The World’s 10 Best Golf Courses
Imported from the public 10.best.world guide. Sequence follows its displayed order; it is not a new independent assessment.
Old Course at St Andrews
St Andrews, United Kingdom
The Old Course begins and ends beside the streets of St Andrews, with the town's stone buildings forming an unusually intimate backdrop to championship golf. Its broad opening fairway, shared greens and coastal turf preserve a form of links golf shaped over generations. The sea, weather and contours are as important to the experience as the course's long association with The Open. Much of the interest lies in choosing angles. Expansive putting surfaces can leave a demanding second putt, while small, deep bunkers influence shots from well beyond their immediate surroundings. The closing stretch brings the Road Hole and the Swilcan Bridge, familiar landmarks that remain part of a working public course. Firm conditions invite players to use the ground as well as the air. Access requires planning through St Andrews Links, which publishes reservation options, a ballot and information for individual golfers. Handicap and playing requirements should be checked before travelling. Caddie services and practice facilities support a round, while the town's restaurants and West Sands make it easy to extend the visit beyond golf.
Royal Dornoch Golf Club
Dornoch, United Kingdom
Royal Dornoch occupies a stretch of Highland coastline where sandy beach, gorse and the Dornoch Firth frame the golf. The club belongs closely to the small town beside it, and its Championship Course retains the sense of a landscape adapted for play. Old Tom Morris extended the original links to eighteen holes, establishing a connection with the wider history of Scottish course design. The course moves across naturally tiered ground, with elevated greens that demand thought about the approach and the consequences of a miss. Coastal breezes alter the way holes play, and the open setting makes changes in light and weather part of the round. The challenge rewards judgement, control and an appreciation of how the ball will behave after it lands. Visitors are welcomed through the club's published booking arrangements. The separate Struie Course offers another way to experience golf beside the firth, making a longer visit worthwhile. Dornoch itself provides a compact base, with its cathedral, town centre and beach close at hand. A trip here combines serious golf with the quieter pace of the northern Highlands.
Muirfield, The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers
Gullane, United Kingdom
Muirfield lies near Gullane on the East Lothian coast, where the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers has been based since 1891. The club's history reaches further back to Leith and Musselburgh, but its present home is defined by open linksland, carefully placed bunkers and a clubhouse with deeply established golfing traditions. This is a course where position and changing wind matter throughout the round. Old Tom Morris created the original layout, with Harry Colt later reshaping it. The routing turns in different directions rather than simply following the coast out and back, exposing players to a variety of conditions. Fairways and greens favour accurate placement, while the rough and bunkering make careless decisions expensive. The result is a sustained examination of strategy and execution. Muirfield welcomes visiting golfers on designated days, with advance booking essential and published handicap and dress requirements to observe. Clubhouse dining is an integral part of the experience, giving the visit a rhythm that extends beyond eighteen holes. Its location also suits a wider exploration of East Lothian's coastal villages and golf courses.
Carnoustie Golf Links
Carnoustie, United Kingdom
Carnoustie Golf Links sits between its namesake Angus town and the North Sea, with a golfing landscape that feels closely connected to everyday coastal life. The Championship Course is the principal attraction, joined by the Burnside and Buddon courses. Its tournament history is extensive, but the distinctive experience comes from the way wind, bunkers and waterways shape an ordinary visitor's round. The Championship layout calls for repeated decisions about position, particularly as the round approaches its demanding closing holes. The Barry Burn and well-placed sand hazards make patience useful, while open fairways leave little shelter from changes in the weather. Players are asked to think beyond distance and consider the safest route to each green. The companion courses introduce different proportions and challenges within the same coastal setting. Visitor tee times, caddie services and equipment hire are arranged through Carnoustie Golf Links. Links House adds an indoor performance centre and The Rookery restaurant, providing somewhere to practise, analyse a round or settle over a meal. Staying nearby allows time to appreciate the wider Angus coast as well as the golf.
Kingsbarns Golf Links
Kingsbarns, United Kingdom
Kingsbarns Golf Links follows the North Sea coast a short journey south of St Andrews. The sea remains a presence throughout the round, with fairways arranged across coastal terraces and views opening towards the shoreline. Although golf has older roots here, the present course is a modern design by Kyle Phillips, created to draw its character from traditional Scottish linksland. Broad sightlines reveal the choices ahead, while undulations, bunkers and changes in elevation keep the golf varied. Some holes run close to the water; others look down over the course and coastline. The setting encourages an appreciation of the landscape without removing the need for precise approaches and thoughtful club selection. Coastal wind can substantially change the demands of a hole from one round to the next. The clubhouse offers a place to pause before or after play, with practice facilities and caddie arrangements supporting visiting golfers. Tee times should be reserved through the club, which publishes its seasonal playing information. Kingsbarns combines naturally with a stay in St Andrews, though its own coastal outlook and spacious routing give the round a distinct identity.
