The world’s best golf courses — and how to play them
Trip guides to bucket-list courses across the globe: green fees, how to book, the best time to play, getting there and where to stay. 111 of 111 on this list welcome visiting golfers.
North America
Resort / pay-and-playPebble Beach Golf Links
Pebble Beach, United States · Coastal
The most famous public golf course on earth — a cliff-top links laid along Carmel Bay where U.S. Opens are won and any traveller can tee it up.
Municipal (public)Bethpage State Park (Black Course)
Farmingdale, USA · Parkland
The people’s major — a brutish, state-run public course on Long Island that has hosted two U.S. Opens, a PGA Championship and the 2025 Ryder Cup, yet anyone can tee it up for a municipal green fee.
Resort / pay-and-playPinehurst Resort (Course No. 2)
Pinehurst, USA · Parkland
Donald Ross’s masterpiece and the first permanent "anchor site" of the U.S. Open — a par-70 in the North Carolina Sandhills defined by fiendish crowned greens, host to Opens from Payne Stewart’s 1999 triumph to Bryson DeChambeau’s 2024 win.
Resort / pay-and-playTPC Sawgrass (THE PLAYERS Stadium Course)
Ponte Vedra Beach, USA · Resort
Pete Dye’s stadium masterpiece and permanent home of THE PLAYERS Championship — a public-access resort course near Jacksonville built around the terrifying island-green par-3 17th, the most famous hole in American golf.
Resort / pay-and-playBandon Dunes
Bandon, USA · Links
The course that started it all — David McLay Kidd’s 1999 cliff-top links that turned a remote stretch of the Oregon coast into a global walking-golf pilgrimage.
Resort / pay-and-playThe Ocean Course at Kiawah Island
Kiawah Island, USA · Coastal
Pete Dye’s ferocious Atlantic-edge test — the ‘War by the Shore’ Ryder Cup course and a two-time PGA Championship venue that many call the hardest resort course in America.
Municipal (public)Torrey Pines Golf Course (South Course)
La Jolla, San Diego, United States · Coastal
A cliff-top municipal course above the Pacific where Tiger Woods won the 2008 U.S. Open — a genuine major-championship test that any traveler can book and play.
Municipal (public)TPC Harding Park
San Francisco, United States · Parkland
A cypress-lined municipal classic beside Lake Merced that staged the 2020 PGA Championship — a major-championship venue any traveler can book and play.
Resort / pay-and-playSpyglass Hill Golf Course
Pebble Beach, United States · Coastal
Robert Trent Jones Sr.'s wild masterpiece of dunes and forest at Pebble Beach — a public resort course many rank tougher and more beautiful than its famous neighbor.
Municipal (public)Chambers Bay
University Place, United States · Links
A raw, treeless fescue links on the shore of Puget Sound that staged the 2015 U.S. Open — a county-owned public course anyone can walk and play.
Resort / pay-and-playThe Plantation Course at Kapalua
Kapalua, Maui, United States · Resort
Coore & Crenshaw's spectacular hillside course above the Pacific on Maui — the PGA Tour's season-opening stage, open to any traveler who wants to play it.
Resort / pay-and-playMauna Kea Golf Course
Kohala Coast, United States · Coastal
Robert Trent Jones Sr.'s oceanfront classic on the Big Island's Kohala Coast, home to one of golf's most famous over-the-ocean par 3s — and open to any traveler.
Resort / pay-and-playWhistling Straits — The Straits Course
Kohler, United States · Links
A Pete Dye links epic sprawling along two miles of Lake Michigan bluff — host of the 2021 Ryder Cup and three PGA Championships, yet open to any traveller who books a stay at Destination Kohler.
Public — anyone can playErin Hills
Erin, United States · Links
A vast, treeless fescue links rolling over Wisconsin's glacial moraine — a purely public course where anyone can walk the same fairways that decided the 2017 U.S. Open.
Resort / pay-and-playBlackwolf Run — The River Course
Kohler, United States · Parkland
Pete Dye's river-carved championship course in the village of Kohler — a public, wallet-friendlier sibling to Whistling Straits that twice crowned U.S. Women's Open champions.
