The Best New Golf Courses of 2026

Every few years a cluster of openings lands that genuinely moves the bucket list. 2026 is one of those years. The design names involved read like a who is who of modern architecture, the settings range from Highland coastline to Texas pine forest to Australian sea cliffs, and several of these courses will be in the world rankings conversation almost immediately. Below is our running read on the most significant openings of the year, what makes each one matter, and how soon you can realistically get on.

Old Petty, Scottish Highlands

The most anticipated opening of the year for links purists. Old Petty sits at Cabot Highlands near Inverness, alongside the existing Castle Stuart layout on the Moray Firth, and embraces rugged coastal ground with long sea views. It joins a part of Scotland already rich in great golf, and pairs naturally with a wider Highlands and links itinerary. If you are planning a trip around it, start with our guide to golf in Scotland and the best courses in Scotland.

Wild Spring Dunes, Texas

Tom Doak's latest collaboration with the Keiser family, the team behind Bandon and Sand Valley, sits in Mt. Enterprise in east Texas. It runs through four distinct ecosystems, from majestic pines to hardwood forest and steep ravines, on a sandy site that suits the firm, ground game golf Doak builds best. On reputation alone it is one of the U.S. openings most likely to debut high in the national rankings.

Marcella and Trout National, United States

Tiger Woods' TGR Design firm has a busy year. The Skyline course at Marcella Club in Park City, Utah brings mountain golf at altitude, while Trout National in New Jersey, founded with baseball star Mike Trout, opens in spring. Both are private, but they signal how quickly TGR Design has become a serious architecture practice rather than a celebrity badge.

High Grove and The Keep at McLemore

Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner, the team behind the Olympic course in Rio and a long list of major venue restorations, deliver High Grove in Venus, Florida, slashing through orange groves and sugar sand. In Georgia, The Keep at McLemore perches atop Lookout Mountain for sweeping vistas and dramatic elevation change, a strong candidate for the most photographed new course of the year.

The international openings

Beyond the United States and Scotland, two debuts stand out. The Cliffs Kangaroo Island in Australia routes along sheer coastal cliffs above the Southern Ocean, one of the most visually arresting projects anywhere. And on Egypt's Red Sea coast, the Four Seasons Resort Sharm El Sheikh adds a championship course designed by Robert Trent Jones II, extending resort golf into a sun sure winter destination.

Our take

If we had to pick where to point a 2026 trip, it would be Old Petty in the Highlands for the links traveller and Wild Spring Dunes for the architecture pilgrim, because both sit in places where you can fill a week around the headline course. New openings are exciting, but conditioning takes a season or two to mature, so temper expectations on turf and book with some patience. For the courses you can already play to a known standard, see our companion piece on the best golf courses you can actually book in 2026. When you are ready to turn any of these into a costed itinerary, our concierge can build it around the openings worth the airfare.