Top 100 Courses in the World for 2023-24: Our latest global ranking is here

Analyzing a golf course need not be complicated. One simple but effective way to judge a design is by the quality of the course’s property, its hazards and greens. Pine Valley excels at all three, with many contending it has the most formidable hazards and sophisticated green complexes in golf. Throw in a wonderful routing that hopscotches from one island of turf to the next across the rolling, sandy landscape and you have a course that hasn’t budged from the No. 1 spot for decades. Though a cliché at this point, it is only so because it is true: Pick Pine Valley’s “worst” three holes and they are demonstrably better than the worst three holes of any other course on this list. Pine Valley’s only benchmark for sustained excellence from the 1st tee through to the 18th green is itself. (Photo: Jon Cavalier)

It’s almost inconceivable that land this stunning was made available for golf. For the lucky few who get to play here, they enjoy one of the game’s most inspiring walks as Alister MacKenzie’s design effortlessly transports the player around the diverse property. The iconic par-3 16th, which extends into the churning Pacific, is the game’s most dramatic and photographed hole, but there are endless other highlights, from the forested portion to heaving dunes to its famed jagged coastline. MacKenzie extracted the best from the land in part by breaking the “rules” and having back-to-back par-5s on the front and back-to-back par-3s on the back. The drivable ½-par 9th is another standout with its angled, sloped green invulnerable to rash tactics. (Photo: Gary Lisbon)

The birthplace of golf features blind bunkers, huge double greens, quirks such as the Road Hole and Hell Bunker and strategic options that vary with the day’s wind. The emphasis on short grass and variety became the foundation for strategic designs that followed, including Augusta National. The Old Course might well possess the fastest, best turf in the sport (despite, or perhaps because of, its constant use) and no design possesses the flexibility in allowing golfers of all ages and abilities to enjoy themselves as a group. Modern architects, take note! (Photo: Patrick Koenig)

Venue for five U.S. Opens since 1986, most recently in 2018, this is William Flynn’s design masterpiece. Apart from being handed a magnificently spacious parcel of land upon which to work, Flynn was given something else nearly as valuable: time. Work started in 1928 and the course didn’t open until 1931. True, the Great Depression began during construction but the grace with which the holes flow across the property is a tribute to the hands-on, slow-build process. (Photo: Getty Images)

NGLA, or “National,” as it’s known, brought Seth Raynor and C.B. Macdonald together for the first time and what they created epitomizes strategic design. Some of its template holes, including the Alps 3rd, the Redan 4th, the Short 6th and the Leven 17th, are arguably superior to their namesake holes in the United Kingdom that Macdonald copied. Legendary golf writer Bernard Darwin summed it up nicely when he opined, “The National Links is a truly great course; even as I write I feel my allegiance to Westward Ho!, to Hoylake, to St. Andrews tottering to its fall.” (Photo: William Tyler Smith)

The evolution over more than 130 years of this design is fascinating and has yielded what many consider to be the game’s finest front nine. Blind tee shots abound, in brilliant fashion at such holes as 2, 5 and 9. On the back side, one feature that was recently expunged was a natural pond 100 yards shy of the 17th green. Member George Combe deserves much of the credit for RCD as he shepherded the course through the transition to the rubber core Haskell ball 120 years ago. Forty percent of the World top 15 (here, Pine Valley, Oakmont, Royal Dornoch, Pebble Beach and Merion) derived much of their substance from individuals who built few other courses. Such designs enjoy their own unique voices with County Down further blessed with staggeringly handsome long views of the Irish Sea, the Mountains of Mourne and the red-brick steeple of the Slieve Donard Hotel. (Photo: Evan Schiller)

Beside the club parking area is the horse-drawn plough and scoop that was used to slowly construct the finest course in the Southern Hemisphere. Because construction played out over a four-year period, the tie-ins are gorgeous, meaning where nature stops and man’s hand begins is nearly indiscernible. The bunkers are steep-faced and chew into the putting surfaces. The sand is compact, so to short-side yourself is to likely cost yourself a stroke. How refreshing to find hazards that play as hazards! Standout holes abound, from the short par-4 3rd with its green that falls away to the ½-par 4th that plays up and over the crest of a hill, to the photogenic one-shot 5th to one of the game’s quintessential doglegs, the 6th, which sweeps around a large native area to a fiercely contoured green. The course embodies all of Alister MacKenzie’s design ideals, even though he was only in the country for nine weeks. (Photo: Gary Lisbon)

No course thrives more on looking mean. Indeed, the beauty of Oakmont is how it doesn’t doll itself up, and yet to a purist the view from the crest of the hill on 15 is as breathtaking as any in the country. The barren landscape possesses few trees and no water, just drainage ditches that traverse the land. Daunting carries aren’t the issue either and the greens are huge, so what’s the big deal? The question is answered at the 1st, with a green that follows the natural contours and slopes away from the player. The club prides itself on the pace and firmness of its world-renowned putting surfaces, so let the beating commence! For a course known for its difficulty, what gets lost in the shuffle is the brilliance of its quartet of short par-4s at 2, 11, 14 and 17. (Photo: Gary Lisbon)

Augusta National is the vision of Bobby Jones and his chosen architect, Alister MacKenzie. Both intended for Augusta National to reflect the spirit and strategic options of the Old Course at St. Andrews, the course that they admired most. Nearly every hole at St. Andrews and Augusta National provides a safe route to the green and also a riskier one. The removal of trees down the right of 11 prior to the 2022 Masters was met with applause by design aficionados who hope that the club continues to restore width and playing angles. Recent lengthening of the two par-5s on the back (13 and 15) has the pros reconsidering the risk/reward of trying to reach those well defended greens in two. (Photo: ANGC/Getty Images)

After Tom Watson played here before his Open defense in 1981, he remarked that the experience was “the most fun I’ve ever had on a golf course.” Donald Ross grew up here, though Dornoch took its final shape as we know it today well after he left. Indeed, the course is similar to Oakmont, Pinehurst No. 2 and NGLA in the sense that one man’s steady hand (in this case John Sutherland) elevated the course over a period of several decades. Dornoch’s most famous hole, the two-shot bunkerless 14th (“Foxy”) runs along the North Sea, but its finest sustained stretch is inland (holes 2 through 6). The 7th was markedly improved in 2019 by Tom Mackenzie. By the time you reach it, you are already bewitched. (Photo: David Cannon/Getty Images)

Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw moved teaspoons of dirt to construct the most natural, hew-to-the-land layout built since World War II. Rolling, sandy terrain, rippled fairways that were spared from a bulldozer, ever-present winds, wavy prairie grasses and gigantic blow-out bunkers create the sensation of being seaside in the middle of landlocked Nebraska. The design was immediately embraced, and the minimalist movement started in earnest, with this course arguably kicking off the second Golden Age. (Photo: David Cannon/Getty Images)

This 16-time Open venue so impressed Jack Nicklaus in his 1966 win there that he named his own course in Ohio after it. Tom Weiskopf cites Muirfield’s primary appeal: “The continuous change in direction from hole to hole leads to different winds, great balance and maximum variety.” The course enjoys a relentless sense of perfection with its near vertical greenside bunker faces exacting a heavy toll on those that stray. The absence of artificial mounding coupled with features sunk into the ground lend this low-profile course a sublime beauty. Indeed, when you reflect on its clean lines, you realize how overshaped and junky most designs are. The one-shot 13th into a saddle and the reachable, three-shot 17th are two of its standout holes. (Photo: LC Lambrecht)

What makes Merion so distinctive is its remarkable variety. Some par-4s are short, others are monsters with the delta being as much as 200 yards. One par-3 is tiny, at 115 yards; the others measure 236, 246 and 256. The famous par-4 11th, where Bobby Jones clinched the 1930 Grand Slam, is slashed by a creek, while the par-4 16th demands a shot over an abandoned stone quarry. In short, Merion has everything, including sub-air and irrigation systems that lend more control over the firmness and speed of the playing surfaces. The recently expanded greens have created a plethora of new hole locations around the greens’ perimeters, and the player’s chess match with the clever design is more intense than ever. (Photo: David Cannon/Getty Images)

