9 Best Golf Courses Around the World

The golf season may be over in your area as you are sadly putting away the clubs. Yet now might be the perfect time to create that dream bucket list of visiting some of the top golf courses around the world. You could enjoy a great round of gameplay on your own, with your best friends, or with your family.

There are well over 100 golf courses around the world in places such as Scotland, New Zealand, Australia, Ireland, and the United States. We have gathered together 9 places you would want to visit at least once in your life. Check out the ones that interest you the most. Then get your airfare ready to enjoy what these best golf courses have to offer.

1: Royal Melbourne – Melbourne, Australia

Travel to the eastern part of Australia and you will come upon the Royal Melbourne: two, 18-hole golf courses that holds a range of challenges along its seemingly serene greens. The Royal Melbourne private club has a par 72 with 6,598 yards on the East course and 6,598 yards on the West course. It was designed by American architect Dr. Alister MacKenzie as it has deep bunkers and contoured greens that provides a challenge to even the best players.

2: Shinnecock G.C. – New York, United States

Designed by William Flynn, Shinnecock G.C. has a fabled history for the United States. It was the first clubhouse in America and it was the first to admit women. At 6,996 yards, Shinnecock combines the fairway and the sea to create a remarkable location for golf players. The course has rolling terrain, variable winds and parkland bunkering that can make it an extreme challenge. Shinnecock will be hosting the U.S. Open in 2018.

3: Royal County Down – Northern Ireland, United Kingdom

The Royal County Down in Northern Ireland has everything a golfer could ever ask for: scenic views, challenging fairways and two courses so people can decide on the type of game to play. The Royal County Down is over 100 years old and was designed by Tom Morris with the course lined along the coastline as you can view the Irish Sea, the Mourne Mountains and the Slieve Donard Hotel’s red brick steeple while navigating the unique obstacles. It is a par 72 with 6,968 yards with a fierce wind, deep bunkers and gorse bushes that heighten the game’s tension.

4: St. Andrews – Fife, Scotland (Old Course)

Imagine a golf course that was popular since the 15th century. The Old Course at St Andrews, Scotland is the most famous course in the entire world as it is considered the birthplace of golf. This course inspired the architectural designs of other courses such as Augusta National. Old Course is 7,279 yards and is a par 72 as it offers enough variety and strategy to keep every type of golfer entertained. So get ready to tackle double greens, blind bunkers, and North Sea dunes.

5: Pebble Beach – California, United States

The one thing that makes Pebble Beach the finest golf course in the United States is that anyone can play. It isn’t restricted solely to club members. Pebble Beach is a par 72 with 6,737 yards of gorgeous fairways running along the Pacific Ocean. Douglas Grant and Jack Neville designed the course as the famous Jack Nicklaus once claimed if he had only one more chance to play golf it would be at Pebble Beach. Sloping greens, water hazards and narrow fairways offer a great game of golf. Even if you have a poor game, the ocean views make up for it as you’ll want to come here again.

6: National (National Golf Links of America) – New York, United States

If you want to play golf on a true link course, then the National Golf Links of America is where you have to go. This course was designed by architect C.B. Macdonald as he took the greatest features found along British and Scottish golf holes and did one better here to create a phenomenal place that is studied by other golf architects today. With a par 72 and 6,935 yards, Nationals (it’s nickname among golf players) has fast fairways, strategic holes, blind shots and a range of other challenges to entice golfers from around the world.

7: Cape Kidnappers – New Zealand

On North Island in New Zealand lies Cape Kidnappers, a spectacular par 71 golf course. The course is 7,119 yards and was built on a 5,000-acre sheep station as it is one of the most dramatic locations you could find in the world. Rugged ridges along the fairway, ravines, tilted greens and contoured fairways make up the course design created by architect Tom Doak. This course welcomes golfers of all skill levels as you will notice something fascinating about this course: there are no sandy dunes commonly found at link courses. Yet this fact won’t stop you from finding a great game of golf here.

8: Muirfield – Gullane, Scotland

The current design of the course was created by H. S. Colt in 1925, although Muirfield is much older than this. The course is actually over 200 years old as the first club opened in 1744. Professional golfers agree that this is a distinct course with tons of variety due to its changing landscape. Muirfield has 7,221 yards and is a par 71. When it comes to skills, this course definitely is suited for more adept players as it can really test your abilities.

9: Oakmont, Pennsylvania – United States

There is one golf course that is considered the most difficult to play and can have even pros curse in frustration. Oakmont was designed by Henry Fowles as this course has 7,255 yards worth of notorious, harsh bunkers (about 200 of them) that make up for the lack of trees and water hazards. These rolling greens, deep rough, and drainage ditches definitely tests the skills of the most famous golf players. It has fast putting greens that can make up for the rest of the rough course.  Oakmont will host the 2016 U.S. Open to again show how challenging it can be to professional golfers.

Golf is no longer restricted to a single season. Truly, a person can travel the entire world and find the perfect sun, wind, sand and surf to play a fantastic round of golf. Place these golf courses on your bucket list of places to play your favorite sport. You won’t be disappointed as these locations will test your skills while offering majestic views of one-of-a-kind landscape that makes playing golf an absolute pleasure.