The latest ranking of the Top 100 Golf Courses in the World serves as the ultimate global golf bucket list. Most members of our World Top 100 Panel are seasoned golfers, each playing 20-30 of these courses annually while travelling extensively over decades to form their opinions on others.
California, United States
New Jersey, United States
Down, United Kingdom
New York, United States
New York, United States
Victoria, Australia
Fife, United Kingdom
Pennsylvania, United States
Antrim, United Kingdom
Lothians, United Kingdom
Nebraska, United States
Ayrshire & Arran, United Kingdom
Pennsylvania, United States
Kinki (Kansai), Japan
Highlands & Islands, United Kingdom
Georgia, United States
Victoria, Australia
California, United States
Kent, United Kingdom
New York, United States
Berkshire, United Kingdom
New York, United States
Illinois, United States
Tasmania, Australia
Oregon, United States
California, United States
Kansas, United States
Kerry, Ireland
California, United States
Michigan, United States
Clare, Ireland
New York, United States
Angus & Dundee, United Kingdom
All Areas, China
California, United States
Donegal, Ireland
North Carolina, United States
California, United States
New Jersey, United States
Berkshire, United Kingdom
Lothians, United Kingdom
Fife, United Kingdom
North East France, France
Michigan, United States
Tasmania, Australia
Ohio, United States
Cornwall, United Kingdom
All Areas, Brazil
Illinois, United States
Berkshire, United Kingdom
Nebraska, United States
Highlands & Islands, United Kingdom
Florida, United States
All Areas, Netherlands
North Carolina, United States
New York, United States
New York, United States
Wisconsin, USA
Lancashire, United Kingdom
New York, United States
All Areas, South Korea
Ontario, Canada
South Wales, United Kingdom
New York, United States
Massachusetts, United States
New South Wales, Australia
Chubu, Japan
Aberdeen & Aberdeenshire, United Kingdom
Massachusetts, United States
Yorkshire, United Kingdom
Alberta, Canada
Dublin, Ireland
New York, United States
Colorado, United States
Aberdeen & Aberdeenshire, United Kingdom
Oregon, United States
Oregon, United States
Norway
Ohio, United States
Merseyside, United Kingdom
Montana, United States
Nova Scotia, Canada
Surrey, United Kingdom
Wisconsin, United States
Aberdeen & Aberdeenshire, United Kingdom
Victoria, Australia
Kent, United Kingdom
North Island, New Zealand
North Island, New Zealand
Ayrshire & Arran, United Kingdom
Kinki (Kansai), Japan
United Arab Emirates
North Island, New Zealand
North Island, New Zealand
All Areas, China
Southern Spain, Spain
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.
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.
Royal County Down Golf Club is at Newcastle, a little holiday town nestling at the feet of the majestic Mountains of Mourne. It’s an exhilarating location for a classic links golf course...
Not only was Shinnecock Hills Golf Club one of the five founding members of the USGA but also it was where one of the first specifically designed golf clubhouses was built.
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.
The West course at Royal Melbourne Golf Club is generally acknowledged as the best course in Australia and one of Doctor Alister MacKenzie's finest designs.
No other course has hosted more Opens than the Old Course at St Andrews.
Apart from Augusta National, Oakmont Country Club has hosted more major Championships than any other course in the U.S. and it’s considered by many to be the toughest golf course in the world.
The Dunluce links at Royal Portrush Golf Club is named after the ruined Dunluce castle that overlooks the course. Seven years after the club's formation, the first professional golf tournament in Ireland, won by Sandy Herd in 1895, was staged here.
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.
Sand Hills Golf Club is a club to respect and those in the know admire their non-commerciality and that is a delightful break from tradition these days...
Trump Turnberry Ailsa stands on the Ayrshire coastline 82km (51 miles) south of Glasgow, commanding views across the Firth of Clyde towards the Isle of Arran and Ailsa Craig. The par-71 links hosted four Open Championships between 1977 and 2009, most famously the 1977 "Duel in the Sun" between Tom Watson and Jack Nicklaus.
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!
Hirono Golf Club has played host to all the major Japanese championships and, although it measures a mere 6,925 yards from the back tees, it’s a supreme test of golf.
Royal Dornoch Golf Club is spellbinding. It seems to mesmerise amateur and professional golfers from all over the world and many make the pilgrimage to this natural links at some point in their lives.
Augusta National Golf Club is one of the most exclusive clubs in the world and was designed by the world’s greatest golfer, who teamed up with the world’s greatest architect.
