Every golf website has a list of the greatest courses in the world. Max Bechtoldt, founder and editor of Fore-All.com hasn’t played as as many great courses as other prominent outlets, but he has played some terrific tracks. In this series, Max ranks and reviews the 20 best courses he has played:
No 15. – Cog Hill No. 4 – Cog Hill No. 4, Dubsdread is just an incredible course outside of Chicago. While the clubhouse and practice facilities show off its reality as a municipal course, once you get on the first hole, you realize how special this place is. The fairways are perfect, the tortoise shelf greens are brutal and the bunkers in the fairway are hidden and beautiful. There aren’t many places that are more fun to play for nerds of golf architecture.
No. 14 – Blackwolf Run Meadow Valley – The most underrated of the courses in Kohler, and it is not even close. It is way more playable than the neighboring River Course, but it isn’t any lesser. The end of the front nine includes some incredible scoring opportunities, and the back nine works back into a forest-lined group of fantastic holes. While it doesn’t get as much hype as its sister course, it will give you a better experience.
No. 13 – Sentry World – This course gets remembered mostly for the stunning flower hole, the short par 3 16. Even excluding that terrific hole, the course is amazing. Sentry World just feels big, playing into luscious green woods, with paper-white bunkers that would remind one of Augusta National. The service, course and conditioning make this the third best course in Wisconsin in my opinion.
No. 12 – Valhalla – When you play Valhalla, just outside Louisville, Kentucky, you feel like you are playing a major championship course. The host of multiple PGA Championships and an upcoming Solheim Cup is just big and wide. It is a long beauty of a modern track. The practice facilities here are maybe the best I’ve ever experienced, and the clubhouse is absolutely gorgeous. This is a top-tier golf course in the country.
No. 11 – Royal Troon – The first course in Scotland on this list (but not the last) is terrific and historic. This is an Open venue that was in as good of shape as any I played across the pond. Troon has so many fun features starting of course with the iconic eighth hole, The Postage Stamp. It also has the train holes early in the back nine and a great final hole that comes right back into the town.
No. 10 – Erin Hills -The host of the 2025 U.S. Women’s Open is a fantastic, big, long and wide track. A course that was built to host major championships, Erin Hills feels the part every single hole. The course is long, and if you miss off the tee, you are in big-time trouble. An essential piece to any Wisconsin golf trip, this just feels special.
No. 9 – Muirfield Village – Jack’s place just outside of Columbus, Ohio is one of the most famous annual stops on the PGA Tour, and for good reason. This course is big, long, hilly and humid, leading to a terrific challenge. There’s few holes that give the player any sort of break, and some of these holes are the hardest I have ever played. The clubhouse is beautiful too, one of the best I have ever seen.
No. 8 – Whistling Straits – One of the iconic modern American golf courses, Whistling Straits has hosted majors, a Ryder Cup and prestigious college and amateur events. Everything at the Straits feels luxurious, from the clubhouse to the best on-course bathrooms in the world. Every hole also has a view of Lake Michigan on this course that attempts to replicate the feel of an Irish-style links.
No. 7 – Royal Dornoch – It is a testament to how much people love Royal Dornoch that it was perhaps the most disappointing course that I played in Scotland and it still comes in at No. 7 here. Despite not being on the Open Rota, Dornoch is the idyllic Scottish links course. Nestled way up north and without the infrastructure to host a major championship, it is likely to stay that way. The golf course gives beautiful ocean views, thick gorse and fantastic caddies for the players to enjoy.
No. 6 – Pasatiempo – While I have not played it since the rennovation, I have little doubt that Pasatiempo has only improved as one of the best places to play in the United States. It seems as of late Pasatiempo’s reputation has risen from a cult favorite addition to a Pebble Beach trip to being considered almost essential. Expectations of ocean views should be tempered, the couple times you can see the water, it is far in the distance, but for true golf fans, this is an essential experience.
