Maryland

Although the club was inaugurated in 1898, the East course at Baltimore Country Club was designed by the great genius of golf course architecture, 

A.W. Tillinghast: Creator Of Golf Courses

 (to quote the title of the architect’s biography by Philip Young), and it opened for play in 1926.

“Five Farms, which was once just the suburban course of the Baltimore Country Club, is now the hub of the club. It sits amid the rolling hills of Maryland’s “hunt country”, where horses have always been the major sport but from which golf is fast taking over… the course is not overly bunkered and neither is is tremendously long. But those hills present numerous sidehill lies after mishit drives and the greens can get fearsomely slick, although remaining awesomely true.

Baltimore has hosted a number of major events, including the exciting 1965 Walker Cup matches in which Britain and Ireland tied the US team, so breaking a string of losses dating back to 1938. In 1988 the Women’s Open was held there.” From the 

Keith Foster completed a restoration project in 2015. According to Tom Doak's 

 - Volume 3: "It's still a wonder; Keith Foster's work softened the tilt in a handful of greens, but they are still treacherous after the changes. The most memorable holes are the dogleg par-5 6th, with the maintenance barns in play on the tee shot something like the railway sheds at St Andrews, and the very long 14th, with its Sahara cross-hazard that has to be cleared on the second shot."

Baltimore (East)

North America

Although the club was inaugurated in 1898, the East course at Baltimore Country Club was designed by the great genius of golf course architecture, A.W. Tillinghast and it opened for play in 1926.

Illinois

It’s possible that Chicago acquired its “Windy City” nickname thanks to the cooling summer lake breezes, which funnel their way through the city streets, and it’s also feasible that the great World’s Columbian Exhibition of 1893 was the catalyst for the formation of Chicago Golf Club. After all, the city needed a golf course for the visiting VIPs.

Founded in 1892, Chicago Golf Club was initially located at Belmont. In 1894 it moved to its present location at Wheaton and it became the first 18-hole course in America, designed by the daddy of American golf course architecture, Charles Blair Macdonald.

Chicago Golf Club has a number of firsts to write home about. In 1897 it was the first club outside the Northeast to host the US Open and it was also the first club to employ bent grass greens. Chicago was also one of the five founder members of the American Golf Association, which was subsequently renamed the USGA. The other four charter members were: 

, St. Andrew's Golf Club (Yonkers, N.Y.), and 

 : “Macdonald’s original design was not dramatically altered for over 20 years with the exception of a few suggestions by famed British architect Harry Colt. With new and better courses popping up all the time, the architect of 

, at the club’s request, tweaked the design to help keep the quality of the course competitive with some of the more modern layouts. Ultimately though, Chicago Golf Club’s design became antiquated and the club voted in 1922 to retain Macdonald’s legendary protégé, Seth Raynor, to assist Macdonald in completely remodeling the layout.”


The club staged many early championships, including the US Amateur, US Open and the Walker Cup. In 1928, Bobby Jones was the Walker Cup playing captain and he posted an amazing course record 66, which drove team USA to an emphatic 11-1 victory. The Walker Cup returned to Chicago for the second time in 2005.

Chicago Golf Club is one of America’s most exclusive golf clubs and today it is still intensely private, but if you’ve been lucky enough to play this famous course, we’d love to read your review.

Chicago

Founded in 1892, Chicago Golf Club is one of America’s most exclusive clubs and today it is still intensely private.

California

Every true golfer would love to play Cypress Point, but the reality of the matter is that unless you are in the know, only a lucky few will ever get the chance to tee it up on the 1st. Folklore has it that J.F. Kennedy was once refused entry to the restaurant and, with only 250 members, mere mortals find it hard to get a game.

Cypress Point Club is set at the foothills of the Santa Lucia Mountains on the very tip of the Monterey Peninsula and the cliff top terrain is varied and thrilling. Almost as many superlatives have been used to describe the beauty of the location as the course itself.

Masa Nishijima, co-author of Tom Doak’s 

, commented as follows: “Seth Raynor was under contract to do the course, but Raynor passed away in 1926 before the start of construction, and Robert Hunter managed to convince the client to let Dr. MacKenzie have a look at the course when he made his first visit to California later that year.”

“The best 17-hole course in the world” is how Cypress Point has been described. The closing hole is considered by some to be little more than a route back to the clubhouse and perhaps the 16th hole is a weakness too, especially if you can’t carry the ball more than 200 yards into the prevailing wind. The Pacific is the ultimate water hazard on this 231-yard one-shot hole. It’s considered the best golf hole in the world or the worst if you dump your third tee shot into the sea.

David commented on our Cypress Point article. We feel his points are valid and worthy of sharing:

“While most of your course intros seem ok, this one is really off. It was one guy, Jimmy Demaret that called Cypress Point the best 17-hole course he's ever played. He was a great pro, but not an expert in golf course architecture by any means. Granted the 18th might be a little strange, but it's a great hole in its own right. At most courses maybe even their signature hole. A blind tee shot over Cypress Trees to a narrow fairway the dog legs steep up a hill to a green sloping form back to front with a huge cypress tree blocking out the entire left side of the green requiring a perfect drive to have a chance at the green with a shaped approach from an uneven lie. Land it too deep above the hole and you’re faced with a treacherous putt, miss right while shaping your shot and you are in one of the bunkers guarding the green. Does that sound at all like a weak hole?