The first great American public oceanside course, Pebble benefits from an ingenious routing that brings the player to the ocean’s edge, then onto much higher ground, before returning to the cliffs for the climactic final two holes. Even today, with gobs of world class courses having been built in the past 100 years, no more thrilling, spectacular stretch exists than holes 4 through 10. Additionally, does any walk compare with that final stroll up the iconic par-5 18th as it curves left around Carmel Bay?! Hard for a course this well known to exceed first-time expectations — but it does. (Photo: Evan Schiller)

Accessible by ferry or air, this exclusive retreat off the Connecticut coast is populated by the oldest of the Old Money crowd, many of whom still enjoy hoofing it. Why wouldn’t they, given the classic Seth Raynor design that tracks along the island’s northeast edge, the delightful tumbling terrain and the spectacular views of Long Island Sound. The 3rd, 4th and 5th are as intoxicating as any three-hole stretch on the eastern seaboard. Fishers joined our World Top 100 at No. 73 in 1989 — and has never looked back. (Photo: LC Lambrecht)

The only course outside of England and Scotland to host the Open is perennially ranked in the world’s top-20 courses, thanks to a superior 1929 H.S. Colt design that maximizes its setting in the high dunes along the Irish Sea. The golf world saw two new holes in action at the 2019 Open: the 7th and 8th, which replaced the old, comparatively dull 17th and 18th holes. Both nines touch the cliff line, with the course’s most spectacular moment coming at the 5th as it doglegs right to a two-tiered green flush against the cliff. Indeed, plenty of the holes elbow one direction or the other, so driver is not an automatic decision as hitting the twisting fairways and approaching Colt’s angled greens from the correct side of the fairway are of paramount importance. (Photo: Getty Images)

One of the five founding members of the United States Golf Association in 1894, Chicago Golf was the site of the nation’s first 18-hole course; it also was the first course outside of the Northeast to play host to the U.S. Open. Seth Raynor retooled his mentor C.B. Macdonald’s course in 1923 and not much has changed since as its slew of exemplary template holes make it just as relevant today as it was in the hickory era. Holes 1 through 4, which include a Road and Biarritz template, represent one of the game’s most testing starts. Indeed, the par-5 4th can rightly be viewed as Raynor’s hardest three-shotter. (Photo: John and Jeannine Henebry)

Turnberry began as a Willie Fermie design and part of the famous Culzean estate. It’s been associated with the Turnberry hotel for more than 100 years. Neither World War was kind to the property, and Mackenzie Ross’s reconstruction after WWII provides the core of today’s layout. Under the Trump Organization, Martin Ebert led a superb renovation that better utilized the jagged cliffline. The famed 9th tee near the iconic lighthouse was preserved but the semi-blind turtleback fairway wasn't. Instead, a stunning par-3 was created and 10 is now a par-5, longer and more complex while 11 moves closer to the shore. The 6th has been abbreviated to accommodate a splendid new back tee at the home hole. All and all, the upgrades propel the Aisla course into the highest echelon of links for both challenge and beauty. Turnberry became an Open venue in 1977 and has hosted two of its greatest championships, both headlined by Tom Watson. (Photo: Gary Lisbon)

Gil Hanse and team restored George Thomas’s classic to perfection in 2010. Bunkers were reshaped and relocated, fairways widened and a natural barranca was brought back into play as a strategic hazard. As Hanse says of what is arguably America’s premier urban design, “The course enjoys a perfect sense of place and balance.” LACC hosted the 2017 Walker Cup and the 2023 U.S. Open won by Wyndham Clark. Early in U.S. Open week, a false narrative emerged that the fairways were too wide, but by the end of the event, the facts bore out that driving to particular sides and spots within the fairways was critical for success. LACC”s superlative collection of one-shot holes proved quite a test as well, even with ball in hand and a perfect lie/stance. (Photo: LC Lambrecht)

Tara Iti jumped onto our World list in 2017 as one of our highest debuting courses ever. Then it moved higher still. The course is buoyed by its enviable location in the dunes along the Pacific Ocean, along with superior fine-fescue fairways and swirls of natural grass and sand. The design is loaded with standout holes. Two of its one-shotters — the 15th and 17th — are media darlings but another of the course’s best moments comes at the long uphill 12th, which plays away from the Pacific Ocean to an open, tilted green that is 7 feet higher on its right than left. Bouncy-bounce golf reigns supreme at the 12th, which is a dazzler even though the ocean is behind you. (Photo: Jacob Sjöman)

Donald Ross’ chef d’oeuvre rolls spaciously through tall longleaf pines in the Carolina Sandhills with holes culminating with legendary inverted-saucer greens. For the 2014 U.S. Open, a Coore-Crenshaw restoration brought back the tawny-edged fairways and native areas last seen in the 1940s. Even with no rough, the runner-up could muster only one under par over four rounds. After the Women’s U.S. Open was played the following week, a powerful message had been broadcast around the world from the home of American golf about the virtues of width, short grass and great greens. This is one of a handful of courses that presents resort guests with a fun test on which they won’t lose a single ball, and a week later can be ready to host a U.S. Open. That’s the flexibility of short grass — and Ross’ design genius. The world will get another look at No. 2 in June 2024 when the course stages its fourth U.S. Open. (Photo: Joann Dost)

Dan Soutar, Mick Morcom and Alister MacKenzie each played a key role in creating a visual feast and a strategic masterpiece, helped in large measure by the site’s critical virtue of being located on sandy soil. Any modern architect should spend time here, studying how its creators teased so much from land that is neither rambunctious nor expansive. It’s no wonder this course is a darling among design aficionados. A stellar collection of two-shot holes poses the full range of questions. Other standouts include the par-5 7th with its exasperating swale in front, the tiny par-3 10th played over scrub and the uphill one-shot 15th played across a series of bunkers that are a masterclass of presentation. (Photo: Airswing Media)

Tree-dotted dunes, open meadows and bluff-top views of Long Island Sound highlight the experience at this 2003 Bill Coore-Ben Crenshaw design. Even more impressive is how seamlessly the golfer is transported between these different environments. The sandy stretches — including from 7-10 and 13-18 — are mesmerizing, but holes like the maddening 5th with its rippling ground contours and the classic dogleg 6th that tempts you to hug the corner off the tee are design standouts in their own right. Constant refinements, no matter how minor, have Friar’s Head as dialed-in as any course in the country. (Photo: Channing Benjamin)

This Southwest Irish gem is wedged between huge sandhills and the Atlantic Ocean. “Nothing less than the finest seaside course I have ever seen,” said Hall of Fame writer Herbert Warren Wind. Echoed five-time Open champion Tom Watson, “It is one of the best and most beautiful tests of links golf anywhere.” Greenkeeper John Bambury embarked seven years ago to convert the poa greens to fine fescue and to re-establish the running game. His hard work has reached fruition. World-class holes abound, such as the 470-yard 11th, which cascades downhill to a green between two dunes, and the picture-perfect 210-yard 15th with an Atlantic backdrop. (Photo: Getty Images)

Golf in the United Kingdom originated along its coastline on linksland but as the sport became popular, people wanted courses nearer to where they lived. One of the earliest inland courses that established a new standard in design came here at Sunningdale just after the turn of the last century. When you layer on Harry Colt’s improvements (such as moving the 12th green high and to the left) to Willie Park Jr.’s original effort, you end up with one of the game’s most noble inland courses. (Photo: Kevin Diss)

After weeks of tromping around the yucca-choked sand hills of Hutchinson, architect Perry Maxwell proclaimed, “There are 118 good golf holes here. All I have to do is eliminate 100 of them.” All that's missing is an ocean at this linksy-looking layout that played host to the 2002 U.S. Women's Open (Juli Inkster) and 2006 U.S. Senior Open (Allen Doyle). What a delight that the Maxwells got to work with this special site as their soft touch on the land is a must-study for any architect. (Photo: David Cannon/Getty Images)

