As soon as you take up golf in the United States, somebody will sell you on taking a trip to Europe. They’re right of course. It’s the birthplace of golf, you’ve heard. St. Andrews is a baptismal experience. Royal County Down might be the best course anywhere. The best links courses that we watch every year during The Open Championship are actually accessible to travelers, unlike many of the best courses in the U.S., which are mostly private.
We’ve been writing for 70-plus years about the merits of a European golf trip. The only question is where? The answer to that question continues to get harder and harder to answer—which is a great thing for the traveling golfer. More than half of the courses in our recently published World’s 100 Greatest rankings (56) are European courses. Scotland, Ireland and England remain the obvious choices, for good reason. Links courses rose a collective 351 spots in our most recent ranking, with classics such as Portmarnock (Championship), Prestwick and Cruden Bay making huge jumps. But new projects promise to continue the Old World’s grasp on great golf, evidenced by Tom Doak’s St. Patrick’s Links at Rosapenna, which opened in 2021 and debuted in our top 50 this year. Doak is constructing a second course at Cabot Highlands, with its Castle Stuart course by Gil Hanse and Mark Parsinen also a top-100 mainstay. Hanse’s Craighead course at Crail and renovation work at Narin and Portnoo are also represented in our Best Courses in Europe, and his and Jim Wagner's new course at Les Bordes in France will surely continue to generate buzz. American architects have worked in Europe for decades and decades, back when Robert Trent Jones opened an office in Spain to account for his firm’s work in the continent. That trend continues with other talented architects like Kyle Phillips, who has worked in nine European countries, contributing important layouts throughout the world. David McLay Kidd’s new Dunas course at Terras de Comporta adds yet another impressive golf course to the growing list of gems in Portugal, an hour south of Lisbon.
It's a better time than ever to plan your next European golf trip. It’s just tougher to decide where in Europe to go than ever. Heck, even Greece has jumped onto the map with its Costa Navarino development and its four stellar courses. Don’t be overwhelmed: Scroll down and discover your next great European getaway below.
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