The Best Golf Courses You Can Actually Book, 2026

The frustration of the world rankings is that so many of the very best courses are members only, closed to the travelling golfer who would happily pay to play once. The good news is that a surprising number of true bucket list courses are public, resort or ballot access, which means a regular golfer with some planning and a reasonable budget can stand on the first tee. This is our 2026 shortlist of the greatest courses you can actually book, and how each one works.

Pebble Beach, California

Still the most famous public course in America and, for many, the one non negotiable. The cliffside stretch from the seventh to the tenth and the closing eighteenth along Carmel Bay justify the price and the planning. Access is easiest as a guest of the Pebble Beach resort, which secures tee times that are otherwise scarce. See our full Pebble Beach Golf Links profile for how to book.

Whistling Straits, Wisconsin

Pete Dye's manufactured links on Lake Michigan is as testing and theatrical as public golf gets, a three time PGA Championship host and the venue for the 2021 Ryder Cup. It is walking only with a caddie, bookable through Destination Kohler, and pairs with three more courses on site. Read our Whistling Straits profile for fees and access.

Bandon Dunes, Oregon

The best pure golf resort in the country, with five courses that all rank among America's finest public layouts. You book a stay and play and walk fast and firm links day after day. Bandon Dunes and Bandon Trails are the place to start, but every course on the property earns its place.

The Old Course, St Andrews

The home of golf is public, and you can play it, but the access is the catch. Tee times come through the daily ballot, an advance booking allocation, or a package, and demand far outstrips supply in summer. Our Old Course profile lays out the ballot and the realistic ways on, and a Scotland golf holiday package is often the surest route.

Kiawah Island and Pinehurst No. 2

Two more major championship hosts open to the public. The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island in South Carolina is a brutal, beautiful seaside test bookable through the resort, and Pinehurst No. 2 in North Carolina, the Donald Ross masterpiece restored by Coore and Crenshaw, anchors the largest golf resort in America.

Our take

The pattern is clear. Almost every great course you can book is tied to a resort, and staying on site is what unlocks the tee time. Build the trip around the lodging, book the marquee round first and fill the rest of the week around it, and accept that the very best access, the Old Course ballot above all, rewards flexibility on dates. For the courses opening this year rather than the established giants, see our look at the best new golf courses of 2026. When you want it costed and the tee times held, our concierge does exactly that.