With detailed input from GOLF’s 88-member Top 100 Courses ranking panel, its editors, architects from around the world and select other short-course aficionados, we’ve compiled GOLF’s first long look at “short courses,” including our inaugural ranking of the world’s 50 greatest 9-hole tracks, plus the 25 best sub-6,000-yard courses and 25 best par-3 courses. Because good things really do come in small packages.
GOLF’s inaugural 9-hole, short-course and par-3 course rankings feature courses in 19 countries and 23 states. So which area of the world reigns supreme when it comes to stunning shorties? Take a scroll through our country and state breakdown below to find out. And for more detailed course info, check out the links above.
*Note: Countries and states are listed in order of most courses to least, then alphabetically.
COUNTRIES
SCOTLAND (14 courses)
9-HOLE COURSES
Durness GC, Durness, Scotland (Keith, Morrison, Ross/1988)
Isle of Harris GC, Isle of Harris, Scotland (Locals/1920)
Gairloch GC, Gairloch, Scotland (A.M. Burgess/1898)
Tobermory GC, Isle of Mull, Scotland (David Adams/1896)
Barra GC, Isle of Barra, Scotland (Locals/1992)
Musselburgh Links, East Lothian, Scotland (Members/1672)
Traigh GC, Arisaig, Scotland (Landowners/1900, Updated by Johnny Salvesen/1993)
Dragon’s Tooth (Ballachulish) Ballachulish, Scotland (Robin Hiseman/2002)
SHORT COURSES
Shiskine Golf & Tennis Club, Isle of Arran, Scotland (2,996 Yards/Par 42/12 holes)
Iona, Isle of Iona, Scotland (4,491 Yards/Par 66)
Dunaverty GC, Campbeltown, Scotland (4,799 Yards/Par 66)
Stonehaven GC, Aberdeenshire, Scotland (5,103 Yards/Par 66)
Kilspindie GC, Longniddry, Scotland (5,502 Yards/Par 69)
Gleneagles (Queen’s), Perthshire, Scotland (5,965 Yards/Par 68)
ENGLAND (9 courses)
9-HOLE COURSES
Royal Worlington & Newmarket GC, Suffolk, England (Tom Dunn/1893)
Leckford (Old Course), Hampshire, England (Harry Colt/1929)
Reigate Heath GC, Surrey, England (Tom Dunn/1895)
Alnmouth Village GC, Alnwick, England (Mungo Park/1869)
SHORT COURSES
Painswick GC, Stroud, England (4,831 Yards/Par 67)
Church Stretton GC, Church Stretton, England (5,030 Yards/Par 66)
Bamburgh Castle GC, Bamburgh, England (5,645 Yards/Par 68)
Kington GC, Kington, England (5,961 Yards/Par 70)
Cavendish GC, Buxton, England (5,721 Yards/Par 68)
JAPAN (4 courses)
9-HOLE COURSES
Otaru CC, (Old Course) Hokkaido, Japan (Tozo Sato & I. Kuno/1928)
Unzen Golf Links, Nagasaki, Japan (B. Oles/1913)
SHORT COURSES
Kobe GC, Hyogo, Japan (4,049 Yards/Par 61)
Kawana GC (Oshima Course), Shizuoko, Japan (5,711 Yards/Par 70)
IRELAND (3 courses)
9-HOLE COURSES
Cruit Island GC, Donegal, Ireland (Michael Doherty/1986)
Mulranny GC, County Mayo, Ireland (Unknown/1896)
Castlegregory Golf Links, County Kerry, Ireland (Arthur Spring/1989)
NEW ZEALAND (3 courses)
9-HOLE COURSES
Mahia GC, Mahia, New Zealand (Unknown/1984)
SHORT COURSES