Kingston Heath Golf Club pushes Royal Melbourne – and in some opinions exceeds it – as the premier course in Australian golf.
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...
There's nothing artificial about Royal St George’s Golf Club; there's a natural look and feel to the course that blends beautifully into its historical Sandwich surroundings.
Fishers Island Club is set romantically on a narrow island that is a mere two miles wide and eight miles long.
Exclusivity has finally arrived on New Zealand’s formerly inclusive golfing shores in the shape of Tom Doak’s Tara Iti Golf Club which is routed in a wide and grand scale along the east coast of the North Island.
The Old course at Sunningdale is one of the British Isles’ most aesthetically pleasing inland courses. Arguably, it was the first truly great golf course to be built on the magical Surrey/Berkshire sand-belt.
Set in 350 acres, this rugged course was designed by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw and opened for play in 2003 with the philosophy that golf at Friar’s Head should be about options and creativity.
Founded in 1892, Chicago Golf Club is one of America’s most exclusive clubs and today it is still intensely private.
Barnbougle Dunes is a memorable golf course made by enthusiasts for enthusiasts; it's the closest thing to a seaside links as exists in Australia.
Tom Doak's Pacific Dunes is considered by many to be the best course at the fabulous Bandon Dunes Golf Resort.
Cypress Point is the course you can’t play at Pebble Beach, but thankfully Pebble Beach Golf Links is one you can.
Prairie Dunes Country Club is an inland links jewel, which is set in the heart of America. The inland Kansas location is about as far away from the sea as you could possibly be but the course has many characteristics of a classic seaside links.
As you drive from the historic town of Ballybunion, along the winding road to the golf club, your eyes feast upon the most spectacular links land imaginable.
There are few courses with no weaknesses, but the Riviera Country Club can take the moniker. It’s a truly remarkable golf course routed across less than ideal terrain.
Crystal Downs Country Club is set delightfully on a headland that is wedged between Lake Michigan and Crystal Lake in America’s Midwest. The course was designed by Alister MacKenzie and supervised by Perry Maxwell.
Lahinch Golf Club is situated next to the lovely beach of Liscannor Bay. It's an enchanting place to play golf... rugged, distinctive, unusually varied and immensely entertaining.
The West course at Winged Foot Golf Club is the work of A.W. Tillinghast, one of America’s greatest golf course designers, and this is Tilly’s finest creation.
Carnoustie is a big natural seaside golf links and the Championship course is considered to be one of the most difficult in the British Isles.
Constructed in a manner unlike anything that’s been built before in China, the Shanqin Bay golf course just might become the benchmark for those still to come... assuming the authorities do not commandeer the fairways.
The California Golf Club of San Francisco can now boast tournament measurements. From the new back tees, which are aptly called Venturi, the course can be stretched to more than 7,200 yards.
Construction of the new St Patrick’s links at Rosapenna Hotel & Golf Resort began in April 2018, with Tom Doak’s lead associate Eric Everson working alongside Clyde Johnson and Angela Moser to complete the build during 2020.
Perry Maxwell took advantage of the hills to create a brilliant set of undulating greens with steep swales and strong contours at the Old Town Club.
Albert Warren Tillinghast was probably the greatest American golf course architect of his day and “Tilly” was the genius who crafted the course for San Francisco Golf Club in 1915.
Somerset Hills Country Club is a Jekyll and Hyde course that's routed around flat, open, links-like terrain of a former racetrack going out, and across hilly, dense woodland coming home.
Taken together, the New and Old courses at Sunningdale Golf Club represent the finest 36 holes of golf in the whole of the British Isles.
The West Links at North Berwick Golf Club is an immensely enjoyable golf course, located on the Firth of Forth with stunning sea views across to Craigleith Island and Bass Rock.
One of the many delights of Kingsbarns Golf Links is that you can see the North Sea from virtually every part of the course.
Bob Harrison's 2017 clifftop layout occupies Jura's southern peninsula, where six years of construction transformed peat and rock terrain into world-ranked golf holes. The exclusive estate rental includes 18 guest bedrooms and unlimited course access across 240 hectares overlooking the Sound of Jura. Plan your Scottish island golf holiday.
Morfontaine remains a monument to Tom Simpson’s original design, although Kyle Phillips has recently made some minor changes to the course.
With many holes lined by trees, six US Opens and one Ryder Cup under its belt, the South course at Oakland Hills Country Club should be treated with respect.
