These countries and states have the best 9-hole, par-3 and short courses in the world

gairloch golf course

Scotland's Gairloch GC is one of the world's top 9-hole courses.

Clyde Johnson

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) 

Durness golf
The 6th at Durness GC.

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)

Royal Worlington & Newmarket GC in Suffolk, England.
Creativity rules the day at Royal Worlington, with tee shots crossing greens and a final two-shotter that requires a clever little tee shot over the entry road. Kevin Diss Photography / www.kevindiss.com

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)

Cruit Island
Cruit’s tiny green sites are perched in some truly phenomenal, unlikely places. Clyde Johnson

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)

Arrowtown golf club
Arrowtown Golf Club in New Zealand. Clyde Johnson

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)

les bordes par 3
A stunning hole at Les Bordes in France.

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)

vestman island golf club
Vestman Island GC in Iceland. Courtesy GolfIceland.org

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)

The 4th hole at Shiskine Golf Club.
The 4th hole at Shiskine in Scotland, where 12 lovely and varied holes are set on an island next to an island. Getty Images

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)

Palm beach par 3
The Palm Beach Par 3 in Florida.

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)

Castine
Maine’s Castine GC.

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)

Kanawha club
Kanawha Club in Virginia.

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)

The Dunes Club
The Dunes Club in Michigan.

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)

the cradle
Pinehurst’s Cradle course.

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)

A view of The Sandbox at Sand Valley in Wisconsin.
The Sandbox at Sand Valley.

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)

culver academies golf
Culver Academies GC.

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)

The 13-hole Bandon Preserve.
Bandon Preserve at Bandon Dunes in Bandon, Oregon.

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)

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As a four-year member of Columbia’s inaugural class of female varsity golfers, Jessica can out-birdie everyone on the masthead. She can out-hustle them in the office, too, where she’s primarily responsible for producing both print and online features, and overseeing major special projects, such as GOLF’s inaugural Style Is­sue, which debuted in February 2018. Her origi­nal interview series, “A Round With,” debuted in November of 2015, and appeared in both in the magazine and in video form on GOLF.com.