We have been counting down which courses have made it into the top 100 of our Architects’ Choice Top 100 Golf Courses in the World, as voted for by over 240 golf course architects from 28 countries across the globe.

Number four on the list is:

Augusta National
Georgia, USA
Alister MacKenzie, Bobby Jones, 1933

Eric Iverson of Renaissance Golf Design says: “At its core is a brilliantly routed course that uses topography, in large scale as well as contours in and around greens, to drive the strategy of the course, with very few bunkers, particularly in its earlier iterations. Ignore the azaleas, dogwoods, perfect turf, all of which have had a questionable impact on golf. What I see is the rare golf course that can reward superior ball striking from the likes of Nicklaus and the creativity and swashbuckling recovery style of Seve in equal measure – all the while providing a thoroughly enjoyable experience for the members immediately before and after the event. Any 18 handicappers care to have a go at Muirfield or Oakmont two weeks before those Opens? Although unspoken, the idea of Augusta remains among the strongest inspirations for our work: finding and playing one’s ball from nearly anywhere, contour rather than hazards the primary driver of strategy, and abundant short grass from which to craft creative shots for recovery play.”

Check the website later today as we reveal which course appears at No. 3 on our Top 100 list.

A full report of the Top 100 – including the observations of golf course architects – will be sent to Golf Course Architecture monthly e-mail newsletter subscribers on July 12th. Sign up for free by entering your email address in the e-mail newsletter box on the home page of this website.

Architects’ Choice: 100-91| 90-81 | 80-71 | 70-61 | 60-51 | 50-41 | 40-31 | 30-21 | 20-11 | 10-6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | the full report