Best International Golf Courses
There's something characteristically Scottish about golf.
St.
Andrews aside, there is an equally famous selection of courses from which to choose throughout Scotland.
Among the best, the historic Muirfield in East Lothian, is really a private club, but they'll make an exception and open their doors for you if you pay extraordinary greens fees on Tuesday or Thursday.
There is also a resort club in Scotland that allows you access to their renowned golf courses as a paying guest.
The posh Gleneagles Hotel and Resort has three distinguished golf courses, one of which is the PGA Centenary Course, which is scheduled to host the Ryder Cup in 2014.
The other two are the King's Course and the Queen's Course.
If you need assistance in honing your golfing skills, Gleneagles is also where you can find the PGA National Golf Academy, where one-on-one instruction at every level is available.
New in 2012, Castle Stuart Golf Links in the city of Inverness is in position to be the next trendy golf course having a championship golf course looking over Moray Firth and Chanonry Lighthouse.
The seaside city of Ballybunion is the place to be for classic Irish golf.
Situated on Ireland's southwest coast in County Kerry, the Ballybunion Golf Club has two courses known as the Old Course and the Cashen Course.
The Cashen is first class, however the Old Course is more likely to be the one you'll remember.
With daunting holes directly beside the sea and unbelievable cliffside views, it has been stated that this is as close to Heaven on earth as you can get.
Doonbeg Golf Club in County Clare, Ireland, is a fairly recent golf course which formally opened in 2002 and was immediately selected by Golf Digest as the best new international course.
Nothing noteworthy happened with Doonbeg until 2011, when it appeared as one of the best 100 courses worldwide per Golf Magazine.
In 2012, Doonbeg was awarded the prestigious title of European Golf Resort Of The Year by the IAGTO.
An unparalleled location, luxurious services and 5-star facilities, along with its close proximity to the Shannon Airport are just a few of the highlights that make the Doonbeg Lodge one of the most desirable golf destinations in the world.
Two-time British Open champion Greg Norman was selected as the par-72 course architect based on his uncanny skill and ability to take what nature has provided and simply manicure it into a pristine golf course.
In the traditional style Norman designed the course, no change was required on 14 greens and 12 fairways of the Doonbeg golf course, except a bit of grass mowing.
The course features grassy dunes and ocean waves colliding into a 1.
5-mile stretch of coastline, not to mention the spectacular views of the Atlantic Ocean that can be seen from 16 holes on the course.
The gusty ocean winds add an extra element of challenge to each tee.
Arriving at the Kauri Coves in New Zealand's Northland region, around the Bay of Islands is a real challenge in itself.
However, golf fanatics somehow find a way to make the 4-hour journey (or travel there by helicopter) from Auckland just for the opportunity to set foot on this par-72 golf course, which offers panoramic views of the Pacific Ocean from where it is situated on a high cliff.
Ocean views can be seen from 15 holes, with 6 of them directly adjacent to the cliffs, where you can look down and view the rocky walls plummeting into the ocean.
Dubai is quickly climbing the ranks as a world-class golf destination.
The unusual aspect of golfing here, even for bystanders, is that the golf balls are orange, so that they conspicuously stand out from the backdrop of the desert.
The Desert Classic Tournament is a premier event at the prestigious Emirates Club that is open to the public.
The Emirates Club features two golf courses known as the extremely challenging Majlis course, and the Faldo course, which allows you to play night golf.
At the Intercontinental, the Al Badia Club ( http://www.
albadiagolfclub.
ae ) is renowned for its lavish landscape, which includes water features, as well as a high-tech motion-capture clinic which enables you to perfect your stroke.
St.
Andrews aside, there is an equally famous selection of courses from which to choose throughout Scotland.
Among the best, the historic Muirfield in East Lothian, is really a private club, but they'll make an exception and open their doors for you if you pay extraordinary greens fees on Tuesday or Thursday.
There is also a resort club in Scotland that allows you access to their renowned golf courses as a paying guest.
The posh Gleneagles Hotel and Resort has three distinguished golf courses, one of which is the PGA Centenary Course, which is scheduled to host the Ryder Cup in 2014.
The other two are the King's Course and the Queen's Course.
If you need assistance in honing your golfing skills, Gleneagles is also where you can find the PGA National Golf Academy, where one-on-one instruction at every level is available.
New in 2012, Castle Stuart Golf Links in the city of Inverness is in position to be the next trendy golf course having a championship golf course looking over Moray Firth and Chanonry Lighthouse.
The seaside city of Ballybunion is the place to be for classic Irish golf.
Situated on Ireland's southwest coast in County Kerry, the Ballybunion Golf Club has two courses known as the Old Course and the Cashen Course.
The Cashen is first class, however the Old Course is more likely to be the one you'll remember.
With daunting holes directly beside the sea and unbelievable cliffside views, it has been stated that this is as close to Heaven on earth as you can get.
Doonbeg Golf Club in County Clare, Ireland, is a fairly recent golf course which formally opened in 2002 and was immediately selected by Golf Digest as the best new international course.
Nothing noteworthy happened with Doonbeg until 2011, when it appeared as one of the best 100 courses worldwide per Golf Magazine.
In 2012, Doonbeg was awarded the prestigious title of European Golf Resort Of The Year by the IAGTO.
An unparalleled location, luxurious services and 5-star facilities, along with its close proximity to the Shannon Airport are just a few of the highlights that make the Doonbeg Lodge one of the most desirable golf destinations in the world.
Two-time British Open champion Greg Norman was selected as the par-72 course architect based on his uncanny skill and ability to take what nature has provided and simply manicure it into a pristine golf course.
In the traditional style Norman designed the course, no change was required on 14 greens and 12 fairways of the Doonbeg golf course, except a bit of grass mowing.
The course features grassy dunes and ocean waves colliding into a 1.
5-mile stretch of coastline, not to mention the spectacular views of the Atlantic Ocean that can be seen from 16 holes on the course.
The gusty ocean winds add an extra element of challenge to each tee.
Arriving at the Kauri Coves in New Zealand's Northland region, around the Bay of Islands is a real challenge in itself.
However, golf fanatics somehow find a way to make the 4-hour journey (or travel there by helicopter) from Auckland just for the opportunity to set foot on this par-72 golf course, which offers panoramic views of the Pacific Ocean from where it is situated on a high cliff.
Ocean views can be seen from 15 holes, with 6 of them directly adjacent to the cliffs, where you can look down and view the rocky walls plummeting into the ocean.
Dubai is quickly climbing the ranks as a world-class golf destination.
The unusual aspect of golfing here, even for bystanders, is that the golf balls are orange, so that they conspicuously stand out from the backdrop of the desert.
The Desert Classic Tournament is a premier event at the prestigious Emirates Club that is open to the public.
The Emirates Club features two golf courses known as the extremely challenging Majlis course, and the Faldo course, which allows you to play night golf.
At the Intercontinental, the Al Badia Club ( http://www.
albadiagolfclub.
ae ) is renowned for its lavish landscape, which includes water features, as well as a high-tech motion-capture clinic which enables you to perfect your stroke.
Source...