The most famous golf courses in the world are Augusta National, the Old Course at St Andrews, Pebble Beach, Pine Valley, Cypress Point and TPC Sawgrass. Only three of those six sell a tee time to the public: the Old Course (£355 in peak season, reported), Pebble Beach ($695) and TPC Sawgrass ($550 to $775).
That split runs through the whole list of famous golf courses. Some are famous because the best players in the world win majors there on television every year. Others are famous because almost nobody gets to see them. And a handful are famous and bookable, which makes them the most expensive rounds in golf.
This guide gives an honest answer for each icon: whether you can play it, how, what it costs, and, for the ones you can’t, the best course you can actually book that gives you a taste of the same thing. It’s about the courses, not the trip.
How we built this. “Famous” isn’t a ranking, so we started with the courses that appear most often in the major national rankings (Golf Digest’s America’s 100 Greatest for 2025-26 and GOLF’s Top 100 lists), the major-championship and Ryder Cup venues, and the holes golfers recognise on sight. Green fees and access rules come from each course’s own website, checked in September 2026. Where a figure is from a third party, we say “reported”. Private clubs don’t publish rates or ratings, so for those we give the access answer and the history instead. We haven’t played the private clubs on this list, and our notes on them lean on their history, architecture and published rankings.
At a glance
- Most famous golf course in the world: Augusta National (private), home of the Masters
- Most famous course you can play: the Old Course at St Andrews, about £355 in peak season (reported), with a daily ballot for many visitor times
- Most famous American course you can play: Pebble Beach Golf Links, $695
- Most famous hole you can play: the island-green 17th at TPC Sawgrass, from $550 in summer to $775 the rest of the year
- Best value famous course: Bethpage Black, host of the 2025 Ryder Cup, $70 on weekdays for New York residents and $140 for everyone else
- Most exclusive: Augusta National, Pine Valley and Cypress Point, where there’s no public route at all
- Famous courses with no public access but a public alternative nearby: Cypress Point (Pebble Beach and Pacific Grove), Shinnecock Hills (Bethpage Black), The Country Club (Boston’s George Wright), Riviera (Los Angeles’s Rancho Park)
The famous golf courses at a glance
| Course | Location | Can you play it? | Green fee (Sept 2026) | Famous for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Augusta National | Augusta, Georgia | No, members’ guests only | – | The Masters; Amen Corner |
| The Old Course | St Andrews, Scotland | Yes: ballot or advance booking | About £355 peak (reported) | The home of golf; the Road Hole |
| Pebble Beach Golf Links | Pebble Beach, California | Yes | $695 | Holes 4 to 10 on the Pacific; six U.S. Opens |
| Pine Valley | Pine Valley, New Jersey | No, members’ guests only | – | No. 1 in America; sand and pines |
| Cypress Point | Pebble Beach, California | No, members’ guests only | – | The 16th across the Pacific |
| TPC Sawgrass (Stadium) | Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida | Yes | $550-$775 | The island-green 17th; the Players |
| Pinehurst No. 2 | Pinehurst, North Carolina | Yes, with a resort stay | Package only | Donald Ross’s crowned greens |
| Shinnecock Hills | Southampton, New York | No, members’ guests only | – | 2026 U.S. Open |
| Oakmont | Oakmont, Pennsylvania | No, members’ guests only | – | Church Pews bunker; fast greens |
| Merion (East) | Ardmore, Pennsylvania | No, members’ guests only | – | Wicker baskets; Hogan’s 1-iron |
| Bethpage Black | Farmingdale, New York | Yes | $70 residents / $140 non-residents | 2025 Ryder Cup; the warning sign |
| Winged Foot (West) | Mamaroneck, New York | No, members’ guests only | – | Six U.S. Opens |
| The Country Club | Brookline, Massachusetts | No, members’ guests only | – | Francis Ouimet’s 1913 U.S. Open |
| Riviera | Pacific Palisades, California | No, members’ guests only | – | The Genesis Invitational |
| Muirfield Village | Dublin, Ohio | No, members’ guests only | – | Jack Nicklaus’s Memorial Tournament |
| Whistling Straits | Haven, Wisconsin | Yes | Not published; caddie $90 | 2021 Ryder Cup; 1,000 bunkers |
| Kiawah Island Ocean Course | Kiawah Island, South Carolina | Yes | About $480 resort guests (reported) | 1991 “War by the Shore” Ryder Cup |
| Torrey Pines South | La Jolla, California | Yes | $73 residents / $258 non-residents | Tiger Woods’s 2008 U.S. Open |
| Royal Portrush (Dunluce) | Portrush, Northern Ireland | Yes, on visitor days | £420 (April to October 2026) | The 2019 and 2025 Opens |
Fees from each course’s own site, September 2026, except where marked “reported”. Pinehurst No. 2 is sold with a resort stay; Whistling Straits prices through its booking engine.
