Trump International Golf Links Doonbeg, a Greg Norman links on the Atlantic coast of Ireland

Ranked · 6 courses · updated 2026

The Best Golf Courses Designed By Greg Norman

The Shark won two Opens and spent more than a decade at world number one, then built a design business that has shaped around a hundred courses across the globe. From wild coastal dunes to desert resorts and tour venues, these are the six Greg Norman designs we rank first for a traveling golfer, and why.

See the ranking Plan a trip to play one

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

Photograph: Trump International Golf Links Doonbeg, Ireland, via Google

How we chose them

Greg Norman Golf Course Design has built courses on six continents since 1987, so this is a global short list rather than a regional one. We favored the layouts a traveling golfer would actually cross a border to play: the great coastal sites, the courses that host professional golf, and the resort designs that anchor a strong trip. Design ambition, setting and the round you remember all counted.

Norman's signature is bold, muscular golf that uses the land, with generous fairways off the tee and the trouble waiting near the greens. Designers, hosting history and details here were checked at the time of writing, and the order is our editorial view. Several of these courses sit inside destinations we cover in depth, so a Norman round is easy to build into a wider trip: tell us which one is on your list and our concierge plans and costs it.

The ranking

The Bluffs Ho Tram Strip

Vietnam · par 71 · opened 2014

Norman's finest work and one of the great modern resort courses anywhere. The Bluffs is a links style layout draped over enormous sand dunes along two miles of coast south of Ho Chi Minh City, with huge elevation changes and the South China Sea as a constant companion. It was rated among the best new courses in the world on opening, and it remains the headline reason golfers fly to southern Vietnam. Norman has called the site one of the two best he has ever worked with.

Plan a Vietnam golf trip

Trump International Golf Links Doonbeg

County Clare, Ireland · par 72 · opened 2002

The other site Norman rates among his two best. Doonbeg is a true Atlantic links on the wild west coast of Ireland, laid through towering dunes with the ocean in view from almost every hole and a famous short par 3, the 14th, tucked beneath a vast dune. Storm damage forced restoration work over the years, but the drama and the setting are undimmed, and it makes a natural pairing with the great links of Clare and the southwest.

Plan an Ireland golf trip

Tiburon Golf Club, Gold Course

Naples, Florida · par 72 · about 7,380 yards

The pick of Norman's resort work in the States and a regular on television. The Gold Course at the Ritz Carlton Tiburon in Naples hosts the LPGA's CME Group Tour Championship and long staged the QBE Shootout, with stacked sod wall bunkers, coquina waste areas and no rough, a Norman trademark that rewards bold driving. Polished, walkable and warm all winter, it is the easiest course here to fold into a sun and golf week on Florida's Gulf coast.

Plan a Florida golf trip

TPC San Antonio, AT&T Oaks Course

San Antonio, Texas · par 72 · about 7,435 yards

Norman's biggest tour stage in the States. The AT&T Oaks Course, designed with Sergio Garcia as player consultant, hosts the PGA Tour's Valero Texas Open through stands of live oaks in the Texas Hill Country. It is a stout, strategic test off the back tees and a fair resort course from the right ones, attached to a JW Marriott resort that makes a comfortable buddies trip base. A proper bucket list round for fans who like to play where the tour plays.

Plan a Texas golf trip

Royal Greens Golf and Country Club

King Abdullah Economic City, Saudi Arabia · par 72

The most photographed of Norman's Middle East work and the home of professional golf on the Red Sea. Royal Greens, north of Jeddah, has hosted the PIF Saudi International, with several holes running hard along the water and a links flavor brought to a desert coast. It is the centerpiece of a fast growing golf scene in the Kingdom and an intriguing winter sun option for golfers who like to play somewhere genuinely new.

Plan a golf trip here

PGA West, Greg Norman Course

La Quinta, California · par 72 · opened 1999

Norman's contribution to the most concentrated golf resort in America. His course at PGA West in La Quinta runs through the desert beneath the Santa Rosa mountains, with bold bunkering, water in play and the firm, fast turf the Coachella Valley does so well in winter. It sits alongside the famous Stadium and Nicklaus courses, so a stay there is a feast of name design, and the Norman is the one that most rewards aggressive, confident golf.

Plan a California golf trip

Designers, opening years and hosting history verified June 2026 from club and recognized course sources. The order is our editorial view; The Bluffs and Doonbeg sit at the top as the two coastal sites Norman himself rates highest. Always confirm access and fees directly before booking.

Play a Greg Norman course

From the dunes of Vietnam and Ireland to the deserts of California and the Red Sea, tell us which Norman design is on your list and roughly when you want to travel, and one concierge builds the tee times, base and travel and costs it to the head, with no obligation.

Greg Norman courses: questions

What is the best Greg Norman designed golf course?

The Bluffs Ho Tram Strip in Vietnam is our pick for the best Greg Norman design. A links style course laid over rolling sand dunes along two miles of coast south of Ho Chi Minh City, it was rated one of the best new courses in the world on opening. Doonbeg in Ireland, the Atlantic links Norman called one of the two finest sites he has worked with, runs it close.

How many golf courses has Greg Norman designed?

Greg Norman Golf Course Design has built around a hundred courses across more than thirty countries since the company was founded in 1987. The portfolio ranges from links and dunes courses such as The Bluffs and Doonbeg to desert and resort layouts in the United States, the Gulf and Asia, several of which host professional tournaments.

Which Greg Norman courses host professional tournaments?

Several. TPC San Antonio's AT&T Oaks Course, which Norman designed with Sergio Garcia, hosts the PGA Tour's Valero Texas Open. Tiburon's Gold Course in Naples stages the LPGA CME Group Tour Championship and the QBE Shootout, and Royal Greens near Jeddah has hosted the PIF Saudi International. Doonbeg has hosted European Tour and amateur events.

Can you play Greg Norman courses on a golf holiday?

Yes. Most of the courses on this list are resort or daily fee layouts that welcome visitors, including The Bluffs, Doonbeg, Tiburon, TPC San Antonio and the Greg Norman Course at PGA West, and they sit inside strong wider golf destinations. We can build any of them into a costed trip with the right base, tee times and travel.

The Tee Sheet

Great courses, the names behind them, and the trips worth taking. Every other week.

Researched and written by the GolfForKings editorial desk. Course facts verified June 2026. Last reviewed June 2026.