The 10 Most Famous Championship Golf Courses in the World to Play in 2027

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These are the courses every serious golfer recognizes — the venues of majors, Ryder Cups, and golf's defining moments. Our Best Overall pick is the Old Course at St Andrews, the birthplace of golf and a record 30-time Open host where a 2027 round runs about £320. The Best Value play is Bethpage Black in New York, where state residents play a U.S.

Open and Ryder Cup course for roughly $80–$150. This list is for golfers chasing the game's most iconic, publicly accessible championship venues, with fees spanning roughly $80 to $700. Every course below is real, currently operating, and ranked on championship history, global fame, design, and access.

1. Old Course at St Andrews (Scotland) 🏆 BEST OVERALL

The Old Course is golf's holiest ground — the birthplace of the 18-hole round and host of a record 30 Opens, most recently the 150th in 2022. Owned by the public, it offers genuine access via a daily ballot, with a peak 2027 green fee of about £320.

The Swilcan Bridge, the Road Hole 17th, the giant double greens, and the cavernous Hell Bunker are recognized worldwide. The Road Hole asks players to drive blind over the Old Course Hotel's reconstructed sheds, then thread an approach between a deep bunker and a paved road — routinely called the hardest par-4 in championship golf.

As the template for golf everywhere, it ranks #1 not just for its Open record but for its irreplaceable status at the center of the entire game. The surrounding town of St Andrews — home of the R&A, the British Golf Museum, and six other Trust courses — functions as golf's spiritual capital, making a pilgrimage here the defining trip for any serious player.

2. Augusta National (USA) — view only

Home of The Masters, Augusta National in Georgia is among the most famous courses on earth, with its azaleas, Amen Corner (holes 11–13), and green jacket tradition. Designed by Alister MacKenzie and Bobby Jones, it opened in 1933. It is strictly private — playable only by invitation — but no list of famous championship courses is complete without it.

The par-3 12th "Golden Bell" over Rae's Creek is golf's most famous short hole. While you can't book a tee time, its fame and influence are unmatched. Augusta ranks here for its singular place in golf culture, even as access remains the game's most exclusive.

Opened in 1933 on the grounds of a former plant nursery, every hole is named for a flowering shrub, and the immaculate conditioning, fast greens, and tradition-laden ceremonies — the green jacket, the Champions Dinner, the par-3 contest — have made The Masters the most-watched and most-revered event in the sport, even though playing it remains beyond nearly every golfer's reach.

3. Pebble Beach Golf Links (USA)

Pebble Beach on California's Monterey Peninsula is the most famous public course in America, host of six U.S. Opens and the 2027 U.S. Open. The clifftop holes along Carmel Bay are golf's most photographed. A 2027 round runs about $675.

The tiny par-3 7th (106 yards) and the seawall-hugging par-5 18th are bucket-list holes. Unlike Augusta, Pebble welcomes the public via resort stays. It ranks for combining genuine access with U.S. Open pedigree and scenery no other course can match — the people's championship venue.

4. Pinehurst No. 2 (USA)

Donald Ross's masterpiece in the North Carolina Sandhills, Pinehurst No. 2 is the anchor site for future USGA U.S. Opens and famous for its repelling turtle-back greens. Resort green fees run about $650 for 2027.

It hosted the 2014 U.S. Open and U.S. Women's Open in consecutive weeks and returned for 2024. The restored sandy, wiregrass look evokes its natural roots. Pinehurst ranks as the heart of American championship golf and a venue every architecture student studies and every serious player must attempt.

5. Bethpage Black (USA) 💎 BEST VALUE

A state-owned Long Island muni, Bethpage Black hosted two U.S. Opens (2002, 2009), the 2019 PGA Championship, and the 2025 Ryder Cup. New York residents pay roughly $80–$150 for 2027 — an astonishing value for a course of this pedigree, earning the Best Value badge.

A first-tee sign warns it's "for highly skilled golfers." The A.W. Tillinghast design is long, hilly, and brutally bunkered, stretching past 7,400 yards with the punishing uphill par-4 15th among its signature tests. Tee times come through the New York State Parks reservation system, and dedicated players still camp overnight in the lot for a weekend slot.

For elite championship golf at muni prices, nothing on earth beats it. Bethpage Black ranks for delivering major-venue golf to anyone willing to plan ahead — and the four sister courses (Red, Blue, Green, Yellow) at the same state park let visitors build a full day of public golf around the marquee round.

6. Royal County Down (Northern Ireland)

Beneath the Mountains of Mourne, Royal County Down is frequently ranked the #1 course in the world outside the U.S. A 2027 visitor round runs about £375 (≈€440).

Founded in 1889, it features blind shots, gorse-covered dunes, and bearded "eyebrow" bunkers, with a front nine framed by mountains and the Irish Sea. It hosted the 2015 Irish Open. Royal County Down ranks for its overwhelming natural beauty and a design both penal and exhilarating — the most acclaimed links beyond St Andrews.

