Fall is a time when many golf courses look their best, when undulating fairways cast longer shadows and trees provide a myriad of green shades. Here’s our countdown of the most beautiful.
10. Real Club de Golf Sotogrande, Spain
This 1964 masterpiece from Robert Trent Jones Snr is blessed with his design philosophy of building courses that integrated the natural surrounding environment. There’s elevated tees providing glorious mountain views, immaculate conditioning, plenty of water features and a mixture of cork oaks, pine trees, palm trees and an abundance of other species.
9. Aulanko Golf, Finland
The 18-hole Eversti course at Aulanko Golf is set within an English-style landscape park at Aulanko which dates back to the 1880s, right next to Lake Hattulanselkä. The park is full of lakes and pavilions, as well as a multitude of exotic trees, flowers and bushes. The golf season here normally starts in early May and ends in mid-October, so play this course while you can in the fall.
8. Bro Hof Slott Golf Club – The Castle Course, Sweden
Home to two fabulous 18-hole courses designed by Robert Trent Jones Jnr, this golf club sits directly on Lake Mälaren and is crowned by Bro Hof Castle. The Castle Course has more trees than the Stadium Course and has elements of Scottish links with emerald green playing surfaces and roughs of golden fescue. The Baroque-style castle dates from the 19th century and was renovated to become one of the world’s most beautiful clubhouses.
7. Cruden Bay, Scotland
This historic links set in the Aberdeenshire countryside has huge towering sand dunes, elevated tees, humped and hollowed fairways which catch the autumnal light and punchbowl greens. Panoramic sea views and a stunning beach are followed by secluded moments between the high dunes.
6. La Cala Resort – Europa Course, Spain
The Europa Course at La Cala is easier for the average golfer than the resort’s other Cabell Robinson courses, America and Asia, with generous fairways and larger greens. It’s a gentle and enjoyable round of golf adorned with riverways, bridges, natural wild shrubbery and glorious mountain views. The undulations and hills cast long shadows in the late-season sun of the Costa del Sol.
5. Golf Du Touquet – La Forêt, France
Golf du Touquet, about about 50km south of Calais in northern France, boasts three high-level golf courses of great variety. La Foret is the one to play in the fall, located in a pine and oak forest when the autumnal shades of green are stunning. Nestled away in its forest setting, it’s also sheltered from the coastal winds providing an atmosphere of great tranquility.
4. Monte Rei Golf & Country Club – North Course, Portugal
Monte Rei Golf & Country Club’s North Course, designed by the legendary Jack Nicklaus, is set in Portugal’s stunning Algarve region and is considered one of Europe’s premier golfing destinations. The course is meticulously designed to integrate with the natural contours of the landscape, featuring a series of challenging holes that wind through hills, valleys, and scenic woodlands. The fairways are framed by wild shrubbery and mature trees, with elevated tees offering panoramic views of the Atlantic Ocean and the surrounding mountains. Known for its pristine conditions, Monte Rei provides an unforgettable golfing experience in a peaceful, secluded setting.
3. Costa Navarino – The Hills Course, Greece
Costa Navarino in the Greece Peloponnese is home to four courses, this one designed by Jose Maria Olazabal. It has been laid out over rocky ground and weaves through olive groves and other indigenous vegetation. Further away from the coast than the other courses, the inland vistas of tree-framed fairways are beautiful and the late-season sunsets over the historic Bay of Navarino are breathtaking.
2. Thracian Cliffs, Bulgaria
Perched on a cliff overlooking the Black Sea, Thracian Cliffs is a signature championship course designed by Gary Player where the ocean is in view on every hole. The tree-lined 6th is particularly memorable, on top of a cliff with the green set 40 meters below carved in to the hillside surrounded by lapping waves. It’s one of Europe’s most dramatically beautiful courses and the tress and late-season sunsets make it especially stunning in the fall.
1. Linna Golf, Finland
This gorgeous course is laid out over a natural hilly environment, set amidst the beautiful pine and birch forests of Finland, around an hour’s drive north of the capital Helsinki. Close to the stunning Vanajanlinna Castle Hotel, it’s got lovely views of Lake Katuma with water coming into play on several superbly maintained holes.
The tall pine and birch trees and lush parkland really come into their own during the late golf season which finishes early here, around early October time, when the low sunlight casts long shadows and the course feels even more secluded and romantic. It was described by five-time Open Champion Peter Thomson as “the most luxurious golf resort in Northern Europe”.
Beautiful view!