Resort / pay-and-playStreamsong Resort — Red Course
Streamsong, United States · Links
Coore & Crenshaw's dune-tumbling inland links, carved from a reclaimed Florida phosphate mine — a public resort course any traveller can play between Tampa and Orlando.
Public — anyone can playCog Hill Golf & Country Club — Course No. 4 "Dubsdread"
Lemont, United States · Parkland
Chicago's public championship monster — the tree-lined 'Dubsdread' that hosted the Western Open and BMW Championship for years, yet anyone can book and play it.
Resort / pay-and-playPinehurst No. 4
Pinehurst, United States · Heathland
Gil Hanse's bold, sand-splashed reimagining of a Donald Ross original — the acclaimed sibling of legendary No. 2, playable to any golfer staying at Pinehurst Resort.
Resort / pay-and-playCabot Cliffs
Inverness, Canada · Links
A Coore & Crenshaw clifftop links on Cape Breton's wild Atlantic edge — a modern world top-10 course that any traveller can walk and play.
Resort / pay-and-playFairmont Banff Springs Golf Course (Stanley Thompson Eighteen)
Banff, Canada · Mountain
Stanley Thompson's 1928 mountain masterpiece beneath Mount Rundle and Sulphur Mountain — a public-access resort course wrapped in Banff National Park scenery.
Public — anyone can playPasatiempo Golf Club
Santa Cruz, United States · Parkland
Alister MacKenzie's own favourite course and the daily-fee sibling of Cypress Point and Augusta — a barranca-laced masterpiece above Monterey Bay that anyone can book.
Resort / pay-and-playTPC Scottsdale (Stadium Course)
Scottsdale, United States · Desert
The public home of golf's rowdiest party — a Weiskopf-Morrish desert stadium course where anyone can tee it up on the famous par-3 16th 'Coliseum'.
Resort / pay-and-playHarbour Town Golf Links
Hilton Head Island, United States · Coastal
Pete Dye's tight, tree-lined lowcountry classic on Hilton Head — home of the RBC Heritage and its iconic lighthouse 18th, open to any traveller through The Sea Pines Resort.
Resort / pay-and-playPacific Dunes
Bandon, United States · Links
Tom Doak's minimalist links along the Oregon dunes — a walking-only, clifftop masterpiece at Bandon Dunes that ranks among the finest modern courses anyone can play.
Resort / pay-and-playPGA West (TPC Stadium Course)
La Quinta, United States · Desert
Pete Dye's brutal desert 'Stadium' at PGA West — an American Express host with the island-green 17th 'Alcatraz', open to any visitor via La Quinta Resort.
Resort / pay-and-playInnisbrook Resort (Copperhead Course)
Palm Harbor, United States · Parkland
Innisbrook's pine-lined Copperhead, home of the Valspar Championship and its fearsome 'Snake Pit' finish — a resort course any guest can play near Tampa.
Resort / pay-and-playArnold Palmer's Bay Hill Club & Lodge
Orlando, United States · Parkland
Arnold Palmer's home club and the March stage for the Arnold Palmer Invitational — a private Orlando championship course that opens its fairways to anyone who books a night at the lodge.
Resort / pay-and-playTrump National Doral Miami — Blue Monster Course
Miami, United States · Resort
Miami's legendary Blue Monster — a Gil Hanse-reimagined championship course that has staged decades of PGA Tour and WGC drama, yet stays open to any traveller who books a tee time.
Resort / pay-and-playFairmont Jasper Park Lodge Golf Course
Jasper, Canada · Mountain
Stanley Thompson's 1925 mountain masterpiece on the shore of Lac Beauvert — a Rockies resort course, ringed by peaks and elk, that any visitor can play.
Resort / pay-and-playCabot Links
Inverness, Canada · Links
Canada's first true links — a windswept Rod Whitman layout draped along a mile of Cape Breton beach, open to resort guests and day visitors alike.
Resort / pay-and-playEl Camaleón Golf Course at Mayakoba
Playa del Carmen, Mexico · Resort
Greg Norman's jungle-and-ocean layout on the Riviera Maya — the first course to bring the PGA Tour to Mexico, and one any traveller can play from the Mayakoba resorts.
