Best Golf Courses In 205 Countries

This is our eighth edition of Planet Golf) When we began in 1999, we ranked the best courses in 100 different countries) Since then, we have greatly expanded our lists to include every golfing territory on earth) We now present course rankings for 205 individual countries, territories and dependencies, two more than our last Planet Golf edition two years ago, thanks to Azerbaijan joining the league of golfing nations, and Haiti's Pétionville Club getting back to normal after serving as a refugee camp following the massive, devastating 2010 earthquake) We have identified 40 nations bereft of golf courses (scroll to the end), including five with populations above 10 million: Iraq, Yemen, Guinea, South Sudan, and Somalia.

To create our rankings, we first compiled a large ballot of the world's best layouts, from Aamby Valley to Zimbali, and sent it to our U.S) course ranking panelists, our 27 International editions and their respective course ranking panels, and other selected people we have come to know and trust) In total, 846) knowledgeable, well-traveled golfers completed our survey, rating each course they were familiar with on a 10-point scale) This data was used to create our first ever World Top 100 Golf Course ranking, and served as a starting point for our country rankings, which were completed with the help of our panelists, our colleagues at our international editions and affiliate magazines, our network of knowledgeable golfers around the world, and copious amounts of additional research involving golf associations, tourist boards and other organizations, and, of course, the World Wide Web.

Expect future rankings to change dramatically) While many mature markets like the U.S) are facing decline—there are 500 fewer courses in America than in 2005—elsewhere there are pockets of growth, fueled by prosperity, tourism and, in two years, golf once again becoming an Olympic sport) China for instance has seen its courses triple in number in less than a decade—despite a technical government ban) The Chinese golf market will inevitably become the largest in the world.

KEY: The number in parentheses after each country name is the approximate number of golf courses in that country.

Where a facility has more than one course, the name of the ranked course is shown in parentheses. Abbreviations: C.—Club; C.C.—Country Club; G.—Golf; G.C.—Golf Club; ★ ranked among Golf Digest's World 100 Greatest Courses.

NORTH AMERICA, CENTRAL AMERICA, CARIBBEAN AND ISLANDS

Anguilla (1 course)

Antigua and Barbuda (2 courses)

Aruba (3 courses)

Bahamas (10 courses)

Barbados (8 courses)

Belize (2 courses)

Bermuda (7 courses)

Canada (2,400 courses)

Cayman Islands (3 courses)

Costa Rica (10 courses)

Cuba (2 courses)

Curaçao (4 courses)

Dominican Republic (30 courses)

El Salvador (3 courses)

Greenland (2 courses)

Grenada (1 course)

Guadeloupe (1 course)

Guatemala (10 courses)

Haiti (1 course)

Honduras (10 courses)

Jamaica (12 courses)

Martinique (1 course)

Mexico (220 courses)

Nicaragua (5 courses)

Panama (9 courses)

Puerto Rico (26 courses)

St. Kitts and Nevis (2 courses)

St. Lucia (2 courses)

St. Maarten (1 course)

St. Vincent and the Grenadines (2 courses)

Trinidad and Tobago (8 courses)

Turks & Caicos (2 courses)

United States (15,620 courses)

U.S) Virgin Islands (4 courses)

SOUTH AMERICA

Argentina (320 courses)

Bolivia (10 courses)

Brazil (130 courses)

Chile (60 courses)

Colombia (60 courses)

Ecuador (10 courses)

Falkland Islands (2 courses)

French Guiana (2 courses)

Guyana (1 course)

Paraguay (8 courses)

Perú (15 courses)

Suriname (1 course)

Uruguay (10 courses)

Venezuela (30 courses)

EUROPE

Andorra (1 course)

Armenia (1 course)

Austria (160 courses)

Azerbaijan (1 course)

Belarus (1 course)

Belgium (80 courses)

Bosnia and Herzegovina (1 course)

Bulgaria (7 courses)

Croatia (5 courses)

Cyprus (10 courses)

Czech Republic (100 courses)

Denmark (190 courses)

England (1,870 courses)

10 Walton Heath G.C. (Old), Walton-on-the-Hill ____

20 The Berkshire G.C. (Red), Ascot

Estonia (10 courses)

Faroe Islands (1 course)

Finland (130 courses)

France (580 courses)

10 G. du Médoc (Chateaux), Le Pian Médoc

Germany (720 courses)

Greece (8 courses)

Hungary (15 courses)

Iceland (70 courses)

Ireland, Northern (80 courses)

Ireland, Republic of (340 courses)

10 County Sligo G.C., Sligo, Co. Sligo

Italy (280 courses)

10 G.C. Nazionale, Sutri, Viterbo

Latvia (4 courses)

Lithuania (6) courses)

Luxembourg (6) courses)

Malta (1 course)

Netherlands (230 courses)

10 G.C. de Lage Vuursche, Den Dolder

Norway (180 courses)

Poland (30 courses)

Portugal (90 courses)

Romania (5 courses)

Russia (20 courses)

Scotland (560 courses)

10 Cruden Bay G.C., Cruden Bay ____

Serbia (2 courses)

Slovakia (16) courses)

Slovenia (13 courses)

Spain (350 courses)

10 C. de G. La Reserva, Cádiz

Sweden (440 courses)