Also the 16th is not properly described. In typical MacKenzie fashion this hole can be played many ways. He always leaves a way for weaker golfers. The 16th is no different. If the carry is impossible for your ability level you can play left requiring a carry of around or less than 100 yards to a partially hidden fairway and play this hole as a par 4. Any level can do this. I watched a 92 year old man par the hole with no problem in that fashion. So I'd argue this is not my opinion even, it's just plain fact which makes the intro you have incorrect and a bit unfair to Cypress Point and to MacKenzie.”

Cypress Point

Cypress Point Club is set at the foothills of the Santa Lucia Mountains on the very tip of the Monterey Peninsula and the cliff top terrain is varied and thrilling.

Yorkshire

England

Ganton Golf Club played host to the 1949 Ryder Cup matches between the USA and Great Britain. Team Captains were Ben Hogan (US) and Charles Whitcombe (GB). The U.S. Non-playing Captain Ben Hogan raised a concern about the grooves on the clubs of some British players. A meeting was called with R&A Rules Official Bernard Darwin, who concurred that the clubs should be repaired to meet conforming standards. Despite the USA team being without three key players, Hogan’s side claimed victory after dominating the singles, USA 7 - GB 5. The Ryder Cup was played at 

To classify Ganton as a heathland course is a misnomer – one could just as easily categorise it as an inland links, as it’s situated in the rural Vale of Pickering, nine miles from the sea. This sandy, gently undulating site was once a North Sea inlet. Consequently, it has all the characteristics of a links and a heathland course. Either way, Ganton Golf Club is a perfect place to play golf.

The Scarborough Golf Club (as it was originally called) opened for play in 1891, laid out by St Andrews’ Tom Chisholm. The great Harry Vardon became the club’s pro in 1896, the same year he won his first Open title at 

. This immediately put Ganton on the map.

In 1905, Ted Ray, along with James Braid, J.H. Taylor and Vardon implemented major alterations to the layout. Harry Colt, Alister MacKenzie, Tom Simpson and C.K. Cotton made further changes over the next 50 years.

Ganton is surely one of the few inland courses in the British Isles good enough to hold an Open Championship. It would make a pleasant change to break with tradition and hold an Open somewhere inland. After all, Ganton is used to holding important competitions – it hosted the 1949 Ryder Cup, the 2000 Curtis Cup and the 2003 Walker Cup.

The bunkering is quite extraordinary, a real feature of the course. With over 100 cunningly placed bunkers, some of which are simply huge, both in breadth and in depth, whilst others are small. Only lucky (or very good golfers) will avoid the sand traps at Ganton. Bernard Darwin wrote in 

, that Ganton “possesses by far the vastest and generally most gorgeous bunker that is to be found, as far as I know, on any inland course. It is a huge pit of sand, with just the depths and shallows, the bays and promontories of the genuine seaside article. It is so large that, by its unaided efforts, it provides highly effective bunkering for the tee shots to the last two holes; and as regards its dimensions, I shall not be flattering it very grossly if I compare it to the bunker in front of the fifth tee at 

 (without the sea), you’ve got Ganton. Nearly 100 years ago, Bernard Darwin compared Ganton to being “a little like 

; and, generally speaking, it is the type of course that one would expect to find in Surrey rather than in Yorkshire.” Occupying open, windswept heathland, it’s a supreme thinking man’s and woman’s test of golf; the fast greens and firm fairways test the very best players. Various types of thick gorse, heather and broom highlight the course during the spring and summer months.

Three short par fours provide the opportunity of a game of risk and reward for the big hitters. A minor downside is the fact that there are only three par threes but the strength of the par fours more than compensates for this. The 4th hole, a 406-yard par four, requires a solid drive to a wide fairway before an undulating green sited on a raised plateau is unveiled. The approach shot must carry across a gully and avoid a canny bunker on the right-hand side of the green. From the raised 5th tee, a short 157-yard par three, you have a great view of the well-protected green. Only an arrow-straight tee shot will suffice. Stray to the left and you will be swallowed up by one of two bunkers, stray to the right and you'll be trapped by a huge curved bunker, which wraps itself around the entire right-hand side of the green.

Ganton is a friendly club that opens its doors warmly to visitors (providing you have a handicap). If you are a serious golfer and have never played here, we strongly recommend it.

Ganton

Britain & Ireland

This sandy, gently undulating site was once a North Sea inlet. Consequently, Ganton Golf Club has all the characteristics of a links and a heathland course.

New York

Garden City Golf Club is very different to most courses that are regularly ranked in the World Top 100. The strict men-only policy of this exclusive club puts it in the limelight for all the wrong reasons.

In 1897, when the course first opened for play on the Hempstead Plain in Long Island Village, it was in the middle of rural countryside. Today, Garden City Golf Club is an oasis in the middle of suburban sprawl.

Devereux Emmet originally designed the course in 1896. In 1902, the 9th US Open was staged here – Laurie Auchterlonie was the eventual winner. Walter Travis made some modifications to the course in the Roaring Twenties and he can probably claim to have turned Garden City into the fascinating layout that it is today.

The ground is ostensibly light loam so many people classify Garden City as an inland links or a heathland course. Classifying Garden City as either a links or heathland course would be wrong, even though it does possess many of their characteristics.

Garden City is a course for the minimalists, so it's just as well Tom Doak completed a restoration programme here in 2015. There’s nothing bold or brash about Garden City it’s just a simple, natural course which does everything in a reassured but understated way.

