Only the Finest: The Best Golf Courses in the World
People who really love golf no doubt have a list of courses they wish to visit. Golf architecture creates beautiful, bucolic vistas and landscapes. When you’re on a perfect course, you can feel the history and grandeur in every bunker and green. Read on to discover the best golf courses in the world. If these aren’t already on your list, they should be.
Royal County Down, Northern Ireland
One of the oldest golf clubs in Ireland, Royal County Down offers some of the most beautiful views you can find in golf. Dundrum Bay lies to the east, the Mountains of Mourne lie to the south, and you can easily find beautiful gorse-covered dunes. More than half a dozen talented architects have refined the course in the last 120 years. Surprisingly, the greens are fairly flat, but that just makes up for the harsh terrain and difficult blind spots. You better train with your finest swing aids if you ever want to take this difficult course on.
Augusta National, Georgia, USA
In their effort to stay competitive for the Masters Tournament, Augusta National, to great success, has tinkered with their course many times over the last few decades. One of the most iconic courses in the sport, Augusta National is known for its three bridges, each of which pays homage to great players of the past. With deep traps and a tranquil setting, long holes and beautiful water features, Augusta National combines all that is gorgeous and difficult about golf. It’s no wonder why it’s among the best golf courses in the world.
Pine Valley, New Jersey, USA
This one-of-a-kind course was built from the sandy pine barrens found in southwest Jersey. All serious golfers know there are three main schools of golf design. There is penal, which involves little strategy and only requires the golfer to go in the right direction; strategic, which provides players with more than one way to approach the hole; and there is heroic, which combines the two. A heroic hole will typically provide a difficult but obvious approach, also known as a “heroic” option, and a strategic approach. Pine Valley is a notable course because it combines all three design schools, some on the very same hole.