Royal County Down Golf Club
Newcastle, United Kingdom
Royal County Down brings together links golf and a particularly expressive landscape at Newcastle, where the Mourne Mountains rise behind Dundrum Bay. Its Championship Links occupy ground beside the Murlough Nature Reserve, with dunes, heather and gorse giving each stretch of the course a different frame. The proximity of mountain and sea creates a strong sense of place from the first holes onwards. The layout asks players to read the land carefully. Undulating fairways, partially concealed landing areas and distinctive bunkers place a premium on choosing a line and committing to it. Changes in coastal wind add another layer to the decision-making. The Championship course's challenge is accompanied by the separate Annesley Links, which offers another encounter with this landscape on a different scale. Visitor access is managed through the club, with advance enquiries advisable for the Championship Links and current playing requirements published online. Newcastle provides a convenient base for the visit, with its promenade and mountain setting close by. Allowing time around the round makes the experience more than a single tee time, particularly for travellers exploring Northern Ireland's coast.
Royal Portrush Golf Club
Portrush, United Kingdom
Royal Portrush occupies rolling coastal ground on Northern Ireland's Causeway Coast, with dunes and sea views shaping its atmosphere. The Dunluce Links takes its name from the nearby ruined castle and forms the club's principal championship course. Beyond its association with The Open, the appeal lies in an exposed landscape where changes in elevation and weather influence almost every decision. Fairways pass through substantial sandhills, with greens and hazards demanding careful placement. Views reach towards offshore islands and the wider northern coastline, but the course continually returns attention to the next shot. Its mixture of uphill approaches, sheltered hollows and open ground provides variety within a coherent links setting. The Valley course offers a further opportunity to explore the club's coastal terrain. Visitors can arrange play through the club's booking system, subject to availability and the published playing requirements. Practice facilities and clubhouse dining help make the visit a full golfing day. Portrush offers accommodation and seaside walks nearby, while the Causeway Coast provides scope for a longer itinerary combining golf with beaches, harbour towns and the region's geological landmarks.
Pebble Beach Golf Links
Pebble Beach, United States
Pebble Beach Golf Links traces the edge of California's Monterey Peninsula, moving between inland fairways and holes directly above the Pacific. The coastline gives the course its visual identity, particularly where small greens sit beside cliffs and surf. Its championship history adds context, but the everyday attraction is the opportunity to play a public course so closely shaped by its setting. The short seventh hole stands on a rocky point, while the eighth demands an approach across a coastal inlet. Later, the eighteenth follows the curve of the bay towards The Lodge. Between these landmarks, sloping fairways and compact putting surfaces require accuracy and restraint. Sea breezes can make club selection more complicated than the yardage suggests, and the inland holes provide their own demanding changes of pace. Reservations are managed through Pebble Beach Resorts, with different advance arrangements for resort guests and other visitors. Golf services, practice facilities and nearby restaurants support a full day on the property. Travellers can combine a round with the peninsula's coastal scenery, allowing enough time to experience the course without treating it simply as a succession of familiar photographs.
Bandon Dunes
Bandon, United States
Bandon Dunes is the original course at its namesake resort on the southern Oregon coast. Designed by David McLay Kidd, it occupies sandy ground above the Pacific, where open space, coastal grass and changing weather establish the character of the round. The setting encourages golf that responds to the land, with the ocean appearing repeatedly as play moves across the property. Generous fairways offer choices, but the right side of the landing area is not always obvious. Uneven ground, bunkers and wind reward consideration of the next shot rather than distance alone. Approaches can use the contours around the greens, making imagination part of the challenge. Holes close to the coast provide dramatic views without becoming detached from the practical business of playing links golf. The wider resort supplies accommodation, restaurants, practice areas and caddie services, making it possible to build a stay around several rounds. Bandon Dunes remains a distinct course within that collection and should be booked by name. A visit suits golfers who enjoy walking, reading the weather and spending sustained time in a landscape where the game sets the daily rhythm.
Pinehurst No. 2
Pinehurst, United States
Pinehurst No. 2 sits at the heart of Pinehurst Resort in North Carolina's Sandhills. Donald Ross's course is characterised by broad fairways, sandy native areas and greens that rise and fall away from their edges. The surrounding pines provide a quieter visual setting than an ocean course, concentrating attention on the shape of the ground and the quality of each approach. The putting surfaces are central to the experience. A shot that appears close can finish below a slope, leaving several possible ways to recover. Choosing between a putt, a running chip and a lofted shot becomes part of the course's interest. Native wiregrass and exposed sand reinforce the landscape, while the championship history lends significance to familiar holes without defining every visitor's round. Arrangements for No. 2 should be made through Pinehurst Resort, with accommodation and golf packages providing a practical starting point. The clubhouse, practice facilities and surrounding village add depth to a stay. This is a course that benefits from an unhurried visit, allowing time to understand the contours and the strategic choices that distinguish its design.