It’s said that respected author Darius Oliver was instrumental in convincing businessman Duncan Andrews to develop the remote Cape Wickham site...
The Camargo Club is set amidst undulating countryside on the edge of Cincinnati in the State of Ohio. It’s a Seth Raynor jewel which opened for play in 1925.
St Enodoc Golf Club is certainly a quixotic and rather hilly links course, set amidst towering sand dunes clad with tufts of wild sea grasses.
Several years in the making, Tom and Logan Fazio designed the course at Santapazienza Golf Club (their first South American ensemble) and it’s laid out within an enormous, densely forested estate.
When you arrive at Shoreacres (after your mandatory invite) you can almost feel a throwback in time to the 1920s as you approach the David Alder clubhouse.
Swinley Forest Golf Club is an absolutely charming golf course sited on the famous sand belt, but it’s a club that is frozen in time, exclusive, unusual and eccentric...
Situated to the southwest of Valentine and just a few miles north of The Prairie Club, CapRock Ranch is destined to be the next great private golfing destination located in the sand hills.
Cabot Highlands Castle Stuart now offers some serious competition to both Royal Dornoch and Nairn when it comes to attracting visiting golfers, but that's a good thing for the Highlands where the golfing bar of excellence is very high.
Situated on the Atlantic side of Florida’s coastline, Seminole Golf Club is considered by critics to be one of the finest examples of golf course routing.
Host to the Dutch Open on three occasions, Utrecht de Pan Golf Club is a strategic and exacting layout which requires thought rather than muscle, especially during the homeward nine.
Pinehurst Resort No.2 course opened for play in 1907 and its green sites are the ultimate test, legendary and quite unique.
The Bethpage Black course really is as difficult and penal as the high slope rating suggests. It’s not for the faint hearted.
“Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?” Well, according to the top touring pros and the Seven Dwarfs, it’s the Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester.
C.B. Macdonald’s legendary Lido golf course on Long Island opened in 1917, featuring just about all the template holes he had previously discovered on the classic links in Great Britain. Unfortunately, the property was used as a military base by the U.S. Navy during World War II and the course never reopened after hostilities ceased in 1945.
Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club is the most northerly of the English championship links courses, situated only 10 miles from Royal Birkdale.
The course at The Maidstone Club was routed by Willie Park Junior across the Gardiner Peninsula, which is one of the finest parcels of golfing ground in the world.
The course at South Cape Owners Club is a Kyle Phillips design, set out on a dramatic cliff top property, with ocean views available from all eighteen golf holes.
With tight twisting fairways and undulating terrain, St George’s Golf & Country Club is a man and woman-sized test of golf and five-time host to the Canadian Open.
Royal Porthcawl Golf Club is located off the beaten track, east of Swansea and west of Cardiff. Despite being the highest ranked course in Wales, it remains relatively unknown.
Designed by C. B. Macdonald and Seth Raynor, the legendary golf course at Sleepy Hollow Country Club sits high above the Hudson River on a 338-acre site formerly owned by William Rockefeller and Frank Vanderlip…
Myopia Hunt Club in South Hamilton Massachusetts started out in life way back in 1882. So many of the original "horsey" members were bespectacled that they decided to call the club Myopia.
New South Wales Golf Club is one of the most spectacular golf courses in Australia and it’s one of the toughest tests in the country.
There are two courses on the Izu Peninsula at the Kawana Resort and the Fuji course is universally considered to be the best.
Cruden Bay is an inspirational golf course, regarded by some as quirky and considered by others as a masterpiece. Either way, this is a thrilling place to play golf because the designers used the original lie of the land to fantastic effect.
Herbert Fowler, the esteemed English golf course architect – best known for his work at Walton Heath and The Berkshire – was the man responsible for creating this classic at Eastward Ho! Country Club...
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.
Nestled in Jasper National Park, this Stanley Thompson masterpiece offers championship-quality golf amongst stunning Rocky Mountain peaks and pristine Lake Beauvert. The alpine course features dramatic mountain-aligned fairways, elevated tees, and distinctive bunkers, creating an unforgettable luxury golf holiday experience in Canada's pristine wilderness.
”I know of no greater finish in the world than that of the last five holes at Portmarnock Golf Club”, said Bernard Darwin
The strict men-only policy of the exclusive Garden City Golf Club puts it in the limelight for all the wrong reasons...