Through the years, Oakland Hills — the famed "monster" that Ben Hogan slayed in the 1951 U.S. Open — became long, narrow and hard, which fit the descriptive of other American championship courses. That was never meant to be the course's fate — this was Donald Ross’s parkland thought-provoking magnum opus. Happily, all of Ross’s glories, and then some, were brought back in 2020 when Gil Hanse, Jim Wagner and team restored Ross’s width and playing angles. The greens were expanded a whopping 35 percent, and the bunkers themselves were restored to their previous immense scale. Fescue grasses blow in the wind and the undulating site, no longer hidden by trees, optimizes parkland golf’s regal offering with some of its greens like the 1st and 14th among the best in the game. (Photo: LC Lambrecht)

The value that an architect provides is highlighted here in technicolor. Built in a narrow canyon, there was no reason to hold high hopes for this course. Yet what emerged, courtesy of George Thomas and Billy Bell, is one of the game’s strategic design marvels. Together, the designers took bunker configuration and angled greens to new heights in the 1920s. As proof of their magical skills, look no further than Riv’s 311-yard, par-4 10th. Thanks to the inspired positioning of the bunkers and the angled green, options abound on how to card a big number on this tiny hole. Thomas’s famous quote — “strategy is the soul of the game” — manifests itself at Riv. (Photo: Patrick Koenig)

Hale Irwin survived the 1974 “Massacre at Winged Foot” U.S. Open to win at seven over par. Geoff Ogilvy didn’t fare much better in 2006, when his five-over total took home the trophy. Mark Brooks, 1996 PGA champion, summed up this Golden Age A.W. Tillinghast design this way: “There are probably six hard holes, six really hard holes and six impossible holes.” Frighteningly contoured, pear-shaped greens, cavernous bunkers and a procession of rugged par-4s define the trouble. On a “difficulty” scale of 1 to 10, Jack Nicklaus once rated the West course a 12. That said, Gil Hanse’s astonishing green expansion has brought back an exciting element of creativity with which few parkland courses can contend. (Photo: Christian Hafer)

East of Edinburgh sits this fabled links. Among its many highlights is the 15th hole, the much-copied Redan, a par-3 played to an elevated, diagonal green. In the memorability department, however, 15 takes a backseat to the par-4 13th, The Pit, whose green sits directly behind a low stone wall. Less discussed but just as exciting is its 16th green, with its left and right plateaus separated by a deep channel. Our panel clearly appreciates the variety of obstacles that the golfer must overcome as the course has steadily climbed the World ranking since its initial appearance in 2007. (Photo: Graylyn Loomis)

Japanese golfers had never seen the kind of deep, strategically placed bunkers that architect C.H. Alison introduced to Hirono in the early 1930s, so bunkers built since became known as “Alisons.” Originally, the course bore a sandy, scrubby appearance akin to Pine Valley (where Alison consulted), but tree-planting changed Hirono’s character over the decades. Thankfully, Martin Ebert’s 2019 restoration reestablished sand as a dominant theme. No one seems to agree on which is its best par-3, as they all are outstanding. Certainly, the Fjord 5th across a lake and the Devil’s Divot 7th played across a gulley with a series of menacing bunkers cut into the far face are as good a pair of one-shotters as you’ll find on any outward nine. Another standout is the par-5 15th, where a tree as a central hazard followed by a ravine put great pressure on second shots. From inception, Hirono set the standard for design excellence, and all other Japanese courses since have been measured against it. (Photo: David Alexander/Getty Images)

This unconventional Tom Doak treasure catapulted him into the spotlight at the turn of the century. A slew of par-4s on the first nine gives way to a 3-3-5-4-3-5 start to the second nine. Only Mike Keiser would have approved of such an unusual par sequence and this course helped modern architecture break free from certain design shackles that had constrained designers over the past five decades. Scattered blow-out bunkers, gigantic natural dunes, smartly contoured greens and Pacific panoramas complete Doak’s first masterpiece. (Photo: Evan Schiller)

This 15-time British Open host dates to 1887. “Sandwich,” as it is known colloquially, occupies some of the most rambunctious dunes of any Open venue. Yes, that means there are more blind shots here than at the other host sites. Some professionals embrace that aspect while others are leery. Amateurs, who look at links golf as an adventure vs. a livelihood, are more uniformly effusive in their praise. Though Sandwich is expansive, tense moments present themselves, including on 4th tee, where you must clear the rota’s most fearsome fairway bunker. James Bond creator Ian Fleming was a big fan of the perils of the perched 10th green but the nerviest single moment comes at the par-5 14th tee with outbounds hard along the right. Much to his credit, nothing fazed Collin Morikawa en route to his impressive 2021 Open win. (Photo: Kevin Murray)

Because of its remote location, Crystal Downs was once overlooked, but that changed when Tom Doak introduced the course to Ben Crenshaw in the 1980s. A combination of strong breezes off Lake Michigan, thick fescue roughs, undulating terrain and fiendishly contoured greens make this one of the more difficult Top 100 courses relative to its par of 70. Measuring just under 6,600 yards, monster length is not required when you have greens this exceptional. (Photo: Gary Kellner/Dimpled Rock)

Arguably the finest site on which Donald Ross ever worked, the course plays along and between two main dune lines, and Ross made the most of the opportunity with holes continually tacking in different directions. The club prides itself on its firm playing surfaces, which were on full display during the 2021 Walker Cup. Some grouse that the course’s reputation is built on the club’s exclusivity, which is unwarranted given that standout holes abound, including the 4th, 6th, 13th and one of the game’s finest finishing three-hole stretches. (Photo: Patrick Koenig)

Australia’s greatest links continually achieves top-40 status thanks to a sophisticated design coupled with a stirring seaside setting with holes nestled in large dunes that run parallel to the ocean. The clubhouse is situated in the middle, with each nine fanning out on either side. The dunes extend inland “only” some 350 yards and the architects did a fabulous job in having the holes flow across them in every conceivable manner. One highlight is the short 7th, which is the Southern Hemisphere’s equivalent to the Troon’s Postage Stamp hole and is equally adept at wreaking havoc. One of its tricks? Its abrupt change in direction from any previous holes means golfers don’t have a good read on how the wind will affect their tee balls. (Photo: Gary Lisbon)

Old Tom Morris’ 1893 design, coupled with Alister MacKenzie’s 1927 enhancements, including the 9th green, and Martin Hawtree’s 2003 push into the big dunes, delivers an irresistible combination of beauty, challenge and fun. The course is a poster child for Irish tourism, what with its tumbling dunes and the Cliffs of Mohr just to the north. Amazingly, the golf is every bit as good as its setting, headlined by a sterling set of two-shot holes that fall across the land in every conceivable manner. (Photo: LC Lambrecht)

A.W. Tillinghast built his most artistic collection of bunkers at this low-key Bay Area hideaway that avoids publicity as steadfastly as its neighbor the Olympic Club embraces it. Known as the Duel Hole, the drop-shot par-3 7th may be the course’s most famous hole, but its par-4s, including the 2nd, 3rd, 10th and 12th, are the real headliners. (Photo: Courtesy SFGC)

A Boston Brahmin society haunt for more than 125 years, this tree-lined design has played host to four U.S. Opens and the famous 1999 Ryder Cup. Its configuration of holes for the 2022 U.S. Open proved to be its best composite course yet out of its 27 holes but note: GOLF ranks the Clyde/Squirrel course that its members play on a regular basis. That’s the configuration of holes that was used for the 1913 Open when local lad Francis Ouimet stunned the big, bad Brits. Its old-school features include cross hazards and medium-size greens. The field at the 2022 U.S. Open was reminded that there is no substitute for hitting fairways and greens as thick rough remains a component of the course’s challenge just as it was in 1913. (Photo: Patrick Koenig)

This ancient links dates to 1842 and is defined by heather, gorse, jungle-like fescue rough, steep-faced revetted bunkers and the sinuous Barry Burn — all of which create havoc in the wind. The meanest of the Open rota courses has produced winners such as Ben Hogan, Gary Player and Tom Watson. A poor course set-up for the 1999 Open furthered its reputation as “Carnastie.” That’s a shame. Played from the appropriate set of tees, you will be pleasantly surprised — and thoroughly impressed — by the course’s variety and its excellent, diverse set of greens, including the clever shared double green at 4 and 14. (Photo: Getty Images)

