Top 100 Courses in the World 2025-26: Our raters’ votes, revealed!
What separates the world’s Top 100 courses from the tens of thousands of others?
We leave that up to our international panel of 126 expert raters to decide.
And because we don’t prescribe a set method to assess courses as other ranks do, no one opinion carries the day — our rank is a democracy. Some panelists believe that enjoyment is the ultimate goal, and thus prioritize design attributes such as width and playing angles, while frowning upon the need to constantly hunt for balls in thick rough. Other panelists value challenge and the demands of hitting every club in the bag. Still others consider a course’s surroundings and overall environment of paramount importance, thereby emphasizing the setting and naturalness of the course. In the end, allowing raters to freely express their tastes is what produces the desired eclecticism in our Top 100 lists.
That variety has emerged yet again, in our 2025-26 edition of the Top 100 Courses in the World, which you can browse below. Enjoy!
LINKS: Full methodology: How we rate courses | 2025-26 World list sorted by country | 2025-26 World list courses you can play
To hear our ratings experts break down our latest rankings, check out our travel podcast Destination GOLF. Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts: APPLE | SPOTIFY | IHEART | AMAZON
GOLF’s other course rankings: Top 100 in the U.S. | Top 100 You Can Play | Top 100 Value Courses in the U.S. | America’s Best Municipal Courses | America’s Best Courses for $100 or Less | Top 100 in the U.K. and Ireland | Top 100 in Asia-Pacific | Top 100 Short Courses in the World
To browse and search our latest lists in map form, check out our Course Finder tool.
