These are, in our opinion, the 10 best "playable" courses in the world for any golfer who wants to visit them.

10 - Royal Dornoch Golf Club (Scotland) 

Historical records show that golf has been played in Dornoch since 1616.

In 1886, Old Tom Morris “updated” the original nine holes and returned three years later to expand the course to 18 holes.

Donald Ross, the famous golf course designer, was the club's greenkeeper and professional before emigrating to the United States to build some of the world's best courses in North Carolina.

It is difficult to describe Royal Dornoch because we believe words are not enough to express how extraordinary this golf course is, set on land specifically "created" for links golf. Besides being visually stunning, the course is difficult and very competitive. Every shot carries risk, often on both sides of the fairway; the greens have significant movement, and the bunkers are as they should be—penalizing, always costing a stroke.  

It is the timeless environment that makes Royal Dornoch such a pleasant place to play golf. It is wild, isolated, and yet absolutely beautiful; there is the glow of color in early summer when the gorse is in bloom. The pure white sand beach generates incredible views from the course.

9 - Real Club Valderrama (Spain) 

In 1975, Robert Trent Jones first designed the course, originally known as Las Aves. It is prominently located on a hill above the old Andalusian village of Sotogrande. The design remained relatively anonymous until 1985, when Jaime Ortiz-Patino, the billionaire who acquired the course, and some of his golfing colleagues called on Trent Jones to subtly remodel Valderrama, and the club has since become the marvel it is today. 

Although Valderrama is an elite private club, you can play there, and it is a playable course for golfers of most levels (the maximum allowed handicap at Valderrama is 24 for men and 32 for ladies).

The course is “tight”; all tee shots are difficult, and the narrow fairways surrounded by olive and cork oak trees are tough to hit. Its very fast greens also offer a high degree of complexity when thinking about a good score.

8 - Teeth Of The Dog (Dominican Republic)

Opened in 1971, Teeth of the Dog is famous for being the golf course that best represents Pete Dye. Meticulously hand-carved into the rugged rocks and coral of the Dominican coast, it is filled with stunning natural landscapes, giving you the chance to showcase your best game. In 2020, it was ranked #31 in the world and #1 in Latin America and the Caribbean, having hosted the LAAC three times. This golf paradise is undoubtedly on every golfer's bucket list.

In the words of Pete Dye: “Teeth of the Dog is the best course I designed in my career”; “I only created 11 holes, God made the other 7.”

It is a dazzling golf course, with 7 of its holes bordering the Caribbean Sea, creating some of the best views you can find on a golf course.

Located at Casa de Campo Resort & Villas, the #1 golf resort in the Caribbean, it is the ideal place to combine a golf trip to the Dominican Republic with other courses in the area.

7 - Bandon Dunes (USA)

Bandon Dunes opened for play in 1999, designed by David McLay Kidd, a young Scottish architect, located in a small coastal town in Southeast Oregon, right on the Pacific Ocean. 

With many similarities to the links courses of Scotland, it is a rugged design with massive greens, plenty of movement, impeccable overall conditioning, and many natural sand dunes.

It has holes facing many different directions and features high winds which, due to the variety of the layout, “blow” from different sides all the time, making strategy fundamental when playing Bandon.

Along with 5 other courses, Bandon Dunes is part of the Bandon Dunes Resort, an incredible place.

Bandon Dunes ranks high on many "must-play" lists, and we totally agree. 

6 - Pasatiempo Golf Course (USA)

Pasatiempo was born during a trip Alister MacKenzie took to the Western US in 1929. Despite having designed courses like Augusta National Golf Club and Cypress Point, Pasatiempo was MacKenzie’s favorite course and place.

In the 2000s, the club commissioned Tom Doak to restore and redesign the course to make it as close as possible to MacKenzie's original design—a project that took several years and was completed in 2007.

As a golf course, Pasatiempo is very entertaining; it forces you to maintain focus from the first shot to the last putt.

It has one of the world's best par-4s: hole 16; according to MacKenzie: "The best two-shot hole I have ever designed." It features very difficult greens, impeccable maintenance, and importantly, a lot of variety, elevation changes, and the need for good strategy, as it is one of those courses where if you miss in the wrong spot, par is very difficult.

Despite being a semi-private club, it is one of the best public-access courses in the United States. 

When thinking of playing golf in the Western US, one thinks of Pebble Beach, Torrey Pines, Spyglass, and Spanish Bay as top options, but a trip to the West Coast must include Pasatiempo—and ideally play it more than once.

5 - Pinehurst No. 2 (USA)

Pinehurst No. 2 is the centerpiece of the Pinehurst Resort, considered the cradle of American golf, much like St. Andrews is to Scotland.