Tucked away in a nearly impossible-to-find forested location 40 miles north of Paris is a low-key heathland design that is utterly charming and utterly private. A bold start that features a 475-yard par-4 and a 225-yard par-3 give way to gentler, though strategically rich holes that were favorites of General Dwight D. Eisenhower, a frequent visitor. Don’t miss Morfontaine’s nine-hole Valliere course; its green contours are as dazzling as the City of Lights itself. (Photo: Dylan Dethier)

Despite the links’ setting among towering dunes, many consider Birkdale to be the “fairest” Open rota course as most of the holes roll through valleys and blind shots are few. Peter Thomson won the first Open played here, in 1954, and Birkdale has staged nine other editions, most recently Jordan Spieth’s remarkable win in 2017. Both nines are beautifully balanced, and its great holes are evenly spread across the course. Two of the best are the 1st, a tough two-shotter that swings left through a valley, and the one-shot 12th, with its hard-to-hit green surrounded by peril. The 12th was added in the 1960s by Fred Hawtree Jr., making it one of the youngest holes on the Open rota. (Photo: Kevin Murray)

Thanks to a 25-year-long restoration effort with meticulous attention to detail, Somerset Hills has reached the point where some trumpet it as A.W. Tillinghast’s finest design for regular play. Its two nines are diverse — the first is on more open land while the second jumps into the woods where Tillinghast incorporated natural water features to perfection. Tillinghast’s time in Scotland manifests itself at such holes as the Redan 2nd and the par-5 9th with its attractive cross hazard. A die-hard New Yorker remarked, “It’s enough to make one want to live in New Jersey.” (Photo: Russell Kirk)

Site of three U.S. Opens and a quintet of PGA Championships, this Depression-era Perry Maxwell design features holes that gracefully flow across a plot of undulating ground perfectly suited for golf. For decades, the land was smothered underneath a canopy of trees but Keith Foster and then Gil Hanse have opened up the property for all to admire. Gone too are the clean-edged bunkers that never looked at home on a Maxwell design. Raves all around for how this course has evolved this century, as demonstrated by the exciting 2022 PGA Championship won by Justin Thomas. (Photo: Gary Kellner)

For most of its 80-year history, the Cal Club, as locals call it, served up a tight though well-regarded course, enhanced by its association with Ken Venturi. Following a 2008 Kyle Phillips re-do that was part restoration and part redesign, many feel this private course is equal to any in California north of Cypress Point. Situated on the side of a hill, Cal Club is guaranteed to catch any wind that is about. Add in fescue fairways and the site’s broad slopes and you have a course whose asks change daily. Take note of the stretch from 9-11 and how each of these two-shotters falls across the land in a different manner: the 9th plays up and over a hill, the 10th fairway slopes right to left off the tee and then left to right closer to the green and the 12th fairway glides through its own lovely valley. Overall, the mix of short grass, sprawling bunkers and cypress trees provide constant photo opportunities. When you discover the design plays as good as it looks, you have something special. (Photo: Evan Schiller)

Unlike America, England doesn’t have a phobia about courses with par under 70. Seeing a 6,431-yard, par-69 course like Swinley Forest be embraced as an epitome of great design is a powerful message. Like Rye, its quintet of one-shotters and tight sub-70 par make it more of a complete test than a quick glance at its scorecard might indicate. The more the world speeds up, the more people appreciate clubs like Swinley where calm reigns supreme. Harry Colt considered it his ‘least bad’ design, proving he was much better at letting his work speak for itself than he was at promotion! (Photo: Courtesy Swinley Forest)

Steep ravines affect play throughout Shoreacres’ famed stretch of holes from 10-15. The rest of the property features more modest topography but you are unlikely to notice that fact as the expansive greens offer such interesting targets. Ironic for an architect who built template holes but the best hole on this Seth Raynor design may well be the thoroughly original risk-reward 520-yard par-5 15th, which doglegs left, over and around a ravine. (Photo: Patrick Koenig)

Devereux Emmet and Walter Travis share credit for this old-school design that plays across Hempstead Plain on Long Island. The water is 10 miles both north and south, so sea breezes are a frequent companion. Laurie Auchterlonie won the 1902 U.S. Open here with record scores, owing to the debut of the longer, more durable Haskell ball. Garden City’s tilted greens, like the 10th and 15th, are lay-of-the-land architecture at its highest form. To understand what it means to “get the most from the land,” study the small parcel around the clubhouse that contains the 1st, 2nd and 18th holes, each stellar in its own right. (Photo: Patrick Koenig)

Ireland’s dunes have benefited from sand deposits over the millennia along its west coast as exemplified by its fabled links in the southwest including Ballybunion, Lahinch and Waterville. Each enjoys some of the game’s most impressive landforms. Set in the northwest county of Donegal, St. Patrick’s too will soon become a household name with golfers flocking here to experience the unbridled joy that comes from playing in and among big dunes as one battles the wind. The course looks like it has been there for a century, instead of having opened in 2021, which speaks volumes of the routing and the talented shapers that worked the project. Some of the interior green contours like those found on 5, 10, 11, and 17 are as dazzling as the overall environment. Both casual golfers and architecture buffs alike should take note of the features that make the three longest par-4s (9, 11 and 16) so much fun to play. (Photo: Clyde Johnson)

Maidstone’s glorious edge-of-the-Atlantic location is once again fully evident, thanks to a recent restoration by Coore & Crenshaw. Maintaining coastal dunes is an art form: expose too much sand and it blows away; cover it up and you lose a sense of place. Maidstone has struck the perfect balance. Adding to the pleasure of its romantic location is an exceptional set of Willie and John Park greens, many of which feature dramatic false fronts. Maidstone is a dream course to play regularly, in part because its asks change daily with the weather. (Photo: Patrick Koenig)

Founding a private club in a remote destination is not without peril and it is reasonable to expect a club to take some time find its footing. Now deep into its second decade, Ballyneal enjoys its finest playing conditions since opening. Fescue fairways help the ground-game options flourish as balls release across the rumpled ground. Often on a Tom Doak course, the best way to get a ball close to the hole requires both imagination and creativity. That’s true in spades here as players delight in finding creative ways to use banks and punchbowl features on such holes as at the one-shot 3rd, the drivable 7th and the bruising 15th. (Photo: Evan Schiller)

Canada’s top-ranked course is a seven-year-old Bill Coore/Ben Crenshaw that alternates between big dunes at the southern end and cliffs at the northern end that rise more than 100 feet above the Gulf of St. Lawrence, inspiring Pebble Beach-like awe. The 2nd hole, arguably the course’s finest, starts from a tee high on a bluff and requires a rousing tee shot over wetlands, followed by an equally dramatic approach to an elevated green with punchbowl qualities. The opportunity to use side slopes to kick balls onto the putting surfaces is a recurring design theme and the fescue fairways encourage lively interaction with the ground. Two of the best examples occur late in the round. One is at the downhill 560-yard 15th, which is reachable under certain wind conditions. The other comes at the 320-yard 17th, where a courageous well-executed power fade over the cliffs and down the sloping fairway could result in an eagle putt. A great design lends itself to lasting memories, and Cabot Cliffs is aces in that department. (Photo: Brian Oar)

Great courses do not automatically emerge from great sites, because routing a design — making all 18 holes connect while simultaneously complementing one another — is enormously difficult. It is a true gift to be able to do so, and it is the primary differentiator between being a good architect and an elite one. In the case of the Kawana Resort, its owner, Baron Okura, did not think that a routing done by a Japanese architect took full advantage of the site’s wonders, which range from jaw-dropping views of snow-capped Mt. Fuji to cliff-top panoramas of the Pacific. So, he organized for C.H. Alison to assess the property while he was working at Tokyo GC. Alison developed a different routing and several years later, the course was built under the expert guidance of Koymo Ohtani and Kinya Fujita. The result is what some people consider to be their favorite course along the Pacific Ocean — California and Oregon’s offerings included! There isn’t a single weak hole, and golfers eventually run out of superlatives when describing how well this undulating land was utilized. Recent tree-clearing along the perimeter has enhanced the site’s stunning coastal setting. (Photo: Courtesy Kawana)