Two things jump out. Of the 19 courses in the table, 10 are private with no public route, and they’re mostly in the Northeast and on the Monterey Peninsula. And the famous courses you can play are rarely cheap: apart from Bethpage Black and Torrey Pines for residents, they cost several hundred dollars, and some require a hotel stay on top.
What is the most famous golf course in the world?
Augusta National in Georgia, home of the Masters since 1934, is the most famous golf course in the world, followed closely by the Old Course at St Andrews, the “home of golf”. Augusta is private and can’t be booked; the Old Course is public, with a daily ballot and advance bookings.
The case for Augusta is simple: it’s the only major championship venue that never changes, it’s on television every April, and its holes, from the 12th at Amen Corner to the 13th and 16th, are the most recognised in the game. The case for St Andrews is history: golf has been played on the Old Course for centuries, the Open Championship has been held there 30 times, and it’s still a public course where anyone can put their name in the ballot.
Pebble Beach, Pine Valley, Cypress Point and TPC Sawgrass complete most lists. Pebble is the best course most golfers will ever play; Pine Valley and Cypress Point are the best courses almost nobody plays; TPC Sawgrass has the most famous single hole you can book.
The famous private courses (and how close you can get)
These are the famous golf courses where the honest answer is “you can’t, unless”. None of them sells tee times or publishes a green fee or course rating, so the data lines give location, access, architect and what the course is known for, and each section ends with the best course you can actually play instead.
Augusta National Golf Club
Augusta, Georgia · private, members and their invited guests only · Alister MacKenzie and Bobby Jones (1933) · Golf Digest U.S. No. 2 · home of the Masters every April
Augusta National is the most exclusive famous course in the world. It has no public tee times, no rates and no way to buy a round; members invite guests, and a few media members play the day after the Masters through a lottery. It sits on an old plant nursery, and its huge, sloping greens, wide fairways lined with pines and the creek-crossed Amen Corner (holes 11, 12 and 13) are familiar to anyone who has watched the tournament.
Can you play it? Realistically, no. The only routes are an invitation from a member, a job that puts you in the post-Masters media lottery, or winning the Masters. Our guide to whether you can play Augusta National goes through every route, and we explain Augusta National’s hole names, each named after a plant, separately.
The playable alternative: there’s nothing quite like Augusta, but for a course with the same sense of place and a major-championship pedigree, Pinehurst No. 2 in North Carolina, with a resort stay, is the closest Southern experience. For the television look of pines, azaleas and big greens without the price, the best public courses in Georgia’s neighbour South Carolina are an easier drive.
Pine Valley Golf Club
Pine Valley, New Jersey · private, members and their guests · George Crump, with help from H.S. Colt (opened in stages from 1918) · Golf Digest U.S. No. 1 · no public access
Pine Valley is No. 1 on Golf Digest’s 2025-26 list and GOLF’s U.S. list, and it has held the top spot for most of the rankings’ history. George Crump, a Philadelphia hotelier, built it in the sandy pine barrens of southern New Jersey, and every hole is an island of fairway and green surrounded by vast areas of sand and scrub. There’s no rough in the normal sense: you’re on the grass, or you’re in trouble.
Can you play it? Only as a member’s guest, and many of its members live far away. It’s so private that the club is technically its own borough. Our guide to can the public play Pine Valley explains the few routes that exist.
