The Jockey Club, Jockey Club Golf golf course
Ranked · 7 courses · reviewed June 2026

The Best Golf Courses in Argentina

Argentina hides one of golf's great secrets: an Alister MacKenzie masterpiece in the suburbs of Buenos Aires, a links cathedral by the Atlantic and a clutch of mountain courses in the lake country of Patagonia. Here are the seven we rate most highly, ranked, with our verdict on each and how to play it.

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By the GolfForKings editorial desk · How we rank · Last reviewed June 2026

Photograph: Jockey Club Golf, Jockey Club, via Google

How we chose them

Argentine golf rewards the traveler who looks past the obvious. The country's golf splits into two distinct worlds. Around Buenos Aires sit the great classical clubs, led by the Jockey Club, where Alister MacKenzie laid out 36 holes in 1930 in the months after Augusta National, and a ring of fine modern championship courses in the polo and country club belt to the north. A thousand miles south, in the Andean lake district of Patagonia, mountain courses run through native forest beneath snow capped peaks. We weighed design quality, conditioning, championship pedigree and the sheer pleasure and setting of the round, and leaned toward courses a visiting golfer can realistically arrange to play.

Every fact here, from designers and founding years to host events, was checked at the time of writing in June 2026 by the GolfForKings editorial desk. Several of these are private clubs that require an introduction or a member's host, and we say so. Green fees and access change, so always confirm directly before booking. The verdicts are ours, and reasonable people will reorder the top five. If you want any of these built into a costed trip, with the long internal flights to Patagonia handled, that is exactly what our concierge does.

The 7 best golf courses in Argentina

01

The Jockey Club, Red Course

Alister MacKenzie, 1930 · San Isidro, Buenos Aires

The finest course in South America and one of the great works of Alister MacKenzie, who routed the Red and Blue courses for the equestrian club in 1930, in the same period as Augusta National and Cypress Point. The Red is the masterpiece, a subtle, strategic parkland on flat ground that MacKenzie animated with bold, beautifully shaped greens and clever bunkering, a clinic in how to build interest into a featureless site. A regular host of the Argentine Open and a private members club of real prestige, it is the one course every architecture lover should see. Play is by introduction.

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02

Buenos Aires Golf Club

Pilar · par 72 · around 6,900 yards

Argentina's premier modern championship course, in the country club belt at Pilar just outside the capital, and the venue for the 2000 World Cup, where Tiger Woods and David Duval beat the home pair of Angel Cabrera and Eduardo Romero on a 27 hole layout. The championship eighteen is a generous, well bunkered par 72 of around 6,900 yards that holds up to the best, with full practice facilities and a polished clubhouse. The natural choice when you want a big, tournament tested course near the city to pair with the classical clubs.

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03

Chapelco Golf

Jack Nicklaus · San Martin de los Andes, Patagonia

The best of the Patagonia mountain courses and, for many, the most beautiful round in the country. Jack Nicklaus laid it out near San Martin de los Andes in the Andean lake district, where the holes wind through native forest and open to huge views of the snow capped peaks and the Lacar lake. It is a proper championship test as well as a scenic one, and the resort setting, with lodge and spa, makes it the centerpiece of any Patagonia golf trip. Worth the long internal flight south on its own.

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04

Olivos Golf Club

Founded 1926 · Luther Koontz layout · Buenos Aires

A distinguished Buenos Aires parkland founded in 1926 and shaped by Luther Koontz, one of MacKenzie's principal shapers who stayed on in Argentina, which gives the course a clear architectural lineage to the great doctor. Its signature is the downhill, dogleg right par 5 fifteenth, long rated among the finest holes in the world. A 27 hole private club of high standing that regularly hosts national championships, it is a worthy companion to the Jockey Club on a Buenos Aires classical tour. Play is by introduction.