Resort / pay-and-playBandon Trails
Bandon, United States · Heathland
The inland outlier at Bandon Dunes — a Coore & Crenshaw walk through forest and dunes that any golfer can book at America's greatest public links resort.
Resort / pay-and-playSand Valley
Nekoosa, United States · Heathland
Coore & Crenshaw's sand-barrens masterpiece in central Wisconsin — a walking-only public course where firm turf and a famous punchbowl green await any golfer who books.
Public — anyone can playArcadia Bluffs Golf Club (Bluffs Course)
Arcadia, United States · Links
A links-inspired daily-fee course perched 200 feet above Lake Michigan — dramatic, windswept and open to anyone who books a tee time.
Resort / pay-and-playSea Island Golf Club (Seaside Course)
St. Simons Island, United States · Links
The PGA Tour's RSM Classic host — a Colt-and-Alison links restored by Tom Fazio, playable by any guest of the Sea Island resort.
Municipal (public)Wilson Golf Course at Griffith Park
Los Angeles, United States · Parkland
A historic George Thomas municipal course beneath the Hollywood Hills — over 7,000 yards of classic architecture for a few dollars, open to all.
Public — anyone can playMontauk Downs State Park Golf Course
Montauk, United States · Parkland
A Robert Trent Jones state-park course at the tip of Long Island — championship golf at public prices, open to everyone.
Resort / pay-and-playQuivira Golf Club
Cabo San Lucas, Mexico · Coastal
Jack Nicklaus's most spectacular clifftop course — a Pacific-hugging Cabo showpiece of 300-foot ocean drops, playable when you stay at the Pueblo Bonito resorts.
UK & Ireland
Public — anyone can playSt Andrews — Old Course
St Andrews, Scotland · Links
The Home of Golf — a public links in the heart of St Andrews where the game was born, and where any golfer can win a tee time in the daily ballot.
Public — anyone can playCarnoustie Golf Links — Championship Course
Carnoustie, Scotland · Links
The fearsome Angus links nicknamed “Carnasty” — an eight-time Open venue and, by common consent, the toughest test on the rota, open to any visitor who books.
Resort / pay-and-playTrump Turnberry — Ailsa Course
Turnberry, Scotland · Links
The most photogenic links in Scotland — home of the 1977 “Duel in the Sun” and its lighthouse par 3 — open to visitors as well as resort guests.
Semi-private (visitors welcome)Royal Portrush Golf Club — Dunluce Links
Portrush, Northern Ireland · Links
The Causeway Coast links that brought The Open back to Ireland — home of the fearsome par-3 “Calamity Corner” and open to visitors on set days.
Semi-private (visitors welcome)Royal County Down — Championship Links
Newcastle, Northern Ireland · Links
The Old Tom Morris links beneath the Mountains of Mourne — regularly rated the finest course on earth, and playable by visitors on set days.
Semi-private (visitors welcome)Ballybunion Golf Club (Old Course)
Ballybunion, Ireland · Links
Tom Watson’s favourite links and one of the world’s great seaside courses — a wild County Kerry layout tumbling through giant dunes above the Atlantic, where visitors are welcome on weekday mornings.
Public — anyone can playRoyal Dornoch Golf Club (Championship Course)
Dornoch, Scotland · Links
A remote, sublime Highland links routinely ranked among the world's very best — and open to any travelling golfer willing to make the pilgrimage north of Inverness.
Public — anyone can playNorth Berwick Golf Club (West Links)
North Berwick, Scotland · Links
A gloriously eccentric seaside links where the original 'Redan' was born — one of golf's oldest courses, and one any visitor can play by simply booking a tee time.
Public — anyone can playKingsbarns Golf Links
Kingsbarns, Scotland · Links
A spectacular modern links draped along the Fife coast that plays like it has been there for centuries — fully public, pay-and-play, and a European Tour co-host.
Semi-private (visitors welcome)Cruden Bay Golf Club (Championship Course)
Cruden Bay, Scotland · Links
A wild, dune-tumbling links north of Aberdeen beloved by connoisseurs for its quirks and drama — a members' club that keeps the door open to visiting golfers.
