World's Best Golf Courses You Can Pay To Play

A derivative of the World Top 100 Ranking, we look at the golf courses in the World Top 100 you can play and those on its contenders list.

Gary Lisbon

Royal County Down (Championship)

Down, United Kingdom

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...

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Royal Melbourne Golf Club (West)

Victoria, Australia

Royal Melbourne Golf Club (West)

Victoria, Australia

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.

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St Andrews Links (The Old Course)

Fife, United Kingdom

St Andrews Links (The Old Course)

Fife, United Kingdom

No other course has hosted more Opens than the Old Course at St Andrews.

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Royal Portrush Golf Club (Dunluce)

Antrim, United Kingdom

Royal Portrush Golf Club (Dunluce)

Antrim, United Kingdom

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.

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Muirfield - Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers

Lothians, United Kingdom

Muirfield - Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers

Lothians, United Kingdom

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.

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Trump Turnberry Resort (Ailsa)

Ayrshire & Arran, United Kingdom

Trump Turnberry Resort (Ailsa)

Ayrshire & Arran, United Kingdom

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.

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Royal Dornoch Golf Club (Championship)

Highlands & Islands, United Kingdom

Royal Dornoch Golf Club (Championship)

Highlands & Islands, United Kingdom

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.

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Kingston Heath Golf Club

Victoria, Australia

Kingston Heath Golf Club

Victoria, Australia

Kingston Heath Golf Club pushes Royal Melbourne – and in some opinions exceeds it – as the premier course in Australian golf.

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Royal St George's Golf Club

Kent, United Kingdom

Royal St George's Golf Club

Kent, United Kingdom

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.

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Sunningdale Golf Club (Old)

Berkshire, United Kingdom

Sunningdale Golf Club (Old)

Berkshire, United Kingdom

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.

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Barnbougle (The Dunes)

Tasmania, Australia

Barnbougle (The Dunes)

Tasmania, Australia

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.

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Bandon Dunes Golf Resort (Pacific Dunes)

Oregon, United States

Bandon Dunes Golf Resort (Pacific Dunes)

Oregon, United States

Tom Doak's Pacific Dunes is considered by many to be the best course at the fabulous Bandon Dunes Golf Resort.

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Pebble Beach Golf Links

California, United States

Pebble Beach Golf Links

California, United States

Cypress Point is the course you can’t play at Pebble Beach, but thankfully Pebble Beach Golf Links is one you can.

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Ballybunion Golf Club (Old)

Kerry, Ireland

Ballybunion Golf Club (Old)

Kerry, Ireland

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.

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Lahinch Golf Club (Old)

Clare, Ireland

Lahinch Golf Club (Old)

Clare, Ireland

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.

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Carnoustie Golf Links (Championship)

Angus & Dundee, United Kingdom

Carnoustie Golf Links (Championship)

Angus & Dundee, United Kingdom

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.

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Rosapenna Golf Resort (St Patrick's Links)

Donegal, Ireland

Rosapenna Golf Resort (St Patrick's Links)

Donegal, Ireland

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.

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Sunningdale Golf Club (New)

Berkshire, United Kingdom

Sunningdale Golf Club (New)

Berkshire, United Kingdom

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.

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North Berwick Golf Club (West Links)

Lothians, United Kingdom

North Berwick Golf Club (West Links)

Lothians, United Kingdom

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.

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Kingsbarns Golf Links

Fife, United Kingdom

Kingsbarns Golf Links

Fife, United Kingdom

One of the many delights of Kingsbarns Golf Links is that you can see the North Sea from virtually every part of the course.

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Ardfin

Argyll & Bute, United Kingdom

Ardfin

Argyll & Bute, United Kingdom

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.

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Cape Wickham Golf Links

Tasmania, Australia

Cape Wickham Golf Links

Tasmania, Australia

It’s said that respected author Darius Oliver was instrumental in convincing businessman Duncan Andrews to develop the remote Cape Wickham site...

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St Enodoc Golf Club (Church)

Cornwall, United Kingdom

St Enodoc Golf Club (Church)

Cornwall, United Kingdom

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.

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Swinley Forest Golf Club

Berkshire, United Kingdom

Swinley Forest Golf Club

Berkshire, United Kingdom

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...

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Cabot Highlands Castle Stuart

Highlands & Islands, United Kingdom

Cabot Highlands Castle Stuart

Highlands & Islands, United Kingdom

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.

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Utrecht De Pan Golf Club (Utrechtse Golfclub)

All Areas, Netherlands

Utrecht De Pan Golf Club (Utrechtse Golfclub)

All Areas, Netherlands

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.

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Pinehurst Resort No. 2

North Carolina, United States

Pinehurst Resort No. 2

North Carolina, United States

Pinehurst Resort No.2 course opened for play in 1907 and its green sites are the ultimate test, legendary and quite unique.

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Bethpage (Black)

New York, United States

Bethpage (Black)

New York, United States

The Bethpage Black course really is as difficult and penal as the high slope rating suggests. It’s not for the faint hearted.

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The Lido Golf Club (Sand Valley)

Wisconsin, USA

The Lido Golf Club (Sand Valley)

Wisconsin, USA

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.

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Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club

Lancashire, United Kingdom

Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club

Lancashire, United Kingdom

Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club is the most northerly of the English championship links courses, situated only 10 miles from Royal Birkdale.

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South Cape Owners Club

All Areas, South Korea

South Cape Owners Club

All Areas, South Korea

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.

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Royal Porthcawl Golf Club

South Wales, United Kingdom

Royal Porthcawl Golf Club

South Wales, United Kingdom

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.

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New South Wales Golf Club

New South Wales, Australia

New South Wales Golf Club

New South Wales, Australia

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.

