There are some 57 million miles of land on earth, with some 7 billion humans wandering upon it. A considerably smaller amount of that land is dedicated to the pursuit of building and maintaining golf courses, with considerably fewer earthlings among those who consider themselves to be “golfers.”
And from that remarkably small patch of land sits a smaller stretch of land still. The most elite of the elite. The earth upon which GOLF’s Top 100 Courses in the World sits.
That land stretches across oceans, four continents, and some 14 countries (with some discernible concentrations in New York and Scotland). You can check out the full list (complete with rankings, descriptions, and lots of insider analysis) here. Below, find GOLF’s ranking sorted by country, and in the case of the United States, by state.
GOLF’s Top 100 Courses in the World, by country
Scotland (11)
St. Andrews (Old Course)
St. Andrews, Scotland
Nature, 1400s/Old Tom Morris, 1865
Muirfield
East Lothian, Scotland
Old Tom Morris 1891/H.S. Colt, 1925
Trump Turnberry (Ailsa)
Turnberry, Scotland
Willie Fernie, 1909/Mackenzie Ross, 1946/Martin Ebert, 2016
North Berwick (West)
North Berwick, Scotland
Unknown, 1832/C.K. Hutchison, 1932
Carnoustie (Championship)
Carnoustie, Scotland
A. Robertson, 1842/Old Tom Morris, 1872/James Braid, 1926
Royal Troon (Old)
Troon, Scotland
Willie Fernie, 1887
Cruden Bay
Cruden Bay, Scotland
Old Tom Morris, 1899/Tom Simpson, 1926
Prestwick
Prestwick, Scotland
Old Tom Morris, 1851/Charles Hunter, 1882/James Braid/Harold Hilton, 1922
Ardfin
Isle of Jura, Scotland
Bob Harrison, 2017
Castle Stuart
Inverness, Scotland
Gil Hanse/Mark Parsinen (2009)
Kingsbarns
St. Andrews, Scotland
Kyle Phillips, 1999
England (10)
Sunningdale (Old)
Sunningdale, England
Willie Park Jr., 1901/H.S. Colt, 1922
Royal St. George’s
Sandwich, Kent, England
H.S. Colt, 1922/Frank Pennick, 1970s
Royal Birkdale
Southport, England
George Low Jr., 1889/Fred Hawtree, 1932
Swinley Forest
South Ascot, England
H.S. Colt, 1910
Woodhall Spa (Hotchkin)
Woodhall Spa, England
Harry Vardon, 1905/H.S. Colt, 1912/S.V. Hotchkin, 1926
Sunningdale (New)
Sunningdale, England
H.S. Colt, 1922
Rye (Old)
Camber, England
H.S. Colt, 1895/Tom Simpson/Herbert Tippet/Guy Campbell, 1907
Royal Lytham & St. Annes
Lytham St. Annes, England
George Low Jr., 1897
Royal Liverpool
Hoylake, England
George Morris, 1869/H.S. Colt, 1924/Fred Hawtree, 1960s/Donald Steel, 2000
St. George’s Hill (A & B)
Weybridge, England
H.S. Colt, 1913
Australia (7)
Royal Melbourne (West)
Black Rock, Australia
Alister Mackenzie, 1926
Kingston Heath
Cheltenham, Australia
Dan Soutar, 1925/Alister Mackenzie, 1926
Barnbougle Dunes
Bridport, Australia
Tom Doak/Mike Clayton, 2004
New South Wales
La Perouse, Australia
Alister Mackenzie, 1926/Eric Apperly, 1947
Cape Wickham
King Island, Australia
Mike Devries, 2015
Royal Melbourne (East)
Black Rock, Australia
Alex Russell, 1932
Ellerston
Hunter Valley, Australia
Greg Norman/Bob Harrison, 2001
Ireland (4)
Ballybunion (Old)
Ballybunion, Ireland
P. Murphy, 1893/Tom Sipson, 1936
Lahinch (Old)
Lahinch, Ireland
Old Tom Morris, 1893/Alister Mackenzie, 1927/Martin Hawtree, 2003
Portmarnock (Old)
Portmarnock, Ireland
W.C. Pickerman/George Ross/Mungo Park, 1894/George Coburn, 1896
St Patrick’s Links
Rosapenna, Ireland
Tom Doak, 2021
Canada (3)
Cabot Cliffs
Inverness, Nova Scotia, Canada
Bill Coore/Ben Crenshaw 2016
Cabot Links
Inverness, Nova Scotia, Canada
Rod Whitman, 2012
St George’s
Etobicoke, Ontario, Canada
Stanley Thompson, 1929
Northern Ireland (2)
Royal County Down
Newcastle, N. Ireland
Old Tom Morris, 1889
Royal Portrush (Dunluce)
Portrush, N. Ireland
H.S. Colt, 1932/Martin Ebert, 2015
New Zealand (2)
Tara Iti
Te Arai, New Zealand
Tom Doak, 2015
Cape Kidnappers
Te Awanga, New Zealand
Tom Doak, 2004
France (2)
Morfontaine
Mortefontaine, France
Tom Simpson, 1926
Les Bordes (New)
Saint-Laurent-Nouan, France
Gil Hanse/Jim Wagner, 2021
The Netherlands (2)
Royal Hague
Wassenaar, The Netherlands
J.S.F. Morrison/C.H. Alison, 1938
De Pan (Utrechtse)
Utrecht, The Netherlands
H.S. Colt, 1929
Japan (2)
Hirono
Miki-Chi, Japan
C.H. Alison, 1932
Kawana (Fuji)
Ito-Shi, Japan
C.H. Alison/Kinya Fujita (1936)
Mexico (1)
Diamonte (Dunes)
Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
Davis Love III/Mark Love, 2010/ Paul Cowley, 2016
Dominican Republic (1)
Casa de Campo (Teeth of the Dog)
La Romana, Dominican Republic
Pete Dye, 1971
South Korea (1)
Nine Bridges
Jeju Island, South Korea
Rom Fream/David Dale, 2001
United States (52)
**Ranked by state
New York (12)
Shinnecock Hills
Southampton, N.Y.