, author Darius Oliver writes: “The topography at Garden City isn’t overly dramatic, but the course is beautifully routed and the designers did a superb job squeezing quality holes out of fairly unremarkable landforms. With plenty of half-par holes and hazards arranged to create genuine risk/reward dilemma, Garden City is particularly well suited to matchplay… Steeped in the traditions of early American golf, Garden City is an unpretentious treasure that continues to excite and delight.”

Garden City Golf Club

The strict men-only policy of the exclusive Garden City Golf Club puts it in the limelight for all the wrong reasons...

Minnesota

Interlachen was built in 1909 from three parcels of farmland and the original architect was Willie Watson. The legendary architect Donald Ross updated Watson’s design only ten years after the course was opened. Robert Trent Jones was involved in further modifications in 1960 and Geoffrey Cornish made further changes to the layout in the 1980s.

Interlachen Country Club is located in the Minneapolis suburb of Edina and this hallowed course is routed across rolling ground with wide, tree lined fairways and water coming into play at six holes. The greens are relatively small and very fast and no fewer than ten of Interlachen’s greens are elevated. The short par fours on the outward half require precision if a score is to be made on the front nine. The back nine has a number of holes with doglegged fairways. The signature hole is the 530-yard par five 9th featuring a dogleg right fairway and a lake on the inside of the bend beside the green. During the 1930 US Open here, Bobby Jones skimmed his ball over the water to make a birdie which went a long way to ensuring he achieved the "Grand Slam".

In addition to the 1930 US Open, Interlachen has hosted many top competitions over the years, including the Solheim Cup in 2002 and the 2008 US Women’s Open. According to the brilliant 

, Interlachen “is blessed with an abundance and wide variety of trees, calling for the unique ‘leafie’ rule that enchanted players from the UK in a 1980 re-creation of the 1930 Open.” We’d love to know more about this rule so if anybody can throw any light on the subject we’ll be thrilled to hear from you.

: “Although not quite as sporty as that of White Bear Yacht Club, the land here is ideal for good golf and the quality of the original design remains largely preserved. Oozing history, and with a magnificent clubhouse structure and first-class amenities, Interlachen is the envy of other clubs in Minnesota and is a course that traditionalists, in particular, are sure to enjoy playing.”

Interlachen

During the 1930 US Open at Interlachen Country Club, Bobby Jones skimmed his ball over the water on the 9th to make a birdie which went a long way to ensuring he achieved the "Grand Slam".

Massachusetts

William Flynn and Fred Hood should each receive equal credit for the course at The Kittansett Club (native Indian for “near the sea”) which opened for play in 1922. Flynn provided the routing plan and Hood built the course and continued to "tweak" the layout for the next 20 years. The course is situated at the end of Butler Point which extends into Buzzards Bay. Its location offers spectacular views and challenging shot making in the ever-changing wind.

Only third in stature in the state of Massachusetts to The Country Club and Old Sandwich, Kittansett hosted the Walker Cup in 1953 when USA beat Great Britain & Ireland 9-3. The course was restored in the late 1990s by Gill Hanse who recaptured many of the original features that had been eroded over the decades. Hundreds of trees were removed for two reasons – first to reveal grassed over mounds alongside fairways, and second, to improve visibility of the Bay. Some disused bunkers were brought back into play and others were rebuilt to their original size and composition.

The signature hole is the 3rd, a 165-yard par three, which is an island hole requiring a tee shot that carries sand and water to reach the putting surface. The small green can be easily missed from the tee (especially if the wind is unkind and takes a tee shot offline) leaving the golfer with a recovery shot from the beach – if the tide is out!

Darius Oliver, in this short extract from the book 

, writes: “Enjoying scenic outlooks across the water to Cape Cod, Kittansett is a lovely setting for golf and the ever-changing nature of its holes ensure that a round here is constantly engaging. Somewhat reminiscent of a place like Humewood in South Africa, the course isn’t quite in the same league as the best from Britain, but it does rest comfortably among the premier seaside layouts in this part of the world.”

Kittansett

The Kittansett Club is situated at the end of Butler Point which extends into Buzzards Bay. Its location offers spectacular views and challenging shot making in the ever-changing wind.

The location for the Los Angeles Country Club makes it possibly one of the most valuable pieces of real estate in the world. It’s therefore fitting that the North course does full justice to the land because it is a truly magnificent layout.

The club was founded in 1897 as the Los Angeles Golf Club, moving locations three times before settling on its current site adjacent to Beverly Hills in 1911. The original club founders, Joe Sartori and Ed Tufts, along with Norman Macbeth and Charles Orr, laid out the inaugural course at the new Wilshire site.

The course (now known as the North) at the renamed Los Angeles Country Club was refashioned by Herbert Fowler in 1921 but re-routed in 1927 by George C. Thomas Jr. and his right-hand man, William Bell, with excellent effect. Fast-forward to the new millennium when Gil Hanse was entrusted to restore this classic course to its former glory.

The layout is at once thrilling and often exciting with its hills, ridges, swales and valleys. There are two 18-hole courses, the North and the South, if you can get a game, but only have time for one round, try and persuade your friendly member to play the North course.

There are far too many great holes to mention them all, but the par threes are exceptionally strong, exactingly long and noteworthy. The 7th is perhaps the toughest of them all, measuring almost 240 yards where only the perfect tee shot will find the sanctuary of the green. The 9th is perhaps the signature hole, with the clubhouse as the backdrop, but many members consider the 11th to be the star of the show with downtown LA as the backdrop.

