Best Golf Courses in the World - Dream Destinations — Shaped by Sports

Choose Your Golf Destination

We are back for part two of our list of our favourite golf destinations. If you haven’t checked out part one, check it out here. To quickly recap how we’re doing things, imagine that you win an all inclusive golf trip to any of our listed destinations, which would you pick?

A reminder that this trip is good for all surrounding courses that we mention as well. This is fantasy, we can make our own rules! In the first round we covered: Royal County Down, Augusta National, Tara Iti, Pebble Beach, and Bandon Dunes. Let’s get it started with your next round of options:

Pinehurst No. 2

Obviously we were going to include Pinehurst on our list, I mean we kind of have to. Everybody already knows about No. 2 as it has hosted more championship tournaments than any other course in the country. The staple of Carolina sandhills golf and a must play for the avid golfer. Ever since the Coore Crenshaw restoration, this course has been on every modern golfer's bucket list. Don’t forget, there are 9 courses at the Pinehurst Golf Resort, including the recently revamped No. 4 and the Fazio No. 8. It’s also important to look elsewhere in the surrounding area, Pine Needles is a great Carolina track that will be the host of the US Women’s Open in late 2022. But dare I say that Tobacco Road is the one to come for? Since this is a fantasy list, you might as well play a real life fantasy course by the late, great Mike Strantz.

Here’s the hole by hole look at No. 2; try not to get distracted by the 8 other courses.

Barnbougle Dunes

Barnbougle Lost Farm Tasmania — Photo via Adventures in Golf

Now if we’re getting wild, this destination may give you the most bang for your buck. Situated in Tasmania, this feels like a completely different world.

Two championship golf courses built to fit the terrain, set along the coast. A third 14 hole course joined the mix in 2021 serving up a mix of par 3’s and 4’s. The 1-2 punch that this pair of courses offers is competitive to any place in the world. Wide, minimalist fairways are the story at both courses, the Dunes course is a traditional links set along the northern shores of Tasmania. Barnbougle Lost Farm track may be one of the most unique courses in the world, as it technically has 20 holes. While playing here, you truly feel intertwined with the natural rhythm of the environment, both of these courses feel as if they’ve been here forever.

Just don’t miss your fairways and stay away from the thick fescue; Tasmania is home to some of the deadliest snakes in the world. Watch where you walk or else you may stumble upon a tiger snake, and there aren’t many hospitals near you. Explore these amazing Tasmanian golf courses on Barnbougle's website.

St. Andrews Old Course

How do you follow up after the coolest golf destination in the world? With the home of golf, of course.

Like Augusta, there is nothing I can add to the Old Course. However, at St. Andrews you have 7 courses to choose from. This includes the oldest “New Course” in the world, which dates back to 1895 and is one of the greatest true links in the world. The Jubilee Course is known as the toughest on property. The newest arrival, The Castle Course, was built in 2008 and is a tremendous compliment to the other 3 major tracks on property. Set atop rugged cliffs, the Castle Course layout offers expansive views of St. Andrew’s and is a true test of golf.

The Old Course at St. Andrews is and will always be the course you come for. Imagine a museum in which you get to physically experience the history. Well this is it. For any passionate golfer, this is one of the few “must” plays on the planet. We have an interesting and unique story of a St. Andrews experience that we will share on our upcoming Shaped By Sports Golf podcast. You heard it here first...

Anyways, in the meantime enjoy exploring St. Andrews.

Cabot Cliffs

Okay, it is about time Canada is seen as a real golf destination. For those of you unfamiliar with the Canadian golf scene, for a large country with a lot of courses, Canada's impact has been relatively insignificant for destination golf.

Most of the top courses were unplayable for the public golfer (think St. Georges). The top 2 public courses prior to Cabot’s breakthrough are lodged in the Rocky Mountains of Alberta. Those are Banff Springs and Jasper Park Lodge. Though both offer incredible sights, dare I say, they're slightly outdated.

That brings us to the greatest modern architects' most impactful course on the other side of the country. Coore & Crenshaw Cabot Cliffs golf course has become a top 10 course in the entire world and it’s slightly older sister Cabot Links, has also earned a spot in the top 50. The 16th hole on Cliffs is quickly becoming one of the most photographed holes in the entire world. This tremendous location set on the cliffs of the Atlantic Ocean is quickly becoming a top destination for golfers. Learn more about the Cabot Courses on their website.

Casa de Campo - Teeth of the Dog

We are really playing the destination game with this pick. The classic North American ideal of a destination is the Caribbean, so obviously we are picking the best golf course in the Caribbean. Although the majority of our other picks offer incredible options outside of golf, we mainly picked them for the golf itself. But on an all inclusive resort in the Dominican Republic, the name of the game is relaxation. Turn your attention to the Teeth of the Dog Golf Course.

It is rated as the #1 course in the Caribbean as well as #32 on Golf Digest's Top 100. 7 holes play directly along the blue Caribbean sea, no more than 20 feet above sea level at any point. This means you get a true seaside experience. This is true resort golf. In addition to Teeth of the Dog, Casa de Campo offers two other courses, one of them being 27 holes. Now if I’m being honest, this resort style of play is not my favourite and may not compete with the level of golf of the other courses on our list. But if you want to relax on the beach and play a couple rounds, it’s hard to complain about playing one of the best golf courses in the Caribbean.

My ranking for this round of destination golf courses

Barnbougle Dunes
Cabot Cliffs
St. Andrews Old Course
Pinehurst No. 2
Teeth of the Dog

A full 1-10 re-rank, why not?

Tara Iti
Pacific Dunes
Barnbougle Dunes
Royal County Down
Pebble Beach
Cabot Cliffs
St. Andrews Old Course
Pinehurst. No. 2
Augusta National
Teeth of the Dog

Conclusion

Tara Iti takes home the number 1 spot in my rankings, let us know what your pick is. Remember that I am not ranking the top 10 courses in the entire world because clearly a couple of these courses aren’t close to making the cut. We are talking about destination and overall experience.

With that being said, you may have noticed that no love has been shown to Asia and Africa. I purposefully left courses throughout those continents off of this list. But don’t worry, we will be ranking courses by continent very soon, hoping to shine the spotlight on some lesser known tracks throughout the world.

In the meantime, get prepared for the launch of the Scramble Squad Pod, the Shaped by Sports original Golf Podcast. This podcast will be hosted by myself, as well as a long time friend, Darren Givlin.

Best Golf Courses in the World - Part 2