2026 is one of the richest years for new golf in a generation, with Tom Doak, Coore and Crenshaw, David McLay Kidd and Nick Faldo all unveiling courses from the Scottish Highlands to East Texas, Madeira and the cliffs of South Australia. Here are the ten we are most excited about, ranked, with our verdict on each and how to plan around it.
Photograph: Cabot Highlands, Cabot Highlands, via Google
Ranking courses that have only just opened, or are about to, is part judgement and part anticipation, so we have weighed the pedigree of the architect, the quality of the land, the ambition of the project and, importantly for a travelling golfer, how realistically you can play it in 2026. We have leaned toward courses that welcome public or resort play, since a list of new private clubs you cannot get on would be of little use. The standout is Old Petty at Cabot Highlands, Tom Doak’s first new course on storied links land near Inverness.
Behind it sits a remarkable global field, from two more Doak and Coore and Crenshaw projects on Michael Keiser sandhills in the United States to clifftop drama in Madeira and a reborn Augusta muni touched by the people behind the Masters. Every detail here, from architect to opening window, reflects the latest announcements as of June 2026, and opening dates for new courses routinely slip by a season, so always confirm before booking travel around them. The verdicts are ours and the order reflects our editors’ view of which openings matter most.
The most anticipated opening of the year, Tom Doak’s new course on heaving ground near the Moray Firth, a sibling to the acclaimed Castle Stuart next door. It works a little farther inland but the sea still comes into view, with Doak’s emphasis on angles and nuance around the greens. Its arrival cements Cabot Highlands as a must stop on any tour of the Scottish Highlands.
Developer Michael Keiser’s next big swing and another minimalist Tom Doak canvas, set across two thousand four hundred acres of dunes, meadows and spring fed creeks roughly between Dallas and Houston. A second eighteen by Coore and Crenshaw is part of the plan, signalling a major new American golf destination. One of the most ambitious resort builds of the year.
The opening chapter of a headline development by Sand Valley co developer Michael Keiser, a Coore and Crenshaw eighteen in sandy chop hills less than an hour from downtown Denver. Founding members and guests get first call in 2026 with a public grand opening following in 2027, and a second course is already underway. A future destination in the making.
Streamsong’s fourth eighteen, a David McLay Kidd layout carved from the sculpted landforms of a former phosphate mine alongside the Black Course. Expect an entertaining mix of drivable par 4s and reachable par 5s with relatively small, subtle greens that reward creativity. A welcome new reason to visit one of America’s best modern resorts.
More than two decades in the making, Sir Nick Faldo’s clifftop design on the Portuguese island of Madeira occupies a site that has to be seen to be believed, treeless and windswept with eight holes skirting cliffs that fall some three hundred feet to the Atlantic. The drama recalls Ireland’s Old Head in a far balmier climate. Potentially one of the most spectacular new courses in Europe.
Ernie Els’s first design in Mexico, where the high desert spills toward the Pacific near Cabo San Lucas, opening on cactus dotted ground before running largely along the coast. Els and his partner Greg Letsche give ample width off the tee but place a premium on position, yielding a links like challenge in a glamorous resort setting. A strong addition to the Los Cabos golf scene.
When the people behind the Masters remake the city muni, the marquee fills with big names: Tom Fazio and Beau Welling have reworked Augusta’s beloved Patch, with a nine hole short course called the Loop from Tiger Woods’s TGR Design to follow later in the year. Part of a broader push to widen public access to the game. A feel good story with serious design behind it.
Routed along sheer coastal cliffs above the Southern Ocean on Kangaroo Island, the Cliffs is designed by the Australian architect and writer Darius Oliver and aims to join the country’s growing list of clifftop destination courses. The setting alone, raw and remote, makes it one of the most intriguing openings in the Southern Hemisphere. One for the adventurous golf traveller.
Inspired by the common land courses of the United Kingdom, Sand Valley’s new twelve hole short course is egalitarian in spirit, with wide, welcoming fairways for play along the ground and cleverly contoured greens for golfers of every level. A fun, low pressure complement to the resort’s acclaimed big courses. Proof that the best new golf is not always the longest.
County Wexford’s first championship course, a links by Dana Fry and Jason Straka on the southeast coast of Ireland that is expected to open in stages from 2026 before full completion in 2027. New genuine links land is rare, which makes this one of the most significant projects in Irish golf. Worth tracking closely for golfers who chase the next great links.
Architects and opening windows reflect the latest announcements as of June 2026. Opening dates for new courses routinely slip by a season, and several of these will open to members or resort guests before the general public; Rodeo Dunes, for example, opens to members in 2026 with public play following in 2027. Always confirm access and dates directly before booking travel. Check tee time availability.
Tell us which of these openings has caught your eye, from Old Petty in the Highlands to the new American dunes courses or Madeira, and roughly when. One concierge tracks the opening dates and access and costs the trip to the head, with no obligation.
Tom Doak’s Old Petty at Cabot Highlands near Inverness leads our list, a new course on prized links land beside the acclaimed Castle Stuart. Two more Doak and Coore and Crenshaw projects in the United States, Wild Spring Dunes and Rodeo Dunes, are close behind.
Most courses on this list welcome public or resort play, including Old Petty, Streamsong, Ponta do Pargo, Oleada, the Augusta muni and the Sand Valley short course. Rodeo Dunes is the main exception, opening to founding members and guests in 2026 with public play following in 2027.
The dates here are the latest announced as of June 2026, but openings for new courses commonly shift by a season as construction and grow in dictate. Treat them as a guide rather than a guarantee and always confirm before booking flights or accommodation around an opening.
They are spread worldwide: the Scottish Highlands, several parts of the United States including Texas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia and Wisconsin, plus Portugal’s Madeira, Mexico’s Los Cabos, South Australia and the southeast coast of Ireland. It is one of the most geographically varied years of openings in memory.
New course openings worldwide, grand opening dates and the early access windows worth moving on first. Every other week.
Researched and written by the GolfForKings editorial desk. Designers, opening years and settings verified June 2026. Last reviewed June 2026.