As far as parkland courses go, Los Angeles North is as good as it comes. The course holds your interest all the way round and it’s a challenging and tough but fair layout. Roll this up with a beautiful setting (except perhaps for the odd imposing tower block) and you have a little piece of heaven.

Los Angeles (North)

The location for the Los Angeles Country Club makes it possibly one of the most valuable pieces of real estate in the world. It’s therefore fitting therefore that North course does full justice to the land...

Pennsylvania

When Merion Golf Club was founded in 1896, Philadelphians were more likely to play cricket than golf. They even sent touring cricket teams to England!

But it wasn’t long before the golf bug really hit home and wealthy Philadelphians decided that they needed a top-notch golf course, so they dispatched Hugh Wilson back to Scotland to check out a few decent course designs. After seven months in Britain he returned with some great ideas for the new Merion and he set about putting them into practice. In 1912, the East course at Merion was ready for play and, considering Wilson was a complete amateur architect, he managed to produce one of the greatest courses in the States.

“Merion is an inland course,” wrote Robert Trent Jones in 

, “but the framework of its greens with their combinations of multiform mounds, oriented with sand and sod, give it somewhat the appearance of a seaside links. It is these well-shaped, artistically appealing green areas that make Merion characteristically different from most American courses and, further, explain to a considerable extent why Merion remains a vital test of golf, whereas most other courses of its pre-World War I vintage have long since lost their snap and crackle.

Analyze Merion closely. It has something. It keeps the pressure on the tournament golfer all the way through to the home hole. It is harder on the average golfer than a course like 

, but its variety of fairway contours, the angles of its green surfaces, its contiguous ‘white faces,’ and the intelligence of its routing have made for a course that age has not withered nor custom staled.”

We could write a small book about the East course at Merion. For example, this was where Bobby Jones won the US Amateur Championship to complete his 1930 Grand Slam. Jack Nicklaus scored 66, 67, 68 and 68 in his four rounds of the 1960 Eisenhower Trophy, causing an international stir.

, he commented, “Merion’s setting is nowhere near as picturesque as the Augusta National, the most beautiful meadowland course I know, or as majestic as 

, with its awesome cliffs and ocean headlands. It is a park-type course, set in the suburbs. It occupies pleasant rolling terrain, but it is what its designer, Hugh Wilson, did with that terrain that makes Merion exceptional. Each of the eighteen holes has its own personality. Each is interesting to play. Each requires that you use your head to get your par.”

That’s what Jack thinks and we’d so love to hear what you think about Merion’s East course, especially if you've played it since Gil Hanse's 2014 restoration.

David Rossiter plays Merion several times each year and in 2012 he commented as follows:

"I often read or hear, when someone is trying to describe the attributes of a golf course, that "I had to use every club in my bag". Nowhere is this statement is more true than at Merion. The course is made up of long holes, short holes, and medium length holes. Decisions must be made on what club to use, to strategically attack a hole, on nearly every tee.

The rough must be avoided in order to have any chance of making par on a hole. There have been many wrist sprains inflicted on golfers trying to advance their ball out of the penal Merion rough. Hit in this stuff a couple times early in a round, you'll then be standing on the tee boxes with both hands on the steering wheel, for the remainder of the day. This of course just makes matters worse, and you just can't seem to get yourself back on track, making one bogey after another.

The green complexes are just that, very complex. In a blink of an eye, you can make a huge number on any hole. The greens themselves are pitched and undulating. When Hugh Wilson made these greens, the thought of 12' on the stimpmeter was inconceivable. When Merion is hosting an event or a tournament, the greenspeeds are 12' or higher and possible hole locations are reduced dramatically.

Many have stated that the final five holes "are the finest finishing holes in golf". No one knows for sure, but I'll say that I can't wait to see the U.S. Open played there in a few years. I know that the lead will change hands on those final holes, and it will not be one of the long hitters who will win. The winner will be someone who can hit every club in his bag well."

The US Open returns to the East course at Merion Golf Club in 2013. Merion last hosted the US Open in 1981 when David Graham became the first Australian to win the US Open Championship."

Update: Justin Rose claimed his first Major title at a brutally tough Merion Golf Club in 2013 becoming the first Englishman to win the U.S. Open since Tony Jacklin in 1970.

Merion (East)

Wisconsin

Golf in Wisconsin dates back to circa 1890 and the Milwaukee Country Club is one of the oldest in the State. Although Milwaukee was founded in 1894, golf in those days was played to the northeast of the city before moving in 1910 to River Hills, its present location, on the Milwaukee River.

The current Milwaukee layout was fashioned by the hand of Charles Hugh Alison in 1929. Robert Trent Jones made some minor revisions to the layout ahead of the 1969 Walker Cup matches.

Host venue for the 1988 USGA Senior Amateur, Milwaukee Country Club is a demanding course that requires accuracy from the tee. This is epitomised by the outstanding par four 9th which has a narrow landing area from the tee followed by an intimidating uphill approach shot to a green which is protected by a cavernous bunker set short and right of the green.

Milwaukee Country Club was once more under the spotlight when the club played host to the 2008 Mid-Amateur Championship. Steve Wilson of Mississippi lifted the Robert T. Jones Jr. Trophy at Milwaukee and earned an invitation to the 2009 Masters Tournament in the process.

Tom Doak commented as follows in his January 2020 newsletter:

“Don Placek and Brian Schneider are in the home straight of restoring C.H. Alison’s design, which began when Don and I visited the club in the fall of 2004. We won’t put back the old 9th green, because there’s a swimming pool in the way, but once we get the 11th through 15th holes back in shape this fall, it will be a wrap.”

