- After spending more than 30 years writing about golf and visiting over 200 courses, I have favorites.
- Cypress Point Club and Spyglass Hill are both beautiful courses in California.
- Cabo del Sol and Omni’s Grove Park Inn have some of the most beautiful courses I’ve seen.
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 is reported to have 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 more than 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’ll never forget Cypress Point Club in Pebble Beach, California
David Madison/Getty Images
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.
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 16th hole — a par 3 with a daunting tee shot over crashing surf and craggy rocks — will live in my mind’s eye forever.
The nearby Spyglass Hill is also incredible
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 — about $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.
Forest Dunes Golf Club in northern Michigan is one of the Mitten State’s best-kept secrets
Evan Schiller
To create Forest Dunes Golf Club, the 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.
Bandon Dunes Golf Resort is on a majestic stretch of unspoiled Oregon coastline
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.
The resort’s very first course, named Bandon Dunes, was designed by the 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.
Gamble Sands in remote Brewster, Washington, is a must-visit destination
Golfers of every skill level will enjoy Gamble Sands’ capacious fairways and equally generous greens. Nothing beats its three drivable par 4s overlooking the Columbia River.
You can also stay on the property and play its short, 14-hole course, Quicksands, for a between-meals amuse bouche.
Plus, a second 18-hole Kidd-designed course is set to debut here in 2025.
Scottsdale has some of Arizona’s finest courses
Chris Coduto/Getty Images
Scottsdale, Arizona, is home to more than 200 golf courses and is a choice winter getaway for snowbirds from all over.
The deepest-pocketed of them probably call the private gated community Desert Mountain their home away from home.
There are six Jack Nicklaus courses on the property. The very first, Renegade, is regarded to be among his most ingenious designs.
Featuring six double greens and seven tee boxes, it can play from 4,400 to more than 8,000 yards and offers painterly views of the Sonoran Desert sunsets.
Omni’s Grove Park Inn course is still popular after 100 years
Courtesy of The Omni Grove Park Inn
The Carolinas are known for having some great golf. North Carolina gets bragging rights for its justifiably famous Pinehurst No. 2 course, but let’s not overlook Omni’s Grove Park Inn course in Asheville.
Surrounded by the majestic Blue Ridge Mountains, the course is more than a century old and was originally designed by the renowned architect Donald Ross.
The adjoining Grove Park Inn, with its 43,000-square-foot subterranean spa, is also worth a visit. The historic resort has hosted the likes of Barack Obama and F. Scott Fitzgerald, as well as innumerable golf legends.
Cabo del Sol ranks among Mexico’s best resorts — and it’s got great golf, too
Mexico has seen an explosion of new golf courses in the past decade, but Tom Weiskopf’s Cabo del Sol layout in Los Cabos has been a top draw for more than 20 years now.
It deserves kudos for the views alone — the glimmering Sea of Cortez is visible from all 18 holes as the course winds its way through desert washes and sand.
The course is also undergoing a $20 million makeover, with some stunning new holes and a swanky clubhouse. If you visit, don’t leave without trying the local sea-bass tacos.