The playable alternative: for the “island of grass in a sea of sand” style, Pinehurst No. 2’s sandy native areas give you a taste; for the brute difficulty and Northeast pedigree, Bethpage Black is the public course to test yourself on.
Cypress Point Club
Pebble Beach, California · private, members and their guests · Alister MacKenzie with Robert Hunter (1928) · Golf Digest U.S. No. 3 · no public access
Cypress Point is the most beautiful golf course in America by most people’s reckoning, a MacKenzie routing that runs from forest to sand dunes to the rocky Pacific shore on the Monterey Peninsula. The 16th, a long par 3 across an ocean inlet to a green on a headland, is one of the most photographed holes in the world, and the 15th and 17th along the rocks aren’t far behind.
Can you play it? Only with a member. The club has a very small membership and no outside play; see our guide to can you play Cypress Point. Alister MacKenzie’s golf courses you can play are covered in our separate guide.
The playable alternative: you’re in the right place. Pebble Beach, next door, costs $695; Spyglass Hill, whose first five holes run through the same kind of dunes, was reported at $525 plus a cart for non-guests through March 2026; and Pacific Grove Golf Links, a few minutes away, costs $66 walking on weekdays, with a back nine in the dunes by the ocean.
Shinnecock Hills Golf Club
Southampton, New York · private, members and their guests · William Flynn (1931) · Golf Digest U.S. No. 4 · host of the 2026 U.S. Open
Shinnecock Hills is one of the oldest clubs in America and one of the purest links-style courses in the country, set on rolling, windswept land near the eastern end of Long Island. It has hosted the U.S. Open repeatedly, including in 2018, and the 2026 championship returns there.
Can you play it? Only as a member’s guest; our guide to whether you can play Shinnecock Hills covers the details.
The playable alternative: Bethpage Black, an hour and a half west, is a public major-championship course for $140. Montauk Downs, a state park course at the tip of Long Island, is reported at about $48 on weekdays and plays in the same Long Island wind.
Oakmont Country Club
Oakmont, Pennsylvania · private, members and their guests · Henry Fownes (1903) · Golf Digest U.S. No. 5 · host of more U.S. Opens than any other course, most recently in 2025
Oakmont is the hardest famous course in America: long, treeless after a famous tree-removal programme, with deep bunkers, including the Church Pews between the 3rd and 4th fairways, and some of the fastest, most sloping greens in the world.
Can you play it? Only with a member. Our guide to whether you can play Oakmont explains, and heads off the confusion with other clubs of the same name.
The playable alternative: Bethpage Black is the public course that comes closest to Oakmont’s difficulty. Within Pennsylvania, there’s no public equivalent.
Merion Golf Club (East Course)
Ardmore, Pennsylvania · private, members and their guests · Hugh Wilson (1912) · Golf Digest U.S. No. 6 · host of the 2013 U.S. Open
Merion is the famous small course: short by championship standards, on a tight piece of land in Philadelphia’s Main Line suburbs, and full of history. It uses wicker baskets instead of flags on its flagsticks, and it’s where Ben Hogan hit his famous 1-iron to the 18th green in the 1950 U.S. Open, a shot captured in one of golf’s best-known photographs.
Can you play it? Only with a member; see our guide to whether you can play Merion.
The playable alternative: Cobbs Creek, Philadelphia’s great old municipal course, was designed with Hugh Wilson’s involvement and is being restored; its full 18 is reported to reopen in 2027. Until then, Bethpage Black is the nearest championship muni.
Winged Foot Golf Club (West Course)
Mamaroneck, New York · private, members and their guests · A.W. Tillinghast (1923) · Golf Digest U.S. No. 13 · host of six U.S. Opens, most recently 2020
Winged Foot’s West Course is famous for its deep, pear-shaped greens guarded by bunkers, and for how hard it plays in a U.S. Open: in 2006, Phil Mickelson made double bogey on the 18th to lose by a shot.
Can you play it? Only with a member.
