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11-20 Courses
11. ROYAL ST GEORGE'S GOLF CLUB
- Location: Sandwich, Kent, England
- Founded: 1887
- Designed by: Laidlaw Purves
- Green fee: £125-£275
- 23/24 ranking: No change
Host to The Open Championship for a 15th time in 2021, an event won my Collin Morikawa, Royal St George’s was founded in 1887 and was the first English course to welcome the great old championship, which it did in 1894.
A great feature at St George’s is the fact the holes point in multiple directions, so the background is always changing, so too the wind direction. Picking an aiming point from the tee is crucial. The course offers a full test of golf, asking for power, creativity and discipline.
The green complexes are famously appealing, beautifully presented but also highly challenging. Many of the greens were made larger for the 2021 Open and many feature subtle breaks and tricky run-offs.
- Royal St George's review and key info
12. ROYAL LIVERPOOL GOLF CLUB
- Location: Hoylake, Wirral, England
- Founded: 1869
- Designed by: Robert Chambers, George Morris and Harry Colt
- Green fee: £215-£265
- 23/24 ranking: No change
Built in 1869, on what was then the racecourse of the Liverpool Hunt Club, Hoylake is the second oldest of the English seaside courses, after Westward Ho! The club has played host to The Open Championship on 12 occasions with recent winners Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods demonstrating the quality of golf demanded by this excellent course.
For 2023, significant course enhancements have been undertaken with advice from renowned course architect Martin Ebert. Hoylake is a club with a proud history, but they are also always looking to the future.
The redeveloped 15th, which will play as the 17th in The Open Championship, is the perfect example of that. It’s a fabulous little par-3 with an elevated green set in the sand dunes.
- Royal Liverpool Golf Club review and key info
13. WOODHALL SPA GOLF CLUB HOTCHKIN COURSE
- Location: Woodhall Spa, Lincolnshire, England
- Opened: 1905
- Designed by: Harry Vardon
- Green fee: £90-£205
- 23/24 ranking: Up 5
Only the two Sunningdales eclipse Woodhall Spa’s Hotchkin layout among the inland courses in our rankings, with Harry Vardon, J.H. Taylor, Harry Colt, and Stafford Vere Hotchkin all contributing on the design side. More recently, Tom Doak’s highly acclaimed renovation, completed in spring 2019, has elevated the course’s status yet further. Doak was guided by a vision to restore more of the Hotchkin’s original heathland character, with many long-lost bunkers also reinstated.
Indeed, reinstatements account for much of the increase in bunker count from 110 to 143. Many holes now play over relatively open heathland once more, while others, especially on the back nine, venture in among the trees a little more – and plenty of trees remain!
- Woodhall Spa Hotchkin review and key info
14. ROYAL LYTHAM & ST ANNES GOLF CLUB
- Location: Lytham St Annes, Lancashire, England
- Founded: 1886
- Designed by: George Lowe and Harry Colt
- Green fee: £180-£315
- 23/24 ranking: Down 1
Although surrounded by urbanisation, and some distance from the sea, the course at Royal Lytham & St Annes is a true links, famous for its punishing pot bunkers and rolling terrain.
Originally designed by the club’s first professional George Lowe, the course has changed little since Harry Colt was employed to oversee alterations to the layout in 1919. The routing has stood the test of time and consistently been proved to deliver one of the finest tests of golf in the British Isles. It's a thinking-golfer’s links – one where trouble lurks from start to finish, as Adam Scott discovered in 2012 when he faltered down the stretch, finishing with four consecutive bogeys, to lose The Open to Ernie Els.
- Royal Lytham & St Annes review and key info
15. KINGSBARNS GOLF LINKS
- Location: Kingsbarns, Fife, Scotland
- Opened: 2000
- Designed by: Kyle Phillips
- Green fee: £374 (£225 for replay within 7 days)
- 23/24 ranking: No change
A creation of Mark Parsinen and Kyle Phillips, Kingsbarns was opened in 2000 and swiftly earned a reputation as a modern classic.
Perhaps no other contemporary links has managed to blend the old with the new so effectively. The course features several highly memorable holes. A standout is the par-5 12th, hugging the rocky coastline as it curves left to fit the shape of the bay.
When the pin is to the left side of the sprawling green, your approach must be fired over the beach to reach the flag. In an age when par-5s tend to offer respite, this is a true three-shotter where par is an excellent score. Then there’s the par-3 15th where the tee shot must carry rocks and sea to reach the green.
