Guru's Top 40 International Golf Courses

Below is the Gurus list of the top 40 golf courses we've played outside of the United States. The Gurus appreicate courses with impressive settings/visuals, architectural merits, great conditioning, and variety. A major consideration is how reproducible the course is. As such, courses that enjoy spectacular/unique settings and terrain tend to rank higher. Courses marked with an * indicate public access courses (including private clubs with limited public access).

Top 10 International Courses

1. Old Head Golf Links (Ron Kirby, Paddy Merrigan, Liam Higgins, Eddie Hackett, Dr. Joe Carr, and Haulie O'Shea 1997, Kinsale, Ireland)*
2. Cabot Cliffs (Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw 2015, Inverness, Nova Scotia, Canada)*
3. Ballybunion Golf Club (Old) (Tom Simpson 1936, Ballybunion, Ireland)*
4. Trump Turnberry (Ailsa) (Willie Fernie 1902, Turnberry, Scotland)*
5. Royal County Down Golf Club (Old Tom Morris 1890, Newcastle, Norther Ireland)*
6. Royal Dornoch Golf Club (Old Tom Morris 1886, Dornoch, Scotland)*
7. Tralee Golf Club (Arnold Palmer 1984, West Barrow, Ireland)*
8. Cruden Bay Golf Club (Tom Simpson 1926, Cruden Bay, Scotland)*
9. Kingsbarns Golf Course (Kyle Phillips 2000, St Andrews, Scotland)*
10. Castle Stuart Golf Club (Gil Hanse 2009, Inverness, Scotland)*

International Courses 11-20

11. Royal Portrush Golf Club (Dunluce) (Harry S. Colt 1929, Portrush, Northern Ireland)*
12. Sunningdale Golf Club (Old) (Willie Park Jr. 1901, Sunningdale, England)*
13. Lahinch Golf Club (Alister Mackenzie 1928, Lahinch, Ireland)*
14. Waterville Golf Links (John A. Mulcahy, Claude Harmon, and Eddie Hackett 1973, Waterville, Ireland)*
15. County Sligo Golf Club aka Rosses Point (Harry S. Colt 1927, Sligo, Ireland)*
16. Royal St. George's Golf Club (WIlliam Laidlaw Purves 1887, Sandwich, England)*
17. Muirfield - The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers (Old Tom MOrris 1891, Muirfield, Scotland)*
18. Carnoustie Golf Links (Old Tom Morris 1867, Carnoustie, Scotland)*
19. Enniscrone Golf Club (Eddie Hackett 1974, Enniscrone, Ireland)*
20. St Andrews Links (Castle) (David McLay Kidd 2008, St Andrews, Scotland)*

International Courses 21-30

21. Trump International Golf Links Scotland (Martin Hawtree 2012, Aberdeen, Scotland)*
22. North Berwick Golf Club (West Links) (Ben Sayers 1932, North Berwick, Scotland)*
23. The European Club (Pat Ruddy 1987, Brittas Bay, Ireland)*
24. Cape Breton Highland Links (Stanley Thompson 1941/Ian Andrew 2015, Ingonish Beach, Nova Scotia, Canada)*
25. Cabot Links (Rod Whitman 2012, Inverness, Nova Scotia, Canada)*
26. Carne Golf Links (Eddie Hackett 1992 and Jim Engh/Ally McIntosh 2013, Belmullet, Ireland)*
27. County Louth Golf Club aka Baltray (Tom Simpson 1938, Louth, Ireland)*
28. The Links at Crowbush (Thomas McBroom 1994, St. Peters, Prince Edward Island, Canada)*
29. Dundonald Links (Kyle Phillips 2003, Troon, Scotland)*
30. Royal Troon (George Strath 1884, Troon, Scotland)*

International Courses 31-40

31. Prestwick Golf Club (Old Tom Morris 1851, Prestwick, Scotland)*
32. The K Club (Arnold Palmer 1991, Straffan, Ireland)*
33. Trump International Doonbeg (Greg Norman 2002, Doonbeg, Ireland)*
34. Royal Aberdeen Golf Club (Archie and Robert Simpson 1888/James Braid 1925, Aberdeen, Scotland)*
35. Royal Isabela (David Pfaff 2009, Isabella, Puerto Rico)
36. Portmarnock Golf Club (William Pickerman and George Ross 1894, Portmarnock, Ireland)*
37. El Conquistador Resort (Arthur Hills 1993, Fajardo, Puerto Rico)*
38. Bahia Beach Resort and Golf Club (Robert Trent Jones Jr. 2007, Rio Grande, Puerto Rico)*
39. Dundarave Golf Club (Michael Hurdzan and Dana Fry 1999, Georgetown Royalty, Prince Edward Island, Canada)*
40. The Links at Brunello (Thomas McBroom 2015, Timberlea, Nova Scotia, Canada)*