The playable alternative: Tillinghast’s public work is the obvious answer. Bethpage Black and Bethpage Red are both Tillinghast courses on Long Island, at $140 and $90 for non-residents on weekdays.
The Country Club
Brookline, Massachusetts · private, members and their guests · founded 1882 · Golf Digest U.S. No. 17 · host of the 1913, 1963, 1988 and 2022 U.S. Opens and the 1999 Ryder Cup
The Country Club is one of the founding clubs of the USGA, and it’s where 20-year-old amateur Francis Ouimet, who grew up across the street, beat the British stars Harry Vardon and Ted Ray in a 1913 playoff that made golf popular in America.
Can you play it? Only with a member.
The playable alternative: George Wright, Boston’s city-owned Donald Ross course in Hyde Park, costs non-residents $61 on weekdays and is one of the best munis in America.
Riviera Country Club
Pacific Palisades, California · private, members and their guests · George Thomas with William Bell (1927) · Golf Digest U.S. No. 18 · home of the PGA Tour’s Genesis Invitational
Riviera is Hollywood’s golf club, set in a canyon near the ocean, with a famous short par-4 10th and a par-3 6th with a bunker in the middle of the green. Its 18th green sits in a natural amphitheatre that fills with spectators every February.
Can you play it? Only with a member.
The playable alternative: Rancho Park, the City of Los Angeles course a few miles away, costs $42 on weekdays. For a Bell-designed championship course by the ocean, Torrey Pines in San Diego is the public answer.
Muirfield Village Golf Club
Dublin, Ohio · private, members and their guests · Jack Nicklaus with Desmond Muirhead (1974) · Golf Digest U.S. No. 19 · home of the Memorial Tournament and the 1987 Ryder Cup
Muirfield Village is Jack Nicklaus’s club, named after the Scottish course where he won his first Open Championship, and it’s his most famous design: a parkland course with streams, perfect conditioning and a closing stretch that decides the Memorial Tournament every June.
Can you play it? Only with a member.
The playable alternative: Sleepy Hollow, a Cleveland Metroparks course designed by Stanley Thompson, is reported at about $37 with a cart on weekdays; it’s Golden Age rather than Nicklaus, but it’s the best-value tournament-quality round in Ohio.
For the full picture of America’s private golf, see our guides to the most exclusive golf clubs in America and to what country club membership costs.
Famous golf courses you can play
These are the famous courses you can actually book. Every one has a data line with its access rules and fee as published or reported in September 2026.
The Old Course at St Andrews
St Andrews, Scotland · public (St Andrews Links Trust) · no single architect; shaped by nature and centuries of play, with later work by Old Tom Morris · about £355 from April 20 to October 18, 2026, and £128 in winter from fairway mats (reported) · many visitor times allocated through a daily ballot entered by 2 pm two days before play; advance ballot applications for the next season are taken in late summer
The Old Course is where golf began, and it’s still a public course owned by a trust for the town. It has hosted the Open Championship 30 times. It plays out along the shore and back, with huge double greens shared by holes going in opposite directions, hidden pot bunkers and a finish every golfer knows: the Road Hole 17th, with its tee shot over the corner of the Old Course Hotel and its green beside a road, and the 18th, over the Swilcan Bridge to the town.
Getting on: most visitors play through the daily ballot, which needs two to four players; singles can’t enter alone. Our guide to how to book a tee time explains the ballot in more detail.
Which tees: you’ll play the tees the Links Trust sets for visitors. Expect wind, firm turf and bunkers you can’t see from the tee; take a caddie if you can.
Verdict: worth it once, for the history and the walk up the 18th, even at £355. The golf is stranger and more subtle than first-timers expect, and it gets better the more you play it.
Pebble Beach Golf Links
Pebble Beach, California · public · Jack Neville and Douglas Grant (1919) · Par 72; White tees 71.7/135 · Green fee $695 from April 2026 to March 2027; non-guests add $60 for a cart; caddie $175 · resort guests book up to 18 months ahead with a minimum stay; non-guests 24 hours ahead
Pebble Beach is the most famous course most golfers will ever play, and it’s No. 1 on both major public rankings. The stretch from the 4th to the 10th runs along the cliffs above Carmel Bay, including the tiny par-3 7th, played downhill to a green surrounded by rocks and ocean, and the 8th, with its approach across a chasm. It has hosted six U.S. Opens.