H.S. Colt’s 99-year-old companion to its charming elder, the Old, stands on its own merits. In fact, some golfers prefer the more muscular New Course to the Old. Heathland golf around London is famous for all sorts of reasons but the strength of its par-5s isn’t one of them. Two of the New’s par-5s — the 6th and 13th — are exceptions and anchor each nine. Additionally, the best par-3 at the club is found on the New (its 5th, which plays from high point to high point across a heath-laden shallow valley). The par-4s run the full gamut, from the beefy 4th that rewards a fade off the tee and a draw for an approach to the sub-400 yard gem 12th, which plays to a plateau green. (Photo: David Cannon/Getty)

Drone shots of this course are evocative, showing holes located on fingers of land 500 feet above the Pacific Ocean. But golf is played from the ground, not the air, and that’s just fine here as the tumbling landforms are ideal for golf. The course’s most famous hole is also its most feared, the 650-yard, par-5 15th, which falls away on both sides of the fairway and sports a horizon green perched precariously on a bluff overlooking the ocean. Architecture buffs are likely to be just as captivated by the playing angles at the preceding hole, a short two-shotter with a Road Hole green complex. (Photo: Gary Lisbon)

This cult classic is a personal favorite of both Pete Dye and Tom Doak. Twenty-three miles north of Aberdeen, Cruden Bay offers many novel features, including the postcard-perfect par-3 4th, which overlooks the Water of Cruden and the fishing village of Port Erroll, and the par-4 14th, with its funnel-shaped bathtub green. The 4th kicks off a five-hole stretch that any links course would love to claim as its own, so wildly varied and well-conceived is each hole. (Photo: Gary Lisbon)

This low-key 1926 Seth Raynor creation in suburban Cincinnati dishes out deep bunkers and huge, squared-off greens on a property laced with valleys and ravines. The standard quartet of Raynor template one-shot holes (Redan, Short, Biarritz and Eden) are here and rival his best set. Constant refinements continue, including to mow lines, but this course will never close for a splashy restoration. Why? Because the club has always been a good custodian of its course. (Photo: Patrick Koenig)

Credit architects H.S. Colt and S.V. Hotchkin for enhancing Harry Vardon’s initial work and turning the course into one of golf’s supreme inland delights, an oasis amid the surrounding flat fenland of Lincolnshire. Deep bunkers are Woodhall Spa’s defining trait, along with plentiful gorse and a stellar set of par-3s. A meticulous restoration carried out by Renaissance Golf Design in recent years saw trees felled and heather regenerated. Set 150 miles north of London, Woodhall keeps a relatively low profile as it isn’t among a cluster of great courses. That’s a shame, because this outpost course is emphatically worth the trip. (Photo: Courtesy Woodhall Spa)

On approach to the Dublin airport, keep your eyes peeled out the window for a glimpse of the most romantic location for a golf course imaginable. Yes, that would be Portmarnock, set among low dunes at the end of a peninsula. The sense of seclusion is palpable, even though you are only 7 miles as the crow flies from a bustling capital city. Seve Ballesteros, Bernhard Langer and Ian Woosnam are among those who won Irish Opens here. Arnold Palmer once tabbed the 15th as one of golf’s best par-3s and yet the other par-3 on that side (the shorter 12th) is just as good. Be prepared for some of the fastest, purest running conditions that the game offers. Also, don’t miss its third nine, the Yellow Nine. (Photo: Courtesy Portmarnock)

The Black intimidates golfers with a sign at the 1st tee that recommends the course “only for highly skilled golfers.” Among them? Tiger Woods, who won the 2002 “People’s Open,” as that U.S. Open came to be known. Woods was the only golfer to break par for 72 holes, owing to rugged, uphill par-4s, massive bunkers and the wrist-fracturing rough found on this Rees Jones-restored A.W. Tillinghast layout. The Black enjoys one of the great routings, highlighted by the masterful way Tillinghast placed the fairways and greens from the 2nd hole in a valley all the way through the dogleg left 9th. The par-5 4th and its iconic cross-bunkering is a world-beater. (Photo: Getty Images)

Andrew Green’s renovation restored Ross features, expunged those that were not and added length to test today’s tournament players. Few courses can claim as sterling a set of two-shotters, headlined by the 6th, 7th, 9th, 15th, 17th and 18th holes. Inverness’s home hole famously measures under 400 yards and is one of the most interesting closers in the game. Too bad more modern architects are leery to build finishers that reward mind over muscle. (Photo: Fred Vuich/USGA)

The blend of tidal marshes, scrub-topped dunes, live oaks and the soothing sound of the Atlantic on every hole make this one of the South’s most memorable playing experiences. Though the course just turned 30 years old, it already has an illustrious history of hosting big-time events, none more memorable than the drama-filled 1991 “War by the Shore” Ryder Cup. Much more short grass has been added around the green complexes since then and now the design is more thought-provoking rather than terror-inducing. Many of its greens are plateaued, with some of the more pronounced coming on the 3rd, 11th and 14th holes. Phil Mickelson more than handled the putting surfaces on his way to his historic win at the 2021 PGA Championship. (Photo: Patrick Koenig)

This host to 24 Open Championships (including the first 12) delights with both quirk and muscle. The lumpiest/bumpiest ground is near the clubhouse and yields such marvels as the 1st with the stonewall and railroad line hard down the right of the fairway, the Narrows 15th and the famous Alps 17th. Meanwhile, a brawny collection of two-shotters dominates the stretch from 6-10. Add all the asks together and you have a historic course like no other. The more you travel, the more you appreciate Prestwick’s unique charms. The course’s influence on the direction of architecture is undeniable, thanks to the impression it made on architects from C.B. Macdonald to Pete and Alice Dye, who, a few years after their 1963 visit, included railroad planks at Harbour Town. Because no living architect would build (or be allowed to build!) a course remotely like it, Prestwick remains a cherished playing experience. (Photo: Patrick Koenig)

Sydney’s magnificent Harbour Bridge and Opera House speak to a city of impossible beauty and the course at La Perouse is its crowning golf offering. The middle of each nine features holes along the rugged shoreline. The two most famous holes are the par-5 5th, with its long, downward sloping fairway toward the Pacific, and the 195-yard 6th that plays over an inlet of Cape Banks, but the stretch from 13 to 16 is as exhilarating a run of par-4s as can be found in the Southern Hemisphere. (Photo: Gary Lisbon)

Australian architect Bob Harrison didn’t need to rely on bunkers to make this one of the world’s most photogenic courses. In fact, “only” 29 bunkers are spread across the 18 holes. But golfers are put on notice early, with the tee shot at the 205-yard 2nd needing to carry a 100-foot (!) chasm. The 6th tee is both the farthest point inland and the highest, providing sweeping views across the water to the Isle of Islay three miles away. The thrill ride continues, with holes 8 through 11 hugging the cliff line. Eventually, golfers finds themselves teeing off along the pebbled shoreline for holes 12-14, some 250 feet below the aforementioned 6th tee. Harrison mixes up the asks with a variety of fine green complexes. Most are open in front to accommodate for the wind, some greens (e.g., the 3rd and 7th) fall away from the player, a couple (e.g., the 6th and 11th) are knobs that are particularly vexing to hold, and the long narrow green at the 9th necks down to 12 paces at one spot and amply defends par at this all-world, drivable 295-yard par-4. Set on the Isle of Jura in the Inner Hebrides, Ardfin is a course unlike any other. (Photo: Konrad Borkowski)

