Kyle Phillips’s Arabian Gulf links — genuine sea breezes, fescue rough and authentic links conditions in the UAE. Yas Links is the Middle East’s most naturally compelling championship course.
Course Reviews
Discover expertly curated reviews of championship golf courses, luxury resort layouts and unforgettable golfing destinations around the world. From historic links and renowned tournament venues to emerging must-play courses, we evaluate every aspect of the experience, from course design and conditioning to scenery, service and stay-and-play appeal.
The 2021 Olympic golf venue — Charles Alison’s deep bunkers, immaculate conditioning and Tokyo’s most accessible elite course. Kasumigaseki is Japanese golf at its most historically significant.
Tom Doak’s untouched Tasmanian potato farm — Barnbougle Dunes entered the world top 20 on opening in 2004. The most naturally beautiful links course in the Southern Hemisphere.
America’s oldest club and its finest course — Shinnecock Hills commands the Southampton barrens like a British links transplanted to Long Island. Four US Opens confirm it as America’s most demanding and authentic test.
Tom Doak’s Oregon masterpiece — no land movement, no compromise, five courses on the Pacific cliff-tops. Pacific Dunes is the finest links course built outside the British Isles.
Robert Trent Jones Sr.’s most spectacular site — seven holes along the Corsican cliff tops above the Strait of Bonifacio, with Sardinia visible across the turquoise water. The most visually dramatic course in France.
Willie Park Jr.’s 1891 Swedish masterpiece — heathland, pink granite and 18 hours of summer daylight make Gothenburg Golf Club Scandinavia’s most compelling championship course.
An LPGA Major venue above Lake Geneva with Mont Blanc on the horizon — Evian Resort Golf Club is France’s most spectacular golf destination and the most elegant major championship setting in women’s golf.
Elephants on the fairways, crocodiles in the river, leopards in the rough — Gary Player’s Leopard Creek borders Kruger National Park for the most extraordinary golf setting on earth.
MacKenzie’s greatest bunkering, the fastest greens in the Southern Hemisphere, and the most demanding sandbelt routing in Australia — Royal Melbourne West Course is one of the world’s truly great courses.
The world’s most famous course — Amen Corner, Magnolia Lane, the Butler Cabin and Bobby Jones’s vision. Augusta National is the benchmark against which all other golf is measured.
Jack Nicklaus’s perfect round. Watson’s chip on 17. Tiger’s 15-shot demolition. Pebble Beach Golf Links — the most beautiful and historically resonant public course in the world.
The Augusta of Europe — the 1997 Ryder Cup venue, Robert Trent Jones Sr.’s finest design, and the legendary 17th with its cork tree and waterfall. Valderrama is continental Europe’s definitive championship test.
Harry Colt’s self-declared masterpiece — no website, 250 members, introduction only. England’s most private and most beautiful heathland course.
The finest hilltop view in Scottish golf — Gullane No. 1’s 7th tee reveals the entire Edinburgh coastline. A consistently undervalued East Lothian masterpiece.
Mackenzie Ross’s Solway Firth masterpiece — green fees from £50, views to the Lake District and the finest value-for-quality ratio in British championship golf.
The 2018 Irish Open host at the tip of Donegal — Ballyliffin Glashedy is Ireland’s most remote championship links, looking out to the Atlantic and Malin Head from one of the wildest coastlines in Europe.
Old Tom Morris’s divinely ordained links — the opening tee shot across the Atlantic beach has no equal in world golf. Machrihanish rewards those willing to make the journey to the end of Kintyre.
Portstewart’s Thistly Hill opening dunes and the Irish Open’s 2017 host — one of the most naturally dramatic links openers in the British Isles.
Kyle Phillips’s masterpiece — 11 North Sea-facing holes and a course that feels ancient despite opening in 2000. The finest new links built in Britain in a century.
Tiger and Payne Stewart’s Open preparation ground — Waterville Links at the end of the Ring of Kerry is the most remote and magnificently desolate links in Ireland.
Tom Morris’s masterpiece on the Firth of Forth — Cruden Bay’s Bram Stoker connection, dramatic dunes and utterly addictive character make it Scotland’s most underrated championship links.
Tiger’s bunkerless 2006 Open. Rory’s 2014 demolition. The cop, the flatlands and the Wirral wind — Royal Liverpool is one of England’s most historically significant and demanding Open venues.
The goats, the Dell blind par 3, the Klondyke, and the wildest Atlantic coast in Irish golf — Lahinch Old Course is the most charismatic links in the world. Full scorecard, strategy and Clare travel guide.
Tom Watson, Ben Crenshaw and Tiger Woods all made the pilgrimage. Royal Dornoch — where Donald Ross learned golf before creating Pinehurst No. 2 — is the world’s most compelling remote course. Full scorecard, strategy and Highland travel guide.
Hogan’s triumph, Van de Velde’s disaster and the Barry Burn — Carnoustie is the hardest and most dramatic of all the Open Championship venues. Full scorecard, strategy and travel guide.
The Lighthouse hole, the Duel in the Sun and Watson at 59 — Turnberry Ailsa is Scotland’s most dramatic links. Full scorecard, hole strategy and Ayrshire travel guide.
Tom Watson’s favourite course in the world. Clifftops, a cemetery fairway and the wild Atlantic — Ballybunion’s Old Course is pure, natural golf at its most magnificent.
The fairest test in England — Royal Birkdale threads through Lancashire’s sand hills with 10 Open Championships and a closing stretch that defines great golf. Full scorecard, strategy and travel guide.
Dunluce Castle, Calamity Corner and the Antrim Coast — Royal Portrush is the most spectacular venue on the Open Championship rota. Full scorecard, hole strategy and travel guide.
Jack Nicklaus’s favourite course in the world. Two concentric loops, severe revetted bunkers and the fairest test in links golf. Full scorecard, hole-by-hole strategy and East Lothian travel guide.
The cathedral of golf. Shared fairways, the Valley of Sin, the Swilcan Bridge and the Road Hole — every golfer’s ultimate pilgrimage. Full scorecard, hole-by-hole strategy and travel guide.
Location: Newcastle, County Down, Northern Ireland Partner Accommodation: Slieve Donard Resort Editor’s Note (Low-Handicap Perspective):…
Whether you are standing on the wind-swept dunes of St Andrews or the manicured corridors…