It has hosted the US Open on 3 occasions, in addition to multiple other major championships (US Women's Open, Ryder Cup, US Amateur, etc.).

Designed by the legendary Scottish designer Donald Ross, born in Dornoch, it is a golf masterpiece that opened to the public in 1907.

The facilities are overflowing with tradition, such as the statue of Payne Stewart celebrating his putt on the 72nd hole of the 1999 US Open.

While it is mostly flat and doesn't present massive tee-to-green complications, its greens are everything. Locals say that only on 40% of the green’s surface will the ball actually stay if it lands there; that’s where you have to aim your approach, not at the flag.

Pinehurst is a mandatory stop if planning a golf trip to the USA. 

4- Royal County Down (Northern Ireland) 

Royal County Down is rarely ranked outside the top 10 best courses in the world by any golf magazine, and after playing it, we agree.

Royal County Down is one of the most picturesque golf courses in Great Britain and Ireland.

George L. Baillie, a Scottish schoolmaster on a personal mission to establish golf courses, originally laid out the first 9 holes in Newcastle, and they opened for play in 1889. Later that year, Old Tom Morris received the modest sum of four guineas to expand the course, and 18 holes were ready by 1890. Harry Vardon modified the course in 1908, the same year King Edward VII granted royal patronage to the club.

Measuring nearly 7,200 yards from the back tees, Royal County Down is brutal. Interestingly, County Down has never hosted The Open.

Located in Newcastle, meters from the Slieve Donard Hotel, Royal County Down is a gem that deserves to be played at least once in a lifetime. A spectacular course, very complicated and yet fun, with great design variety and maintained to the highest standards. Its Clubhouse is pure tradition with over 100 years of history. 

3- Ailsa Turnberry (Scotland) 

Turnberry Golf Club was established in 1902, and the third Marquess of Ailsa commissioned Willie Fernie of Troon to design a championship course. In 1906, the famous Turnberry Hotel opened.

Turnberry twice came close to extinction; it was requisitioned during both World Wars and used as an airbase. During World War II, several holes were flattened and turned into wide concrete runways. Philip Mackenzie Ross was the architect tasked with returning the scorched earth to its former glory. After great work, the course reopened in 1951. 

Ailsa was the last course to join the British Open rotation (1977) in the memorable "Duel in the Sun" between Nicklaus and Watson, who finished the final day with a 65, one of the high points in Major history. It has hosted The Open on 3 other occasions and is one of the most picturesque courses on the Open Rota.

The golf course is extraordinary, with high creativity and playability—a virtue many modern courses lack due to over-ambition. From the start, you feel the special nature of the place, but the walk from hole 4 to the 9th-hole bar and Robert the Bruce’s Castle is unforgettable. And a Clubhouse with many references to the times Ailsa hosted The Open is worth stopping to study and admire every detail. 

2- Pebble Beach Golf Links (USA)

Pebble is ranked as the #1 public course in the United States and has hosted 6 US Opens, more than any other course in the last 60 years.

Pebble opened in 1919, designed by Jack Neville with help from Douglas Grant, but the course we play today is primarily thanks to Henry Chandler Egan, who remodeled it before the US Amateur Championship, where help from Bobby Jones—who won the US Amateur that year—put the course on everyone's lips.

The course is part of the Pebble Beach Resort, located on the “17-Mile Drive” on the Monterey Peninsula in California. 

The Resort also features other courses, Spyglass Hill Golf Club & The Links at Spanish Bay, of similar quality and charm but less famous than their brother, Pebble.

Pebble Beach is Mecca for many golfers and a mandatory stop if planning a golf trip to the West Coast of the USA.

All its holes are spectacular and iconic, but holes 7 through 10 are probably the best sequence of holes you can play on any golf course.

1 - St. Andrews (Old Course) 

Scotland is a unique country in terms of golf, but St. Andrews has something even more special.

The history of golf began to be written here. Our sport was born back in the 16th century.

It is the oldest and most traditional course in the world, home to the R&A, and every 5 years it hosts “The Open.” In total, the Old Course has hosted the Open Championship 29 times. Everyone who arrives at St. Andrews for the first time finds a magical, captivating, and moving place. The feeling is unique and indescribable.

The experience of arriving at the R&A building and sitting on one of the benches to spot the 1st hole Tee, waiting to be called by the starter, the pre-game movements, the nerves on the 1st tee, the 17th tee box, the 18th green—these are places that, for any fan of this sport, are heaven.

In golf history, the idea persists that every course built in the world was inspired in some part by the Old Course, and it makes sense, because it was the first of them all.

As a golf course, it is excellent: variety of shots, some blind, short and long holes, and where the wind plays a major role. Very playable for golfers of all levels.

At Wegolf, we believe every golfer must, at least once in their life, experience playing the Old Course.