10 Best Golf Courses
Ten distinctive courses, from Scottish links to Arctic shores and Mauritian hills, presented in the original editorial order with awards and access carefully distinguished. Obtain written confirmation naming the exact course, date, tee time, party size and inclusions. Check handicap eligibility, walking or cart rules, caddie arrangements, maintenance and tournament closures, and cancellation terms before paying for travel. A hotel reservation does not automatically include golf. Shinnecock requires a member host; do not treat its website as a public booking portal. Confirm Lofoten's seasonal golf opening before arranging an Arctic trip.
Trump International Scotland — New Course / New Course Links
Aberdeenshire, Scotland
The New Course at Menie adds another reason to explore Aberdeenshire's links coast. Its official hole guide describes a round that moves between wetlands, open dune country and elevated coastal greens. The opening par five offers width before narrowing for longer hitters; later holes bring water, sandy slopes and exposed approaches into play. That variety makes the choice of line part of the experience, rather than reducing the round to a succession of long carries. World Golf Awards named this specific layout World's Best Golf Course in 2025. Golf Digest also reported from the course at its opening that July, providing a separate contemporary account of the new development. Those references concern the New Course. The established Old Course remains a different selection with its own design history and tournament credentials. Arrange play through the estate's golf reservations service and have the course name written into the confirmation. Ask about the available tees, caddie arrangements and the day's playing conditions before committing. The older North Sea Links landing page still uses pre-opening language, so the current New Course tour and booking service are the more useful planning references.
The New Course brings a second distinct links experience to Trump International Scotland, with coastal dunes, wetlands and greens that demand careful decisions about approach angles. It takes first place in this original selection and was named World's Best Golf Course at the 2025 World Golf Awards. Book the New Course explicitly: the estate's Old Course is a separate layout, and its tournament record and rankings should not be transferred to this entry.
Sentosa Golf Club — Serapong
Singapore
The Serapong offers a particularly urban version of exceptional golf. Water, bunkers and Singapore’s commercial skyline share the view, giving the course a setting that is both recognisable and integral to the round. Golf Digest describes varied, challenging seaside holes and an exacting test from the tee. The club’s own hole notes explain how lagoons, sea channels and carefully placed sand influence the choice of line, making clear that the scenery is accompanied by strategic demands. This listing applies to The Serapong rather than Sentosa Golf Club as a whole. Its sister course, The Tanjong, has a separate identity and should not be substituted silently in an itinerary. Request the named layout and wait for confirmation from the golf office. Access needs more precision than a directory’s public-course label provides. The club publishes visitor pricing, but its bye-laws require a valid handicap and prior approval for visitors. Fees and ancillary charges should be confirmed against the latest booking form before payment. The resulting proposition is attractive for a Singapore golf visit, provided the reader understands that a published visitor route remains subject to approval, availability and club conditions.
The Serapong combines demanding seaside holes with an unmistakable Singapore backdrop. Its water hazards and bunkering give substance to the spectacle, while independent assessment supports its standing among the country’s strongest courses. Specify Serapong when booking, since Sentosa also operates Tanjong. Visitor rates are published, but access still requires club approval and a valid handicap. An enquiry is not a confirmed tee time, and current charges should be reconfirmed directly.
Shinnecock Hills Golf Club
New York, USA
Shinnecock Hills belongs in a discussion of outstanding golf for the way its terrain, wind and greens work together. William Flynn's early-1930s layout is the central architectural reference, with later work by Coore and Crenshaw including expanded greens and fairways. Golf Digest's assessment places the club fourth in its America's 100 Greatest ranking and highlights the variety and precision of the shot-making challenge. That reputation does not make the club a conventional travel booking. Its own guest rules state that an accompanying member must sign visitors in before play, and guests need a green-fee ticket before teeing off. Clubhouse charges are handled through the host member; the published rules also tightly restrict the use and display of mobile phones on the grounds. For an invited golfer, preparation should therefore focus on the host's arrangements, the dress code and the club's procedures. For other readers, this entry is an architectural benchmark rather than a readily purchasable holiday round. It appears in the 2025 World Golf Awards world-course nominee field, but that nomination is distinct from winning the award.
Shinnecock Hills combines an open, wind-exposed setting with the exacting approaches of William Flynn's design. Its standing rests on architecture as well as championship history, with Golf Digest placing it among America's leading courses. This is a private-club selection: guests must be accompanied and signed in by a member. There is no ordinary visitor tee-time purchase, so inclusion in the ranking should never be read as a promise of access.
