Pete Dye moved coral rocks by wheelbarrow — seven oceanfront holes above the Caribbean Sea. Teeth of the Dog at Casa de Campo is the finest course in the Americas outside the continental USA and the worthy #100 in The Global Golfer Top 100.
Author: Global Golfer
North America’s only true shoreline links — Rod Whitman’s Gulf of St Lawrence masterpiece plays along the water throughout. With Cabot Cliffs next door, Cape Breton is the continent’s finest new golf destination.
The 2018 Ryder Cup venue — Golf National’s Albatros Course produced one of sport’s great occasions. Europe’s 17½–10½ victory is relived on every visit to this remarkable public course near Paris.
The French Riviera’s finest resort course — Dave Thomas’s Provençal masterpiece through olive groves, lavender and oak forests above the Var hills is the most complete golf destination in France.
Africa’s greatest course — Robert Trent Jones Sr.’s cork oak forest masterpiece for King Hassan II hosted the Hassan II Trophy for 40 years. Seve, Faldo and Norman all competed here.
The lighthouse hole, the RBC Heritage and Pete Dye’s most influential design — Harbour Town proved that precision over power produces the most compelling professional golf.
The Indian Ocean’s finest course and European Tour host — Heritage Golf Club’s Bel Ombre estate delivers seven shoreline holes above the Mauritian reef in the most dramatic resort golf setting south of the equator.
Nick Faldo’s precision design at Emirates Golf Club — the more technical of Dubai’s two courses at the original Middle East golf destination rewards positional play over power.
Jack Nicklaus’s legacy course — Muirfield Village combines Augusta’s beauty with genuine strategic severity and hosts Nicklaus’s own Memorial Tournament each spring.
America’s greatest secret — Coore and Crenshaw moved almost no earth in Nebraska’s Sandhills. The result rivals Pine Valley as the finest course built in America since World War II.
The falcon-shaped clubhouse, the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship and a desert layout that has challenged every world number one — Abu Dhabi Golf Club’s National Course in full.
Martin Ebert’s 2017 complement to the legendary Ailsa — the King Robert The Bruce Course gives Turnberry a second world-class layout, accessible to all resort guests without handicap requirement.
Ben Hogan’s pre-Masters practice ground — Seminole is America’s most private and most revered course. Donald Ross’s 1929 Florida Atlantic coastal masterpiece remains entirely invisible to the public.
Coore and Crenshaw’s Cape Breton clifftop masterpiece — eight holes dropping to the Gulf of St Lawrence and the finest new course in North America since Pacific Dunes.
Kyle Phillips’s Scottish Open host — Dundonald Links is the most accessible championship course in Ayrshire, open to all visitors with no handicap restriction and genuine tournament-quality conditions.
Germany’s most demanding championship course at 7,319 yards par 74 — Club zur Vahr’s Garlstedt Course in the Bremen forest hosted the German Open and World Amateur Team Championship.
Tom Doak’s 140-metre Pacific clifftop masterpiece — Cape Kidnappers’ fairways end at sheer ocean drops with 15,000 nesting gannets at the headland. New Zealand’s most dramatic course.
Every hole parallel to the Firth of Clyde — Western Gailes delivers the most naturally conceived and consistently demanding links experience in Ayrshire. The Riviera of Scottish Golf.
South Africa’s finest urban course — Durban Country Club’s subtropical parkland above the Indian Ocean combines South African Open history with Natal’s most dramatic coastal views.
France’s most private golf club — Tom Simpson’s 1927 Picardy heathland masterpiece rivals Sunningdale for design quality and remains almost entirely unknown outside French golf circles.
Bandon’s most architecturally sophisticated course — Coore and Crenshaw’s inland forest routing delivers more terrain variety and strategic depth than any other course at the Oregon resort.
The birthplace of The Open Championship in 1860 — Old Prestwick’s Cardinal Bunker, Alps blind hole and Victorian character make this the most historically profound round in Scottish golf.
Spain’s finest course outside Valderrama — PGA Catalunya’s Stadium Course in the Pyrenean foothills combines Augusta conditioning with genuine European Tour championship drama.
Mount Fuji on the horizon, eight Pacific clifftop holes and Charles Alison’s finest Japanese design — Kawana Fuji Course is Japan’s most accessible great course and most dramatic setting.
The Postage Stamp — 123 yards, Gene Sarazen’s hole-in-one aged 71 and the shortest hole in Open history. Royal Troon’s relentless back nine is one of the most demanding on the entire rota.
Se Ri Pak’s barefoot recovery shot, the Sheboygan River valley and Pete Dye’s most dramatic Wisconsin creation — the 1998 US Women’s Open venue.
Singapore Open host and Southeast Asia’s finest course — Sentosa Serapong combines tropical jungle drama, Straits of Singapore views and a city that is also the world’s greatest food destination.
Baron Bich’s private forest masterpiece — France’s best course by a margin. Les Bordes’ 14 water features and Sologne forest conditioning rival Augusta. Now open to the public.
C.B. Macdonald’s “ideal” course — every template hole from British links golf contextualised in the Southampton dunes. The National Golf Links is America’s most architecturally significant course.
Bernard Darwin’s beloved home course — “the course my heart loves best.” Aberdovey at the Dyfi estuary is Wales’s most cherished links and golf writing’s most poetically celebrated venue.
Twice European Golf Resort of the Year — Costa Navarino Dunes Course combines thousand-year-old olive trees, Ionian Sea views and the fragrance of wild thyme. The finest course in Greece.
Australia’s most underrated championship course — Royal Adelaide’s Seaton dunes links is consistently rated in the country’s top three and plays faster and firmer than almost anywhere else in Australia.
Kyle Phillips’s Sintra Hills redesign — Penha Longa’s Atlantic Course overlooks UNESCO heritage landscape from the Ritz-Carlton estate. Portugal’s most underrated championship venue.
The course that launched America’s greatest resort story — David McLay Kidd’s 1999 original Bandon Dunes remains the most quintessentially Scottish experience in American golf.
The original Redan, Bass Rock and the Pit bunker — North Berwick West Links is golf’s most inventive and entertaining course. The hole that gave golf architecture its most copied template.
The first grass course in the Middle East — Faldo’s 1989 inaugural Dubai Desert Classic win. Emirates Golf Club’s Majlis Course created golf in the Gulf and looks better now than ever.
Rory McIlroy’s record-breaking 2011 US Open. Four US Opens in all. Congressional Blue Course is Washington DC’s most historically significant golf venue.
Portugal’s most celebrated venue — Quinta do Lago South Course’s par-3 15th over the Ria Formosa lagoon is the most photographed hole in the Algarve. Three Portuguese Opens confirm its championship pedigree.
Brooks Koepka’s 2017 US Open venue — Erin Hills’ Wisconsin glacial moraines and links-style fescue fairways create the most ambitious modern course in the American Midwest.
England’s finest links south of Lancashire — Burnham & Berrow’s Bristol Channel setting, massive dunes and Herbert Fowler’s strategic masterpiece remain one of English golf’s great undersold secrets.