By: Ryan Rielly
I never had any interest in golfing. Growing up on Long Island, I was surrounded by local courses and Country Clubs. Unfortunately, back then I saw golf as a stuck-up, snoody “sport” for the 1%, despite my dad trying and failing to convince me otherwise. Fast forward through a long 4 years of Division 1 lacrosse and over a decade spent with my identity being grounded in “lacrosse player” – my heart was no longer in the sport and my body was failing me. I needed a new hobby. Reluctantly, I borrowed an old set of clubs from my dad and finally took him up on his offer to play together. My first round of 18 was in 2018 at the Vineyards on eastern Long Island. I chipped in from 10 yards out and made Par on hole 1 and thought “this shit is easy.” I proceeded to shoot a score over 110 and was quickly humbled.
The purpose of this post is to rank my favorite courses throughout the world. I have officially played 85 courses (and counting) in the U.S. and beyond, most of which I had the pleasure of playing with my dad. To see my full, ongoing list, please click here.
Below, you’ll actually find two lists: one for my favorite U.S. courses and one for my favorite International courses. From these lists, I left off any private courses that most folks will not be able to get on (sorry Loxahatchee Club–Jupiter, FL). Please note that I have made horrible scores at some of these courses, so how I played has no impact on ranking! As I play at more courses and discover new favorites, these lists will be updated.
These lists are not in any particular order (except for the #1 courses) and my individual reviews won’t dive too hard into course conditions. I have a hard time separating courses based on conditions alone because a) I’m not that much of a golf snob, and b) these are all top-notch courses so the conditions are typically mint. Take it or leave it, but what separates a course in my eyes is the entire experience, including whether the course was “fun” to play (good layout, fun holes, not torture, etc) and scenic. You might notice many of my reviews are about everything but the actual golf.
Last thing, I often go harder in the Pro Shop than on the course, so I will let you know if the Pro Shop was top-notch.
Quick Rant: For the love of God, please play the correct tees when you play bucket list type courses. You’re spending all this money/time to play a course, leave your ego at home and ask a caddy or the pro which tees you should play based on handicap (see my Ocean Course review for a funny story on this). In my opinion, you will be much happier when you have birdie and par chances on holes and can put together a respectable round.
Top Courses USA (No Order)
- Erin Hills Golf Course – Hartford, Wisconsin
- The River at Blackwolf Run Golf Course – Kohler, Wisconsin
- The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island – Kiawah Island, South Carolina
- TPC Sawgrass Stadium – Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida
- Pinehurst No. 2 – Pinehurst, North Carolina
Top Courses International (No Order)
- Druids Glen Golf Club – Wicklow, Ireland
- The Island Golf Club – Dublin, Ireland
- Mid Ocean Club – St. George’s, Bermuda
- Marco Simone Golf Club – Rome, Italy