Arrowtown GC, Arrow Junction, New Zealand (5,915 Yards/Par 70)
PAR-3 COURSE
The Hills (The Farm), Arrowtown, New Zealand (Darius Oliver/2019)
AUSTRALIA (2 courses)
9-HOLE COURSES
Frankston GC, Melbourne, Australia (Rowley Banks/1913)
SHORT COURSE
RACV Healesville CC, Healesville, Australia (5,328 Yards/Par 68)
CANADA (2 courses)
9-HOLE COURSE
The Toronto Hunt, Toronto, Canada (Willie Park Jr./1918, Updated by Thomas McBroom/2018)
PAR-3 COURSE
Cabot Links (The Nest), Inverness, Nova Scotia, Canada (Whitman & Axland/2020)
FRANCE (2 courses)
SHORT COURSE
Golf de Biarritz, Biarritz, France (5,907 Yards/Par 69)
PAR-3 COURSE
Les Bordes Golf International (Wild Piglet), Saint-Laurent-Nouan, France (Gil Hanse/2020)
NETHERLANDS (2 courses)
9-HOLE COURSES
The Links Valley (reversible), Ermelo, Netherlands (Frank Pont /2018)
Domburgsche Golf Club, Domberg, Netherlands (Charles Warren/1914)
SPAIN (2 courses)
9-HOLE COURSES
Real Golf de Zarauz, Gipuzkoa, Spain (Unknown/1916)
Real Club de Golf La Toja, Pontevedra, Spain (Ramon Espinosa Garcia/1968)
CHINA (1 course)
PAR-3 COURSE
Mission Hills Haikou (Stepping Stone), Hainan, China (Brian Curley/2010)
DENMARK (1 course)
SHORT COURSE
Fanø Golf Links, Fanø, Denmark (5,590 Yards/Par 70)
GERMANY (1 course)
9-HOLE COURSE
Golf Club Norderney, Norderney, Germany (Members/1922)
ICELAND (1 course)
SHORT COURSE
Vestman Island GC, Vestman Island, Iceland (5,909 Yards/Par 70)
NORTHERN IRELAND (1 course)
9-HOLE COURSE
Bushfoot GC, County Antrim, Northern Ireland (Locals/1980, Updated by David Jones/2009)
SOUTH AFRICA (1 course)
9-HOLE COURSE
Kambaku GC, Komatipoort, South Africa (Douw Van Der Merwe/1999)
TASMANIA (1 course)
9-HOLE COURSE
King Island Golf & Bowling, Currie, Tasmania (Locals/1932)
WALES (1 course)
SHORT COURSE
Welshpool GC, Welshpool, Wales (5,846 Yards/Par 70)
UNITED STATES
CALIFORNIA (6 courses)
9-HOLE COURSES
Sunnylands Rancho Mirage, Calif. (Dick Wilson/1964)
Northwood GC, Monte Rio, Calif. (Alister MacKenzie/1828)
SHORT COURSES
Goat Hill Park, Oceanside, Calif. (4,454 Yards/Par 65)
Claremont CC, Oakland, Calif. (5,495 Yards/Par 68)
PAR-3 COURSES
The Olympic Club (Cliffs), San Francisco, Calif. (Tom Weiskopf/1994)
Quarry at La Quinta, La Quinta, Calif. (Tom Fazio/2003)
FLORIDA (5 courses)
9-HOLE COURSE
Winter Park GC, Winter Park, Fla. (Harley Ward & Dow George/1914, Updated by Johns & Rhebb/2016)
PAR-3 COURSES
Palm Beach Par-3, Palm Beach, Fla. (Dick Wilson/1961; Updated by Raymond Floyd/2009)
Origins GC, Panama City Beach, Fla. (Davis Love III/2006)
St. Andrews Club, Delray Beach, Fla. (Pete & Alice Dye/2013)
The Concession GC (The Gimme), Bradenton, Fla. (Chris Cochran/Nicklaus Design/2019)
MASSACHUSETTS (5 courses)
9-HOLE COURSES
Whitinsville GC, Whitinsville, Mass. (Donald Ross/1925)
Edgartown GC, Edgartown, Mass. (Connie Lee/1926)
Highland Golf Links, North Truro, Mass. (Willard Small/1892)