Toomey & Flynn, 1931
National Golf Links Of America
Southampton, N.Y.
C.B. Macdonald, 1911
Fishers Island
Fishers Island, N.Y.
Seth Raynor, 1926
Friar’s Head
Baiting Hollow, N.Y.
Bill Coore/Ben Crenshaw, 2003
Winged Foot (West)
Mamaroneck, N.Y.
A.W. Tillinghast, 1923
Garden City
Garden City, N.Y.
Devereux Emmet, 1899/Walter Travis, 1906
Maidstone
East Hampton, N.Y.
John Park/Willie Park Jr., 1922
Bethpage (Black)
Farmingdale, N.Y.
A.W. Tillinghast, 1935
Sleepy Hollow
Scarborough, N.Y.
C.B. Macdonald/Seth Raynor, 1913/A.W. Tillinghast, 1929/Gil Hanse, 2017
Quaker Ridge
Scarsdale, N.Y.
A.W. Tillinghast, 1926
Oak Hill (East)
Pittsford, N.Y.
Donald Ross, 1921/Andrew Green, 2020
Winged Foot (East)
Mamaroneck, N.Y.
A.W. Tillinghast, 1923
California (7)
Cypress Point
Pebble Beach, Calif.
Alister Mackenzie, 1928
Pebble Beach
Pebble Beach, Calif.
Jack Neville/Douglas Grant, 1919
Los Angeles (North)
Los Angeles
George C. Thomas Jr., 1921
Riviera
Pacific Palisades, Calif.
George C. Thomas Jr./Billy Bell Sr., 1926
San Francisco
San Francisco, Calif.
A.W. Tillinghast, 1918
California Club Of San Francisco
So. San Francisco, Calif.
A.V. Macan, 1926/Alister Mackenzie, 1928/Kyle Phillips, 2007
Olympic (Lake)
Daly City, Calif.
Sam Whiting, 1924
Ohio (4)
Camargo
Cincinnati
Seth Raynor, 1926
Inverness
Toledo, Ohio
Donald Ross, 1919/Andrew Green, 2017
The Golf Club
New Albany, Ohio
Pete Dye, 1967
Muirfield Village
Dublin, Ohio
Jack Nicklaus/Desmond Muirhead, 1974
New Jersey (3)
Pine Valley
Pine Valley, N.J.
George Crump/H.S. Colt, 1918
Somerset Hills
Bernardsville, N.J.
A.W. Tillinghast, 1918
Baltusrol (Lower)
Springfield, N.J.
A.W. Tillinghast, 1922
Georgia (3)
Augusta National
Augusta, Ga.
Alister Mackenzie/Bobby Jones, 1933
Ohoopee Match Club
Cobbtown, Ga.
Gil Hanse, 2018
Peachtree
Atlanta
Robert Trent Jones Sr./Bobby Jones, 1947
Oregon (3)
Pacific Dunes
Bandon, Ore.
Tom Doak, 2001
Bandon Trails
Bandon, Ore.
Bill Coore/Ben Crenshaw, 2005
Bandon Dunes
Bandon, Ore.
David McLay Kidd, 1999
Massachusetts (2)
The Country Club (Clyde/Squirrel)
Brookline, Mass.
TCC Members/Willie Campbell, 1899
Myopia Hunt Club
So. Hamilton, Mass.
H.C. Leeds, 1898
North Carolina (2)
Pinehurst (No. 2)
Pinehurst, N.C.
Donald Ross, 1907
Old Town
Winston-Salem, N.C.
Perry Maxwell, 1939
South Carolina (2)
Kiawah Island (Ocean)
Kiawah Island, S.C.
Pete Dye, 1991
Yeamans Hall
Hanahan, S.C.
Seth Raynor, 1925
Michigan (2)
Crystal Downs
Frankfort, Mich.
Alister Mackenzie/Perry Maxwell, 1932
Oakland Hills (South)
Bloomfield Hills, Mich.
Donald Ross, 1917/Robert Trent Jones Sr., 1950
Pennsylvania (2)
Oakmont
Oakmont, Penn.
Henry Fownes, 1903
Merion (East)
Ardmore, Penn.
Hugh Wilson, 1912
Illinois (2)
Chicago
Wheaton, Ill.
C.B. Macdonald, 1895/Seth Raynor, 1923
Shoreacres
Lake Bluff, Ill.
Seth Raynor, 1921
Nebraska (1)
Sand Hills
Mullen, Neb.
Bill Coore/Ben Crenshaw, 1994
Colorado (1)
Ballyneal
Holyoke, Colo.
Tom Doak, 2006
Florida (1)
Seminole
Juno Beach, Fla.
Donald Ross, 1929
Wisconsin (1)
Whistling Straits (Straits)
Haven, Wis.
Pete Dye, 1998
Kansas (1)
Prairie Dunes
Hutchinson, Kan.
Perry Maxwell, 1937/Press Maxwell, 1957
Montana (1)
Rock Creek Cattle Company
Deer Lodge, Mont.
Tom Doak, 2008
Oklahoma (1)
Southern Hills
Tulsa, Okla.
Perry Maxwell, 1936
