World’s #1 Golf Course 2025 - Which Course Holds the Top Spot?

When you hear the phrase world #1 golf course, you might picture the ancient links of St Andrews or the rugged cliffs of Cypress Point. In 2025 the crown actually belongs to Pacific Dunes, the flagship layout of the Bandon Dunes Golf Resort in Oregon, USA. The surprise comes from a blend of raw natural beauty, modern design principles, and a scoring system that rewards both challenge and playability.

How the Global Rankings Are Compiled

Most readers assume a single authority decides the best course, but the reality is a tapestry of expert panels, player surveys, and statistical analyses. The two heavyweight lists that dominate the conversation are Golf Digest’s "World’s 100 Greatest Golf Courses" and Golf Magazine’s "Top 100 Courses". Both use a 10‑point rubric covering:

• Shot‑making variety - how many different clubs a golfer must use.
• Strategic options - risk‑reward scenarios built into each hole.
• Conditioning - fairway speed, green firmness, and bunker maintenance.
• Scenery and setting - visual impact and relationship to the surrounding landscape.
• Historical significance - tournaments hosted and legacy.

Golf Digest surveys over 500 active touring professionals and avid amateurs, weighting their votes 70% versus a 30% panel of architects and journalists. Golf Magazine leans more heavily on writer expertise, but both converge on a similar top‑five.

The Current Champion: Pacific Dunes

Pacific Dunes opened in 2012 under the direction of renowned architect Tom Fazio. Here are the hard numbers that make it a statistical standout:

• Location: Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, Bandon, Oregon, USA.
• Architect: Tom Fazio (design) in collaboration with Jack Nicklaus on certain tee placements.
• Year opened: 2012.
• Par: 71.
• Length: 7,460 yards (championship tees).
• Course rating: 77.3.
• Slope: 147.

What sets Pacific Dunes apart isn’t just the raw length. The layout weaves through dramatic sand dunes that roll down to the Pacific Ocean, delivering wind‑swept fairways that change character hour by hour. Fazio’s signature "wide fairways with narrow playable options" forces decision‑making on every tee. The 14th hole, a par‑5 that swerves along a cliff edge, consistently earns the highest strategic‑option score across all surveys.

Why It Beats the Competition

Every top‑ranked course excels in at least three of the five rubric categories. Pacific Dunes tops all five, and the margins are clear:

1. Shot‑making variety: Players use 12‑plus different clubs in a single round, from high‑lofted wedges on the dunes to low‑lofted drivers battling ocean breezes.
2. Strategic depth: Each hole offers three distinct routes - aggressive, safe, and left‑cornered - letting a low‑handicap golfer attack while preserving options for a higher‑handicap player.
3. Conditioning: The resort maintains 10‑year‑old Bentgrass greens that roll like glass, with a bunker maintenance program that replaces 15% of sand annually.
4. Scenery: Views of the Pacific Ocean, dunes, and towering pine forests give a visual score of 9.8/10, the highest in the 2025 poll.
5. Historical relevance: While newer than St Andrews, Pacific Dunes has already hosted two PGA Tour Champions events and the 2024 US Amateur, cementing its place in modern golf history.

Combine those scores and the composite rating climbs to 9.6 out of 10 - a full point ahead of the next best, Royal County Down (Northern Ireland), which scores lower on conditioning due to its older, more natural turf.

Top 5 Courses in the 2025 World Rankings

Experiencing Pacific Dunes: Practical Tips

If you’re planning a pilgrimage to the world’s #1 course, here’s a quick checklist to make the most of your trip:

• Book early: Tee times for Pacific Dunes fill up six months in advance, especially for the spring “flower‑bloom” window.
• Bring layered clothing: Coastal fog can drop temperatures by 15°F in the morning, then heat up quickly by noon.
• Rent or bring a low‑bounce driver: The ocean breeze often pushes the ball off‑line; a low‑spin driver helps keep it in the fairway.
• Play the “West Side” rotation: This itinerary starts on the 9th hole and finishes on the 18th, offering the most dramatic sunset view on the 18th.
• Respect the dunes: The resort enforces a “leave no trace” rule - sandbags and native grasses are protected.

What Makes a Course Truly Great? - A Quick Evaluation Checklist

Whether you’re rating a local municipal course or a world‑class resort, use the following mini‑audit. Score each item out of 10; a composite above 8 usually lands a course in the top‑tier list.

1. Variety of shot options (clubs required, tee‑shot vs. approach).
2. Strategic depth (risk‑reward, multiple landing zones).
3. Conditioning (fairway speed, green firmness, bunker quality).
4. Scenic integration (views, natural obstacles, course‑environment harmony).
5. Historical or tournament relevance.
6. Architectural pedigree (renowned designer, design philosophy).
7. Maintenance sustainability (water usage, native flora).

Future Outlook: Will Pacific Dunes Keep Its Crown?

Course rankings are fluid. New projects like The National Golf Club in Egypt, slated for a 2027 opening, aim to combine desert vistas with cutting‑edge agronomy. Meanwhile, the resurgence of classic links in Scotland (e.g., the newly restored Turnberry (Ailsa)) may challenge the coastal dominance of Pacific Dunes. The key for any course is to evolve - updating turf varieties, embracing sustainable practices, and keeping the architecture relevant to modern equipment.