This secret gem is an absolute beauty, with 5-6 holes right on the Atlantic Ocean, you can feel sea spray on your face on some greens, with some superb elevated tees and wonderful views of sea and mountains at every twist and turn. Designed by Seve Ballesteros, it has 6 par 5 holes, 6 par 3 holes and 6 par 4 holes. Great risk and reward holes throughout both par 5s and par 4s!

Recommended Hotel:
Melia Hacienda del Conde

This Dave Thomas design on the wild west coast of Tenerife is one of Europe’s most exhilarating golf courses, set on the side of a mountain, high above the Ocean and the outstanding Ritz-Carlton. There are incredible holes up steep hills like 2-4, but many more downhill rollercoasters, with stunning shot making from elevated tee positions. No question that no course has better vistas than Abama. Buggies are mandatory here.

Recommended Hotel:
Ritz-Carlton, Abama

This is the best golf course in Majorca, set on the Son Vida Estate the course is designed through verdant parkland and stunning landscapes, with great dog legs, water holes and spectacular elevated tees with challenging shot making. Long and a real test!

Recommended Hotel:
Castillo Hotel Son Vida

This is one of two spectacular golf courses on the Navarino Dunes Estate, the Bay course designed by Bernhard Langer is laid out over beautiful rolling mountainside, with incredible vistas of the Ionian Sea. The course is very hilly, and buggies are mandatory, this is an exceptional experience.

Recommended Hotel:
Westin Costa Navarino

In November 2018 the resort suffered a flood and some of the holes on both East and West were damaged by the freak weather conditions. The composite course created for 2019-20 is still a stunning layout by Kyle Philips, who is now redesigning and reopening the second course ready for play in 2021. Verdura is a links design with oceanside holes, pot bunkers, links style greens and fairways with natural run offs. Great views of mountains and the Mediterranean Sea.

Recommended Hotel:
Verdura Resort

One of the best 2 golf courses in Gran Canaria, this is a beautiful design, laid out over cliff tops, just above the Atlantic Ocean and the harbour/port of Los Meloneras, there are some great short risk and reward holes and the greens and surrounds are simply superb. Meloneras is an absolute pleasure to play from start to finish and incredibly scenic, with some awesome finishing holes, where a hook will put you in the Ocean!

Recommended Hotel:
Villa del Conde

The most spectacular course on the Island and it compares favourably to Abama in Tenerife, but the course is even stronger as a design. Magnificent holes with a desert style (rocks and lava sand), off fairway, with emerald green fairways, giving it a contrasting look for every tee shot. The greens are exceptional and there are some memorable holes – both par 3s and par 5s, plenty of variety of shot making and always exhilarating, some sea views, but not as many as Meloneras. But many more changes of elevation and a much more rugged landscape.

Recommended Hotel:
Salobre Golf Resort

This is in our view the best course in the UAE – certainly it is the most enjoyable, as the views are always special, located on Yas Island, there are lovely sea views of the Arabian Gulf and wonderful vistas up and down the coast. The course is links style and the finishing holes especially thread their way along the seaside, look out for hole 15-17 which are dramatic. The course has many pot bunkers and has a genuine links feel about it across all 18 holes.

Recommended Hotel:
The W Hotel Yas Island

White Witch is close to Half Moon in the Montego Bay region of Jamaica, set on high land well above the coast, it is arguably the most spectacular course for shot making and vistas of the entire top 20 in these rankings! You are unlikely to have one level lie on the fairway in the entire round.
The elevated tees and big valleys, combined with spectacular dog legs around jungle like rough are incredible. Although you are not close to the Ocean the land is so high, there are brilliant sea views on many holes. What a breath-taking and exhilarating experience, but you would not want to play here too many times, as lost balls are a regular occurrence. Blind shots make it perhaps unfair at times, otherwise this course would be in the top 5!

Recommended Hotel:
Half Moon Resort

This island golfing venue is on Nevis which lies adjacent to the bigger isle of St Kitts, designed by Robert Trent Jones, Nevis is a gorgeous design, very playable and well designed to be attractive to high handicap and low handicap play. The course is very walkable, not especially hilly, but with superb sea views on almost every hole. Palm tree golf yes, but lots more than just that! The putting surfaces are excellent and the runoffs make it very tricky on the short game.

Recommended Hotel:
Four Seasons Nevis

Tuckers Point lies on the east coast of Bermuda alongside the equally impressive Mid Ocean, Tuckers Point wins the battle with its neighbour, because it does have better ocean holes and is more receptive to overseas golfers accessing the course. The golf course has about 5 ocean side holes, but the rest of the golf course are equally impressive and spectacular, lovely woodland holes with sweeping vistas. A brilliant layout with a wonderful clubhouse and hotel attached.

Recommended Hotel:
Rosewood Bermuda

Ranked as one of 3 courses in Mauritius in our top 10, the Els hosts the Mauritius Open in December 2020. The golf course is extremely long with wide generous fairways, it has 18 extraordinary holes, what makes it lovely is the contrast in the vegetation, some stunning mature holes through old hunting ground woodland, holes through avenues of large palm trees like  holes 10-13 and then the superb ocean holes which climax towards the 6th and 7th of the front 9 and the 16-18 of the back nine. The course is most difficult when you get to the raised links style greens – you always have to hit the ball up to the pin and the bunkering and approaches are really challenging. The par 3 8th and 17th are memorable always!