7. Whistling Straits (USA)

Pete Dye's wind-blasted links along Lake Michigan in Kohler, Wisconsin, Whistling Straits hosted three PGA Championships and the 2021 Ryder Cup. Resort green fees run about $650 for 2027, walking-only with a caddie.

With 900+ bunkers, sprawling fescue, and grazing sheep, it mimics an Irish links in the American Midwest. Its dramatic lakefront bluffs and recent Ryder Cup fame make it a modern icon. Whistling Straits ranks for its championship pedigree and its standing as one of the most dramatic inland-links experiences anywhere.

8. Kiawah Island (The Ocean Course) (USA)

The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island, South Carolina, host of the 1991 "War by the Shore" Ryder Cup and the 2012 and 2021 PGA Championships, has the most seaside holes of any course in the Northern Hemisphere. Resort green fees run about $700 for 2027, the priciest here.

Exposed to relentless Atlantic wind, it's regularly rated the toughest resort course in America. The dune-lined closing holes are stunning and treacherous. Kiawah ranks for its Ryder Cup and PGA history and its raw, wind-whipped difficulty that makes every par feel earned.

9. Carnoustie (Scotland)

The longest and arguably hardest course on the Open rota, Carnoustie has hosted eight Opens, including the 1999 Van de Velde collapse and 2018 (Francesco Molinari). Publicly accessible at about £280 for 2027, it earns its place among the world's most famous tests.

The Barry Burn snaking across the brutal closing holes earned it the nickname "Carnasty." No Open course is sterner. Carnoustie ranks for its championship pedigree and its reputation as the most unforgiving major venue — a fame built on the drama it has produced over the decades.

10. TPC Sawgrass (Stadium Course) (USA)

Home of THE PLAYERS Championship in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass features golf's most famous one-shotter: the par-3 17th "Island Green." Public green fees run about $700 for 2027 in peak season.

Pete Dye's stadium-golf prototype was built for spectators and TV, and the water-ringed 17th swallows tens of thousands of balls a year. The course is a fair but nerve-shredding test. Sawgrass rounds out the list as the PGA Tour's flagship venue, instantly recognizable and fully open to the public.

How to Choose

Chasing golf's most famous championship venues is a thrilling goal, but these courses differ enormously in how realistically you can actually play them. Augusta National sits at one extreme — strictly private and effectively unplayable for the average golfer — while at the other, the Old Course at St Andrews, Pebble Beach, Bethpage Black, and TPC Sawgrass all welcome the public, albeit through ballots, resort stays, or residency-discounted reservation systems that reward early planning.

Costs range from the $700 splurges at Kiawah and Sawgrass to the astonishing $80–$150 resident value at Bethpage Black, so a well-built bucket-list trip mixes marquee splurges with attainable icons. Big events like the 2027 U.S. Open and the 2025 Ryder Cup close certain courses to public play, so timing matters.

Use these guidelines to plan your pilgrimage:

• Decide accessibility. All but Augusta National (private) and Royal County Down's limited slots welcome the public — Augusta is view-only on TV.
• Match fee to budget. Kiawah ($700) and Sawgrass ($700) are splurges; Bethpage Black ($80–$150 resident) and Carnoustie (£280) deliver fame for far less.
• Book marquee venues early. Pebble Beach (2027 U.S. Open) and Bethpage (2025 Ryder Cup) restrict access around big events.
• Cluster trips. Scotland (St Andrews, Carnoustie), the U.S. East (Pinehurst, Kiawah, Bethpage), and the Midwest (Whistling Straits) form natural circuits.
• Pursue the achievable icons first. St Andrews, Pebble, Bethpage, and Sawgrass are the most realistic famous bucket-list rounds to actually book.

FAQ

Can you play Augusta National?

No. Augusta National is one of golf's most exclusive private clubs, playable only as a guest of a member. The general public can only experience it by attending The Masters in person or watching on television.

What is the most famous golf course you can actually play?

The Old Course at St Andrews is the most famous publicly accessible course, available via a daily ballot at about £320. Pebble Beach (≈$675) and Bethpage Black (≈$80–$150 resident) are the most famous accessible American venues.

What is the best-value famous championship course?

Bethpage Black on Long Island, where New York residents pay $80–$150, is the runaway value — a course that has hosted two U.S. Opens, a PGA Championship, and the 2025 Ryder Cup at muni prices.

Which famous course is the hardest?

Carnoustie and the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island are widely considered the toughest accessible championship courses, both punishing players with length, wind, and water across their closing stretches.

Bottom Line

To play golf's most iconic championship venues, the Old Course at St Andrews at about £320 is the Best Overall — the birthplace of golf with genuine public access. For elite championship golf at a fraction of the cost, Bethpage Black at roughly $80–$150 for New York residents is the clear Best Value.

Sources

• The R&A — Open Championship venue and results history
• USGA — U.S. Open venue history and future sites
• PGA of America — PGA Championship and Ryder Cup venues
• *Golf Digest* — World's 100 Greatest Golf Courses ranking
• Pebble Beach Resorts and St Andrews Links Trust — official green fees
• *Golf Magazine* — Top 100 Courses in the World
• *Links Magazine* — championship course profiles