Historic Golf Courses You Must Play

Follow in the footsteps of legends and immerse yourself in the history of golf at these legendary bucket-list venues in the UK, Ireland, Australia and the United States.

St. Andrews (Old Course)

The Old Course at St Andrews has hosted 30 Open Championships since 1873, more than any other course. Golf has been played across this land since the 1400s and it was at St Andrews that golf became a game of 18 holes in the late 18th Century. The history of these fairways is unmatched and they offer a glimpse into how golf was originally played.

Old Tom Morris redesigned holes 1, 17 and 18 in the 1860s, producing the current 18-hole layout with several double greens that we know today, a course that still ranks amongst the best in the world. Jack Nicklaus chose to play his last ever round of professional golf here in 2005, signing off on his incredible career standing on the iconic Swilken Bridge.

The course may be the ‘Home of Golf’, but it’s also a public course and is open to all, nestled right in the historic town from where it gets its name. However, you must display a current official handicap which doesn’t exceed 36 (for both men and women). To play here you can book a stay & play package, apply for an advanced reservation, or try your luck in either the daily singles draw or the ballot which you enter two days before you want to play.

Royal County Down Golf Club

Founded in 1889, the Championship Course here was originally laid out by Old Tom Morris next to the Mountains of Mourne of Northern Ireland. Since then, such legendary names as Harry S. Colt and recent renovations by Donald Steele have all left their mark on its design. With rolling sand dune-lined fairways adorned with blooming gorse and heather, it’s arguably unmatched in links beauty.

A standout among the many unforgettable holes is the 9th, which starts with a drive that’s framed by hills and a church steeple. It’s one of the most photographed holes in world golf. Often named the world’s best golf course, it hosted the 2024 Irish Open on the DP World Tour.

Royal Melbourne Golf Club

Founded in 1891, Royal Melbourne is Australia’s oldest golf club. The West Course here was designed by legendary Scottish course architect Dr Alister MacKenzie and opened way back in 1926. It has hosted 16 Australian Opens and was selected by the PGA Tour to hold the President’s Cup for the first time outside the United States in 1998. It has since hosted the event twice more. It’s a rugged layout full of dramatic undulations, native grasses and lightning-contoured greens. We rate this as the best golf course in Australia.

Pebble Beach Golf Links

This world-famous collection of resorts on the Monterey Peninsula in California is home to luxury accommodation, with guests able to play at Pebble Beach Links as well as Del Monte Golf Course, Spyglass Hill and The Links at Spanish Bay, making it the crown jewel of American golf. Pebble Beach Links, opened in 1919, is the most famous and historic with the likes of Chandler Egan, Alistair MacKenzie, Robert Hunter and Jack Nicklaus all adding to its design.

The course has hosted six U.S. Opens, one PGA Championship and annually hosts the PGA Tour’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. It also hosted its first women’s major championship, the U.S. Women’s Open, in 2023.

It’s not only stunningly scenic, but also formidable. The narrow fairways, small greens and unpredictable coastal winds make club selection tricky. Perhaps the most famous hole is the par-3 seventh that’s barely 100 yards from an elevated tee towards the Pacific Ocean to a tiny green below. But the par-4 eighth, at over 400 yards, is even more daunting, set right against the coastline.

Ballybunion Golf Club

Located on the northwest coast of County Kerry in Ireland, on a beautiful stretch of sand dunes overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, are two challenging and unique world-class links courses, the Old Course and the Robert Trent Jones Cashen Course. The club is named after the town of Ballybunion which gets it name from the Bunion family, which owned the local 15th century castle.

You will find some of the most dramatic holes in Ireland and the country’s largest sand dunes at the Old Course, which dates back to 1893. Five-time Open champion Tom Watson, who remodelled the course in 1995, said: “After playing Ballybunion for the first time, a man would think that the game of golf originated here”. U.S. President Bill Clinton played the course in 1998 and there’s a statue of him with a golf club in town. He returned to play it again in 2001. The club hosted the Irish Open in 2000 and the Palmer Cup in 2004.

Turnberry (Ailsa Course)

The scene of the famous 1977 Open, better known as the ‘Duel in the Sun’ when Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson battled it out in a head-to-head tussle. Renovated in 2017, the changes to the 9th hole have created one of the most exhilarating and photographed holes in all of golf. Played across the bay to the famed Turnberry Lighthouse, the hole is as beautiful as it is dramatic.

The Ailsa Course was joined in 2017 by the King Robert the Bruce course, named after the warrior who was born in Turnberry Castle over 700 years ago. The lighthouse here now stands among its ruins. The course was met with worldwide acclaim when it opened and proudly stands alongside its illustrious and historic neighbor.

Royal St George’s Golf Club

Located in Sandwich, England, Royal St George’s Golf Club is one of the courses on the Open Championship rota. It has hosted 15 Opens, the first in 1894 when it became the first golf club outside of Scotland to host the event. Only Muirfield (16), Prestwick (24) and St Andrews (30) have hosted the tournament on more occasions. It last held the event in 2021 when Collin Morikawa lifted the famous Claret Jug.

The club was founded in 1887, a wild duneland course featuring the deepest bunker in championship golf at the fourth hole. The club is steeped in history with its annual Challenge Cup dating back to 1888. It’s one of the oldest amateur events in golf, won by Jack Nicklaus in 1959 when he was 19. Author Ian Fleming, at one time Captain-elect of the club, used Royal St George’s under the name ‘Royal St. Marks’ in his 1959 James Bond novel Goldfinger.

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