Can you separate a golf course from its surroundings?
Some architecture purists would argue that you can, and that, in fact, you should: that a course should be assessed on its design merits alone, without consideration of what lies beyond its grounds.
But that’s not how most golfers experience a round. Most of us — when we aren’t busy slicing or searching for lost balls — take time to appreciate the world around us. We pause, that is, to admire the vistas. Mountains. Rivers. Oceans. Valleys. Golf’s global canvas has it all, with eye candy nearly everywhere you turn, some of it especially sweet.
On a recent episode of the Destination Golf podcast, my co-host Simon Holt and I jumped into a discussion on this very matter: what are the greatest views in the game?
Simon got us started on an up note by turning his gaze Down Under: Te Arai South in New Zealand, a seaside stunner, designed by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw, that anyone can play. As the less imaginative of the two of us, I went with something obvious and closer to home: the overlook from the back patio at Cypress Point, which peers out through a forest of cypress trees to the famous par-3 16th hole. An exclusive place, for sure. But my next pick was public-access, a municipal course, in fact, and a fine reason to visit our neighbor to the north: Highland Links, in Nova Scotia, a Stanley Thompson design that ranks in my book among the most scenic walks in golf.
Simon countered with other beauties, including the front nine at Royal County Down in Northern Ireland (“it’s like something out of a crazy golf dream,” Simon said); the entirety of Waterville in Ireland; and Cabot Point Hardy in St. Lucia, a site that almost needs to be seen to be believed.
Surely, we missed some. Old Head, for instance, didn’t make our short list. Surely, you have suggestions of your own. Feel free to email us your thoughts at destinationgolfpodcast@gmail.com. And to listen to the latest episode of Destination Golf, click here.