Which tees: Pebble isn’t long from the White tees, but the small greens and the wind are the test. A 10-handicap will enjoy the Whites; an 18 or a 25 should play forward.
Verdict: worth it once if you can afford it. With a caddie and tip, budget close to $1,000. Nothing else you can book matches holes 4 to 10.
TPC Sawgrass (Stadium Course)
Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida · public · Pete Dye (1980) · Par 72, 7,352 yards · Blue tees 73.9/148 · Green fee from $775 from September to May and $550 from June to August, including cart, forecaddie and range balls · walking with a caddie is a $130 upgrade · book 14 days ahead, or 12 months with lodging
TPC Sawgrass’s Stadium Course is home of the Players Championship, and its 17th, a short par 3 to a green surrounded by water, is the most famous hole anyone can play. Most golfers stand on the tee far more nervous than the yardage justifies.
Verdict: worth it once, ideally in summer at $550. At $775, you’re paying a lot for one hole and 17 very good others. See our guide to Florida’s best courses for alternatives.
Pinehurst No. 2
Pinehurst, North Carolina · resort guests and members only, with a two-night minimum stay · Donald Ross (1907, continually revised); Coore and Crenshaw restoration (2011) · Par 72, 6,961 yards (Blue) · no stand-alone green fee; a $250 premium on a package · caddie $85, forecaddie $45
Pinehurst No. 2 is Donald Ross’s masterpiece and the home of American golf’s biggest resort. Its crowned greens shed any approach that isn’t perfect, and its sandy native areas give it a rugged look since Coore and Crenshaw’s restoration. It hosted the 2024 U.S. Open and has more coming.
Verdict: worth building a golf stay around, especially with a caddie. See our guide to the best golf courses in North Carolina for Pinehurst’s other courses.
Bethpage State Park (Black Course)
Farmingdale, New York · public (New York State Parks) · A.W. Tillinghast (1936) · Par 71, 7,468 yards · New York residents $70 weekdays and $80 weekends; non-residents $140 and $160; plus a $5 booking fee (April 2026 price list) · walking only · residents book 7 days ahead and non-residents 5, from 7 pm; one Black round every 28 days
Bethpage Black is the famous course that best lives up to the idea of public golf. It hosted the U.S. Open in 2002 and 2009, the PGA Championship in 2019 and the Ryder Cup in 2025, and its first-tee sign warns that it is an extremely difficult course for highly skilled golfers.
Verdict: the best value among the famous courses by a distance. Walk it, and play a set of tees forward. See our guide to the best municipal golf courses in America.
Whistling Straits (Straits Course)
Haven, Wisconsin · public (Destination Kohler) · Pete Dye (1998) · Par 72, 7,790 yards · Blue tees 74.2/145 · Green fee not published; priced through the booking engine · walking only; caddie optional, $90 plus tip
Whistling Straits hosted the 2021 Ryder Cup and three PGA Championships on a stretch of Lake Michigan shoreline that Pete Dye reshaped into huge, man-made dunes with roughly a thousand bunkers by the usual count.
Verdict: a genuine championship experience on a spectacular site. It’s long and very hard from the back; play forward and take a caddie.
The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island
Kiawah Island, South Carolina · public · Pete Dye (1991) · Par 72, 7,385 yards · Gold tees 74.7/150 · Green fee not published; about $480 for resort guests (reported, 2026), more for non-guests · non-guests book up to 60 days ahead · walk at any time; no caddie fee
The Ocean Course was built for the 1991 Ryder Cup, the “War by the Shore”, and has since hosted two PGA Championships, including Phil Mickelson’s win at 50 in 2021. Ten holes run along the Atlantic, and the wind decides everything.
Verdict: one of the two or three best rounds you can book in America. Walk it with a caddie in the morning, before the wind gets up. See our guide to South Carolina’s best courses.