Recommended Hotel:
Anahita Golf Resort

Port Royal has hosted the Grand Slam Winner Play Offs on a few occasions and Rory Mcllroy has competed. The course is a wonderful lay out with a combination of ocean and parkland holes, giving it a lovely rounded experience. There are only 3 holes very close to the sea, but what views you get are outstanding on Bermuda’s west coast with its turquoise waters and as the course has plenty of high elevation, you do get lovely ocean views of the Atlantic on most of the course. What an exhilarating place to play golf and incredibly affordable. In 2019 Port Royal was on the PGA Tour as a venue.

Recommended Hotel:
Pompano Beach

Ile aux Cerfs is on a small island located off the east coast of the beautiful island of Mauritius. Designed by Bernhard Langer, following significant design changes in the last 10 years , it is now the best it has ever been and very playable and more enjoyable than in its early days. The course is laid out through mangrove swamps and through stunning vegetation, most of which hides the views of the sea on the front nine, but the back nine holes from 11-15 open up to superb views of the Indian Ocean. What a back nine it is to remember and all in all the course provides the perfect golf holiday experience. It is still easy to lose balls, as the vegetation is generally very dense and the fairways are tighter than most. Accessible by regular boat service from Shangri-La and Anahita Resorts.

Recommended Hotel:
Shangri-La Le Touessrok

The Els Course Tulek is on the beautiful jsland of Langkawi in Malaysia in the midst of one of the worlds most stunning natural Rain Forests at the Datai Resort. Ernie Els team redesigned the course in 2018-19 to bring it back to its very best. The ambience of the course – with the buzz of the Rain Forest’s insects, birds and mammals makes it stand out by far as the most beautiful place to play golf in our top 20. The size of the trees which flank most holes are just incomparable and the added enjoyment of watching wild monkeys at play and possibly even jumping in your buggy gives the experience more spice. The seaside holes are not as good as the Rain Forest Holes – if they were, we think that this would made our top three in the rankings. The course has no bunkers!

Recommended Hotel:
The Datai Langkawi

The Heritage Course comes out on top as the best golf course in Mauritius, which is why we sell more customers to the Heritage Le Telfair and Awali than any other venue on the island. The course is never close to the ocean, but you can see the sea on all the holes up on the plateaus of both the front nine and back nine. The course has so many great holes, but 6 and 7 stand out together with the last 5 holes. Both 9 and 18 have oodles of water to test your nerve and the course does have some super risk and reward holes, either short par 4s or short par 5s! Hole number 17 is probably the toughest long par 4 onto a ridge top and then over a big valley to a raised two-tier green. Magnificent test of golf and never boring playing it every day!

Recommended Hotel:
Heritage Le Telfair

A classic Pete Dye design and well established now for over 40 years, it has been regarded as the best course in Latin America, located on the opposite coast to Punta Cana at La Romana on the stunning Casa de Campo Estate. The course is laid out through mature woodland, but always close to the Ocean, there are 6 exceptional ocean side holes which have no real Estate and are still completely unspoiled. You can really feel the sea spray on your face on a few tees and greens and a hook will put your ball into the sea! A strong nerve is required to master this great test of golf, which has passed the test of time!

Recommended Hotel:
Casa De Campo Resort & Villas

The Dominican Republic gets three golf courses in the top 4 remarkable, but if you have visited the destination you would easily believe it. Corales is an awesome golf design, the fairways are generous and the course is never tight, but the main difficulty is around the greens, which are so well protected with narrow entrances, heavily bunkered and surrounded by thick rough. The seaside holes on both the front nine and back nine are magnificent, as good as any course in the world. Corales is a must play experience, alongside the Punta Espada course just 10 minutes away.

Recommended Hotel:
Tortuga Bay

Bintan Island has 4 great golf courses, but Ria Bintan is the best – like all its neighbours the course is designed in Rain Forest with ridges, plateaus, dog legs and elevated tees, stunning woodland and wildlife, which makes it special and then the course twists its way on 2 occasions to the Ocean, where you will enjoy some of the finest ocean holes in the world, no exaggeration. This is just an outstanding golfing experience. Could easily have won the number 1 spot and hardly known at all in Europe. It is a great Asian secret! Island Golf Holidays discovered it.

Recommended Hotel:
The Sanchaya

Simply the best of the best – designed by Jack Nicklaus, who actually has a house on the course, the course excels at every twist and turn. The par 5 second hole snakes its way from a high tee in an S shape, right down to the Caribbean Sea. There are some glorious par 3 holes and the proximity to the sea is so exhilarating – you could play here 100 times and be excited by the experience every time. Watch out for the magnificent large Iguanas who live on the course. Marvellous place to play the best sport on the planet!

Recommended Hotel:
Tortuga Bay