Have you visited these top Golfing Sites – Modern golf has been played in Scotland since the 15th century. Lineage, popularity and wealth (in terms of spectacular placement/shooting value) will be the three criteria determining this ranking.
St. Andrews (Old Course)
History: The Old Field hosted the Open Championship 29 times in 2015. This stretch of golf has been played since the 15th century. As with Augusta National, volume after volume has been written on the Old Course, but its world record in golf history is unattainable and will forever remain unbeaten.
Selling point: No hand carved this legendary masterpiece. The birthplace of the game, Old Course, has a rich pedigree.
Huge lawns, cavernous bunkers, blind hits, and a characteristic road pit complement the brilliant layout. All courses’ uniquely variable and weather-dependent design mimics or defies the Old Course, so it remains the touchstone for all the other systems on this list.
Pine Valley Golf Club
History: Pine Valley isn’t really into “hosting very successful tournaments,” so there isn’t much to talk about on that front other than a curious amateur tournament: the Crump Cup, an amateur competition that spectators can watch.
Course founder George Crump used some of the best architectural ideas of the early 20th century to create this unique island-by-island layout. Strengths: The secret and fantastic splendour of dry New Jersey. Pine Valley is somewhat reminiscent of a desert surrounded by pine trees.
And if that sounds incredible, incredibly beautiful, it’s because it is. A Top 100 Golf Digest ranking says it’s better: “Pine Valley brings together all three schools of golf design—criminal, heroic, and strategic—throughout the course, often on the same hole.”
Augusta National Golf Club
History: for example, a small tournament called the Masters every April… Augusta National is the only course on this list included in the main golf calendar every year. Brilliant writers filled the volumes with the history of the system.
Therefore, reducing this tradition to a paragraph is inherently unsuccessful. McKenzie and Jones mapped out the route in 1933, but the current course bears little resemblance to this project as it has been constantly redesigned by architects such as Perry Maxwell and others.
Strong point: The Craftsman’s home is beautifully prepared and painstakingly improved. With their unlimited resources dedicated to the constant search for the perfect golf course (from a specific aesthetic point of view), the members have created a heavenly golf course.
It’s impossible to glorify the Master’s story from the course itself by trying to appreciate ANGC, but that’s part of the brilliance.
Cypress Point Club
History: Once part of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, the track was infamously abandoned due to a hat-trick after refusing to admit a black member in the early 1990s. However, it remains an absolutely magnificent collection of golf holes.
All Alistair MacKenzie had to do was carve the brightest path through this tangled estate. Luckily for the golfing world, that’s precisely what happened.
Strong point: final customization. Sorry to be rude, but look at this damned place. Almost otherworldly in its sheen, playing golf on Cypress should be like playing golf on a paradise coast. Path’s unique decision to stay short (a little over 6,500 yards) rather than lengthen combat vehicles is a neat statement: Cypress is perfect on its own.
Shinnecock Hills Golf Club
History: Most recently, Shinnecock hosted the 2004 US Open Nightmare (won by Retief Gusen). The venue has hosted three more US Opens in its time and is expected to host again in 2018.
One of the first connecting pads in the United States, William Flynn’s redesign of the original CB Macdonald design is the gold standard for track improvement, so much so that the track hasn’t been touched since.
Strong point: A design gem that connects New York and New Jersey. Shinnecock is a best-of-breed style that you will obviously find in abundance in the New York/New Jersey area. The recent spike in fees for the US Open speaks volumes about how the USGA, generally good referees, feel about Flynn’s Southampton masterpiece.