Torrey Pines (South Course)
La Jolla, California · public (City of San Diego) · William F. Bell (1957); Rees Jones redesign (2001) · Par 72, 7,802 yards · San Diego residents $73 Monday to Thursday and $90 Friday to Sunday; non-residents $258 and $322; cart $48 (2026)
Torrey Pines South is where Tiger Woods won the 2008 U.S. Open in a playoff, on a broken leg, and it hosts the PGA Tour’s Farmers Insurance Open every year. The clifftop setting above the Pacific is as famous as the golf.
Verdict: a bargain for San Diego residents; for visitors, worth it once, but the North Course is better value.
Royal Portrush (Dunluce Links)
Portrush, Northern Ireland · visitors on set days and times · Harry Colt (1929); Martin Ebert changes for the 2019 Open · Green fee £420 per person from April 1 to October 31, 2026; the Valley Links £200 (official) · visitor times limited, with Wednesday closed to visitor bookings and Saturday largely reserved for members
Royal Portrush hosted the Open Championship in 1951, 2019 and 2025, and its Dunluce Links runs through huge dunes above the Atlantic on Northern Ireland’s north coast.
Verdict: one of the great links in the world, and at £420 priced like it. The Valley Links next door, at £200, is excellent value.
Two more famous Open venues sell visitor times: Carnoustie’s Championship Course in Scotland, reported at about £360 in peak season, and Muirfield, the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers’ links, whose peak visitor fee is reported to rise to £420 in 2027. And don’t forget Harbour Town Golf Links on Hilton Head Island, home of the RBC Heritage, where dynamic 2026 rates were reported from $378 to $651.
The most famous holes in golf, and whether you can play them
| Hole | Course | Can you play it? | Why it’s famous |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12th, Golden Bell | Augusta National | No | Short par 3 over Rae’s Creek at the heart of Amen Corner |
| 17th, the Road Hole | Old Course, St Andrews | Yes | Blind tee shot over a hotel; green beside a road and wall |
| 17th, the island green | TPC Sawgrass | Yes, from $550 | Water on every side of the green |
| 7th | Pebble Beach | Yes, $695 | Tiny par 3 downhill to a green surrounded by ocean |
| 16th | Cypress Point | No | Long par 3 across an ocean inlet |
| 18th | Pebble Beach | Yes, $695 | Par 5 along the seawall of Carmel Bay |
| 3rd/4th, Church Pews | Oakmont | No | A bunker striped with rows of grass ridges |
| 16th | TPC Scottsdale Stadium | Yes, reported $303 to $550 | A par 3 that becomes a stadium during the Phoenix Open |
| 3rd | Mauna Kea, Hawaii | Yes, reported $185 to $295 | Par 3 across a cove of open ocean |
Access and fees from each course’s own site, September 2026, except where marked “reported”.
For more holes and courses worth the trip, see our list of bucket-list golf courses.
Which championship venues can you play?
Of the major-championship and Ryder Cup venues in the United States, only a handful are public: Pebble Beach, Pinehurst No. 2 (with a stay), Bethpage Black, Torrey Pines, TPC Sawgrass, Whistling Straits, the Ocean Course at Kiawah, Chambers Bay and PGA Frisco’s Fields Ranch East. Most future U.S. Open and Ryder Cup venues are private.
Here’s what’s coming up, and which of those venues you can book:
| Event | Year | Venue | Can you play it? |
|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. Open | 2026 | Shinnecock Hills | No |
| PGA Championship | 2027 | PGA Frisco (Fields Ranch East) | Yes, reported $277 to $330 |
| Ryder Cup | 2029 | Hazeltine National | No |
| PGA Championship | 2031 | Kiawah Island Ocean Course | Yes |
| PGA Championship | 2033 | Bethpage Black | Yes, $140 for non-residents |
| Ryder Cup | 2033 | The Olympic Club | No |
| PGA Championship | 2034 | PGA Frisco (Fields Ranch East) | Yes |
| U.S. Open | 2036 | Shinnecock Hills | No |
| Ryder Cup | 2037 | Congressional | No |
Venues as announced by the PGA of America, the USGA and Ryder Cup Europe; fees from each course’s site, September 2026, except where marked “reported”.
