10 Best Golf Courses In The World

Some of the 10 best golf courses in the world have hosted golf's biggest championships. Some are public and welcome golfers of all skill levels and wallet sizes while others are only open to members and their exclusive guests. But one thing is certain: once golfers step foot on any of the courses on the following list, they know they are playing somewhere special, and walking the same slopes as some of golf's biggest names.

1. Pine Valley, Pine Valley, New Jersey. This course is widely regarded as the best golf course in the world because of its collection of par three (considered the best in the world) and its well-designed layout. It is also one of the most exclusive private golf courses in the world, with only about 1,300 members, none of whom are women.
2. Cypress Point, Pebble Beach, California. This golf course flanks the Monterey Peninsula and offers jaw-dropping ocean views on many of its holes, making it one of the best golf courses in the world.
3. St. Andrews (Old Course), Scotland. This golf course touts itself as being the birthplace of golf some 600 years ago. It has been the host of dozens of marquee golf championships since it opened, including the Open Championship.
4. Augusta National, Augusta, Georgia. This course, also extremely exclusive, plays hosts to the Masters golf tournament each year. The Masters awards a green jacket to its winners, which have included Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods. The course in many polls sits atop the list of best golf courses in the world. 
5. Pebble Beach, Pebble Beach, California. This course, also host to numerous golf championships in its history, sits on the Monterey Peninsula and offers ocean views on many of its holes. It also hosts a PGA Tour Pro-Am each year that draws in celebrities such as Clint Eastwood and Justin Timberlake. The couse is not only one of the best in the world, but perhaps the most famous in the world, according to many polls and golf literature.
6. Shinnecock Hills, Southampton, New York. Although an American track, this golf course is a links-style course, which encourages a lower ball flight and hitting shots off hills and mounds and playing the bounces to get close to the hole. It has also hosted many major championships.
7. Royal County Down, Newcastle, Northern Ireland. This golf course overlooks Dundrum Bay, offering water views on many holes. The links-style course is one of the oldest courses in Ireland.
8. Muirfield, Gullane, Scotland. This links course has hosted the Open Championship, commonly known as the British Open, fifteen times. It is a links-style course that touts itself as offering a different wind direction on every hole.
9. Oakmont, Oakmont, Pennsylvania. This golf course has hosted more major championships than any other on American soil. It's famous for its 210 bunkers, punctuated by the famous church pews, and large, sloping, fast greens.
10. Merion (East), Ardmore, Pennsylvania. This golf course has played host to more United States Golf Association championships than any other in America. It's also famous for being the place where Ben Hogan striped a one-iron to the 18th hole in the 1950 U.S. Open. A photograph of this shot is one of the most famous photographs in golf. 

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GOLF Magazine