Brilliantly colored water. Crashing waves. Rugged cliffs…
Arguably, the most inspiring settings to play golf are alongside the ocean.
Here’s my list of ten seaside layouts you absolutely must play. (I base my selections on the total golf experience, not rankings and reputation.)
Now, let’s head to the beach:
1. Pebble Beach Golf Links
There are many contenders and some pretenders, but Pebble Beach Golf Links on the Monterey Peninsula in California is the world’s premier oceanside golf masterpiece. Dont’ take my word for it, though. Here’s what Jack Nicklaus once said: “If I had only one more round to play, I would choose to play at Pebble Beach. I’ve loved this course from the first time I saw it.” Designed by Jack Neville, the course utilizes a peninsula that juts out into the Pacific Ocean providing a perfect setting for exciting and picturesque golf holes. (Image by Joan Dost).
2. Kingsbarns
Set just outside St. Andrews, Scotland this innovative but classic design is truly one of the world’s most outstanding seaside golf experiences. A testament to modern design techniques, American designer Kyle Phillips created the dunes and rolling land movement at Kingsbarns with earth scrapers and bulldozers in 2000.
3 . Teeth of the Dog
While many of the world’s great seaside courses are situated on clifftops, the Teeth of the Dog at Casa de Campo Resort in the Dominican Republic, designed by Pete Dye, is so close to the ocean you can feel the mist from crashing waves on some holes as you putt on the green. It’s catchy name comes from the par three, No. 16 hole, which is bordered by sharp coral formations that resemble the teeth of an angry dog.
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4 . Royal Isabela
Verdant, lush flora and fauna, spectacular cliff top holes overlooking craggy rock coves and deep blue ocean waters and creatively contoured greens are at the heart of Royal Isabela’s appeal in Puerto Rico. Its a tropical links style course with a wide variety of shot options, including bump and run shots, lob shots over protruding mounds and shots over foliage filled canyons framed by ocean waters. Royal Isabela is similar in jaw-dropping, oceanside beauty, but it’s different from Pebble and the Teeth because it sits high above the ocean, not at sea level.
5 . Corales
Often referred to as “the Pebble Beach of the Caribbean”, this spectacular Tom Fazio design at Puntacana Resort in the Dominican Repbublic has six oceanfront holes highlighted by rugged cliffs and coral reefs and framed by turquoise and blue waters. Fazio masterfully designed Corales so both nines would conclude with fantastic waterfront holes. The finale, the 18th hole, is a scenic and challenging beauty with a fairway that skirts around the Bay of Corales.
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6 . Royal Porthcawl
Opened in 1895, this layout in the village of Porthcawl in Wales has 19th century character at every turn. You can see the sea from every hole and there are inspiring views south to Somerset and Exmoor, and northwest across Swansea Bay to the Gower Peninsula. The holes are designed facing every direction and you’ll never know when the wind will blow directly in your face. Though it’s a private club, the members at Royal Porthcawl are very friendly to visitors and you don’t feel like an intruder. Make sure you take time for a beer or single malt at the clubhouse bar, which sits 40 feet above the sea offering spectacular views.
7. Sheep Ranch at Bandon Dunes
Stretching along the stunningly beautiful stretch of Oregon coast, Sheep Ranch is drop dead gorgeous. The magnificent piece of land has more than one mile of ocean frontage and there will be 9 coastline greens and ocean views on all 18 holes. The dramatic cliffs, panoramas and roller-coaster undulations dominate the overall experience and golfers will find one thing noticeably missing, bunkers. There isn’t a single bunker on the course. Sheep Ranch is exposed with its holes routed across an open blufftop plain overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The trickiest part about playing Sheep Ranch, say designers Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore, are the persistent winds that whip around the unguarded terrain.
8. Vale Do Lobo
One of the best ways for a golfer to experience the wonders of the Algarve in Portugal is to play the Royal Course at Vale Do Lobo. The stunning cliff-top carryover on the the par three, 215-yard (from the back tees) number 16 hole is a phenomenal experience. It’s sister course, the Ocean Course, is an oceanside beauty as well. Its rolling fairways are framed by pine trees on the front nine and you slowly play your way down to the shores of the Atlantic Ocean. The back nine has some postcard beautiful ocean panoramas.
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9. Ocean Course at Kiawah Island Resort
Site of the 1991 Ryder Cup and the PGA Championship in 2012 and 2021, this Pete Dye designed masterpiece in South Carolina has more seaside holes than any other course in the Northern Hemisphere–10 along the Atlantic Ocean and 8 others parallel to those. A target course that will expose golfer’s liabilities, the Ocean Course is beautiful and oh so challenging.
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10. Emerald Reef
While this Greg Norman designed golf course in the Bahamas lacks the pedigree, rankings and accolades of the other courses mentioned, I assure you, this is a spectacular oceanside golf experience. Drop dead gorgeous, Emerald Reef has six holes on a peninsula that are rimmed by some of the most beautiful turquoise green, deep blue and clear waters in the world.