Semi-private (visitors welcome)Royal Troon Golf Club (Old Course)
Troon, Scotland · Links
A ten-time Open Championship links on the Ayrshire coast, home of the fearsome 'Postage Stamp' — and playable by visitors on select weekdays with a handicap.
Semi-private (visitors welcome)Gullane Golf Club (No. 1 Course)
Gullane, Scotland · Links
The finest of Gullane's three links and a Scottish Open host, crowned by the panoramic 7th atop Gullane Hill — a members' club that welcomes visitors every day.
Public — anyone can playLahinch Golf Club — Old Course
Lahinch, Ireland · Links
The 'St. Andrews of the West' — a wild, tumbling Old Tom Morris and Alister MacKenzie links on the Clare coast that hosted the 2019 Irish Open yet still welcomes any visitor who books ahead.
Resort / pay-and-playOld Head Golf Links
Kinsale, Ireland · Coastal
Ireland's most jaw-dropping clifftop links — a pay-and-play headland ringed by 300-foot Atlantic cliffs where any visitor can book the round of a lifetime.
Public — anyone can playWaterville Golf Links
Waterville, Ireland · Links
A revered Eddie Hackett links on the Ring of Kerry — long, wild and beautiful, used by major champions to prep for The Open yet open to any visitor who books ahead.
Semi-private (visitors welcome)Royal Birkdale Golf Club
Southport, England · Links
One of the fairest and most revered Open links in England — a Hawtree and Taylor masterpiece on the Southport coast that stages its eleventh Open in 2026 and still opens its tees to visitors on set days.
Semi-private (visitors welcome)Royal St George's Golf Club
Sandwich, England · Links
The classic Kent links where The Open first left Scotland — a wild, dune-tossed championship course that welcomes visitors on set days, handicap in hand.
Resort / pay-and-playThe Twenty Ten Course at Celtic Manor Resort
Newport, Wales · Resort
The only course ever purpose-built for a Ryder Cup — a lake-lined resort layout in the Usk valley where any visitor can play the 2010 match's dramatic finish.
Semi-private (visitors welcome)Wentworth Club (West Course)
Virginia Water, England · Parkland
Ernie Els's remodelled Harry Colt masterpiece and headquarters of the DP World Tour - a manicured Surrey course where the BMW PGA Championship is decided and well-connected visitors can play as a member's guest.
Semi-private (visitors welcome)Sunningdale Golf Club (Old Course)
Sunningdale, England · Heathland
The heathland course that set the template for inland golf - Willie Park Jr.'s 1901 Old Course, a walk through pine, heather and history that welcomes handicap-holding visitors on weekdays.
Resort / pay-and-playThe Golf Course at Adare Manor
Adare, Ireland · Parkland
A lavishly rebuilt Tom Fazio parkland along the River Maigue and the 2027 Ryder Cup venue — playable by travellers who stay at Ireland's grandest resort hotel.
Resort / pay-and-playMount Juliet Estate (Jack Nicklaus Course)
Thomastown, Ireland · Parkland
A championship Jack Nicklaus parkland set in a storied Kilkenny estate — host of the Irish Open and open to visiting golfers as well as resort guests.
Europe
Members & guestsReal Club Valderrama
Sotogrande, Spain · Parkland
The most storied championship course in continental Europe — a tight, cork-oak-lined Robert Trent Jones Sr. parkland in Sotogrande that hosted the 1997 Ryder Cup and where a strictly limited number of visitor tee times are the ticket to a true bucket-list round.
Public — anyone can playLe Golf National (Albatros Course)
Guyancourt, France · Parkland
The federation-owned, fully public stage of the 2018 Ryder Cup and 2024 Olympic golf — a stadium-style championship links near Paris where any traveller can play the game's biggest theatre.
Resort / pay-and-playPGA Catalunya Resort — Stadium Course
Caldes de Malavella, Spain · Parkland
Spain's most acclaimed inland course — a pine-framed, championship-tough resort layout near Girona that any visitor can book, with resort guests first in the queue.
