St. Andrews, Les Bordes, Lofoten Links and Crans-sur-Sierre are among the courses on our list. How many of these beautiful holes have you played?
Old Head Links is located on a spectacular narrow peninsula jutting out into the Atlantic Ocean. The course plays out among the cliffs and caves along the coastline. The aptly named ‘Razor’s Edge’ hole is one of the most photographed golf holes in Ireland. With the Old Head Lighthouse as a backdrop and the waves of the Atlantic crashing against the left side.
This club has two fabulous 18-hole courses, The Stadium Course and The Castle Course, both designed by Robert Trent Jones Jnr. The Stadium Course northwest of Stockholm opened in 2007 and is stunningly beautiful, situated directly on Lake Malaren by Bro Hof Castle. The par 3 17th is much like the famous island green at TPC Sawgrass.
This club in the ski resort of Crans-Montana in the spectacular Swiss Alps boasts courses designed by Seve Ballesteros and Jack Nicklaus. Seve’s course has jaw-dropping views of Mont Blanc and the Matterhorn and hosts the Omega European Masters on the DP World Tour. The 7th hole perhaps its most iconic. As golfers emerge from the 6th green through dense woodland they are treated to one of the most awe-inspiring views in all of golf of the huge snow-capped Alps.
This stunning course, designed by Sir Henry Cotton, is famous for this iconic par-3 signature hole. One of the most photographed holes in Europe, you can play out sideways and chip into the green. But for those who love a challenge, going for the green requires a tee shot of an extremely daunting 230 yards over the cliffs across the ravines. It’s arguably the most famous hole in the Algarve with incredible views.
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 par 3 9th hole have created one of the most exhilarating holes in all of golf. Around 250 yards, it’s played across the bay to the famed Turnberry Lighthouse. The hole is as beautiful as it is dramatic.
Situated on the ancient Viking island of Gimsøya in Lofoten, this Norwegian course is one of a kind. As well as a classic links challenge, it’s a showcase for mother nature at her most dramatic. It has 360-degree views of the surrounding mountains, ocean and neighbouring islands. There’s also sandy beaches, coves and granite boulders. Hole 2 is the signature, a beautiful 140-yard challenge with a two-tiered green which sits on a rocky outcrop fronted with one solitary bunker.
A glorious championship links laid out along chalk cliffs to the north of Le Havre, with awesome views of the English Channel. The whole course is blessed in natural beauty, but the back nine is especially dramatic with many holes running right along the cliffs. The signature 10th hole is a spectacular par 5 with a raised tee that drops into a valley and rises back alongside the cliffs.
The Championship Course here is laid out next to the Mountains of Mourne, and with rolling sand dune-lined fairways adorned with blooming gorse and heather, it’s almost unmatched in links beauty. A standout among the many unforgettable holes is the par 4 9th, which starts with a drive, framed by hills and a church steeple. It’s one of the most photographed holes in world golf.
A clifftop course overlooking the ocean, it’s split into two by a large canyon which comes into play on the spectacular 3rd and 7th holes. The 130-metre gorge dividing the tee from green at the 7th tee is an exciting moment. It combines awe inspiring vistas and a rollercoaster ride of a challenge.
Little introduction is needed for the Home of Golf. Tiger Woods’ favourite golf course is steeped in history. Few places in golf can make you stop and draw breath as much as standing on the par 4 reachable 18th tee, as the setting sun casts long shadows across the natural undulations of the final fairway, the Swilken Bridge and the Valley of Sin, towards the green and clubhouse.
Opened in 1999, this course hosted the Spanish Open in 2000, 2009 and 2014. It’s a parkland/woodland layout with pretty lakes framed by pine and oak tress and the Pyrenees mountains. The 13th has a backdrop like a landscape painting with trees flanking the fairway down towards the lake and green.
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 6th is particularly memorable, on top of the cliff with the green set 40 meters below carved in to the hillside surrounded by lapping waves.
Known for its striking beauty, this layout was designed by Greg Norman. The views on offer as you make your way around the course just add to the enjoyment. The course sits on Cape Salou and makes its way through olive and carob tree plantations whilst giving the golfer wonderful views of the sea. The 18th has a sharp dogleg right and then when you turn the corner you see the large lake on the left and a stunning open cliff face shadowing the green.
Carya Golf Club, in Antalya’s Belek Region, is the first classic heathland style golf course with a little touch of classic British golf to be built on Turkey’s Mediterranean coast. It winds between natural pine and eucalyptus trees, and across undulating sand ridges. It’s all about the trees here. They look spectacular. No more so than at the 10th with towering trees all along the right side.
30 miles west of London, with a quintessentially English Tudor-style clubhouse at arguably the country’s prettiest golf course on the Surrey/Berkshire sand-belt. It’s a picturesque heathland course with elevated tees decorated with pine and birch trees, heather, gorse and colourful rhododendrons. The view back towards the clubhouse with the famous oak tree sat behind the 18th green is about as quaint and elegant as it gets.
Kyle Phillips designed both the East and West courses here on the island of Sicily. The back 9 is dramatic with the penultimate holes taking golfers up and down along the coastline, with a memorable elevated 18th tee. This par 4 final hole is played against a backdrop of the cliffs and an ancient ruin with the waves breaking on the shoreline. The green is set directly against the cliff face.
A Robert Trent Jones links-style course on the tip of a long peninsula with plenty of pine trees and his trademark bold bunkering, raised greens and doglegs. He said the 3rd hole was one of the best he has ever designed. It’s one of the prettiest holes in Portugal, already blessed with plenty of them. It’s a par 4 that fits perfectly in the landscape with magnificent sea views.
Designed by Robert von Hagge, the conditioning here is sublime. It winds its way through the tranquil forests of Sologne near Paris with challenging, lengthy rough and plenty of water hazards. A visual masterpiece that’ll take your breath away, it’s incredibly beautiful and peaks perhaps at the 14th, playing north of 550 yards from the back tees towards a secluded island green.