Ballyneal sounds Irish so it’s fitting that this is a links course albeit an inland links. The dream of Rupert and Jim O’Neal is located in the middle of a huge Colorado dunescape, and even the address – Holyoke – echoes that of a current Open Championship links venue.
Championship links golf routed through spectacular dunes on Scotland's North Sea coast. Martin Hawtree's 2012 design stretches 7,428 yards across the Menie Estate at Balmedie, hosting the DP World Tour's Scottish Championship from 2025. Located 16km north of Aberdeen, with the New Course adjacent.
Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw designed Bandon Trails, the third of four 18-hole courses at the magnificent Bandon Dunes Resort.
The Bandon Dunes course at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort opened for play in 1999 and it has never looked back. It’s a rugged layout with huge slick greens and immaculate all-round conditioning.
The spectacular 18-hole Lofoten Links course opened in the summer of 2015 and it’s situated in a remote spot along the rugged coast of the island of Gimsøya, in the northern reaches of Norway...
For those readers who associate Inverness with a certain shy little Nessie, we can tell you that the Inverness Club has absolutely nothing to do with the Loch Ness monster.
Royal Birkdale Golf Club stands as one of England's finest links courses, where ten Open's have crowned the Champion Golfer of the Year. Located in Southport's towering dunes, this fair yet challenging course rewards precision and strategy. Your golf holiday awaits at this iconic venue with its distinctive Art Deco clubhouse.
The Tom Doak-designed golf course at Rock Creek Cattle Company opened for play in 2008, competing with the 10,000-foot backdrop of the sometimes snow-capped but always dramatic Flint Creek Mountain Range.
Situated half a mile away from Cabot Links, the Cliffs golf course occupies a more diverse landscape than its predecessor, sitting atop the bluffs that overlook the Gulf of St Lawrence...
The spectacular golfing panorama from the front of the St George's Hill clubhouse is a view that grabs you and makes your heart pound...
The similarity between this Dutch linksland and that of the British coastline is uncanny. Koninklijke Haagsche Golf & Country Club (or Royal Hague) is an exacting layout which pitches and rolls across undulating land.
If you didn’t know the history behind Whistling Straits, you’d believe that the 560-acres of land had been shaped by the hands of time.
The Balgownie at Royal Aberdeen Golf Club is a traditional out and back links course running along the shore of the North Sea and it has one of the finest first nine holes in golf.
St Andrews Beach was Tom Doak’s first Australian mainland ensemble and his collaboration with former European Tour player turned golf course designer Mike Clayton opened for play in 2004 to a considerably loud fanfare of trumpets.
Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club, or Deal as it is somtimes called, is an absolute brute of a links course. Its back nine, or rather the last seven holes, are relentless.
Host to twelve New Zealand Opens, the first in 1959, Paraparaumu Beach Golf Club is a New Zealand household name.
Unveiled in 2023, the North course at Te Arai is the second of two brilliant 18-hole layouts to operate at an exciting new public-access golf complex that’s owned and operated by fund manager Ric Kayne and managing partner Jim Rohrstaff – who are also both involved in the nearby golf development at Tara Iti.
The course at Prestwick Golf Club is a traditional monument, an authentic affair with a layout of holes that snake to and fro through rugged dunes and rippled fairways.
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.
Naruo shares all the traditional aspects of Japan’s older golf clubs. The continuity in tradition here is maintained by the 700 members whose average age is 71.
Extending to 7,450 yards, Yas Links was over three years in construction and it lies across the highway from the Yas Marina car racing circuit with eight of the holes located right against the coastline.
Debuting in 2022, the South course at Te Arai was the first of two stellar 18-hole layouts to operate at an exciting new public-access golf complex which is owned and operated by fund manager Ric Kayne and managing partner Jim Rohrstaff – who are also both involved in the nearby golf development at Tara Iti.
The longest drive at Cape Kidnappers is between the public road and the clubhouse. But once on the course, if you can keep your eyes off the cliff top views, the main golfing points are the bunkers and the greens.
Set out across reclaimed land on Chongming Island in the estuary of the mighty Yangtze River, the 2011 Jack Nicklaus-designed Links layout at Lanhai International Golf Resort was completely re-built by Ogilvie, Clayton, Cocking and Mead in 2018 creating Yangtze Dunes.
Most golfers will be familiar with Valderrama from TV coverage. The golf club has hosted a plethora of championships, including the legendary 1997 Ryder Cup. In 2014 the club was granted Royal status.
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