Resort / pay-and-playOitavos Dunes
Cascais, Portugal · Links
Continental Europe's finest true links — a wind-swept, publicly playable dunescape on the Atlantic near Lisbon where umbrella pines give way to ocean views.
Resort / pay-and-playMonte Rei Golf & Country Club (North Course)
Vila Nova de Cacela, Portugal · Parkland
Portugal's only Jack Nicklaus Signature course and the Algarve's consistent No. 1 — an exclusive-feeling but publicly bookable resort layout with a buggy and practice included in every round.
Resort / pay-and-playFinca Cortesin Golf Club
Casares, Spain · Parkland
The 2023 Solheim Cup host - a lavish, sprawling Cabell Robinson layout above the Costa del Sol where any visitor can play one of Spain's finest resort courses, buggy and sea views included.
Resort / pay-and-playPraia D'El Rey Golf & Beach Resort
Obidos, Portugal · Links
A dramatic Cabell Robinson links-parkland on Portugal's Silver Coast north of Lisbon - open to all, with a back nine that plunges through Atlantic dunes.
Resort / pay-and-playVilamoura Old Course (Dom Pedro Old Course)
Vilamoura, Portugal · Parkland
The Algarve's grand old parkland - Frank Pennink's pine-lined 1969 classic at Vilamoura, restored by Martin Hawtree and open to every visiting golfer.
Members & guestsKoninklijke Haagsche Golf & Country Club
Wassenaar, Netherlands · Links
The Netherlands' finest links - a wild, dune-tumbling Colt & Alison course near The Hague, ranked among the world's best and realistically played as a member's guest.
Resort / pay-and-playTerre Blanche (Le Château Course)
Tourrettes, France · Resort
A dramatic Dave Thomas championship course threading the wooded hills of Provence at a five-star resort — open to the public and framed by Riviera views.
Public — anyone can playClub de Golf Alcanada
Port d'Alcúdia, Spain · Coastal
A Robert Trent Jones Jr seaside course on the Bay of Alcúdia, framed by the Alcanada lighthouse island — public golf regarded as Mallorca's finest.
Resort / pay-and-playGolf du Touquet (La Mer Course)
Le Touquet-Paris-Plage, France · Links
A classic Harry Colt dunes links on France's Opal Coast — the country's first true links, welcoming visitors within easy reach of the UK.
Middle East
Resort / pay-and-playEmirates Golf Club — Majlis Course
Dubai, United Arab Emirates · Desert
Dubai’s original grass course and the desert home of the Hero Dubai Desert Classic — an immaculate, visitor-friendly oasis layout by Karl Litten beneath the city skyline.
Resort / pay-and-playJumeirah Golf Estates (Earth Course)
Dubai, United Arab Emirates · Desert
The Greg Norman-designed home of the DP World Tour Championship — a manicured, lake-laced Dubai showpiece where visitors can play the same finish that crowns the Race to Dubai.
Resort / pay-and-playYas Links Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates · Links
The Middle East's first true links and a public-access Kyle Phillips design on Yas Island — a wind-swept, waterside course any visitor can play, now home to the Abu Dhabi Championship.
Resort / pay-and-playSaadiyat Beach Golf Club
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates · Coastal
The Arabian Gulf's first beachfront course — a Gary Player oceanfront layout on Abu Dhabi's Saadiyat Island where any visitor can play among the dunes, lagoons and luxury resorts.
Resort / pay-and-playRoyal Greens Golf & Country Club
King Abdullah Economic City, Saudi Arabia · Coastal
Saudi Arabia's championship showpiece on the Red Sea — the Troon-run home of the Saudi International, where visitors can tee it up on a European Golf Design layout beside the water.
Resort / pay-and-playEducation City Golf Club
Doha, Qatar · Desert
Qatar's modern championship course — a José María Olazábal design in the heart of Doha's Education City that hosted the Qatar Masters and welcomes the public daily.
Asia
Resort / pay-and-playKawana Hotel Golf Course — Fuji Course
Ito, Japan · Coastal
Japan's most celebrated course — a C.H. Alison clifftop masterpiece high above the Pacific on the Izu Peninsula, playable only by guests of the storied Kawana Hotel.