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05

Mar del Plata Golf Club

Juan Dentone · Atlantic coast · links character

Known to Argentine golfers as the cathedral of golf, a wonderful seaside course on the dunes at Mar del Plata on the Atlantic coast, with a true links character rare in South America. The original holes were shaped by Juan Dentone around the turn of the twentieth century and extended to eighteen by 1915, and the firm, rumpled, wind blown ground plays unlike anything inland. For a golfer who has played the Buenos Aires parklands, a round here on links turf by the sea is a revelation, and an easy addition for those visiting the coast in summer.

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06

Llao Llao Golf

Emilio Serra · Bariloche, Patagonia

The classic Patagonia postcard round, set on the grounds of the grand Llao Llao hotel near Bariloche, with the crystal lakes, forests and snow peaks of the Nahuel Huapi all around. Emilio Serra's compact, walkable layout is gentler than Chapelco, but no course in the country has a more spectacular setting, and the combination of golf and one of South America's great resort hotels is hard to beat. The natural Bariloche companion to a Chapelco round on a southern lakes itinerary.

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07

Pilara Golf Club

Jack Nicklaus · Buenos Aires province

Often rated the best Nicklaus design in the country, set in a gated community in the country club belt north of Buenos Aires. Where the nearby Nordelta course is tight and watery, Pilara is expansive, with large, heavily contoured greens that average around 450 square metres and put a premium on approach play and the putter. It is not the easiest course to access, sitting inside a private development, but the golf rewards the effort and makes a strong, modern counterpoint to the classical city clubs.

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Designers, founding years and host events verified June 2026 by the GolfForKings editorial desk. Several of these are private members clubs where play is by introduction. Course profiles are added across the site as the directory grows. Always confirm visitor access and fees directly before booking. Check tee time availability.

Where they are, and indicative costs

Most of Argentina's great golf sits in two clusters. Around Buenos Aires, the Jockey Club and Olivos lie in the northern suburbs, while Buenos Aires Golf Club and Pilara are in the country club belt at Pilar, all within an hour of the city center. Mar del Plata is a few hours south down the Atlantic coast. The Patagonia courses, Chapelco and Llao Llao, are a long internal flight south to Bariloche and San Martin de los Andes, best built into a southern lakes leg of a wider South America trip.

ItemIndicative 2026Notes
Green fee, leading public and resort coursesVaries widely by coursePatagonia resort golf is the dearest; figures move with the peso
Private city clubsBy introductionJockey Club, Olivos and Pilara require a member's host or arrangement
A week, all inAround £2,500 to £5,500 per personHotels, several rounds, internal flights to Patagonia, excluding international flights

Indicative third party figures for the 2026 season, shown to set expectations only. Argentine pricing moves sharply with the exchange rate. We are a guide, not an operator, and never quote our own pricing. Always confirm directly before booking.

Plan your Argentina golf trip

Tell us whether you want the Buenos Aires classics, Patagonia, or both, and roughly when. One concierge arranges the introductions to the private clubs, the internal flights and the lodges, costs the whole trip to the head, and replies within one working day, with no obligation.

Argentina golf questions

What is the best golf course in Argentina?

The Jockey Club's Red Course in San Isidro, Buenos Aires, an Alister MacKenzie design from 1930, is our pick and is widely rated the finest course in South America. For modern championship golf, Buenos Aires Golf Club at Pilar, which hosted the 2000 World Cup, leads the way, while Chapelco is the standout in Patagonia. Reasonable people reorder the top five.

When is the best time to play golf in Argentina?

Argentina's seasons are reversed from the northern hemisphere. Around Buenos Aires golf is good year round, with spring, from September to November, and autumn, from March to May, the most comfortable. The Patagonia courses have a shorter season, roughly October to April, as they sit at altitude in the southern Andes. Always confirm conditions and opening before you travel.

Can visitors play the great Buenos Aires clubs?

The leading city clubs, the Jockey Club, Olivos and Pilara, are private and generally require an introduction or a member's host rather than walk up visitor play. Buenos Aires Golf Club and the Patagonia resort courses are more readily accessible to visitors. A trip planner can arrange the introductions where they are needed. Always confirm access directly before booking.

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Researched and written by the GolfForKings editorial desk. Course designers, founding years and host events verified June 2026. Last reviewed June 2026.