Milton-Hoosic Club, Canton, Mass. (Willie Park Jr./1891)
Cohasse CC, Southbridge, Mass. (Donald Ross/1918)
MAINE (4 courses)
9-HOLE COURSES
North Haven GC, North Haven, Maine (Unknown/1916, Updated by Wayne Stiles/1932)
Castine GC, Castine, Maine (Willie Park Jr./1921)
SHORT COURSES
Northeast Harbor, Northeast Harbor, Maine (5,602 Yards/Par 70)
Cape Arundel GC, Kennebunkport, Maine (5,859 Yards/Par 69)
NEW JERSEY (3 courses)
9-HOLE COURSE
Madison GC, Madison, N.J. (Members/1896)
PAR-3 COURSE
Pine Valley Golf Club, Pine Valley, N.J. (Tom Fazio/1992)
Hamilton Farm (Hickory), Far Hills, N.J. (Hurdzan & Fry/2001)
VIRGINIA (3 courses)
SHORT COURSE
Princess Anne CC, Virginia Beach, Va. (5,995 Yards/Par 70)
PAR-3 COURSE
Kanawha Club, Manakin-Sabot, Va. (Lester George/2003)
The Olde Farm, Bristol, Va. (Bobby Weed/2011)
MICHIGAN (2 courses)
9-HOLE COURSES
The Dunes Club, New Buffalo, Mich. (Dick Nugent/1991)
Wawashkamo GC, Mackinac Island, Mich. (Alex Smith/1898)
MISSOURI (2 courses)
PAR-3 COURSES
Big Cedar Lodge (Mountain Top), Ridgedale, Mo. (Gary Player/2018)
Big Cedar Lodge (Top of the Rock), Ridgedale, Mo. (Jack Nicklaus/2014)
NEW YORK (2 courses)
9-HOLE COURSES
Saratoga Golf & Polo, Saratoga Springs, N.Y. (Robert C.B. Anderson/1896)
Quogue Field Club, Quogue, NY (Tom Bendelow/1901)
NORTH CAROLINA (2 courses)
PAR-3 COURSES
Pinehurst (The Cradle), Pinehurst, N.C. (Gil Hanse/2017)
Headwaters, Cashiers, N.C. (Tom Fazio/1999)
TENNESSEE (2 courses)
9-HOLE COURSES
Sweetens Cove GC, South Pittsburg, Tenn. (King-Collins/2014)
The Course at Sewanee, Sewanee, Tenn. (Albion Knight/1915, Updated by Gil Hanse/2013)
WISCONSIN (2 courses)
9-HOLE COURSE
Eagle Springs Golf Resort, Eagle, Wis. (William Tuohy/1893, A.G. Spaulding/1921)
PAR-3 COURSE
Sand Valley (The Sandbox), Nekoosa, Wis. (Coore & Crenshaw/2018)
ALABAMA (1 course)
PAR-3 COURSE
Grand National/Magnolia Grove at RTJ Trail, Opelika/Mobile, Ala. (Robert Trent Jones Sr./1992)
ARIZONA (1 course)
PAR-3 COURSE
Scottsdale National (Bad Little 9), Scottsdale, Ariz. (J. Kahn Golf Course Design/2016)
Colorado (1 course)
PAR-3 COURSE
Ballyneal (The Mulligan), Holyoke, Colo. (Tom Doak/2017)
CONNECTICUT (1 course)
9-HOLE COURSE
Hotchkiss GC, Lakeville, Conn. (Seth Raynor/1924)
GEORGIA (1 course)
PAR-3 COURSE
Augusta National, Augusta, Ga., (Cobb & Roberts/1958)
INDIANA (1 course)
9-HOLE COURSE
Culver Academies GC, Culver, Ind. (Langford & Moreau/1923)
LOUISIANA (1 course)
SHORT COURSE
Audubon Park, New Orleans, La. (4,220 Yards/Par 62)
NEBRASKA (1 course)
PAR-3 COURSE
The Prairie Club (Horse), Valentine, Neb. (Hanse & Shackelford/2010)
NEW HAMPSHIRE (1 course)
9-HOLE COURSE
Hooper GC, Walpole, N.H. (Stiles and Van Kleek/1927)
OREGON (1 course)
PAR-3 COURSE
Bandon Dunes (Bandon Preserve), Bandon, Ore. (Coore & Crenshaw/2012)
RHODE ISLAND (1 course)
9-HOLE COURSE
Weekapaug GC, Westerly, R.I. (Phil Wogan/1967)
