Five Iconic Golf Courses and What Golfers Can Learn From Them

By Jacob Williams · June 7, 2022

There is no single objective list of the world's best golf courses. Rankings change with the criteria: architecture, history, championship record, scenery, conditioning, access, or the experience of playing the course.

A more useful approach is to study courses that have influenced how golfers think about strategy. The five below are not presented as a definitive ranking. Each offers a different lesson in angles, wind, recovery, approach play, or course management.

The Old Course at St Andrews, Scotland

St Andrews Links describes itself as the Home of Golf, and the Old Course remains one of the game's most recognizable layouts. Its shared fairways, large double greens, bunkers, wind, and alternate lines ask players to think beyond the shortest route to the hole.

What golfers can learn: A good tee shot is not always the one closest to the green. The better target may be the side of the fairway that creates a clearer angle for the next shot. Before choosing a club, work backward from the safest approach.

Pebble Beach Golf Links, California

Pebble Beach officially opened in 1919 after Jack Neville and Douglas Grant routed the course along the Monterey coastline. The course's history includes major championships, but its practical lesson is visible on every coastal hole: scenery does not remove the need for disciplined targets.

What golfers can learn: Separate the heroic shot from the percentage shot. Account for wind, required carry, and the safest miss before aiming toward a flag near trouble.

Pinehurst No. 2, North Carolina

Pinehurst identifies No. 2 as a Donald Ross design known for wide fairways, native sand and wiregrass, and raised turtleback greens. A drive can appear successful and still leave a demanding approach or recovery.

What golfers can learn: Approach strategy begins before the approach shot. Favor positions that leave a manageable angle, and accept that missing in the correct place can be more valuable than chasing every flag.

Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, New York

Shinnecock Hills was founded in 1891 and is one of the USGA's founding clubs. The club's history credits William Flynn with the present course, which opened for the 1931 season and uses the site's natural topography. Its routing repeatedly changes the direction of play.

What golfers can learn: Wind is not one fixed adjustment for the entire round. Reassess it from each tee and approach, then choose a trajectory and target that fit the current direction.

Royal County Down, Northern Ireland

Royal County Down was founded in 1889 at Newcastle. Its championship links setting represents a form of golf in which natural ground, wind, dunes, and changing sightlines shape decision-making.

What golfers can learn: When the landing area is uncertain, choose a clear intermediate target and commit to the shot. Good planning reduces indecision even when the course does not show every feature from address.

How to study a great course without playing it

You can learn from course architecture before booking a trip:

1. Review an official course map or scorecard.
2. Identify the main hazard and safest miss on each hole.
3. Notice where the preferred approach angle begins from the tee.
4. Compare aggressive and conservative routes.
5. Ask how wind or firm ground would change the plan.

The value of studying an iconic course is not copying a tournament professional's shots. It is learning to make clearer decisions with the game you have.

For a repeatable pre-shot framework, read the C.H.E.W. distance-control guide.

Golf Upgrades provides private and small-group coaching with Jacob Williams, PGA Associate, at Sorrento Canyon Golf Center and Miramar Golf Course.

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Sources

• St Andrews Links
• Pebble Beach Golf Links
• Pinehurst No. 2
• Shinnecock Hills Golf Club history
• Royal County Down history

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