Milwaukee

Golf in Wisconsin dates back to circa 1890 and the Milwaukee Country Club is one of the oldest in the State. The current Milwaukee layout was fashioned by the hand of Charles Hugh Alison in 1929.

The Minikahda Club dates back to 1898 and the club’s first professional, Willie Watson – who co-designed the nearby 

course – laid out the original 9 holes. Seven years later, additional land was acquired to extend the layout to 18 holes and Robert Foulis oversaw its completion in 1907, with Tom Bendelow making some minor modifications very shortly after.

The club hosted the US Open in 1916 when Chick Evans became only the third amateur to capture the trophy and it was just after this competition that Donald Ross was called in to redesign the course. Unfortunately, World War I intervened so his changes were not implemented until the end of 1920, creating the much-loved layout that’s in place today.

A number of significant amateur championships have been held at the club since Donald Ross revamped Minikahda.

The US Amateur Championship was held at the club in 1927 when Bobby Jones won the third of his five titles, defeating Chick Evans 8 & 7 in a somewhat one-sided Final and the Walker Cup was won by the US men’s team in 1957 when they outplayed Great Britain and Ireland 8-3.

The ladies have made their mark too as the US Women's Amateur was held here in 1988 when Pearl Sinn defeated Karen Noble in the final match by a score of 6 & 5 and the 30th series of Curtis Cup matches were played ten years later with the US team defeating Great Britain & Ireland by the narrow margin of 10-8.

A number of prominent architects have worked on the course in recent years, including Geoffrey Cornish and Craig Schriner in the late 1980s and early 1990s and Ron Prichard – the “Ross Restorer” – who was called in by the club in 2001 to lengthen the layout, prune trees, reshape greens, reconstruct and replace bunkers.

Minikahda

Minikahda – whose name comes from two Sioux Indian words meaning “by the side of the water” – dates back to 1898 when an amazing total of 600 members formed the club...

Lothians

Scotland

Muirfield was the fourth course to stage the Open Championship and is the third most used Open venue (host to 16 Opens) after 

Muirfield is the course of “The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers” (HCEG), the world’s oldest golf club—according to direct written evidence—formed in 1744. In those days, the members played over Leith Links, originally a five-hole course. In March 1744, the first official rules of golf were drawn up by the “Gentlemen Golfers of Leith” in readiness for a tournament which was due to be played over Leith Links the following month. These original 13 rules became the basis for the game of golf and shortly afterwards, the HCEG was formed.

Almost 150 years later, in 1891, the course at Muirfield opened for play. Old Tom Morris designed it, originally as a 16-holer. A further two holes were added a few months later. In 1923, another 50 acres were purchased to the north of the course. Harry Colt was engaged to redesign the layout and he introduced fourteen new holes, forming the course that remains in place today. Apart from Tom Simpson's re-modelling of the 13th hole in 1935, the only major changes since then have been the addition of new tees.

The design layout is a masterpiece and highly unusual for links courses of this era. Most courses were laid out simply, nine out and nine back. Muirfield is different; it was the first to be designed with two concentric rings of nine holes. The outward nine holes run clockwise around the edge and the inward nine run anti-clockwise, sitting inside the outward nine. The layout ensures that the wind hits you from all directions, but Muirfield is as difficult to play downwind as it is upwind.

Host to fifteen Opens, most recently in 2013, Muirfield is considered by many top professionals to be one of the fairest Open Championship golf courses. Bernard Darwin loved Muirfield, and in his 1910 book, 

, he wrote: “There is a fine view of the sea and a delightful sea wood, with the trees all bent and twisted by the wind; then, too, it is a solitary and peaceful spot, and a great haunt of the curlews, whom one may see hovering over a championship crowd and crying eerily amid a religious silence.”

Muirfield is blessed with a collection of superb golf holes and we'll mention a couple of them: The 554-yard par five 9th hole is a tough driving hole, two bunkers lurk on the left-hand side and beyond them is a grey stone boundary wall with out-of-bounds threatening the hooked tee shot; the fairway cruelly starts to narrow at the landing area of a good solid drive, the tangly rough waiting hopefully to catch anything struck off-line. The second shot must avoid a waiting line of five cleverly placed bunkers situated short and right of the green. The 13th is one of best short holes on the open circuit, an uphill 191-yarder; five abysmal bunkers, three on the right and two on the left ferociously protect the deep and narrow green that slopes from back to front. Whatever we do, we mustn’t leave a scary downhill putt.

Muirfield is an eccentric but traditional golf links of the highest calibre. The fairways have that lovely spongy seaside turf, there’s some unbelievable bunkering (many of which are small and deep) and there’s that thick, thick rough to contend with. The greens are relatively small too, which makes you think carefully about your approach shots and once you are safely on the putting surface, you’ll need to interpret them well because the borrows are subtle and tricky to read.

In readiness for the 2013 Open Championship, following a land swap with next-door neighbour the 

, Muirfield was lengthened, with new tees added on seven holes. Now measuring 7,192 yards from the tips, with par set at 71, Muirfield has become a stern 21st century challenge, especially when the wind blows.

Muirfield

Muirfield is the course of “The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers” (HCEG), the world’s oldest golf club – according to direct written evidence – formed in 1744.

North Scotland

Nairn Golf Club is located on an elevated, rumpled piece of linksland on the Moray Firth coastline, close to the historic fishing port. It’s one of Scotland’s lesser-known gems.

