Comprehensive profiles of the world's greatest golf courses
New York, United States
A top-100 championship course that charges $160 and doesn't care about your feelings. Bethpage Black is public golf with private-club teeth.
New York, United States
Seth Raynor's final masterpiece sits on a remote island off Connecticut. It's among America's finest courses, and almost no one will ever play it.
California, United States
MacKenzie designed Cypress Point and Augusta National, then built his home at Pasatiempo and never left. The only course its architect chose for eternity.
California, United States
Jack Nicklaus could break par here. He'd still rather be on a boat. The Monterey Peninsula's most demanding course earns every bit of its pirate name.
Oregon, United States
Coore and Crenshaw built a course on Oregon's most exposed clifftop and forgot every bunker. The wind said it would handle things from here.
Oregon, United States
A greeting card magnate and a 27-year-old Scotsman built walking-only links five hours from Portland. The industry called them crazy. The tee sheet called them booked.
Oregon, United States
Coore and Crenshaw turned their backs on the Pacific and routed through three ecosystems and one hill so steep the walking-only resort sent a shuttle.
Oregon, United States
Fairways 100 yards wide. The largest greens in the world. Three-putts from 80 feet. Old Macdonald is Bandon Dunes' most misunderstood masterpiece.
Wisconsin, United States
Pete Dye's audacious links-style masterpiece on Lake Michigan. Public access. 2021 Ryder Cup venue. 560 bunkers. This is American golf's most improbable triumph.
South Carolina, United States
Pete Dye was given two miles of Atlantic Ocean coastline and told to build a Ryder Cup course in eighteen months. He built something brutal, brilliant, and permanently associated with golf's most dramatic day.
Angus, Scotland
They call it Car-Nasty for a reason. Eight Open Championships. The Barry Burn swallowing dreams. And finishing holes that separate champions from everyone else.
County Dublin, Ireland
North of Dublin, this legendary links hosted 19 Irish Opens. Coastal winds, testing closing holes, and a championship pedigree that separates contenders from pretenders.
County Clare, Ireland
The goats on the hills tell you when rain is coming. The Dell hole is completely blind. And Alister MacKenzie built something here that Ireland won't let you forget.
Victoria, Australia
Royal Melbourne gets the attention. Kingston Heath might be better. What Dan Soutar built in Melbourne's Sandbelt—and why serious golfers rank it among the world's best.
Nova Scotia, Canada
Before the cliffs, there was the town. Why Cabot Links remains the soul of the Inverness experience and a true links masterpiece.
Tasmania, Australia
How two dreamers built a world-class links course on the edge of nowhere—and proved that great golf doesn't need permission.
Arizona, United States
Nobody builds a top-100 public course an hour from Scottsdale on federal land with 700 feet of elevation change. Rees Jones did it once. That was enough.
Arizona, United States
Tom Weiskopf built an ode to the British Open in the middle of the Sonoran Desert. The boulders, saguaros, and peak-season prices are not very Scottish.
Arizona, United States
Tom Weiskopf draped pristine fairways over house-sized granite boulders and called it target golf. The Sonoran Desert calls it an ambush. Bring extra balls.
Arizona, United States
Most Arizona courses route through someone's living room. Cholla routes through sovereign desert and dares you to miss.
Arizona, United States
Coore and Crenshaw built a walking-friendly links course in the Sonoran Desert. No ocean, no housing, no carts required. Arizona golf had never seen it.
Florida, United States
Strip miners spent decades ripping apart central Florida. Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw walked what was left and built a top-20 public course from the wreckage.
Ayrshire, Scotland
Squeezed between an active railway line and the Firth of Clyde, Western Gailes ranks in the world's top 100. It just never got around to mentioning it.
Wisconsin, United States
Tom Doak squeezed 18 holes into 5,829 yards at Sand Valley. The scorecard says pushover. The fescue, the blind shots, and the tiny greens say otherwise.
California, United States
RTJ Jr.'s championship layout hides in California's foothills behind a guarded gate. Bring your resort booking, your caddie budget, and your A-game.