I’ve Played 1,300-plus Golf Courses: These Are the 4 on My 'Must-Play' List for 2026

The seventh at Royal Portrush is a new hole that runs through the towering dunes.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

It’s all very well to pop down to the club for a game and a catch-up with friends, but for real golf fans, there’s little more exciting than exploring a trip to somewhere new and very different. The research, the organizing, the anticipation are all part of the package.

If you’re thinking of booking a golf vacation in 2026, consider these four brilliant and very different golfing destinations.

Each resort is perfect on its own but has plenty of other courses, visitor attractions and nearby activities to make it a worthwhile trip.

From just $107.88 $24.99 for Kiplinger Personal Finance

Become a smarter, better informed investor. Subscribe from just ~~$107.88~~ $24.99, plus get up to 4 Special Issues

CLICK FOR FREE ISSUE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/y99mlvgqmn1763972420.png

Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free Newsletters

Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail.

Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice - straight to your e-mail.

1. BOULDERS RESORT & SPA, Scottsdale, Arizona

The fifth hole at Boulders Resort &amp; Spa. — The fifth hole at Boulders Resort & Spa.

Scottsdale is an oasis of golf in the Sonoran Desert that's home to an incredible variety of fascinating and very different golf experiences.

Towards its northern reaches, Boulders Resort & Spa is blessed with two remarkable courses. Each was designed by Jay Morrish, an architect who worked with some of the industry’s greatest, including Robert Trent Jones and Jack Nicklaus. While the North is kept for members and their guests, the South is arguably more thrilling and creates a beautiful safari through the rocks that's open to all.

Benefitting from full bunker and greens renovations in recent times, the course runs through some prime real estate that is largely so far from the playing lines and so well screened by nature that you would hardly know it was there.

What you very much do get to see are the amazing rock formations that give the resort its name and the course its unique character. They're beautiful to behold and breathtaking in their stature.

The star of the show is the brilliant par-5 fifth with its split fairway, which plays to a green towered over by Boulder Pile, but there’s actually endless invention, intrigue and fun all the way.

Coupled with excellent accommodation, fine dining, the spa and other sport and recreation activities, this is a brilliant place to stay. While it can and does get super-hot in the height of summer, it’s still playable, though clearly a lot more comfortable the rest of the year.

Greens fees range from $289 to $329 per person, including cart. Full details, including golf-inclusive packages, are available at www.theboulders.com.

2. ROYAL PORTRUSH, County Antrim, Northern Ireland

The fifteenth at Royal Portrush - Skerries - is a challenging par 4. Image provided by Rob Smith, from Getty. — The fifteenth at Royal Portrush — Skerries — is a challenging par 4.

Northern Ireland has three world-class links, with plenty of golfing enthusiasts rating the Dunluce Course at Royal Portrush as the best in Ireland. It was originally designed by the godfather of golf course design, Harry Colt, and the links received a major upgrade prior to hosting the 2019 Open Championship.

So successful was the event, that it was awarded an early return last summer when world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler cruised to a 4-shot win en route to claiming his fourth Major.

This more recent work included the creation of two excellent new holes, the par-5 seventh and the two-shotter that follows, out in the dunes. These replaced a less remarkable finishing pair, resulting in a course that has no weaknesses. It’s a masterpiece in strategic design with the additional benefit of being an absolute picture.

Two of the many highlights are the dogleg 5th, which is played over the dunes and down to the beach, and the perfectly named par-3 16th, Calamity Corner. Luck out with a day of gentle breezes and it’s even possible to score well.

The second course here, the Valley, has been significantly improved and now is one of the best in the country. With the recent opening of the Rosses, a luxurious eight-room property overlooking the fourth fairway of the Dunluce, Royal Portrush has cemented its place as one of the finest clubs in the UK and Ireland.

Playing this historic Open Championship venue in 2026 will cost $550, with the excellent Valley Course less than half that. See www.royalportrushgolfclub.com for full details, including accommodation. Oh, and the other two top-class links are at Royal County Down, a two-hour drive, and Portstewart, just 10 minutes away along the coast.

3. FANCOURT ESTATE, Western Cape, South Africa

The stunning par 3 eighth hole on the Montagu Course at Fancourt.

There are not one but three fine courses at Fancourt, a superb golf hotel midway along the Garden Route, which runs along South Africa’s spectacular southern coastline. The Montagu and Outeniqua designs are both extremely good and rank among the best in the country, but it is Gary Player’s remarkable links that attracts keen golfers from far and wide.

This is one of the most unlikely but brilliant transformations you'll find anywhere — a wild and rugged, modern, inland links that runs over very natural-looking marshland but is still different from anything you will have played before.

You could never guess that it has been created over a plot of land that, before its opening in 2000, was an airfield. With five par 5s and four varied short holes, there is variety and drama all the way. The course hosted the 2003 Presidents Cup, the only time that this prestigious event resulted in a tie.

Slightly less demanding, but arguably prettier, the Montagu is the oldest of the three courses, opening for play in 1990. It's enormous fun, has plenty of water, and is guaranteed to keep a smile on your face. It's been regularly upgraded and improved in recent years, and as the Outeniqua, it's kept in excellent shape.

Other than scoring an invite from a member, the only way to play the sensational Links course is to book a three-night package, which includes Fancourt’s two other very beautiful courses. This is strongly recommended. A visit to www.fancourt.co.za shows the options available for this friendly and all-encompassing experience.

4. REAL VALDERRAMA, Costa del Sol, Spain

The tenth hole at Real Valderrama is a beautiful par 4 that sweeps left to right past a lovely pond. Photo provided by Rob Smith, credit Getty.

While one of the most expensive courses in Europe, Real Valderrama also deservedly and consistently tops the continental course rankings. Designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr. in 1974, for many years it hosted the Volvo Masters, a flagship European Tour event. It has hosted other top-level events, such as the Spanish Open, and, most importantly, the dramatic 1997 Ryder Cup. The course was granted royal status — hence the ‘Real’ in its name — in 2014.

The fairways are lined with trees, many of them cork oak, and the immaculate greens are unusually small. The bunkers are deep and filled with a coarse, grainy sand that is uniform throughout.

Perhaps the most memorable holes are the two par fives at the fourth and 17th. The former is played on a beautifully sited and elevated green that is surrounded by rocks, waterfalls and a pond.

Just as dramatic, the penultimate hole has had a huge influence one way or the other on many important tournaments. It works its way from left to right, to a green that is protected by a dangerous, shaved slope. Anything not quite long enough will roll back into the water.

By limiting access, the course is almost never busy, and this both enhances the visitor experience while keeping the course in immaculate condition. Visitors are welcome from Monday to Thursday from noon to 1 p.m., and the course is open all year with the standard greens fee approximately $640 plus the requirement of one forecaddie per group at $70 plus tip. Full details are available at www.valderrama.com.

Note: This item first appeared in Kiplinger Retirement Report, our popular monthly periodical that covers key concerns of affluent older Americans who are retired or preparing for retirement. Subscribe for retirement advice that's right on the money.

Rob has been playing golf for over 45 years and been a contributing editor for Golf Monthly since 2012. He specialises in course reviews and travel, and has played nearly 1,300 courses in almost 50 countries. In 2021, he played all 21 courses in East Lothian in 13 days. Last year, his tally was 77, 44 of them for the first time. One of Rob's primary roles is helping to prepare the Top 100 Courses of the UK&I, of which he has played all, as well as the Next 100 where he is missing two in Scotland and four in Ireland. He has been a member of Tandridge for over 30 years where his handicap hovers around 14. You can contact him at r.smith896@btinternet.com.