This is a course which has been touched by many great architects. The club was founded in 1887 to an original design by Archie Simpson. A few years later Old Tom Morris extended the layout and, prior to the Great War, James Braid made further alterations. Directly after the Great War, Ben Sayers added his mark to the course only to find James Braid itching to polish off the design. It is no wonder that Nairn is such a detailed masterpiece.

One of the most spectacular seaside courses in Scotland, Nairn boasts sea views from every hole. If you are a right-hander and you’ve got a slicing problem, you could find the beach from your very first tee shot. The sea is in play on six of the first seven holes; make sure you’ve got an adequate supply of balls.

When the sun is low in the sky and the shadows are long, you cannot fail to appreciate the undulating, bunker-pitted moonscape that is Nairn. It’s a delightful links with fast, firm but narrow fairways, a number of which are framed by gorse bushes and heather, heaping further pressure onto a nervous drive. The greens are sited in the trickiest places – some are raised and others are nestled in hollows. Most are well protected, either by bunkers or natural hazards, and all of the greens are fast and true, a Nairn trademark.

There is a plethora of good holes at Nairn and the 5th is one of the best. It’s a great 390-yard par four called “Nets” which requires a straight solid drive avoiding the beach on the right. This will leave a short approach shot to a small, elevated green that is well protected by bunkers and a sharp bank sloping off to the right.

The 9th, named “Icehouse”, is a lovely par four to close the outward nine. A tough long drive from the tee is required, avoiding the whin bushes on the left and the bunkers on the right. The green is located to the right of the white cottage which is, in fact, a Salmon Bothy Keep your eyes peeled for the Icehouse which is covered in thick grassy turf where salmon was kept on ice for up to two years.

Nairn is a very long way north. However, you may be surprised to hear that despite Nairn’s Highland latitude, it is located in one of the driest places in Britain. So, why not follow in the footsteps of Peter McEvoy? In 1999, here at Nairn, he lead the Great Britain and Ireland Walker Cup team to a resounding 15-9 victory over the USA.

Following a Course Audit presentation by Tom Mackenzie at a Special General Meeting, approval was given to start work on a course upgrade at the end of 2018. New forward tees were added and new greens constructed on the 1st, 7th and 14th holes, with further reshaping and bunker adjustments made to a further twelve holes.

Nairn (Championship)

The Championship links at Nairn Golf Club is one of the most spectacular seaside courses in Scotland, boasting sea views from every hole.

On the shore edge of Peconic Bay at Southampton on Long Island is the National Golf Links of America. “I will not describe that delightful spot again.” Wrote Bernard Darwin in 

. “It is one of the best and most enchanting of courses.” Known simply as 'National', this is the ultimate design creation from the father of American golf course architecture. Charles Blair Macdonald apparently coined the term 'golf architect' and his National is a complete masterpiece.

Macdonald’s ambition was to create the greatest course in the United States and he started his mission in 1902 by making the first of five annual summer trips to the UK. He compiled details of important features of golf holes analysing why weak holes were often dull and what really made good holes good. In 1907, using his extensive knowledge, he set about creating the greatest golf course of its time. The National Golf Links finally opened for play in 1909 to a rapturous standing ovation.

This is a golf course of monumental historical importance, it’s a “Bear’s Best”, or “Blair's Best” of the early 20th century. Each hole at the National is named and the 2nd, called “Sahara” is based on the 3rd at Royal St George’s. The 3rd, called “Alps” replicates the challenging blind approach shot taken from the brilliant 17th at Prestwick, where a confrontational hill and a huge bunker protecting the undulating green front must be carried. The 4th, called “Redan” copies the 15th at North Berwick where the long green is set at an angle. The 7th, called “St Andrews” uses features of the famous “Road” hole and the 13th is indebted to the “Eden” hole of the Old course.

The National is set in more than 250 acres of gently rolling Long Island landscape. The varied topography is not only beautiful but it’s dramatic too, holding you captivated from the opening tee shot to the last putt. With theatrical green complexes that are extremely varied, putting at the National can be the ultimate challenge. Many greens undulate wildly while others are flat as pancakes but they all share a common denominator and that is their size… they are simply huge. The routing is ostensibly nine out and nine back, but somehow the holes seem to zigzag up and down making the wind an ever-present obstacle.

If you haven’t played the National, you need to hold on to the “six degrees of separation” theory, which proposes that anyone can be connected to a member of the National Golf Links of America through a series of acquaintances that has no more than four intermediaries. Keep that thought in mind. Who knows? One day perhaps?

National Golf Links of America

National Golf Links of America is a golf course of monumental historical importance, it’s a “Bear’s Best”, or “Blair's Best” of the early 20th century.

Georgia

The course at Ocean Forest Golf Club was co-designed by Rees Jones and Greg Muirhead in 1995. It’s built on a wonderful parcel of Georgia land and it closely resembles a true seaside links. Some holes are routed alongside the Hampton River and the closing holes run down to the Atlantic Ocean. There are some spectacular views to drink and the fickle wind is an ever-present hazard.

With natural sand dunes and vast expanses of saltwater marsh, Ocean Forest is a challenging course that calls for each club in the bag. The doglegged par four 16th heralds the start of a great stretch of closing holes, playing through a narrow corridor of trees. If you pass the driving test, your approach shot will need to be from the top drawer in order to find the small green, which is heavily bunkered. The best hole is perhaps saved until last. This cracking par four plays tantalisingly alongside the Atlantic gradually leading you back to the welcoming clubhouse.