Arnold Palmer, Tom Weiskopf and Tom Watson are among the Americans who have triumphed at Troon, yet the most memorable shot was struck by a non-winner: 71-year-old Gene Sarazen, who aced the 123-yard “Postage Stamp” 8th (pictured) during the 1973 Open — with a 5-iron! The mighty-mite 8th gets much of the attention, but Troon also has a host of sterling two-shotters, including the 7th, 11th, 13th and 15th. The stonewall separating the course and the rail line is unnervingly tight right of the 11th green and serves as a great litmus test to determine who is (and isn’t) in full control of their swings. By all means, celebrate the Postage Stamp but pay heed to the course’s other riches, too. (Photo: Getty)

Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner’s 2020 restoration showcases Tillinghast’s immense talent for innovative bunker patterns and fascinating greens. Central hazards once again abound here, most famously at the 2nd and 17th holes where large bunker complexes bisect the fairways. Just as impressive is the diagonal bunker scheme that slashes into the 5th fairway, making it one of the best 400-yarders in the country. Though the middle of the property is tame topographically, that’s precisely where Tillinghast created some of the best greens. Take the time to study both green pads of the par 3s on the second nine as each is a master class in creating something from nothing. (Photo: Patrick Koenig)

The Lido, on Long Island’s South Shore, opened for play in 1917, the work of C.B. Macdonald and Seth Raynor. The course met an unkind fate in the 1940s, but not until luminaries like Bernard Darwin had lavished praise on it; Darwin said he thought Lido was the best course in the world “as a battlefield for giants.” Well! Some eight decades later Michael and Chris Keiser decided to recreate the course adjacent to their Sand Valley Resort. Key to the equation was Peter Flory, who open-sourced hundreds of vintage photos of the original Lido and fed them into a software program that modeled the new Lido as accurately as possible. The Keisers then hired Tom Doak and Brian Schneider (who spent more than 230 days on-site) to build the course. This process included the use of GPS bulldozers, though discretion by Doak and Schneider was certainly required in getting the green contours just right. The scale of the course, the depth of its hazards and the size of the greens, which average over 12,000 square feet, is dazzling. Almost all of the great template holes are represented, from the Alps 10th to the Redan 16th, making this course a strategic marvel. Panelist Clyde Johnson calls Lido the “ultimate IQ test for golf-course architecture.” One of America’s great designs is back! (Photo: Courtesy Sand Valley)

Championship golf is a double-edged sword. Hosting major events on a regular basis confers prestige and pride to any membership. Conversely, many sites deemed worthy were built approximately a century ago when hickory-shafted clubs were the norm. Immense pressure is placed on clubs to have their course evolve to handle equipment advancements. One banal way? Increase the use of penal water hazards. Such happened at Oak Hill in the late 1970s. Much to its credit, the club reversed course, recognizing that Donald Ross's work should be brought back to the greatest extent possible. Among other things, Andrew Green saw to it that the incongruent water features were removed and made sure that the mighty East Course was once again a cohesive Golden Age masterpiece without blemishes. Two of the game’s best ball-strikers (Jon Rahm and Viktor Hovland) battled it out here for the 2023 PGA Championship title. The bruising par-4 6th with its winding creek proved to be one of the sternest holes the players faced all year. (Photo: Evan Schiller)

This Westchester County course has always enjoyed a spectacular component to it, courtesy of breathtaking views of the Hudson River, particularly at the 15th and 16th holes. What its holes lacked was playing interest from 50 yards and in. That changed in 2016 when Gil Hanse embarked on a two-year project to imbue the greens with a C.B. Macdonald flair that, well, even Macdonald would appreciate. (Photo: Evan Schiller)

From London’s heathland to the cliffs of Northern Ireland to sandy sites in the Netherlands, Colt enjoyed many fine sites in Europe over his extended career. One of the best is this property, where Colt teased a diverse collection of holes from the rolling landscape. His placement of the green sites — some on knobs or plateaus, some at ground level and the magnificent 10th green at the hole’s low point beyond a hillock — define the challenge. Perhaps most beguiling is the ½-par 4th, which plays downhill and only 272 yards but where it is shocking how quickly one goes from the hunter to the hunted. (Photo: Courtesy St. George's Hill)

The opener is the easiest hole (and the course’s only three-shotter) and then … hold on! What follows are a dozen par-4s, 10 of which measure more than 420 yards, and an infamously diabolical group of five par-3s that have this 6,503-yard course weighing in yard for yard as one of the most difficult on our list. The fact that you can walk Rye in two and half hours makes you question the merit of courses that are so much longer. (Photo: Courtesy)

Tom Doak’s works along large bodies of water populate our list but some contend what he did in the American West at Rock Creek is just as exhilarating as his more photographed courses in sandy soil. Though Montana’s rocky conditions made for a tough build, the result is wide fairways that flow over the tumbling land with a grace and ease that is hard to fathom. The same design principles — fairway contours that either shunt you out of position or send you to the ideal location, hazards that appear ageless and greens that offer a wide range of hole locations — demand you reassess how to best play each hole from one day to the next. Hard to find better playing angles. (Photo: LC Lambrecht)

Regardless of whether the wind is blowing or what technology does, Lytham’s 205 bunkers mean that this rugged links is always ready to test the best, just as it has done since 1926 when it played host to its first Open Championship. One of those bunkers, in the left-center of the 18th fairway, cost Adam Scott the 2012 Open. Indeed, the entire 18th hole is a master class in how to stagger fairway bunkers to create playing interest and should be recognized as one of the game’s top dozen finishers. No one was better at getting out of jail than Spain’s Seve Ballesteros, who twice won here in glorious fashion. (Photo: Kevin Murray)

Founder Alvaro Carta deserves credit for hiring Pete Dye in 1970 to build this centerpiece attraction for his retreat and then allowing him to have nearly three miles of coastline with which to work. The construction process was slow going as jungle brush needed to be beat back with machetes. Machinery was prohibitively expensive to import, so 300 Dominicans assisted. Ultimately, Dye found a way to place eight holes along the shoreline, three of which are par-3s that from the back tees require heart-pounding shots over the azure water; the fourth par-3 (No. 13) was Dye’s first island hole with its built-up green pad surrounded by a sea of sand. This low-profile course, which celebrated its 50th birthday a couple of years ago, has aged gracefully and remains in the conversation for Dye’s finest work. (Photo: Patrick Koenig)

Set along the craggy northern end of St. Lucia, Point Hardy’s dramatic location almost needs to be seen to be believed. The last four greens on the front side are on the cliffs, as are the final five greens on the second nine. The course’s most dazzling moments are within these 9 holes, including the diagonal tee ball carries over the ocean at holes 8 and 15 and the testing nature of several par-3s, like the 7th with its long but narrow green on a point and the 17th that plays from one point over the churning Atlantic 80 feet below to a clifftop green. The interior holes climb some 200 feet above sea level. Indeed, from the 4th tee, you see the Caribbean straight ahead while the Atlantic is behind you. Also among the interior holes Coore & Crenshaw created several stout two-shotters that call for inventive ground game approaches, which perfectly balance the aerial demands of the cliff holes. Add in the lumpy fairways and coastal breezes and this design poses a host of intriguing questions, all bundled up in an exotic island setting. (Photo: Courtesy)

Some critics of rankings grumble that hosting a major unduly elevates a course. Is that true for Myopia Hunt, given that it has played host to four U.S. Opens? Probably not, given its last one was in 1908! Myopia Hunt’s rise in the list can be attributed to Gil Hanse’s recent restoration work whereby trees came down, and fairways were expanded/reconnected to Herbert Leeds’s fabulous pit bunkers. The handsome blue stem rough is best admired from a distance but there is no hiding from the severely titled greens at the 4th, 6th and 13th. None of those two-shotters is long but the slopes with which Leeds imbued them with 125 years ago define treachery at modern green speeds. With the wind more evident and the playing surfaces firm, the course’s thorny playing attributes are once again on full display. Fun fact: The winning score at its four U.S. Opens averaged nearly 324, or 81 strokes per round. (Photo: Ran Morrissett)

Better known to English speakers as The Hague, The Netherlands’ highest-ranking course is a Morrison-and-Alison collaboration that plays across chaotically heaving fairways amid substantial dunes. How they were able to connect all 18 holes without an awkward moment is a marvel. So, too, is the variety of its greens, headlined by the famous hard-to-hit knob green at 6 followed by a well defended, diminutive sunken green on the ensuing hole. (Photo: Frank Pont)

