Neil Tappin talks to renowned golf course photographer Kevin Murray about some of the world's most beautiful golf courses.
15 Of The Most Beautiful Golf Courses
Kevin runs through a list of 15 of his favourite golf courses that he has photographed during his career. The pictures in this video illustrate the beauty of these stunning tracks and hopefully this provides some golfing escapism for all those stuck at home at the moment.
Which golf course on this list gets your vote? And of all the courses you have played, which is the most beautiful? Leave your comments below to let us know.
Check out Kevin's course photography website here: www.kevinmurraygolfphotography.com
WATCH: 15 Of The Most Beautiful Golf Courses
15 Most Beautiful Golf Courses
15. Port Royal, Bermuda
A stunning golf course situated on the island of Bermuda, Port Royal is probably Kevin Murray's favourite out of all the courses below. A very undulating course that hosts the PGA Tour's Bermuda Championship tournament, the par-3 16th hole in particular is a hole that stands out in terms of visuals and when playing.
14. Saadiyat Beach, Abu Dhabi
Gary Player designed Saadiyat Beach in the United Arab Emirates and one of his key concepts was tone. He wanted lots of different colours to be coming through so he had different coloured sand in the bunkers so you could get an idea of depth. In fact the great presence of sand adds to the sustainability of the course as well.
13. Lykia Links, Turkey
Located on the Belek Strip, Lykia is one of many spectacular golf courses in the region. Lykia is unlike others though because it plays like a proper links golf course and another unique facet are the bunkers which have sleepers dug into them as you can see above.
12. Lopesan Melonares, Gran Canaria
Kevin's first overseas photoshoot for Golf Monthly was at Leposan Melonares in Gran Canaria which is the home course of Rafa Cabrera-Bello. A particularly stunning stretch of holes run from the 12th to the 16th which all run alongside the coastline.
11. Green Monkey, Barbados
Lots of interesting photographs and visuals can be found at Green Monkey in Barbados like the one above with the famous Green Monkey in a huge bunker. Tom Fazio designed this course and you would not know it has been built in a quarry.
10. Prestige Golfshire, Bangalore, India
A beautiful but tough golf course, Prestige Golfshire in Bangalore has a huge lake alongside it with several holes playing near its edges. Mountains and countryside also provide incredible backdrops as well.
9. TPC Sawgrass, Florida, USA
When Kevin went there the grasses were dormant which explains the brown image above, but that doesn't detract from what a stunning golf course Sawgrass is. There is not a bad hole on the course with the finishing stretch in particular giving goosebumps to all who play it.
8. Pine Needles & Mid Pines, North Carolina, USA
In the region of Pinehurst which has many stunning courses, Pine Needles and Mid Pines are opposite sides of a road from one another and both can blow you away.
7. La Cala, Spain
Pictures struggle to depict how these three golf courses have been built up in the mountains above Mijas, especially from an engineering perspective.
6. Costa Navarino, Greece
Costa Navarino in Greece is an amazing golfing experience thanks to stunning views as shown by the image above.
5. Royal Liverpool, England
The first Open rota venue on this list, Kevin has a real affinity for Royal Liverpool not only because of its prestige, history and difficulty, but also because it was where he had his first hole-in-one on the 13th hole! It may be reasonably flat but it still provides dynamic pictures.
4. Mauna Lani, Hawaii, USA
There are two courses, North and South, at Mauna Lani and both are spectacular with the 15th on the South course being the most photographed hole in the world because you are driving over the ocean as you can see above.
3. Royal County Down, Northern Ireland
The dunes and rugged nature of Royal County Down was quite an experience for Kevin on his first trip to the course, although playing alongside a young Rory McIlroy may have had something to do with that too! County Down is a tough test of golf in just about every way and one that everybody should experience.
2. Trump Turnberry, Scotland
Turnberry has always been an incredible course but the changes that have been made have made it even better with the stretch from the par-3 9th being the clearest example of that, not just from a playing perspective but also visually.
1. Lofoten Links, Norway
A course that sits 100 miles above the Arctic Circle, just getting to Lofoten is an experience in itself. The land is so rugged and craggy that the presence of a golf course is a surprise to say the least. There is also 24-hour daylight which means golf can be played at any time!
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