Ocean Forest will be remembered warmly by the Great Britain & Ireland team who secured a 15 points to 9 victory over team USA in the 2001 Walker Cup match.

Ocean Forest

Ocean Forest Golf Club was co-designed by Rees Jones and Greg Muirhead in 1995 and it’s built on a wonderful parcel of Georgia land and it closely resembles a true seaside links.

Peachtree Golf Club is located in Atlanta and it’s the course that the Joneses built. Bobby Jones was the inspiration behind Peachtree and Robert was the architect. Bobby and Robert were not related but Robert started to use his middle name “Trent” when Peachtree finally opened for play.

The original 9-hole course was completed in October 1947 but the following year, Bobby Jones was diagnosed with syringomyelia, a spinal condition that first caused him pain, then paralysis. Sadly, he would never play the completed course at Peachtree Golf Club.

Peachtree’s glorious location bears more than a passing resemblance to nearby 

, certainly in terms of the tall pines, azaleas and dogwoods in full bloom. Fairways follow the natural contours of the landscape, often leading to enormous greens that are well protected by sand, water or both.

The par five 2nd hole gives an early indication of what lies ahead during the round, setting out along a ridge before it falls over a creek to a split fairway that leads to a pond-protected green. On the back nine, the par five 10th plays to one of the largest greens in the country when originally built.

A renovation program has improved the course immeasurably in recent years. Fairways were converted to zoysia grass and tree pruning has allowed old vistas to be enjoyed once again.

Peachtree

Peachtree Golf Club is located in Atlanta and it’s the course that the Joneses built. Bobby Jones was the inspiration and Robert was the architect.

New Jersey

Pine Valley Golf Club was the dream of a Philadelphian hotelier, George Crump, who sadly died before its completion. The legacy he left behind is universally considered to be the perfect example of penal golf course architecture.

The course is located on the New Jersey side of Philadelphia and it’s impossible to believe that one of the world’s best golf courses is set in such featureless countryside. Crump started work on this desolate piece of land in 1912 and, after receiving Harry Colt’s seal of approval on the routing, 14 holes were ready for play in 1916. Crump died in 1918 and his dream 18-hole course was one year away from completion.

Pine Valley officially opened in 1919 but it took three years for anybody to get round in 70 strokes and it quickly became renowned the world over as the ultimate test of golf. The members were quick to realise there was an opportunity for a quick buck and offered a standing bet to anyone playing for the first time that they won’t break 80. In 1954, Arnold Palmer took all bets going and cleaned up, shooting a 68. “I was desperate for money at the time,” he explained. “I was about to be married. So I collected all the bets I could find. I don’t know what I would have done If I had lost – it was far more money than I could afford.”

“Pine Valley fills you with dread and delight… it takes your breath away… it’s a monster, but it’s beautiful.” Wrote Robert Trent Jones in the 

. “It is frequently alluded to as the most difficult course in the world, and this reputation is justified. To my way of thinking, it also possesses more classic holes than any other course in the world – ten of the eighteen. Of the remaining holes, five are outstanding, two are good, and one, the 12th, is ordinary, which, at Pine Valley, is tantamount to being a misfit.

I remember playing a round at Pine Valley not so long ago with Lowell Thomas, who as you know, has travelled the world as widely as any man. On this 15th, after we had driven across the lake that separates the tee from the start of the fairway, Thomas turned and looked back across the water, then quietly gazed at the rest of the scene around us. ‘In all my travels,’ he said, ‘I do not think I’ve seen a more beautiful landscape. This is as thrilling as Versailles or Fontainebleau.’”

Pine Valley

Dublin

Ireland

Portmarnock Golf Club is situated on its own sandy peninsula, approximately two miles long and covering some 500 acres. In 1893, William Pickeman, a Scottish insurance broker, and his friend George Ross, rowed across the sea from Sutton to the peninsular and immediately realised that this was prime golfing terrain. In those days, the peninsula could only be safely reached by boat.

The land belonged to the famous distiller, John Jameson, and from around 1850, the links was used as the Jameson’s private golf course. Nine “proper” holes opened for play in 1894, Scotsman Mungo Park (winner of the 1874 Open Championship at Musselburgh Old course) directed the course design and became Portmarnock’s first professional. Two years later another Scot, George Coburn, extended the course to eighteen holes. Pickeman was the driving force behind Portmarnock’s beginnings and went on to design other courses in Ireland.

There is nothing man-made about Portmarnock; it’s a natural links, and considered to be a very fair golf course. With water on three sides, the course is at the mercy of the wind. Laid out broadly in two loops of nine holes, you are invariably playing in different directions. Measuring just less than 7,500 yards from the back tees, it is a formidable test of golf. You will need your very best putting game because the greens at Portmarnock are lightning fast and true. Or in the words of Bernard Darwin: “Perhaps the outstanding beauty of Portmarnock lies in its putting greens. They are good and true, which is a merit given to many greens, and they are very fast without being untrue, which is given only to a few, and is a rare and shining virtue”.

There are delightful views to the south of the Ireland’s Eye (a small island), home to important seabird colonies and the Hill of Howth (once famous for its electric trams). On a clear day looking northwest, the Mountains of Mourne are visible.