Developers Ben Cowan-Dewar and Mike Keiser handed over a rolling plot of coastal Nova Scotia terrain to Canadian architect Rod Whitman. The result is Canada’s first authentic links. Firm, rumpled, fescue fairways, coastal breezes and endless views of the Gulf of St. Lawrence make it abundantly clear why Nova Scotia is the Latin name for “New Scotland.” Whitman’s talent for adding micro-contours in and around the greens (such as those that promote running approach shots into the 13th and 16th) is unsurpassed but are overlooked here because the long views are so spectacular. (Photo: Brian Oar)

Neither as long nor as tough as its illustrious West sibling, the East enjoys its own devoted fanbase for its variety and the encouraging manner in which ground game options are now presented. Great attention has been paid to the mow lines, with short tight fairway grass on the high side of the entrance to all the greens. More than a few Winged Foot devotees consider the 13th and 17th the best par-3s on the property, a seemingly outlandish claim until you play them. Spend time putting on greens like the 1st and 11th and you will wonder what A.W. Tillinghast understood about green construction that eludes most other architects. (Photo: LC Lambrecht)

Sand accumulated on the east side of the Ohoopee River for centuries. Ultimately, Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner were given this dream site upon which to build an original design. Their own sense of aesthetics complemented the rustic site’s color palette of browns, rusts and tans. The result is a low-profile design that beguiles. Be careful of its short par-4s: the 4th, 9th and 14th all tempt with driver off the tee — and punish rash tactics. The course isn’t overseeded, and the release of the ball across its dormant fairways allows the first-class architecture to shine. It also signifies the owner’s high golf IQ. (Photo: Jon Cavalier)

Built in the late 1940s, this Robert Trent Jones Sr. design came before he acquired his Oakland Hills “monster” rep. More of Stanley Thompson’s influence is seen in Jones’ early work, highlighted here by his imaginative — and enormous — punchbowl green at the 10th. Seventy-five years later and this Georgia course still adheres to the founding vision, which speaks volumes to the quality of RTJ’s original design. (Photo: Dave Samson)

Gil Hanse and team cut formidable bunkers into the sandy environs and the art is having your tee balls and approach shots skirt past them. Central hazards abound and numerous rounds are required to sort through the design asks. Most of the greens are open in front and many are at grade with their surrounds, presenting countless run-up shot opportunities that dovetail with the bouncy playing conditions derived from the sandy soil underneath. This design is one for the ages — literally — as it's ideal for both youngsters and aging golfers alike. Too few modern courses meet that criterium, but this one est parfait. (Photo: Brian Richardson)

With sweeping, cross-course vistas punctuated by tawny native grasses and an exemplary routing that twists around miles of creek beds, side-slopes and artistic bunkering, Old Town’s restoration portrays the enduring spirit of classic golf architecture. Perry Maxwell built this inspired North Carolina layout on a former R.J. Reynolds horse farm. The manner by which Maxwell draped the fairways across the rolling landscape resulted in few level lies. No wonder former Demon Deacon Lanny Wadkins called it the best course for training serious young players. Wake Forest’s golf teams practice at Old Town, which gives them a huge home-field advantage as few collegiate golfers are accustomed to putting on undulating Maxwell greens or consistently hitting approach shots from uneven stances. The club’s longtime green chair analyzes every minute detail of the design during his annual walks around the property with former Wake grad, Bill Coore. A 2023 bunker restoration project and the conversion of the greens from bent to Bermuda has the course climbing even higher. (Photo: Jon Cavalier)

Panelist Michael Goldstein writes, “Te Arai South, designed by Bill Coore, is soon to form half of the Te Arai resort alongside the Tom Doak designed Te Arai North opening in late 2023. Collectively with their cousin just along the coast (Tara Iti), this section of coastline north of Auckland is soon to be a challenger for the king of the world’s dream golf destinations. Playing Te Arai South is a beautiful experience where the linksland rises perfectly from the beach, mesmerizing the golfer with white sand below, the Pacific Ocean beyond and the islands in the distance. Whilst the early holes dance in and out of the woods, from the 5th hole onwards, Te Arai South unfolds into a mind-bendingly fun stretch of coastal golf featuring thrilling short holes, an array of fun short fours and some bold, diverse, restrained and zany greens punctuated by the Sitwell inspired sixteenth. No commentary on the South course at Te Arai is complete without a nod to the wee 17th which, no matter how hard the wind is blowing, is one of the greatest 100 yard holes in world golf.”

This 1999 Kyle Phillips design 15 miles from the Old Course has earned the respect of links fans, who can be a tough bunch as they generally travel to the United Kingdom to play courses that are 100-plus years old. There is much to admire here, including the 606-yard, par-5 12th, which arcs around the bay, and the 212-yard, par-3 15th that demands a carry over the sea. Others might relish the shelf green at the 9th that poses similar intriguing questions as the 12th at the Old Course. Kudos to Phillips as the seamless melding of flat farmland and Old World links contours is quite the design accomplishment. (Photo: Paul Severn)

Nine Bridges’s appeal starts with its tranquil setting on Jeju island, with holes etched into pine-clad rolling topography in the shadows of Mount Halla, Korea’s tallest peak. Lakes, creeks and wooded slopes not only contribute to the beauty and variety but also are seamlessly integrated into the design. After a gentle opener, several of the course’s finest holes quickly present themselves. The Redan-like 2nd is arguably the course’s best par-3 and the long, bunker-strewn 3rd is an elite three-shotter. The stretch climaxes at 4, a dangerous uphiller, bending left where the tree-lined fairway narrows the nearer one gets to the perilous ravine that must be traversed on the approach. Be wary too of the uphill par-4 8th. Though potentially drivable, land contours and island winds make the skyline green an elusive target to hit and hold from any distance. When Nine Bridges hosts the PGA Tour’s CJ Cup, the professionals routinely praise both its challenge and presentation. (Photo: Courtesy Nine Bridges)

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, except when it comes to Lofoten where superlatives never cease. If you like playing along the shoreline, the first three holes are as rousing a start as can be found in the game. The par-3 2nd, which plays to a green on a rock formation that juts into the Norwegian Sea, is the most photographed hole. But the par-4s that bookend it both offer fantastic risk/reward tee shots over the sea and are just as noteworthy. If mountains are more your thing, Lofoten has you covered there too with holes, including the dogleg-right, uphill par-5 5th and the par-4 14th, playing toward Hove Mountain. Heather? Yep, Lofoten even has that. Who knew that golf inside the Artic Circle could be so intoxicating? Owner Frode Hov and British architect Jeremy Turner deserve huge credit for how they slowly evolved what started as a six-holer in 1998 into a world Top 100 course. (Photo: Jacob Sjöman)

This brilliant Gil Hanse/Mark Parsinen design, now part of Cabot Highlands, features a loose figure-8 routing that takes maximum advantage of the 1.4 miles of frontage along the Moray Firth. Both nines feature a series of holes that play along the shoreline before climbing to higher ground. Highlights include wide fairways, wild and woolly bunkers and panoramic views of Moray Firth and the Scottish Highlands. The course’s thrilling finish features three consecutive ½-par holes where anything can happen: the drivable 16th, the brutish one-shot 17th (which plays in the opposite direction as 16) and the par-5 18th, which cascades downhill toward the distinctive white art-deco clubhouse. The views are memorable too: stunning long views across the Moray Firth provide inspiration and comfort even when your swing does not. A second course designed by Tom Doak opens in 2024. (Photo: Stephen Szurlej)

Several of Coore & Crenshaw’s finest designs are located at hard-to-access private clubs but many of their works thankfully are available to the public, often courtesy of developer Mike Keiser. Trails is one of their best — public or private. The routing works its way over and across heaving dunes and through an enchanting coastal forest, and the fact that you don’t miss the sight of the nearby water for most of the round speaks volumes to its design quality. The 3rd through the 5th is a particularly inspired stretch of inland golf, featuring an exemplary par-5, par-4 and par-3. (Photo: Getty Images)

