The Best Golf Courses Designed by Alister MacKenzie
No architect's name carries more weight than Alister MacKenzie. The Yorkshire doctor turned designer gave the game Augusta National, Cypress Point and Royal Melbourne, courses that still define what strategic design looks like. Here are the eight we rate most highly, what makes each one great, and which ones you can actually play.
Photo: Royal Melbourne Golf Club via Google.
How we chose
Alister MacKenzie worked on hundreds of courses across Britain, Ireland, the United States, Australia and South America before his death in 1934, often alongside collaborators such as Harry Colt, Perry Maxwell and the great amateur Bobby Jones. His reputation, though, rests on a small cluster of masterpieces built in a remarkable late burst from the late 1920s onward. Our ranking weighs design pedigree, the integrity of the surviving MacKenzie work, the strength of the test and the sheer experience of the place, and it leans on the consensus of leading rankings and the Alister MacKenzie Society itself.
We also flag access plainly, because it matters: several of these are among the hardest tee times in golf, while two or three welcome visitors. Opening years and design credits were verified at the time of writing from the clubs, the MacKenzie Society and leading course databases. Editorial verdicts are our own.
Reviewed June 2026 by the GolfForKings editorial desk. How we research and rank.
The ranking
1. Cypress Point Club
MacKenzie's masterpiece and, for many, the most beautiful course on earth. Opened in 1928 on the Monterey Peninsula, Cypress Point moves from dunes through cypress forest to the cliffs of the Pacific, where the run of the 15th, 16th and 17th, climaxing in the famous one shot carry over the ocean at the 16th, is the most celebrated stretch in golf. It is intensely private and almost impossible to play, which only burnishes the legend. Our Cypress Point guide has the full story.
2. Augusta National Golf Club
His most famous design, and the one the whole world watches every April. MacKenzie laid out Augusta National with Bobby Jones on a former nursery, building wide fairways, vast contoured greens and almost no rough, a canvas for the strategic, ground game golf he believed in. Much has been changed and lengthened over the decades, but the bones and the genius of the routing remain his. It is a private club and the Masters is the only realistic way most will ever see it in person.
3. Royal Melbourne (West Course)
The finest course in Australia and the jewel of the Melbourne sandbelt. MacKenzie routed the West Course on a visit in 1926 and it opened in 1931, its bold, sand flashed bunkering and firm, fast greens the template every sandbelt course chases. The Composite Course, blending the West and East, has hosted Presidents Cups and World Cups. It is private, but a sandbelt pilgrimage is one of golf's great trips. See our Royal Melbourne West guide.
4. Crystal Downs Country Club
The connoisseur's MacKenzie. Set on a headland between Lake Michigan and Crystal Lake, Crystal Downs was designed with Perry Maxwell and completed in the early 1930s, and it remains one of the most natural, wildly contoured and admired courses in America. It is short on the card but relentless in its movement and strategy, a favourite of architects above almost anywhere. A remote and private club, it rewards the few who get there.
5. Pasatiempo Golf Club
The best MacKenzie course you can simply book. Opened in 1929 in Santa Cruz, Pasatiempo was the designer's own favourite, and he lived in a house beside the 6th fairway for the rest of his life. The back nine, falling through a barranca to a superb, brutally contoured 16th green, is pure MacKenzie, and a careful restoration has returned much of his original work. Public access makes it the single most attainable round on this list. Read our Pasatiempo guide.
6. Lahinch (Old Course)
MacKenzie's links masterstroke. The "St Andrews of Ireland" on the wild Clare coast was reworked by MacKenzie in 1927, and his routing through the towering dunes, alongside the older Klondyke and Dell holes, gives the game one of its most charismatic links. It is open to visitors, weather and goats permitting, and pairs naturally with the great courses of the southwest. See our Lahinch Old Course guide.
7. New South Wales Golf Club
A spectacular clifftop links on Botany Bay, where Captain Cook first landed. MacKenzie set out the routing in 1928 across rugged headland, and the holes tumble along the ocean with huge views and a stiff sea breeze. It is consistently rated among Australia's very best, and unlike most on this list it offers limited visitor tee times, making it a realistic addition to a Sydney golf trip. Our New South Wales Golf Club guide has the detail.
8. Alwoodley Golf Club
Where it all began. Alwoodley on the heathland north of Leeds was MacKenzie's first design, laid out with Harry Colt in 1907 while he was still a practising doctor and the club's honorary secretary. The heather, the bunkering and the strategic width already point to everything that came later, and a round here is a pilgrimage to the source. It welcomes visitors by arrangement. Read our Alwoodley guide.
Access at a glance
| Course | Where | How to play |
|---|---|---|
| Cypress Point | California, USA | Private; member guest only |
| Augusta National | Georgia, USA | Private; the Masters or a member |
| Royal Melbourne West | Victoria, Australia | Private; introduction or specialist |
| Crystal Downs | Michigan, USA | Private; member guest only |
| Pasatiempo | California, USA | Public; book a tee time |
| Lahinch Old | County Clare, Ireland | Visitors welcome; book ahead |
| New South Wales | Sydney, Australia | Limited visitor tee times |
| Alwoodley | Leeds, England | Visitors by arrangement |
Building a trip around MacKenzie usually means choosing a region: the Monterey Peninsula and Santa Cruz in California, the Melbourne sandbelt and Sydney in Australia, or the links of Ireland's west. Each pairs his work with other greats nearby.
Booking individual rounds? See our recommended tee time partner for the courses open to visitors.
Plan a MacKenzie golf trip
From a Monterey and Pasatiempo pairing to a full Melbourne sandbelt pilgrimage, tell us roughly when and who is travelling and one concierge costs an itinerary built around the MacKenzie courses you can play, with no obligation.
Alister MacKenzie questions
What is the best Alister MacKenzie golf course?
Cypress Point on the Monterey Peninsula is widely regarded as MacKenzie's masterpiece, with its run of cliff top holes around the 15th, 16th and 17th. Augusta National, which he designed with Bobby Jones, is his most famous, and Royal Melbourne's West Course is rated the finest course in Australia. The MacKenzie Society itself names Cypress Point, Augusta National, Royal Melbourne and Crystal Downs as his greatest work.
Which MacKenzie courses can the public play?
Most of MacKenzie's masterpieces are private. The two great exceptions are Pasatiempo in Santa Cruz, California, a public course where MacKenzie lived beside the 6th hole, and Lahinch in County Clare, Ireland, a links open to visitors. Alwoodley in Leeds, his first design, also welcomes visitors by arrangement. Augusta National, Cypress Point, Crystal Downs and Royal Melbourne are private members clubs.
How many courses did Alister MacKenzie design?
MacKenzie, a Yorkshire doctor turned golf architect, worked on hundreds of courses across Britain, Ireland, the United States, Australia and South America, often in partnership with others such as Harry Colt, Perry Maxwell and Bobby Jones. His reputation rests on a small group of masterpieces built between the late 1920s and his death in 1934.
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Researched and written by the GolfForKings editorial desk. Opening years and design credits verified June 2026 from the clubs, the Alister MacKenzie Society and leading course databases. Editorial verdicts are our own. Last reviewed June 2026.