Switzerland (100 courses)

Turkey (20 courses)

Ukraine (5 courses)

Wales (160 courses)

10 Celtic Manor Resort (Twenty Ten), Newport

MIDDLE EAST

Bahrain (3 courses)

Iran (5 courses)

Israel (2 courses)

Jordan (1 course)

Kuwait (3 courses)

Lebanon (5 courses)

Oman (5 courses)

Qatar (5 courses)

Saudi Arabia (12 courses)

Syria (1 course)

United Arab Emirates (22 courses)

10 The Montgomerie, Dubai

ASIA

Afghanistan (1 course)

Bangladesh (15 courses)

Bhutan (7 courses)

Brunei (5 courses)

Cambodia (6) courses)

China (600 courses)

Christmas Island (1 course)

Cocos (KeelinG. Islands (1 course)

Hong Kong (12 courses)

India (210 courses)

Indonesia (140 courses)

Japan (2,450 courses)

Kazakhstan (8 courses)

Korea, North (3 courses)

Korea, South (440 courses)

Kyrgyzstan (1 course)

Laos (5 courses)

Macau (2 courses)

Malaysia (200 courses)

Maldives (2 courses)

Mongolia (3 courses)

Myanmar (120 courses)

Nepal (7 courses)

Pakistan (40 courses)

Philippines (70 courses)

Singapore (25 courses)

Sri Lanka (4 courses)

Taiwan (65 courses)

Tajikistan (1 course)

Thailand (300 courses)

10 Chiangmai Highlands G. and Spa Resort, Chiangmai

Uzbekistan (1 course)

Vietnam (30 courses)

10 Sea Links G.&C.C., Phan Thiet

AUSTRALASIA AND OCEANIA

American Samoa (1 course)

Australia (1,520 courses)

British Indian Ocean Territory (1 course)

Cook Islands (2 courses)

Fiji (16) courses)

French Polynesia (2 courses)

Guam (7 courses)

Kiribati (1 course)

Marshall Islands (2 courses)

Nauru (1 course)

New Caledonia (3 courses)

New Zealand (400 courses)

Niue (1 course)

Norfolk Island (1 course)

Northern Mariana Islands (7 courses)

Papua New Guinea (7 courses)

Samoa (4 courses)

Solomon Islands (1 course)

Tonga (1 course)

Vanuatu (4 courses)

AFRICA

Algeria (1 course)

Angola (3 courses)

Benin (1 course)

Botswana (10 courses)

Burkina Faso (1 course)

Burundi (1 course)

Cameroon (4 courses)

Cape Verde (2 courses)

Central African Republic (1 course)

Chad (1 course)

Congo, Democratic Republic of the (5 courses)

Congo, Republic of the (5 courses)

Djibouti (1 course)

Egypt (18 courses)

Equatorial Guinea (1 course)

Ethiopia (2 courses)

Gabon (5 courses)

Gambia (2 courses)

Ghana (15 courses)

Ivory Coast (5 courses)

Kenya (40 courses)

Lesotho (1 course)

Liberia (3 courses)

Libya (4 courses)

Madagascar (4 courses)

Malawi (12 courses)

Mali (1 course)

Mauritania (1 course)

Mauritius (13 courses)

Mayotte (1 course)

Morocco (30 courses)

Mozambique (2 courses)

Namibia (15 courses)

Niger (1 course)

Nigeria (50 courses)

Réunion (3 courses)

Rwanda (2 courses)

St. Helena (3 courses)

Senegal (4 courses)

Seychelles (2 courses)

Sierra Leone (1 course)

South Africa (450 courses)

10 Wild Coast C.C., Port Edward, KZN

Sudan (1 course)

Swaziland (12 courses)

Tanzania (10 courses)

Togo (1 course)

Tunisia (16) courses)

Uganda (15 courses)

Zambia (21 courses)

Zimbabwe (30 courses)

COUNTRIES WITH NO GOLF

Country -- Population

Akrotiri: 15,700

Albania: 3,011,405

British Virgin Islands: 31,912

Comoros: 752,288

Dhekelia: 15,700

Dominica: 73,286

Eritrea: 6,233,682

Gaza Strip: 1,763,387

Georgia: 4,555,911

Gibraltar: 29,111

Guinea: 11,176,026

Guinea-Bissau: 1,660,870

Holy See (Vatican City): 839

Iraq: 31,858,481

Kosovo: 1,847,708

Liechtenstein: 37,009

Macedonia: 2,087,171

Micronesia, Federated States of: 106,104

Moldova: 3,619,925

Monaco: 30,500

Montserrat: 5,189

Montenegro: 653,474

Palau: 21,108

Pitcairn Islands: 65

Saint Barthelemy: 7,298

Saint Pierre and Miquelon: 5,774

San Marino: 32,448

Sao Tome and Principe: 186,817

Sint Maarten: 39,689

Somalia: 10,251,568

South Sudan: 11,090,104

Svalbard: 1,921

Timor-Leste: 1,172,390

Tokelau: 1,353

Turkmenistan: 5,113,040

Tuvalu: 10,698

Wallis and Futuna: 15,507

West Bank: 2,676,740

Western Sahara: 538,811

Yemen: 25,408,288