- Kingsbarns Golf Links review and key info
16. ROYAL ABERDEEN GOLF CLUB BALGOWNIE COURSE
- Location: Aberdeen, Scotland
- Founded: 1780
- Designed by: Robert and Archie Simpson
- Green fee: £95-£215
- 23/24 ranking: No change
Archie and Robert Simpson from Carnoustie designed the first layout at Balgownie, before James Braid advised on alterations to the greens and bunkering in 1925. Hawtree and Company have more recently added their touches. It’s a classic out-and-back links with a front nine offering a stretch of holes to rival any in the country.
From tees set in the dunes, play forges out up the Aberdeenshire coastline via an eclectic selection of holes asking for either power, precision or both. After the extremely tough, 9th the course turns back and strong holes, many that have been recently improved, take you back to a clubhouse full of character and history.
- Royal Aberdeen review and key info
17. ROYAL TROON GOLF CLUB OLD COURSE
- Location: Troon, Ayrshire, Scotland
- Founded: 1878
- Designed by: George Strath, Willie Fernie and James Braid
- Green fee: £315
- 23/24 ranking: No change
Huge skies stretch above as you forge out from the clubhouse at Royal Troon, over the front nine towards the loop and famous “Postage Stamp” 8th hole.
The course could be considered in three distinct sections – the first six head out along the coast. Then holes 7 to 12 ask more technical questions, moving through the dunes. The challenge ramps up as you head for home with the last six generally played into the wind.
Host to the thrilling 2016 Open Championship in which Henrik Stenson outduelled Phil Mickelson, then to the memorable AIG Women’s Open in 2020, won by Sophia Popov. Royal Troon will play host to The Open Championship once again in 2024.
- Royal Troon Old review and key info
18. TRUMP INTERNATIONAL GOLF LINKS SCOTLAND
- Location: Balmedie, Aberdeenshire, Scotland
- Opened: 2012
- Designed by: Martin Hawtree
- Green fee: £195-£365
- 23/24 ranking: Down 4
Course designer Martin Hawtree spoke of how fortunate he was to work with the terrain at Trump International and how keen he was to use the lie of the land to the greatest possible effect. He has managed it fantastically well. From the par-3 3rd where the beach is revealed just yards behind the putting surface to the stunning 14th where the elevated tee looks down upon a sweeping fairway forging through the dunes, this is a stirring and hugely memorable layout.
Set in beautiful, natural dune land north of Aberdeen, Trump International Golf Links, Scotland, has earned a reputation as one of the very best modern coastal courses in the country.
- Trump International Scotland review and key info
19. THE EUROPEAN CLUB
- Location: Brittas Bay, County Wicklow, Ireland
- Founded: 1987
- Designed by: Pat Ruddy
- Green fee: €140-€275
- 23/24 ranking: No change
Back in 1987, Irish golf writer and course architect, Pat Ruddy undertook a helicopter reconnaissance mission to find the perfect spot for a new links course.
The fruits of that mission turned out to be Brittas Bay in County Wicklow, and six years later, dream became reality when his European Club opened for play, serving up glorious sea views and wow-factor golf.
The widening of fairways in recent years has made it more playable for all, but the creator’s quirky touches remain, including distinctive sleepered bunkering, two cracking extra par 3s you should play if at all possible, and a green on the 12th that is full wedge distance from front to back at 127 yards.
- The European Club review and key info
20. CABOT HIGHLANDS (CASTLE STUART GOLF LINKS)
- Location: Inverness, Scotland
- Opened: 2009
- Designed by: Gil Hanse and Mark Parsinen
- Green fee: £210-£405
- 23/24 ranking: Up 1
Now part of the impressive Cabot portfolio, Castle Stuart Golf Links is one of the most spectacular modern links courses to have been created anywhere this century. The work of entrepreneurial golf designer Mark Parsinen and renowned course architect Gil Hanse, the layout played host to three consecutive Scottish Opens between 2011 and 2013 and then again in 2016.
Set over an incredible stretch of coastline, the links at Castle Stuart is incredibly natural and the holes make fabulous use of the terrain. Hanse and Parsinen utilised what nature provided and tweaked it subtly to produce a course that is ostensibly simple yet far more complex when closely examined. It’s striking and beautifully maintained.
- Cabot Highlands Castle Stuart review and key info
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