Trump Turnberry — Ailsa
Ayrshire, Scotland
Turnberry's Ailsa Course offers a compelling meeting of championship history and coastal golf. Its strongest attraction is the relationship between the playing lines and the Ayrshire shoreline, with the lighthouse a familiar landmark around the middle of the round. Golf Monthly's assessment gives weight to the strategy as well as the views, describing the sequence around the turn as a particular highlight. The course has changed since it last staged The Open in 2009. That matters when comparing descriptions, photographs and older scorecards: the current playing experience should take precedence over a recollection of a televised championship. The Ailsa's 2024 Scotland's Best Golf Course award is specific to the layout. Awards for the Turnberry hotel or golf academy belong to different categories. Visitors can arrange play, but the exact course, date and booking conditions need to be confirmed with the golf team. An offer for another Turnberry layout is not an Ailsa tee time, and an overnight stay should not be assumed to include the round. Ask for a written breakdown of the green fee, any caddie arrangements and the cancellation terms.
The Ailsa pairs its Open Championship heritage with a coastal sequence that remains central to its appeal. Golf Monthly praises both the strategic challenge and the setting, particularly the holes near the sea. This entry is for Turnberry's Ailsa Course, not the whole resort or its other layouts. Visitors should request an Ailsa-specific reservation and confirm the applicable rate and conditions before booking accommodation or onward travel.
Heritage Golf Club — La Réserve Golf Links
Mauritius
La Réserve Golf Links gives this selection its Mauritian setting, above the coast at Bel Ombre. The operator describes a contemporary links-style course beside the area's biosphere reserve, with former sugar-cane land replanted into open grassland. Its elevated ground and views towards the ocean are central to the experience, while the routing offers a different proposition from the neighbouring Le Château course. World Golf Awards confirms La Réserve as the Indian Ocean's Best Golf Course for 2025. Independent Golf Monthly reporting also supports the course’s elevated setting and strategic appeal. That assessment gives a separate golfing reason to include La Réserve alongside its award recognition, while keeping it distinct from Le Château. The practical distinction is the named layout. A Heritage hotel booking or a package mentioning golf should not be taken to include La Réserve automatically. Send the golf team the intended date, party size and accommodation details, then ask for written confirmation of access, the round price and what equipment or transport is included. The club publishes an enquiry and tee-time route, but that is not a guarantee of availability on a particular day.
La Réserve brings a broad, elevated coastal perspective to golf in Mauritius. The course at Heritage Golf Club uses rolling terrain and ocean views to create a distinct alternative to the estate's Le Château layout. Its Indian Ocean's Best Golf Course award for 2025 is verified for La Réserve itself. Request this named course when enquiring, and obtain the applicable eligibility, green fee and package terms directly from the golf team.
Costa Navarino — International Olympic Academy
Messinia, Greece
The International Olympic Academy Golf Course makes the most of Costa Navarino's inland elevation. Situated at Navarino Hills, it looks towards the historic bay and the Ionian Sea, combining a broad landscape setting with an eighteen-hole design by José María Olazábal. Golf Monthly's reporting from the destination provides an independent editorial reference, while World Golf Awards confirms the exact layout as its World's Best New Golf Course winner for 2022. Course identity is particularly important here. Navarino Hills also contains The Hills Course, and Costa Navarino operates The Dunes and The Bay at other sites. Those four names represent different experiences, not interchangeable labels for one round. The award belongs to the International Olympic Academy course, rather than automatically extending to every layout in the destination. Use the official golf booking service and check the course assignment before paying. Golfers staying elsewhere in the resort should allow for the journey to Navarino Hills and confirm the relevant shuttle arrangements for their dates. The operator publishes transport between the Hills and Dunes sites, but a particular hotel package's transfers, rounds and equipment inclusions still need to be checked individually.
The International Olympic Academy Golf Course occupies the elevated Navarino Hills site, with views over the Bay of Navarino and the Ionian Sea. José María Olazábal's layout is one of four courses at Costa Navarino and won World's Best New Golf Course in 2022. Book it by its full name: The Hills, The Bay and The Dunes are separate rounds, and a general resort golf package may allocate different courses.
Cabot Highlands — Castle Stuart
Inverness, Scotland
Castle Stuart is the established course at Cabot Highlands, beside the Moray Firth near Inverness. Its design by Mark Parsinen and Gil Hanse uses the shoreline and higher ground to create a sequence of changing perspectives. Independent specialist coverage recognises the broad playing spaces and the interest around the greens, supporting an architectural case that extends beyond the setting alone. The estate now has two courses, following the opening of Old Petty. This selection remains Castle Stuart, and neither the newer course's design nor its availability should be substituted into the entry. Castle Stuart was also named in the 2025 World Golf Awards world-course nominee field; nomination does not make it the category winner. For visitors, the operator's published policies are unusually clear. No handicap certificate is required, but the normal experience is a walking round. Buggies are reserved for medical exemptions, and caddies should be requested through reservations ahead of the visit. Ask about cancellation terms as well as the forecast: the operator states that rain alone does not qualify for a refund. These details make careful preparation more useful than simply reserving the first available date.