Semi-private (visitors welcome)Taiheiyo Club — Gotemba Course
Gotemba, Japan · Parkland
The flagship of Japan's Taiheiyo Club and long-time home of the Taiheiyo Masters — a Mount Fuji parkland championship course that genuinely welcomes visiting golfers.
Members & guestsKasumigaseki Country Club — East Course
Kawagoe, Japan · Parkland
The 2020 Tokyo Olympic golf venue — a historic 1929 Saitama members' club, reworked by the Fazios, that travellers realistically play only as a member's guest.
Members & guestsThe Club at Nine Bridges
Seogwipo, South Korea · Parkland
One of Asia's most exclusive clubs — a Golfplan-designed Jeju Island gem beneath Hallasan that hosted the PGA Tour's CJ Cup and is realistically played only by invitation or arrangement.
Resort / pay-and-playSouth Cape Owners Club
Namhae, South Korea · Coastal
A jaw-dropping Kyle Phillips clifftop course on Namhae Island where every hole overlooks the sea — a luxury stay-and-play resort open to visiting golfers.
Resort / pay-and-playMission Hills Golf Club Shenzhen — World Cup Course
Shenzhen, China · Resort
China's original championship resort course — a Jack Nicklaus design at the sprawling Mission Hills complex that hosted the 1995 World Cup of Golf and welcomes any visiting golfer.
Resort / pay-and-playBlue Canyon Country Club (Canyon Course)
Phuket, Thailand · Parkland
Phuket's championship tin-mine masterpiece where Tiger Woods staged the largest final-round comeback of his career — a resort course any traveller can play minutes from the airport.
Resort / pay-and-playSiam Country Club (Old Course)
Pattaya, Thailand · Parkland
The championship parkland that hosts the LPGA in Thailand each year — a modern Schmidt-Curley test with wickedly contoured greens that any visitor can play.
Public — anyone can playBlack Mountain Golf Club
Hua Hin, Thailand · Parkland
Hua Hin's multiple-award-winning foothill course — a genuinely public, tour-tested layout ranked among Thailand's very best that any traveller can book.
Semi-private (visitors welcome)Sentosa Golf Club (The Serapong)
Sentosa Island, Singapore · Coastal
Singapore's championship waterfront course and home of the SMBC Singapore Open — an exclusive members' club that opens a coveted number of visitor tee times, mostly on weekdays.
Public — anyone can playDanang Golf Club (Dunes Course)
Da Nang, Vietnam · Links
Greg Norman's acclaimed seaside links on Vietnam's central coast — a public, pay-and-play course beside Non Nuoc Beach that any traveller can book.
Resort / pay-and-playLaguna Golf Lăng Cô
Phú Lộc, Vietnam · Coastal
A Nick Faldo resort layout on a wild central-Vietnam bay — rice paddies, ocean holes and rocky hills between Hue and Da Nang, open to every visitor.
Resort / pay-and-playMission Hills Haikou — Blackstone Course
Haikou, China · Resort
A jaw-dropping course carved through black volcanic lava rock on tropical Hainan — the World Cup and World Celebrity Pro-Am host at Mission Hills Haikou, open to any visitor.
Semi-private (visitors welcome)Thai Country Club
Bangkok, Thailand · Parkland
Bangkok's blue-riband course, where Tiger Woods claimed his first professional win in 1997 — a members' club that still opens its immaculate fairways to visiting golfers.
Australia & New Zealand
Members & guestsRoyal Melbourne Golf Club — West Course
Black Rock, Australia · Heathland
Alister MacKenzie’s Sandbelt masterpiece and Australia’s highest-ranked course — a private members’ club whose bold bunkering and lightning greens have thrice hosted the Presidents Cup.
Resort / pay-and-playCape Kidnappers
Te Awanga, New Zealand · Coastal
A jaw-dropping Tom Doak clifftop course on a 6,000-acre Hawke’s Bay station, where fairways run out to the edge of 140-metre cliffs above the Pacific — a premium resort round that non-lodge visitors can still book, weather and handicap permitting.