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Cruden Bay Golf Club (Championship)

Aberdeen & Aberdeenshire, United Kingdom

Cruden Bay Golf Club (Championship)

Aberdeen & Aberdeenshire, United Kingdom

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.

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Ganton Golf Club

Yorkshire, United Kingdom

Ganton Golf Club

Yorkshire, United Kingdom

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.

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Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge Golf Course

Alberta, Canada

Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge Golf Course

Alberta, Canada

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.

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Portmarnock Golf Club (Championship)

Dublin, Ireland

Portmarnock Golf Club (Championship)

Dublin, Ireland

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

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Trump International Golf Links - Old Course

Aberdeen & Aberdeenshire, United Kingdom

Trump International Golf Links - Old Course

Aberdeen & Aberdeenshire, United Kingdom

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.

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Bandon Dunes Golf Resort (Bandon Trails)

Oregon, United States

Bandon Dunes Golf Resort (Bandon Trails)

Oregon, United States

Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw designed Bandon Trails, the third of four 18-hole courses at the magnificent Bandon Dunes Resort.

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Bandon Dunes Golf Resort (Bandon Dunes)

Oregon, United States

Bandon Dunes Golf Resort (Bandon Dunes)

Oregon, United States

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.

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Lofoten Links

Norway

Lofoten Links

Norway

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...

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Royal Birkdale Golf Club

Merseyside, United Kingdom

Royal Birkdale Golf Club

Merseyside, United Kingdom

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.

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Cabot Cape Breton - Cabot Cliffs

Nova Scotia, Canada

Cabot Cape Breton - Cabot Cliffs

Nova Scotia, Canada

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...

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St George's Hill Golf Club (Red & Blue)

Surrey, United Kingdom

St George's Hill Golf Club (Red & Blue)

Surrey, United Kingdom

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...

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Koninklijke Haagsche Golf & Country Club (Royal Hague)

Netherlands

Koninklijke Haagsche Golf & Country Club (Royal Hague)

Netherlands

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.

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Whistling Straits (Straits)

Wisconsin, United States

Whistling Straits (Straits)

Wisconsin, United States

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.

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Royal Aberdeen Golf Club (Balgownie)

Aberdeen & Aberdeenshire, United Kingdom

Royal Aberdeen Golf Club (Balgownie)

Aberdeen & Aberdeenshire, United Kingdom

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.

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St Andrews Beach Golf Course

Victoria, Australia

St Andrews Beach Golf Course

Victoria, Australia

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.

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Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club

Kent, United Kingdom

Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club

Kent, United Kingdom

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.

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Paraparaumu Beach Golf Club

North Island, New Zealand

Paraparaumu Beach Golf Club

North Island, New Zealand

Host to twelve New Zealand Opens, the first in 1959, Paraparaumu Beach Golf Club is a New Zealand household name.

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Royal County Down (Championship)

Royal County Down (Championship)

Leaderboard for World's Best Golf Courses You Can Pay To Play

World's Best Golf Courses You Can Pay To Play

Royal County Down (Championship)

Royal Melbourne Golf Club (West)

Royal Melbourne Golf Club (West)

St Andrews Links (The Old Course)

St Andrews Links (The Old Course)

Royal Portrush Golf Club (Dunluce)

Royal Portrush Golf Club (Dunluce)

Muirfield - Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers

Muirfield - Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers

Trump Turnberry Resort (Ailsa)

Trump Turnberry Resort (Ailsa)

Royal Dornoch Golf Club (Championship)

Royal Dornoch Golf Club (Championship)

Kingston Heath Golf Club

Kingston Heath Golf Club

Royal St George's Golf Club

Royal St George's Golf Club

Sunningdale Golf Club (Old)

Sunningdale Golf Club (Old)

Barnbougle (The Dunes)

Barnbougle (The Dunes)

Bandon Dunes Golf Resort (Pacific Dunes)

Bandon Dunes Golf Resort (Pacific Dunes)

Pebble Beach Golf Links

Pebble Beach Golf Links

Ballybunion Golf Club (Old)

Ballybunion Golf Club (Old)

Lahinch Golf Club (Old)

Lahinch Golf Club (Old)

Carnoustie Golf Links (Championship)

Carnoustie Golf Links (Championship)

Rosapenna Golf Resort (St Patrick's Links)

Rosapenna Golf Resort (St Patrick's Links)

Sunningdale Golf Club (New)

Sunningdale Golf Club (New)

North Berwick Golf Club (West Links)

North Berwick Golf Club (West Links)

Kingsbarns Golf Links

Kingsbarns Golf Links

Ardfin

Ardfin

Cape Wickham Golf Links

Cape Wickham Golf Links

St Enodoc Golf Club (Church)

St Enodoc Golf Club (Church)

Swinley Forest Golf Club

Swinley Forest Golf Club

Cabot Highlands Castle Stuart

Cabot Highlands Castle Stuart

Utrecht De Pan Golf Club (Utrechtse Golfclub)

Utrecht De Pan Golf Club (Utrechtse Golfclub)

Pinehurst Resort No. 2

Pinehurst Resort No. 2

Bethpage (Black)

Bethpage (Black)

The Lido Golf Club (Sand Valley)

The Lido Golf Club (Sand Valley)

Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club

Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club

South Cape Owners Club

South Cape Owners Club

Royal Porthcawl Golf Club

Royal Porthcawl Golf Club

New South Wales Golf Club

New South Wales Golf Club

Cruden Bay Golf Club (Championship)

Cruden Bay Golf Club (Championship)

Ganton Golf Club

Ganton Golf Club

Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge Golf Course

Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge Golf Course

Portmarnock Golf Club (Championship)

Portmarnock Golf Club (Championship)

Trump International Golf Links - Old Course

Trump International Golf Links - Old Course

Bandon Dunes Golf Resort (Bandon Trails)