Top 7 Golf Courses in the World

Posted by victorcorreia on Apr 18, 2011 in Sport | 3 comments

After investigating about this topic I found that there are so many different rankings for the Best Golf Courses. Hence and based on all the information I got from my investigation, this is the first post where the final ranking for the Top 7 Best Golf Courses in the World come from me. I hope you enjoy and you can always check the sources!

1. Cypress Point

Location: Pebble Beach, California, USA

Par/length: 72 / 6509 yards

Tel: +1 831 624 6444

Website: n/a

Green fee: Members only

Designer: Alister MacKenzie (1928)

Jutting out into the boiling Pacific, the par-3 16th hole at Cypress is one of the most photographed in golf. It’s also one of the most exclusive clubs in golf. Bob Hope, a doyen of the California golf circuit, once quipped: “One year they had a big membership drive at Cypress. They drove out 40 members.”

2. Pine Valley Golf Club

Location: Pine Valley, New Jersey, USA

Par/length: 70 / 7047 yards

Tel: +1 856 309 3203

Website: n/a

Green fee: Members only

Designer: George Crump/Harry Colt (1918)

One of the mainstays of any list of the world’s best courses, this private club near Philadelphia is a series of visually intimidating islands of greens, fairways and tees surrounded by sand, scrub, rough, woodland, water and steep drop-offs. Secluded by the pines, this club is a world of its own and steeped in history.

3. Pebble Beach Golf Links (tie)

Location: Pebble Beach, California, USA

Par/length: 72 / 6737 yards

Tel: +1 831 624 3811

Website: www.pebblebeach.com

Green fee: From $495

Designer: Jack Neville/Douglas Grant (1919)

TV pictures from this year’s US Open will lavish attention on Pebble’s iconic closing holes, but the real magic is to be found on the front nine. The most spectacular holes are five to eight, which are on the promontory between Stillwater Cove and the Pacific. For most visitors, though, it’s about the final two holes, scene of so many major moments (Watson’s chip-in, Nicklaus’ 1-iron flag-clatter). Is it worth the stupendous green fee? Yes, just once.

3. Augusta National (tie)

Location: Augusta, Georgia, USA

Par/length: 72 / 7435 yards

Tel: +1 706 667 6000

Website: www.masters.com

Green fee: Members only

Designer: Alister MacKenzie/Bobby Jones (1933)

When Bobby Jones retired from golf in 1930, he and Clifford Roberts looked to build a golf club. They discovered a 365-acre former fruit nursery in Augusta, where flowering plants and trees were in abundance. Construction began in 1931, and the course opened in 1933. It hosted the Augusta National Invitation Tournament in 1934, which became the Masters in 1939. Now one of the most iconic courses in golf is, sadly, also one of the most private.

5. Royal County Down (tie)

Location: Newcastle, County Down, UK

Par/length: 71 / 7181 yards

Tel:  +44 2843 723 314

Website: www.royalcountydown.org

Green fee: £50-£180

Designer: Old Tom Morris (1889)

Every blade is perfectly manicured, but the layout feels untouched by human hands as it snakes through heather and gorse. Against a backdrop of the Mountains of Mourne, the links stretches along the shores of Dundrum Bay, zig-zagging back and forth to provide a different view from virtually every hole.

5. St Andrews, Old Course (tie)

Location: St Andrews, Fife, Scotland

Par/length: 72 / 6721 yards

Tel: +44 1334 466 666

Website: www.standrews.org.uk

Green Fee: £130

Designer: Mother nature

The Home of Golf, where the game was first played 600 years ago. Many visitors still say the place is an acquired taste, and it’s true you need to play it several times before you appreciate all the nuances – like the fact that the further right you go off the tee, towards the trouble, the easier your approach to the green. But it’s a ‘must play’.

7. Turnberry Ailsa

Location: Turnberry, Ayrshire, Scotland

Par/length: 70 / 7201 yards

Tel: +44 1655 334 032

Website: www.turnberry.co.uk

Green fee: £190 (twilight £90 from 3.10pm)

Designer: MacKenzie Ross (1949)

The course was showcased at its very best during last year’s Open, where TV cameras on cranes captured the setting beautifully. Most of the first 11 holes play by the sea to the lighthouse, before you turn back to face the imposing Ailsa Craig rock and the iconic white hotel. Tom Watson’s heroics last year merely cemented its reputation as Golf World’s No.1 course in Great Britain & Ireland.