51 – 60
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51 – Wade HamptonCashiers, North CarolinaThis course is spread across a valley floor in mountain bowl, rising to 3,486 feet above sea level and surrounded by 28,000 acres of forest.
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52 – Bethpage StateFarmingdale, New YorkThe world’s best muni? In the wake of its USGA-funded makeover by Rees Jones, to bring it up to spec for the US Open (hosted in 2002 and 2009), this gem is the brawniest parkland course in the USA.
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53 – MorfontaineParis, FranceSuch is the look and feel of Morfontaine, you could take a blindfolded golfer there, stand him on a tee, take the blindfold off and he’d swear blind he was in Surrey.
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54 – Barnbougle DunesBridport, TasmaniaThose who’ve made the long trip here assure us it was worth it. The evocatively-named Barnbougle hugs the north-east coast of Tasmania, with fairways full of humps and hollows splitting wild dunes.
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55 – Prairie DunesHutchinson, KansasKansas is the last place anyone would expect to find a links-style course with rolling hills reminiscent of a Scottish links.
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56 – Crystal DownsFrankfort, MichiganThis course was built on a hill overlooking Lake Michigan and Crystal Lake. It’s very hilly, so uneven lies are the norm and the greens are severe.
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57 – HironoKobe, JapanThis parkland layout features many tree-lined fairways and heavily-bunkered green complexes.
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58 – Kauri CliffsKerikeri, New ZealandIn much the same way as Cape Kidnappers just down the coast, Kauri Cliffs is a blow-your-socks-off kind of course, set atop high cliffs with spectacular views.
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59 – ValderramaSan Roque, SpainAn icon of European golf, Valderrama is midway through a renovation project by Kyle Phillips to restore the 1997 Ryder Cup venue to its former glory.
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60 – Saunton EastBraunton, DevonIf the R&A ever wants to move The Open away from its regular haunts, Saunton will be high on the list of alternatives.
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