Home of the 2004, ’10 and ’15 PGA Championships, this 1998 Pete Dye design on Lake Michigan was once a poker-table-flat military training base in World War II. Eventually it became a site for illegal dumping of toxic waste. Dye and owner Herb Kohler engineered a mind-boggling cleanup, moving 3 million cubic yards of dirt, trucking in 7,000 loads of sand to create the hills and bunkers and relocating the bluffs back off the shore. Kohler told Dye “I want the course to look like it’s in Ireland.” Mission accomplished. The 2021 Ryder Cup played here highlighted what a great match-play course it is, too, with its plethora of ½-par holes. Its set of par-3s is virtually unmatched and is complemented by a slew of other standout holes that come in all shapes and sizes, including the long par-4 4th, the short par-4 10th with its central hazard, and the par-5 11th, which rivals any par-5 that Dye built over his six-decade career. (Photo: Getty Images)

Confident in his own work, Alister MacKenzie freely lauded the work of others. In the United States, he considered Perry Maxwell to be as talented as anyone; in Australia, his man was Alex Russell, who deserves full credit for the East Course, in addition to Paraparaumu Beach, Lake Karrinyup, Yarra Yarra and other gems in Australia and New Zealand. Russell’s holes mesh so well with those from the West Course that a Composite Course is used for big events. MacKenzie never saw what Russell created in three different paddocks, but the Good Doctor would have been mightily impressed by holes such as the uphill par-4 2nd, the reachable par-5 10th with its stunning cross bunkers and the par-3 16th, where a front bunker eats into the middle of the green. The panel’s appreciation of the East Course raises the question: What is the finest 36-hole day in golf at one location? Winged Foot, Bandon, Sunningdale or here? (Photo: David Cannon/Getty Images)

“Hoylake,” as it’s popularly known, welcomed its 13th Open Championship in 2023. It’s not a pretty course in the conventional sense, as there are no lighthouses, mountains or majestic undulations. But its fairways are rumpled and its revetted bunkers are well placed and invariably extract a ½-shot penalty. There’s also internal out-of-bounds, a feature for which the course is well known. When the wind is up, Hoylake is one of the game’s fiercest links, one that requires supreme shotmaking, as demonstrated by Tiger Woods' virtuoso performance at the 2006 Open. Brian Harman turned in a spectacular performance of his own to win the 2023 Open here, aided by some clutch driving down the stretch that saw him steer clear of the trouble that ensnared his pursuers. (Photo: Courtesy Royal Liverpool)

Bandon’s original course is a David McLay Kidd design draped atop craggy headlands above the Pacific. Ocean views stun the senses, along with bluff-top sand dunes sprinkled with Scotch broom and gorse bushes, coastal pines, crashing surf, wind-whipped tall native grasses and stacked sod bunkers. The most memorable seaside tests are the par-4 4th and 5th, the par-3 12th and the drivable par-4 16th, each with eye-popping scenery and enjoyable risk/rewards. The 2020 U.S. Amateur telecast from here was captivating. (Photo: Wood Sabold)

“A tropical island in the South China Sea may be an unlikely location for world-class golf,” panelist Joe Andriole writes, “but Hainan Island features a plethora of dramatic landforms: steep stretches of rolling farmland, a broad canyon, majestic sand dunes and dense vegetation. Shanqin Bay’s routing, bordered by the sea on three sides, embraces all of these geomorphic features, creating a thrilling 18-hole ride. The tumultuous journey takes golfers high on a cliffside and hill, where stunning ocean views prevail, before dipping and turning into valleys and ravines bordered by unyielding native vines and grasses. There’s a pleasant mix of long and short holes that hug the land and are simultaneously natural and strategic. Fairway bunkering is relatively sparse as befits the terrain. Greens are strewn on the property over both high and low land, creating a wonderful, motley array of approach shots. The interior holes may lack the visual drama of those on cliff and beach, but do not cede any shot value or playing interest. At Shanqin Bay, Coore and Crenshaw turned hostile geography into an exalted playground for golf.” (Photo credit: Gary Lisbon)

“Around the globe, courses built before 1940 are undergoing thoughtful restorations,” panelist Pete Phipps writes, “and Victoria Golf Club is a sterling example, with Mike Clayton meticulously overseeing much of the work over a 20-year period. Today, Victoria enjoys the style of golf that Alister MacKenzie introduced to Australia during his legendary 1926 trip, which included his work across the road, at Royal Melbourne. The bunkers and waste areas reflect a Golden Age aesthetic — green undulations and surrounds are both fun and challenging, and the overall conditions are as firm and fast as any in the Sandbelt. Also, the club’s leadership and agronomy team deserve credit for fostering only indigenous vegetation on the property while removing all other forms that had crept in over the decades. The short par-4s at the 1st and 15th stand out even in a neighborhood full of such risk-reward holes. The club embodies the best attributes of Australian golf, and the short green-to-tee walks make it a walker’s paradise. Bunking in one of the rooms in the clubhouse completes the experience.” (Photo credit: Airswing Media)

On the Mull of Kintyre, the course makes the most of its romantic setting, starting with the opening tee shot set on a diagonal across the beach. One panelist considers the 3rd as an ideal links hole, writing: “The tee ball is blind over a heaving dune, which creates a sense of adventure as you aim your ball into the unknown. Then, as you crest the hill, a view of the Irish Sea emerges in the distance, with the beautifully situated green in the foreground, sunken in its own natural amphitheater.” The rumpled fairways never let up and serve up the awkward stances that complicate playing in the wind. But the real star is the set of greens. The surfaces from 12 through 16 are all brilliant and highlight that the best links holes aren’t necessarily confined to those closest to the sea. It’s always a delight to find a course that poses so many questions, all while measuring under 6,500 yards.

Conceived by Jack Nicklaus in 1966 to be his hometown equivalent of Bobby Jones’ Augusta National, this 1974 collaboration with Desmond Muirhead was an instant smash, both for its strategic design and flawless conditioning. Equally impressive was how Nicklaus seamlessly integrated spectator areas into the closing holes, using hillsides and amphitheater-style mounding to provide patrons with clear views of the action. Hard to imagine that the professionals now try to drive the sliver of green at 14, but that’s how much the game has changed — and yet the hole is still no easy par. That’s great architecture. Work over 2020 saw the unlikely happen: One of the best sets of par-5s on the list got even better. (Photo: Keyur Khamar/PGA Tour)

Marrying classic Seth Raynor design with coastal South Carolina topography, Yeamans presents a charming tour of redan, biarritz and road holes woven through marshland and magnificent live oaks. A two decade-long renovation based on Raynor’s original property maps — discovered in the clubhouse attic — has returned this Golden Age masterpiece to its original brilliance. Jim Urbina oversaw much of the work that has seen the greens blown back out to their original size and every consequential bunker restored, even the most frustrating ones, like those found in the 4th fairway. The greenside bunkers aren’t so much deep as the green pads are tall, and they create nervy moments such as at the Cape 10th hole, where missing the green left or right leaves a taxing recovery shot, even though the hole is played over flat land. Though the overall vibe at Yeamans is tranquility, a green pad like the one built up at the Knoll 14th is as pugnacious as it gets. Hard to fathom tackling the course with hickory clubs as they did back in the day! (Photo: LC Lambrecht)

A former Open venue often referred to as Deal, Cinque Ports is on the English Channel, a few miles south of Royal St. George’s. But the properties couldn’t be more different. St. George’s is the bigger, more sprawling of the courses, while Cinque Ports was built on a thinner ribbon of land. While it doesn’t have the vastness of St. George’s, Cinque Ports has micro-contours galore that will delight links golf aficionados. The humpy-bumpy fairways are rivaled by the superlative collection of greens, from the punchbowl 3rd, to the 12th set between two ridges, to the plateau designs at 6 and 16. Bernard Darwin famously deemed the dip before the 16th green to be “the valley of inglorious security.” To his point, you might initially be happy to see your ball at the base of the green in two, but trying to stick the elevated green from a tight lie is no small task.