunkers both left and right. The 14th is a great par 4 of 429 yards that sweeps to the left over a ridge. The second shot is a belter, provided you have hit the fairway off the tee.

The 18th is a famous par 4 of only 349 yards so you have a choice of hitting driver, 3 wood or a low iron off the tee. I hit driver and was lucky to avoid one of the bunkers that await. The green is so small and probably does not look that way on TV. You simply must hit the putting surface with your second shot with hopefully a wedge in your hand.

I really enjoyed this course and have huge respect for it due to how tough it played. I want to say a special thank you to Andrew for organising this game. I met Andrew in Donegal while playing St. Patrick’s Links. He is a super guy. Played here with Andrew’s friend Cian and his pal Barry. They were super company. I would really look forward to having a game with these lads when they come to Ireland.

It was quite the day as I played San Francisco GC that morning at 9.30am and then played here at 4pm. Thankfully it is only a 10 minute drive between them. They are two brilliant golf courses with so much history. I slept well that night.

6 Best Holes: 8, 14, 12, 3, 18, 2
Best Par 3: 8
Best Par 4: 14
Best Par 5: 17

95. Royal West Norfolk, England

There have been many revelations along the way but Royal West Norfolk was certainly one of the most pleasant surprises I have had on this journey. This is a brilliant golf course where the front nine is one of the best in the world. This course comes highly recommended and if you ever get the chance, you have got to play here.

We were given a full rundown of the course and its history by Sabrina and Ross who work in the shop where the pro is Andrew. All lovely people who were very kind with their time. The course is a links course beside the beach but the course can be surrounded by water when the tide is in and cars can only get to the club when the tide is out. We found the whole story fascinating.Read More

For example, on the day we played we were advised that cars could not get to the clubhouse until after 10.30am. Sometimes the staff walk to the course on a high ridge to the left of the road when the tide is in. It is a beautiful old clubhouse where the views from upstairs are stunning.

The course measures 6,457 yards and is a par 71. The front nine is 3,409 yards while the back nine is shorter at 3,048 yards. In essence the course, which dates back to 1892, is nine out and nine back. The prevailing wind is normally with you on the front nine which would make sense as it is the longer of the two nines but we played it on a lovely day where we played into the wind on the front nine and with the wind on the back. That made the front nine incredibly difficult.

The first three holes are par 4’s that measure 415, 449 and 403 yards. Mick and I did not reach any of those greens in regulation as the wind was howling into our faces. The 3rd hole was a particular highlight where you only get to see the top half of the flag from the fairway. The 4th is a well-known par 3 of only 129 where you cannot be short. The 6th hole at National Golf Links of America was inspired by this hole.

The 8th is a brilliant par 5 that meanders to the right and then to the left. There is marsh land to the right that floods when the tide is in. The members, we were told, sometimes plan their game so that the tide is in which means that the 8th and 9th have lakes for golfers to contend with.

The 9th plays 405 yards and is a belter. Your second shot is played over marsh or water to a green that has the sea just behind. At this stage, you realise that you have just played one of the best front nines anywhere in the world.

The back nine is decent but we did not get the full experience as it was unusually downwind. There are many good holes on the back nine including the 14th which is a par 4 played to a tiny blind green. The 15th is a par 3 of 188 yards where your tee shot is played over a colossal bunker which is well short of the green. The 16th is a short par 4 where the green is perched high on a wee hill to the right.

I would love to play here again where the wind was with us on the front nine and against us on the back just to see the difference. We had a brilliant day at Royal West Norfolk, also known as Brancaster. It was a day that will live long in the memory. You gotta play RWN. Simples.

6 Best Holes: 8, 9, 3, 16, 2, 14
Best Par 3: 15
Best Par 4: 9
Best Par 5: 8

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96. Quaker Ridge, USA

The more A. W. Tillinghast courses you play the more you realise how brilliant he was at golf course design and this is another top class example of his work. Within easy reach of New York he designed here, Bethpage Black, Winged Foot East and West, Baltusrol Lower and Upper and Somerset Hills. He also designed another personal favourite – San Francisco Golf Club.