The U.S. Open’s future rotation leans heavily on private clubs, with Pebble Beach and Pinehurst No. 2 the only public exceptions among its confirmed sites. We track each rota in our guides to future U.S. Open sites, future PGA Championship sites and future Ryder Cup venues, and we list U.S. Open courses you can play in a separate guide.
How to play a famous golf course
If you’ve decided on a famous round, here’s how to make it happen:
- Check whether it’s public. Augusta, Pine Valley, Cypress Point, Shinnecock, Oakmont, Merion, Winged Foot, The Country Club, Riviera and Muirfield Village aren’t, and there’s no paid route in.
- Find the booking rule. Pebble Beach opens 24 hours ahead to non-guests and 18 months to resort guests; TPC Sawgrass 14 days or 12 months with lodging; Bethpage Black 5 days for non-residents, from 7 pm; the Old Course uses a ballot.
- Decide whether a stay is worth it. At Pebble Beach and Pinehurst No. 2, a hotel stay is the reliable route; at Pinehurst it’s the only one.
- Budget the whole round. Add caddies ($85 to $175), forecaddies, carts and tips to the green fee.
- Pick your season. TPC Sawgrass is $225 cheaper in summer; the Old Course is £128 from mats in winter.
- Choose the right tees. Famous courses are often long and hard from the back; play a set forward and enjoy it.
- Take a caddie where one is offered. On a course you’ll play once, local knowledge is worth more than a club.
How much does it cost to play a famous golf course?
The famous courses you can play cost from $70 (Bethpage Black for New York residents) to $775 (TPC Sawgrass from September to May), before caddies and tips. Pebble Beach is $695, Royal Portrush £420 and the Old Course about £355 in peak season, reported.
| Course | Green fee (as of September 2026) | Extras |
|---|---|---|
| TPC Sawgrass (Stadium) | $550 summer, $775 September to May | Cart, forecaddie, range included |
| Pebble Beach | $695 | Cart $60 for non-guests; caddie $175 |
| Harbour Town | $378 to $651 dynamic (reported) | Forecaddie; cart |
| Kiawah Ocean Course | About $480 resort guests (reported) | Caddie tips |
| Royal Portrush (Dunluce) | £420 | Caddie extra |
| Carnoustie (Championship) | About £360 peak (reported) | Caddie extra |
| The Old Course | About £355 peak (reported) | Caddie extra |
| Torrey Pines South | $258 non-residents; $73 residents | Cart $48; $50 advance fee for non-residents |
| Pinehurst No. 2 | $250 premium on a stay-and-play package | Caddie $85 |
| Bethpage Black | $140 non-residents; $70 residents | $5 booking fee; walking only |
Our guide to how much a round of golf costs puts these prices in context, and our ranking of the best public golf courses in America tells you which famous courses are also the best value.
How to choose which famous course to play
- For the most famous round you can book in America: Pebble Beach.
- For golf history: the Old Course at St Andrews.
- For the most famous hole: TPC Sawgrass’s 17th.
- For major-championship difficulty at a public price: Bethpage Black.
- For architecture: Pinehurst No. 2, with a stay, or the Ocean Course at Kiawah.
- For value: Bethpage Black, Torrey Pines North and George Wright in Boston.
- For a private icon you can’t get into: play the public alternative nearby, from Pacific Grove for Cypress Point to Rancho Park for Riviera.
Frequently asked questions
What is the most famous golf course in the world?
Augusta National in Georgia, home of the Masters, is the most famous, followed by the Old Course at St Andrews in Scotland, the “home of golf”. Augusta is private; the Old Course is public, with a daily ballot and advance bookings. Pebble Beach is the most famous course most golfers can play.
Can the public play Augusta National?
No. Augusta National is private, and there’s no way to buy a round. Golfers play only as a member’s guest, and a small number of media members play the day after the Masters through a lottery. Tickets to the Masters let you watch, not play.
What famous golf courses can you play?
