There’s a distinct celebration of the virtues of sand and sea among our favourite places to play.

The most important development in golf-course architecture during the past 20 years is the elevation of sand-based sites. Encouraged by the success of destinations like Bandon Dunes in coastal Oregon, developers have spent this time scouring the globe for sandy, dunes-like properties on which to construct new courses and lure golfers. Several of these can be found in Australia and many of which rate as our favourite places to play.

This trend is nothing new. The first golf courses – the links of Scotland, England, Ireland and Wales – were born from sand. Early golfers forged their way through the gorsed and grassy landscapes of dunes, kettles, eskers and seaside plains, chasing their balls while developing holes, which over time became fully realised courses. Advancements in construction methods throughout the 20th century enabled courses to be built anywhere on any type of land, negating the need for pure natural movements, but sand – near a coast or not – remains the medium that produces golf that most resembles the game as it was conceived.

This list reflects a reappraisal of the virtues of sand and, more specifically, links golf. Courses that can be classified as links (defined here as coastal courses built on mostly sandy linksland) own a unique drawing power. This does not count the numerous inland courses built on sand, including those on the Melbourne Sandbelt, highlighted by Royal Melbourne’s West course or the heathland courses south-west of London.

Just as links courses are favourites of ours, we know they’re also favourites of yours. Yet the variety in golf landscapes also shines through, with plenty of parkland-style layouts and other favourite environments making our list. We should also make the distinction here between this collection and our biennial Top 100 Courses ranking, which is more structured and formal. By comparison, this list is more ephemeral and based on the gut feel of our editors, who collectively have spent nearly a century working in the golf media. Whichever list you favour, you’re in for a treat. 

Our 100 favourite golf courses in the world

Presented without a ranking and instead in alphabetical order, here are the 100 favourite places to play golf, as voted by our writers and editors.

Aiken Golf Club
Aiken, South Carolina

Albany Golf Club
Albany, Western Australia

Alice Springs Golf Club
Alice Springs, Northern Territory

Anstruther Golf Club
Anstruther, Scotland

Ardfin Estate
Isle of Jura, Scotland

Ardglass Golf Club
County Down, Northern Ireland

Arrowtown Golf Club
Arrowtown, New Zealand

Ba Na Hills Golf Club
Da Nang, Vietnam

Ballybunion Golf Club
County Kerry, Ireland

Bandon Dunes
Bandon, Oregon

Barnbougle Dunes
Bridport, Tasmania

Barwon Heads Golf Club
Barwon Heads, Victoria

Bayonne Golf Club
Bayonne, New Jersey

Black Mountain Golf Club
Hua Hin, Thailand

Bonville Golf Resort
Bonville, New South Wales

Brora Golf Club
Brora, Scotland

Cabot Links
Nova Scotia, Canada

Cabot St Lucia
Saint Lucia, West Indies

Cape Kidnappers Golf Course
Te Awanga, New Zealand

Cape Wickham Links
King Island, Tasmania

Cascata Golf Club
Boulder City, Nevada

Clearwater Bay Golf & Country Club
New Territories, Hong Kong

COMO Laucala Island Golf Course
Laucala Island, Fiji

Crail Golfing Society (Craighead course)
Anstruther, Scotland

Doonbeg Golf Club
County Clare, Ireland

Emirates Golf Club (Majlis course)
Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Enniscrone Golf Club
County Sligo, Ireland

Flinders Golf Club
Flinders, Victoria

Gerringong Golf Club
Gerringong, New South Wales

Golf Club Küssnacht
Küssnacht, Switzerland

Hamilton Island Golf Course
Dent Island, Queensland

Hirono Golf Club
Hyogo, Japan

Jack’s Point Golf Course
Queenstown, New Zealand

Jameson Golf Links
County Dublin, Ireland

Joondalup Country Club
Connolly, Perth

Kalgoorlie Golf Course
Kalgoorlie, Western Australia

Kapalua Golf Resort (Bay course)
Kapalua, Maui

Kingston Heath Golf Club
Heatherton, Melbourne

Kinloch Golf Club
Kinloch, New Zealand

La Cala Resort
Mijas, Spain

Laguna Lang Co
Phu Loc, Vietnam

Leopard Creek Country Club
Malelane, South Africa

Links Lady Bay
Normanville, South Australia

Long Reef Golf Club
Collaroy, Sydney

Lonsdale Links
Point Lonsdale, Victoria

Lost City Golf Course
Sun City, South Africa

Machrihanish Dunes Golf Club
Machrihanish, Scotland

Makena Golf & Beach Club
Maui, Hawaii

Mission Hills Haikou (Blackstone course)
Hainan Island, China

Monterey Peninsula Country Club
Pebble Beach, California

Mustang Golf Club
Lo Manthang, Nepal

Napier Golf Club
Waiohiki, New Zealand

Narin & Portnoo Golf Club
County Donegal, Ireland

Narooma Golf Club
Narooma, New South Wales

Natadola Bay Golf Course
Natadola, Fiji

New South Wales Golf Club
La Perouse, Sydney

Old Head Golf Links
County Cork, Ireland

Pacific Grove Golf Links
Pacific Grove, California

Palmetto Golf Club
Aiken, South Carolina

Pasatiempo Golf Club
Santa Cruz, California

Pebble Beach Golf Links
Carmel, California

Peninsula Kingswood Country Golf Club
Frankston, Melbourne

Pineapple Valley Golf Club (formerly Banyan Golf Club)
Hua Hin, Thailand

Port Fairy Golf Links
Port Fairy, Victoria

Portmarnock Golf Club
County Dublin, Ireland

Portstewart Golf Club
County Londonderry, Northern Ireland

Prestwick Golf Club
Prestwick, Scotland

RACV Cape Schanck
Cape Schanck, Victoria

RACV Healesville
Healesville, Victoria

Real Club Valderrama
Andalucia, Spain

Riviera Country Club
Pacific Palisades, California

Robe Golf Club
Robe, South Australia

Royal Adelaide Golf Club
Seaton, Adelaide

Royal Canberra Golf Club
Yarralumla, Australian Capital Territory

Royal Dornoch Golf Club
Dornoch, Scotland

Royal Melbourne Golf Club
Black Rock, Melbourne

Royal Portrush Golf Club
County Antrim, Northern Ireland

Sandy Golf Links
Cheltenham, Melbourne

St Andrews (Old Course)
Fife, Scotland

St Andrews Beach Golf Course
Fingal, Victoria

Shadow Creek Golf Course
North Las Vegas, Nevada

Suburban Golf Club
Union, New Jersey

Sutera Harbour Marina Golf & Country Club
Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia

Tara Iti Golf Club
Mangawhai, New Zealand

Te Arai Links
Tomarata, New Zealand

The Bluffs Grand Ho Tram
Vung Tau Province, Vietnam

The Dunes Golf Links
Rye, Victoria

The Els Club Dubai
Dubai, United Arab Emirates

The Els Club Teluk Datai
Langkawi, Malaysia

The Grand Golf Club
Gilston, Gold Coast

The Hills Golf Club
Arrowtown, New Zealand

The Jockey Club
Buenos Aires, Argentina

The Links at Fancourt
George, South Africa

The National Golf Club
Cape Schanck, Victoria

TPC Sawgrass (Dye’s Valley course)
Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida

Warrnambool Golf Club
Warrnambool, Victoria

Wallesey Golf Club
Liverpool, England

Western Gailes Golf Club
Irvine, Scotland

Winter Park Nine
Orlando, Florida

Woodlands Golf Club
Mordialloc, Melbourne