how many will visit other equally pro- found Sandbelt designs like Peninsula Kingswood (No 69) or Huntingdale? And if they stop on King Island to check off Cape Wickham (No 13), will they venture just 45 minutes south to Ocean Dunes (No 100), another stun- ning but lesser-known seaside design? There are advantages to taking golf travel slow. Lingering for an extra day or two to play “secondary” courses in a flush golf market can deepen un- derstanding of the local culture and history while turning up profound sur- prises. While it’s nice to be able to say you played Tara Iti in New Zealand (No 7) or Ireland’s Old Head (No 72), it’s the off-package forays to quirky courses with strange customs that produce the strongest memories and best stories.
typically attempt to gobble up chunks of A-list venues concentrated in regions up and down the east coast, where they can get to four of the top 10 layouts in our new World’s 100 Greatest Courses ranking and 14 of the top 100. But that sprint ranges from Muirfield (No 3) and North Berwick (No 11) in East Lothian all the way north to the Highlands and Royal Dornoch (No 4), more than eight hours apart by road. In the name of con- sumption, they speed past other stars like Gullane (No 94), Panmure (No 99), Elie, Fraserburgh or, God forbid, Cruden Bay (No 26) and Brora. Likewise, a trip to Melbourne will in- clude rounds at Royal Melbourne’s West and East courses (Nos 6 and 33, respec- tively), Kingston Heath (No 9), Victoria (No 28) and Metropolitan (No 59). But
WORLD’S 100 GREATEST GOLF COURSES
When golfers travel, they tend to seek out target-rich environments, the dense clusters of places like the London Heathlands, the Melbourne Sandbelt or the Hamptons on Long Island where they can play as many great courses as possible in the shortest amount of time. Golfers visiting Scotland, for instance,
#99 PANMURE GOLF CLUB Ben Hogan practised at Panmure before winning the 1953 Open Championship down the road at Carnoustie. The first three and last three holes, pinched side by side into a narrow strip of land, prevent the course from a higher ranking but the middle section is ideal linksland with spacious holes that rumble across sea swell contours and low dune ridges, including back-to-back par 4s at 12 and 13 that must contend with a menacing burn.
110 GOLF DIGEST SOUTH AFRIC A
JUNE 2026
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