Castle Stuart offers a coastal round at Cabot Highlands, with rumpled fairways, open views and greens that place a premium on the approach angle. Its identity remains separate from the estate's newer Old Petty course. The operator welcomes visitors without requiring a handicap certificate, but the course is walking-only except for medical buggy exemptions. Request caddies in advance and make sure the reservation specifically names Castle Stuart.
Lofoten Links
Gimsøya, Norway
Lofoten Links makes remoteness part of the experience. On Gimsøya in the Lofoten archipelago, the course moves through a coastal landscape of rock, native grasses and exposed ground. Golf Digest's assessment highlights its uneven links-like holes and pot bunkers, while the operator identifies Jeremy Turner as the architect of the eighteen-hole layout. Its recognition needs to be dated carefully. World Golf Awards names Lofoten Norway's Best Golf Course for 2025. Golf Digest explains that it lacked sufficient ballots for the publication's 2026–27 world ranking, despite a strong position in the previous edition. That is a sampling limitation, not evidence of a newly measured decline in quality. Plan the journey around the actual golf season. Midnight-sun conditions are a summer feature, not a year-round promise, and the operator advises checking course status and opening hours. The normal round is on foot, with a limited number of carts considered for documented medical needs. Visitor tee times are offered online; reserve rental equipment and any transfer service in advance, and leave enough flexibility for the exposed northern weather.
Lofoten Links places eighteen holes among rock, coastal grassland and sea on Gimsøya, north of the Arctic Circle. Summer's long light makes the setting especially distinctive, but travel and weather deserve careful planning. The course offers visitor booking despite a private label in one directory. Expect to walk; carts are limited and medical requests need advance discussion. Check seasonal opening before arranging flights or accommodation.
Pinnacle Point
Mossel Bay, South Africa
Pinnacle Point supplies one of the original selection's most dramatic settings. The course occupies cliffs near Mossel Bay, where fynbos, changes in level and the ocean shape the round. The operator credits Peter Matkovich and Darren Clarke with the design and identifies seven holes along the cliffs, including several carries across the broken coastal terrain. The award record is specific. World Golf Awards confirms Pinnacle Point as South Africa's Best Golf Course in 2024. It also appears among the nominees for the 2025 world-course award, but neither fact establishes an Africa-wide or world-category win. Keeping those distinctions visible makes the recognition useful rather than overstated. Visitor tee times are available through the club's official booking route. Its published guidance specifies carts-only play and no caddies, an important difference from several walking links courses in this list. Confirm what the quoted rate includes and seek advice on an appropriate tee choice for the group. The scenery is part of the attraction, but the carries and exposed setting also make this a round that rewards realistic assessment of playing ability and the day's conditions.
Pinnacle Point follows dramatic ground above the Indian Ocean near Mossel Bay, with cliff-edge holes and carries that make the terrain central to the challenge. Its verified World Golf Awards win is South Africa's Best Golf Course in 2024. The club publishes visitor tee times and specifies carts-only play, with no caddies. Choose suitable tees and confirm the booking's cart arrangements before committing to this demanding coastal round.
Quinta do Lago — South
Algarve, Portugal
The South Course is Quinta do Lago's original golfing centrepiece, designed by William Mitchell and opened in 1974. Pines, lakes and views towards Ria Formosa give the setting its Algarve character. The operator's course guide describes a succession of doglegs that rewards positioning from the tee, while Golf Digest's overview places the course within the development of the region's early modern golf resorts and notes a later renovation. Its Portuguese Open history adds context, but the named layout remains the important unit of this selection. South is distinct from Quinta do Lago's North Course and Laranjal. A package offering rounds across the resort needs to specify which of those courses will actually be played. World Golf Awards confirms South as Portugal's Best Golf Course for 2024. A broader European 2024 claim on the operator's page conflicts with the award organiser's record, which names a different winner, so that claim is not repeated here. Arrange the South Course through the official booking route and confirm handicap eligibility, tee times, rental requirements and cancellation conditions. Published opening hours do not establish availability for an individual visit.
Quinta do Lago's South Course threads through umbrella pines, lakes and the landscape beside Ria Formosa. William Mitchell's design combines tournament history with a layout that rewards accurate positioning around its doglegs. It won Portugal's Best Golf Course at the 2024 World Golf Awards. Book South explicitly, as North and Laranjal are separate courses, and confirm current handicap rules, equipment charges and the precise rounds included in any package.