I've been to over 200 high-end golf courses around the globe. Here are 8 of my all-time favorites.

27.10.2024 - 20:03 / insider.com

A great golf course is like a classic work of statuary — except that the medium is the earth itself, not just a hunk of marble or wet clay.

Given the US golf industry's economic impact is in the billions and has reportedly grown by 63% in the past two decades, it's no surprise there are so many course options.

I've been writing about golf and travel for over 30 years and played hundreds of such green jigsaw puzzles. The best architects use the natural flow of the land and native trees and grasses to fashion a route that's fair yet challenging.

It's hard to narrow down my favorite courses, but these stand out for their beauty and enduring appeal to golfers of all skill levels.

Here are eight of my all-time favorite golf courses.

I was lucky to golf at an Alister MacKenzie-designed course while at the University of Michigan for four years. I never dreamed I'd one day survey the golf-course architect's crowning achievement, the Cypress Point Club.

Located along the Pacific Ocean in Pebble Beach, California, it's both beautiful and extremely exclusive — only 250 or so CEOs and other elites are members.

The fabled 16^th hole — a par 3 with a daunting tee shot over crashing surf and craggy rocks — will live in my mind's eye forever.

Just down the coast from Cypress Point stands Spyglass Hill, a classic Robert Trent Jones Sr. design along the Pacific.

It's well worth the stiff greens fees — around $415 — given its prized location by Carmel-by-the-Sea and its perennial popularity among golfers.

Spyglass is a three-layer confection: it courses up and downhill through dense pine forests and austere sand dunes — it even has a too-brief encounter with the sea.

To create Forest Dunes Golf Club, golf pro Tom Weiskopf routed 18 holes through aromatic, pine-studded sand dunes in the middle of Michigan farm country.

Forest Dunes alone is worth the trek to Roscommon, Michigan, and you must also play its ingenious companion course, The Loop.

A rare Tom Doak "reversible" design, The Loop features two distinct, 18-hole layouts on the same piece of earth. Play it one way on Monday and then enjoy an entirely different routing on Tuesday.

No modern golf fan can fail to pay homage to Bandon Dunes Golf Resort in Oregon, where seven different courses perch above the ocean on 2,500 acres.

It was designed by architect David McLay Kidd and inspired by the ancient links courses of Scotland, which were typically set on grassy natural areas between sea and land. The course is an homage to his Scottish heritage, with gusting winds and panoramic views of the entire property.

It's huge — plan on staying a week at the resort and booking a foot massage upon your return. By the last glorious hole, you might log 40 miles on your feet.

Golfe