Public — anyone can playBarnbougle Dunes Golf Links
Bridport, Australia · Links
Tom Doak's raw, wind-blown links in the dunes of Tasmania's north-east — Australia's original public-access bucket-list course that anyone can play.
Public — anyone can playCape Wickham Links
King Island, Australia · Links
A remote, jaw-dropping clifftop links at the top of King Island — a fully public course, wrapped around a lighthouse, that ranks among the best in the world.
Resort / pay-and-playKauri Cliffs
Matauri Bay, New Zealand · Coastal
A clifftop championship course high above Matauri Bay — the golf of Rosewood's Kauri Cliffs lodge, playable by visitors who book ahead.
Resort / pay-and-playJack's Point Golf Course
Queenstown, New Zealand · Mountain
A public-access championship course beneath Queenstown's Remarkables range — dramatic alpine and Lake Wakatipu scenery that any visitor can play.
Members & guestsKingston Heath Golf Club
Cheltenham, Australia · Heathland
The purest jewel of the Melbourne Sandbelt — a MacKenzie-bunkered heathland masterpiece where a visiting club golfer can, with a little planning, play one of the world's top-ranked courses midweek.
Members & guestsNew South Wales Golf Club
La Perouse, Australia · Coastal
Alister MacKenzie's spectacular clifftop links above Botany Bay — the Australian cousin of Cypress Point, playable by visitors on a handful of weekday tee times.
Public — anyone can playBarnbougle Lost Farm
Bridport, Australia · Links
A Bill Coore-designed public links on Tasmania's wild north-east coast — 20 flowing holes through towering dunes, open to any golfer who books a tee time.
Semi-private (visitors welcome)The Hills Golf Club
Arrowtown, New Zealand · Mountain
Sir Michael Hill's exclusive alpine course near Arrowtown — a New Zealand Open host set among snow-capped peaks and giant sculptures, open to a lucky few visitors each day.
Members & guestsRoyal Adelaide Golf Club
Seaton, Australia · Links
Australia's grand old sand-country links — a MacKenzie-shaped par 72 in Adelaide's dunes that has staged nine Australian Opens and welcomes travelling golfers midweek.
Members & guestsThe National Golf Club (Moonah Course)
Cape Schanck, Australia · Links
Greg Norman's windswept Moonah Course — a genuine links tumbling through Cape Schanck's dunes, ranked among Australia's finest and open to visitors midweek.
Public — anyone can playParaparaumu Beach Golf Club
Paraparaumu Beach, New Zealand · Links
New Zealand's most storied links — a firm, wind-blown Kapiti Coast classic that has staged a record dozen NZ Opens and lets any traveller book a tee time.
Resort / pay-and-playMillbrook Resort
Arrowtown, New Zealand · Resort
The alpine home of the New Zealand Open — a public-access resort near Queenstown where two championship courses wind beneath the Remarkables and Coronet Peak.
Rest of World
Resort / pay-and-playTeeth of the Dog at Casa de Campo
La Romana, Dominican Republic · Coastal
Pete Dye's oceanfront masterpiece on the Dominican coast — the number-one course in the Caribbean, with seven holes on the sea, open to guests of the Casa de Campo resort.
Resort / pay-and-playThe Links at Fancourt
George, South Africa · Links
South Africa's top-ranked course — Gary Player's dramatic inland links at Fancourt, home of the tied 2003 Presidents Cup and playable only as a resort guest.
Resort / pay-and-playGary Player Country Club
Sun City, South Africa · Resort
Sun City's monster resort course — a nearly 8,000-yard Gary Player design and home of the Nedbank Golf Challenge, where any visitor can walk in the pros' footsteps.
Resort / pay-and-playCosta Navarino (The Dunes Course)
Messinia, Greece · Resort
Greece's original signature course — a Bernhard Langer design running from olive groves to sea views in the Peloponnese, open to any traveller as public resort golf.
Members & guestsDurban Country Club
Durban, South Africa · Links
South Africa's most decorated links — a dune-strewn Durban classic that has staged more South African Opens than anywhere and still opens its tees to visitors.