The most famous courses you can book include the Old Course at St Andrews, Pebble Beach ($695), TPC Sawgrass ($550 to $775), Bethpage Black ($140 for non-residents), Torrey Pines South, Whistling Straits, the Ocean Course at Kiawah, Royal Portrush (£420) and, with a resort stay, Pinehurst No. 2.
How much does it cost to play Pebble Beach?
The green fee at Pebble Beach Golf Links is $695 from April 2026 to March 2027. Non-guests pay $60 more for a cart, and a caddie is $175 plus tip. Resort guests can book up to 18 months ahead with a minimum stay; non-guests can book only 24 hours ahead.
How do you get a tee time on the Old Course at St Andrews?
Most visitors enter the daily ballot, by 2 pm two days before they want to play, with a group of two to four; singles can’t enter alone. Advance ballot applications for the next season are taken in late summer. The peak green fee is reported at about £355.
Can you play Pine Valley Golf Club?
Only as a guest of a member. Pine Valley in New Jersey, No. 1 on Golf Digest’s 2025-26 America’s 100 Greatest, has no public tee times and doesn’t publish a green fee. Its membership is small and many members live far from the club.
What is the most famous golf hole?
The 12th at Augusta National, the short par 3 over Rae’s Creek at Amen Corner, and the island-green 17th at TPC Sawgrass are the most recognised. Of the two, only the 17th at TPC Sawgrass can be played by the public, from $550 in summer.
Which U.S. Open courses can you play?
Pebble Beach, Pinehurst No. 2 (with a stay), Bethpage Black, Torrey Pines South, Chambers Bay and Erin Hills are U.S. Open venues open to the public. Most other recent and future U.S. Open sites, including Shinnecock Hills, Oakmont and Winged Foot, are private.
Our verdict
The famous golf courses split cleanly into two groups: the ones you’ll watch and the ones you can play. Augusta, Pine Valley, Cypress Point and the great Northeastern clubs belong to the first group, and there’s no shortcut in. Accept that, and the second group is remarkable.
If you can play only one famous course in America, make it Pebble Beach. If you want the best value, play Bethpage Black. If you want golf’s history in one round, put your name in the Old Course ballot. And if the icon you want is private, play the public course next door, from Pacific Grove to George Wright, and enjoy the fact that it costs a fraction of the price.
Sources
- America’s 100 Greatest Golf Courses, 2025-26, Golf Digest
- Top 100 Courses in the U.S., GOLF
- 20 of the world’s most famous golf courses, Golf Monthly
- Frequently asked questions, Pebble Beach Resorts
- FAQ, TPC Sawgrass
- FAQs, Pinehurst Resort
- Golf price list, Bethpage State Park
- Rates and policies, Destination Kohler
- The Ocean Course, Kiawah Island Golf Resort
- Golf, City of San Diego
- Visitors, Royal Portrush Golf Club
- Old Course ballot, St Andrews Links Trust
- Green fees to play top 100 courses in Great Britain and Ireland in summer 2026, National Club Golfer
- Sea Pines Resort golf, Sea Pines Resort
- Rates, City of Boston Golf
- Course rates, Pacific Grove Golf Links
Image credits
| Image | Photographer | Licence | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Old Course, St Andrews: Swilcan Bridge and R&A clubhouse (featured image) | Optograph | CC BY-SA 3.0 | Wikimedia Commons |
| Pine Valley Golf Club, 17th hole | Frjlove | public domain | Wikimedia Commons |
| Muirfield Village Golf Club entrance, Dublin, Ohio | Nheyob | CC BY-SA 4.0 | Wikimedia Commons |
| Royal Portrush Golf Club, 5th hole | The Average Golfer | CC BY 3.0 | Wikimedia Commons |
| Augusta National, 10th hole | Mbrooks | public domain | Wikimedia Commons |
| Pebble Beach Golf Links, 18th green | WilliamFMeyer | CC BY-SA 4.0 | Wikimedia Commons |
| Cypress Point Club, 16th hole | schnaars | CC BY-SA 2.0 | Wikimedia Commons |
| TPC Sawgrass, 17th hole | Unknown photographer | public domain | Wikimedia Commons |