Courses in South Korea, Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea golf course

Ranked · 6 courses · updated 2026

The Best Golf Courses in South Korea

South Korea is golf mad, and at the top end its courses are some of the most ambitious and best conditioned in Asia, set on Jeju Island, in the Gangwon mountains and around Seoul. From a PGA Tour host with an island green finish to a cliffside Kyle Phillips design over the southern sea, here are the six 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: Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea, 김영만, via Google

How we chose them

Few countries take golf as seriously as South Korea, and it shows in the quality of its best courses and the lavishness of their clubhouses, several of them designed by world famous architects. The very top of the game here is concentrated in three areas. Jeju Island, the volcanic resort island off the south coast, holds Nine Bridges and Pinx and plays in a milder climate year round. The mountains of Gangwon province, east of Seoul, are home to dramatic, heavily engineered courses such as Whistling Rock. Around the capital sit the historic establishment clubs, led by Anyang. Further south, on Namhae Island, South Cape brings a cliffside links feel to the southern sea.

We weighed design quality, conditioning, setting and championship pedigree, and we have been candid about access, because Korea's golf culture is more private and more expensive than almost anywhere else. Every fact here, from designers and opening years to host events, was checked at the time of writing. The verdicts are ours, and the order reflects our editors' view rather than any single published list. Arranging a round at the most exclusive clubs usually needs a local contact, which is exactly the sort of thing our concierge handles.

The ranking

The Club at Nine Bridges

Ronald Fream and David Dale, 2001 · Par 72 · Jeju Island

Korea's finest course and one of the great courses of Asia, a Ronald Fream and David Dale design completed in 2001 on the volcanic uplands of Jeju Island, famous for the eight stone bridges that give it its name and a par 5 finishing on an island green. It hosted the PGA Tour's CJ Cup from 2017 to 2019, has been ranked number one in Korea by Golf Digest for years running and sits among the top courses in the world. Immaculate, beautifully routed through pine and water, it is the benchmark for the whole country, though access is for members and their guests.

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South Cape Owners Club

Kyle Phillips, 2013 · Namhae Island

The most spectacular setting in Korean golf, a Kyle Phillips design opened in 2013 along the rugged coastline of Namhae Island in the far south, with ocean views on all eighteen holes. The architect of Kingsbarns brought the same coastal, links inspired instinct to a dramatic cliffside site, and the result is regularly placed among the best modern courses in the world. With a boutique hotel, spa and sea view villas on the property, it is the most resort ready of Korea's elite courses and the easiest of the top tier to build a stay around.

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Anyang Country Club

Chohei Miyazawa 1968, remodeled by Robert Trent Jones Jr. 1996 · near Seoul

The Korean home of golf, cut from thick forest near Seoul in 1968 to a design by the Japanese architect Chohei Miyazawa and elevated to greatness when Robert Trent Jones Jr. remodeled the layout in 1996, reshaping greens, rebunkering and adding strategic water. Owned within the Samsung orbit, it is among the most exclusive clubs in the world, with a famously closed membership, and has appeared on Golf Digest's world ranking. A pilgrimage course for those who can secure an introduction, and a piece of Korean golf history.

Plan a Seoul golf trip

Whistling Rock Country Club

Ted Robinson Jr., opened 2011 · Chuncheon, Gangwon province

The most theatrical course in Korea, twenty seven holes that Ted Robinson Jr. blasted out of densely forested hills above the Chuncheon lake basin, opened in 2011 for the Donglim group. Three nines named Temple, Cloud and Cocoon wind across a steep 425 acre site, paired with striking tea house pavilions and a celebrated clubhouse. It was voted number one in Korea by Golf Magazine Korea in 2017 and ranks among the world's leading private clubs. Engineering on a colossal scale, in a wild mountain setting.

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Haesley Nine Bridges Golf Club

Opened 2009 · Yeoju, near Seoul

The sister to the Jeju club, opened in 2009 at Yeoju east of Seoul and best known for its breathtaking clubhouse by the Pritzker laureate Shigeru Ban, a vast timber and glass structure widely called one of the most beautiful golf buildings in the world. The course itself is a refined, parkland test in the Nine Bridges manner, with a public course alongside the members' layout, which makes it one of the more attainable rounds among Korea's elite. A natural Seoul day for golfers who also appreciate architecture.

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Pinx Golf Club

Ted Robinson, 1999 · Jeju Island

A Jeju classic, twenty seven holes laid out in 1999 by the American architect Ted Robinson on the southern slopes of the island, with Mount Halla to the north and the East China Sea to the south. Part of the Podo Hotel and Biotopia resort, it earned a place on Golf Digest's hundred greatest courses outside the United States in the 2000s and remains one of Jeju's finest. Its members' East and West courses sit alongside a South course open to the public, so visiting golfers can sample one of the island's best.

Plan a Jeju golf trip

Designers, opening years and host events verified June 2026. Korean golf is heavily private: Nine Bridges, Anyang and Whistling Rock generally require a member introduction, while South Cape, Haesley and the South course at Pinx are more open to visitors. Course profiles are added across the site as the directory grows. Always confirm access and fees directly before booking. Check tee time availability.

Play the best of South Korea

Tell us which of these are on your list and roughly when, and whether you want a Jeju, Seoul or Namhae base. One concierge works the access, tee times and hotel and costs the trip to the head, with no obligation.

South Korea golf questions

What is the best golf course in South Korea?

The Club at Nine Bridges on Jeju Island, a Ronald Fream and David Dale design that hosted the PGA Tour's CJ Cup, is our pick and the country's most acclaimed course, regularly ranked number one in Korea and among the top courses in the world. South Cape Owners Club on Namhae Island and the historic Anyang Country Club near Seoul are the other contenders at the top.

Can visitors play the best courses in South Korea?

Access is the hard part. Korea's golf culture is heavily private and many of the very best clubs, including Nine Bridges and Anyang, require a member introduction, and Anyang in particular is among the most exclusive in the world. Resort courses such as the public South course at Pinx and at Haesley Nine Bridges, and the resort at South Cape, are more open to visitors. A trip to the finest clubs usually needs to be arranged through a local contact or operator.

When is the best time to play golf in South Korea?

Late spring, from April to June, and autumn, from September to November, are the prime golf seasons, with mild temperatures and the country's famous foliage. Summer is hot and humid with a monsoon in July, and winters are cold on the mainland, though Jeju Island stays milder and plays year round. Spring and autumn are the windows to aim for.

Where is most of the golf in South Korea?

The best golf splits between Jeju Island in the south, home to Nine Bridges and Pinx, the mountains of Gangwon province east of Seoul, where Whistling Rock sits, and the greater Seoul area, with Anyang and Haesley Nine Bridges. South Cape is further south on Namhae Island. Jeju and the Seoul region are the two main bases for a golf trip. Always confirm access and fees directly before booking.

The Tee Sheet

Asian course openings, Jeju and Seoul access news and the trips our concierge is quietly building. Every other week.

Researched and written by the GolfForKings editorial desk. Last reviewed June 2026. We verify designers, opening years and host events at the time of writing and review them again on a schedule.