Portmarnock has hosted a number of important events including—on 19 occasions—the Irish Open, the Canada Cup and the Walker Cup. The closing five holes are especially brutal. Bernard Darwin once commented: ”I know of no greater finish in the world than that of the last five holes at Portmarnock”. The first of these closing holes, the 14th, requires an accurate approach shot to a narrow green, or in Joe Carr’s case, an accurate drive. Apparently Carr, an amateur, made a hole-in-one on this 385-yard par 4. How on earth did he miss those greenside bunkers?

The par three 15th, measuring 190 yards from the medal tee, plays along the seashore. Any hint of a left to right shaped tee shot will almost certainly end up on the beach, whilst the green is protected at the front by three fearsome bunkers. Ian Woosnam almost came a cropper on this hole in the second round of the 1988 Irish Open. His opening tee shot ended up in the sea, but playing three off the tee, he somehow managed to find the edge of the green and then he holed a 40-footer for a bogey. Clearly inspired by this miraculous save, Woosnam went on to win the title.

A third (Yellow) nine was added in 1971, designed by Fred Hawtree and costing a very modest £3,500. The only change required to the Championship layout (Red and Blue nines) was a new fairway and green for the 6th hole.

Fred’s son Martin was commissioned to upgrade the course prior to the 2003 Irish Open and this involved reconfiguring the 1st hole (with fairway and green moved to the right), constructing a new par three 12th, installing new greenside runoffs on five holes and new tees on three other holes.

Portmarnock (Championship)

”I know of no greater finish in the world than that of the last five holes at Portmarnock Golf Club”, said Bernard Darwin

Golf was first played on the Quaker Ridge site in 1915 and in those days it was a modest nine-hole layout known as the Metropolitan Golf Links. The club soon fell on hard times and a small band of businessmen stepped in during 1916 and founded the Quaker Ridge Golf Club. A.W. Tillinghast was called in and he redesigned seven holes and built eleven new ones. The new course opened for play in 1918 and it’s known lovingly as “Tilly’s Treasure”. Tilly returned in the mid 1920s to refine the layout.

Quaker Ridge is one of the most unheralded golf courses in the USA and only those in the know have heard of it. Most clubs obtain their fame from hosting important events and yet Quaker Ridge had until recently only hosted one “major” event in recent times, the 75th Walker Cup. The 1997 event ended with a resounding US victory over Great Britain and Ireland, 18 points to 6.

Needless to say, Quaker Ridge is an exacting test of golf, which is set in undulating heavily wooded country. Look out for the great oak tree to the right of the 10th. According to folklore, George Washington slumbered underneath it prior to battling with the British the next day. Quaker Ridge has also produced its own home-grown winners of some repute, including Jess Sweetser and Willie Turnesa, winners of both the US and British Amateur Championships. But the most celebrated Quaker Ridge member was also the country's most famous composer, George Gershwin, who held a very respectable 10 handicap.

Gil Hanse has been working at Quaker Ridge Golf Club since 2002. Since then a “significant” number of trees have been removed and the bunkers restored back to how they might have looked in the Roaring Twenties. Needless to say, the restored course was a fitting stage for the 2018 Curtis Cup matches, which the home team dominated.

Quaker Ridge has received many accolades over the years and we’ll leave you with Ben Crenshaw’s comments: “It is so much of a treat to play. There is such a beautiful mix of holes at Quaker Ridge; it is truly a Tillinghast Gem.”

Quaker Ridge

The course at Quaker Ridge Golf Club is one of the most unheralded layouts in the USA and only those in the know have heard of it, and only the lucky few have played it.

North East Scotland

Royal Aberdeen Golf Club was originally known as the Society of Golfers at Aberdeen, founded in 1780, this is the eighth oldest golf club in the world. The members originally played over a public strip of common land between the Don and the Dee. In 1815 the society changed its name to the Aberdeen Golf Club. The common land was becoming over-crowded, so in 1886 they decided to move to their present home, the Balgownie links, north of the river Don, which opened for play in 1888. Royal title was finally applied in 1903, despite the fact that Prince Leopold granted patronage more than 30 years earlier.

A trio of Simpsons had a hand in fashioning this course, brothers Robert and Archie and then the flamboyant Tom Simpson. J. H. Taylor, James Braid and most recently Donald Steel also made revisions.

Royal Aberdeen is a traditional out and back links running along the shore of the North Sea and is regarded by many as having the finest first nine holes in golf. The first tee is under the clubhouse window and the fairway heads straight for the sea. The next eight holes run parallel to the shore, weaving their way through towering sand dunes. You then turn back, heading for the clubhouse. The back nine holes play on higher ground and provide stunning North Sea views.

While the front nine holes are undoubtedly tough, the back nine holes are probably harder. They are more exposed to the elements, and consequently, bear the full brunt of the wind. The par threes here at the Balgownie are also first class as is the finishing hole, a brutal par four, in excess of 400 yards. A good tee shot will finish in a hollow in the fairway, leaving a long second shot across a swale to an elevated green perched in front of the clubhouse.

The 2005 Senior British Open was held at Royal Aberdeen Golf Club. Tom Watson beat Ireland's Des Smyth in a sudden-death play-off to claim the title. The 43rd Walker Cup Match was then held here in 2011, with Great Britain & Ireland defeating the United States 14-12. In 2014, Royal Aberdeen hosted the Scottish Open for the first time, which Justin Rose won by two shots from Swede Kristoffer Broberg. The 123rd edition of the Amateur was staged here in 2018, with South African Jovan Rebula overcoming Ireland’s Robin Dawson 3&2 in the final.

David Raby, reckons that one of the best 18 holes in links golf is the front nine at Royal Aberdeen followed by holes 2-10 at 