Quaker Ridge, which opened in 1918, has an interesting layout because the front nine moves around the outside of the property to the left while the back nine is in the centre of the property and generally runs around to the right. Muirfield in Scotland is kind of similar but in opposite directions. Quaker Ridge has always been in the World’s Top 100 courses list until 2023 but there are so many brilliant courses opening up around the world that something has to give. They are working on the course particularly on holes 3 and 15, so perhaps it could get back up there again. It is certainly good enough.Read More

There are some classy par 4’s on the front nine including the 4th, 6th, 7th and 8th which all deserve a mention. The 4th has out of bounds down the right and trees down the left while your second shot is played to a green protected by a huge bunker front left. The 6th is a long par 4 that doglegs around to the right but has a stream down the left and with large trees down the right. It is an extremely tough tee shot. Even if you are successful off the tee, you have a long second shot to a tough green. The 7th is a dogleg right par 4 again and you must play short of a steam so a 3 wood was the order of the day. The second is played to a raised green that has significant slopes on it. The 8th is not overly long but it is tight and two exact shots are required but a par will be your reward if you do.

Again the back nine is dominated by superb par 4’s including the 11th which slightly doglegs to the left and has a stream all the down the left. The 6th hole is on the other side of the stream. The 12th is a long straight slightly uphill par 4 that requires two hefty blows to get there. But that is where the fun begins as the green slopes hugely from back to front. It must be almost unplayable in the height of the summer. The 16th, 17th and 18th are three fine par 4’s to finish with. The 17th might be one of the smallest greens you could ever play but then again it is a low iron off the tee followed, hopefully, by a wedge to the green.

I really enjoyed playing Quaker Ridge. The scoring nine is the back nine and that certainly was the case with my scorecard. The course was in mint condition with perfect fast greens. The bunkers were ten out of ten. If you are thinking of building a golf course, you should check out the bunkers here. Mario, the head professional, was super helpful and it was nice to have a chat with him after the round. Yelly was my caddie and he had some very interesting stories. We had a good laugh. He is a super caddie too. We had a brilliant day on a brilliant golf course.

6 Best Holes: 6, 12, 4, 16, 7, 18
Best Par 3: 9
Best Par 4: 6
Best Par 5: 14

97. Sheshan International, China

What a stunning place. What a stunning golf course. The clubhouse is huge but has lots of charm at the same time. I got to play here with Charlene and Chunyan and the ladies played very well. I was struggling to arrange golf in China but was greatly helped by an Irish pro named Paul who had worked in Shanghai for years. Paul was so helpful and is a super guy. Read More

6 Best Holes: 17, 15, 6, 8, 18, 2
Best Par 3: 17
Best Par 4: 15
Best Par 5: 8

98. Western Gailes, Scotland

If you are going to play golf along the east coast of Scotland then you should play here. It’s an excellent links course. There are many famous courses close by including Royal Troon, Turnberry and Prestwick but Western Gailes deserves its own respect. It has a beautiful old clubhouse and the staff are very friendly. Read More

6 Best Holes: 16, 7, 17, 5, 2, 15
Best Par 3: 7
Best Par 4: 16
Best Par 5: 6

99. Fancourt (Links), South Africa

There are three courses at Fancourt and the Links is the best one. It is located five hours east of Cape Town. This is a five star resort all the way. The hotel here is beautiful. The course was designed by Gary Player and he has described it as his best ever feat as a course designer. It is widely regarded as the best course in South Africa. It opened in November 2000 and in 2003 it held the Presidents Cup. This was a famous event as it finished 17 each after Ernie Els and Tiger Woods could not be separated in the dark. Both captains agreed to call it a draw. Read More

6 Best Holes: 12, 10, 7, 3, 14, 17
Best Par 3: 17
Best Par 4: 12
Best Par 5: 16

100. TPC Sawgrass, USA

We played here in 2017 and it was the day after we went to Augusta to see Sergio win the Masters. We were very tired at this stage of our trip as a day walking around Augusta is exhausting with all the hills there. Peter, Mick and I played poorly at Sawgrass but we had a super day there. It is a very cool moment when you drive through the estate and then you see the clubhouse. Read More

6 Best Holes: 17, 14, 18, 10, 7, 4
Best Par 3: 17
Best Par 4: 14
Best Par 5: 16