{"id":37329,"date":"2025-08-01T04:23:10","date_gmt":"2025-08-01T04:23:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/37329\/"},"modified":"2025-08-01T04:23:10","modified_gmt":"2025-08-01T04:23:10","slug":"what-really-are-the-greatest-36-holes-in-golf","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/37329\/","title":{"rendered":"What Really Are The Greatest 36 Holes in Golf"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\tIf you have been watching the news or scanning through the depths of social media, you will probably be aware that U.S. President, Donald Trump, has officially unveiled The New Course at Trump International Golf Links, Scotland<\/a>, joining the established Old Course and providing the Aberdeenshire venue with a pair of visually spectacular layouts.<\/p>\n

\tNot a stranger to hyperbole, the ownership of the estate has already branded their expanded destination in the North East of Scotland as The Greatest 36 Holes in Golf.<\/p>\n

\tWhether it justifies that moniker isn’t for us to say, as we’ve never been there, but it will have to go some way in order to better some other locations that boast a pair of remarkable courses of their own.<\/p>\n

\tLast year, we scoured the UK to uncover some of the most Highly Recommended destinations on Golfshake<\/a> that have two exceptional courses to play.<\/p>\n

\tWhat Really Are The Greatest 36 Holes in Golf?<\/p>\n

\tThere are so many candidates – and it doesn’t take long to identify them. Internationally, Royal Melbourne and its East and West courses are standouts, while others would cite the likes of Pinehurst and Bandon Dunes in the United States, where you can put together a varied assortment of holes, as they have several layouts to choose from.<\/p>\n

\tBut we’ll stick closer to the UK & Ireland, and you have much gold to pick through. Sunningdale<\/a> is one of the most iconic clubs in the game, featuring a pair of courses that rank among the finest in England, which, aligned with a traditional atmosphere and hospitality, makes it one of the truly quintessential experiences in British golf.<\/p>\n

\t\"Sunningdale\"<\/p>\n

\t(Image Credit: Kevin Diss Photography<\/a>)<\/p>\n

\tJust down the road from Sunningdale, The Berkshire<\/a> is undeniably a rival for that status, offering a golfing menu that few places on the planet could realistically surpass.<\/p>\n

\tBeyond those, the likes of Woodhall Spa<\/a>, Walton Heath<\/a>, Saunton<\/a> and Enville<\/a> are just some of the other English venues that present a pair of golf courses that alone would be considered outstanding anywhere else.<\/p>\n

\tYou may also believe that for somewhere to have a reputation for greatness it needs to offer more beyond just the golf itself, and that’s where past Ryder Cup hosts Gleneagles<\/a>, Celtic Manor<\/a> and The Belfry<\/a> come into their own, as alongside memorable courses, they have accommodation, restaurants and attractions to ensure that your time spent on their property is a complete one.<\/p>\n

\tGiven that each of those venues has three courses, you would have to choose your own 36, and certainly in the case of Gleneagles, the controversial (or maybe not) perspective suggests that you avoid the Ryder Cup (and Solheim Cup) course and play the King’s and Queen’s instead.<\/p>\n

\tHeading across the Irish Sea, the Republic of Ireland has numerous multi-course clubs that rate alongside the finest on the planet.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\tWhat about The Old Course and Cashen Course at Ballybunion<\/a>, or the pair of layouts you can take on at the magnificent Lahinch<\/a>?<\/p>\n

\tHeading further north to County Donegal, you will find Ballyliffin<\/a>, whose Old Links and Glashedy Links are both definitive must plays, while Rosapenna<\/a> now has a trio of courses – Old Tom Morris Links, Sandy Hill Links, and the relatively new St Patrick’s Links – with any combination making a duo that is genuinely great.<\/p>\n

\tWithin Northern Ireland, the headline courses at both Royal Portrush<\/a> and Royal County Down<\/a> are revered for good reason, but the second layouts at both venues, The Valley and the\u00a0Annesley Links, are rather good too and complement their big sibling wonderfully.<\/p>\n

\tReturning to Scotland, where the enhanced Trump International has taken the spotlight, clubs with multiple courses are commonplace.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\tSome of the best include the likes of Crail<\/a>, Monifieth<\/a>, Moray<\/a> and Blairgowrie<\/a>. And looking at Open venues, Turnberry<\/a>, another Trump site, developed its King Robert the Bruce Course to match up with the superb Ailsa.<\/p>\n

\tFurther up the Ayrshire coast, Royal Troon<\/a> and its two layouts, the famed Old Course and the somewhat overshadowed Portland Course (which had design input from Dr Alister MacKenzie) are a pretty stout pairing too.<\/p>\n

\tVenturing to the east of the nation, Gullane<\/a> No. 1 and No. 2 would make for a rather enjoyable day on the links, while there are three courses at Carnoustie<\/a>, with the Championship and Burnside making a fine duo, and it would be difficult to find a more special and meaningful 36 holes than playing both the Old Course and New Course in St Andrews<\/a>, which I have memorably taken on during the same day.<\/p>\n

\tNone of these inclusions consider those separate clubs that you could easily play in one day, such as Royal St George’s<\/a> and Royal Cinque Ports<\/a>, Formby<\/a> and Formby Ladies<\/a>, which don’t even begin to scratch the surface.<\/p>\n

\tWhile Trump International in Aberdeenshire may claim to have The Greatest 36 Holes in Golf, there are so many competitors for that accolade, which just highlights how many unforgettable golfing experiences are out there just waiting for you to discover them.<\/p>\n

\tRelated Content<\/p>\n

\tThe Best Golf Venues That Offer 36 Holes<\/a><\/p>\n

\tThe Best 36 Hole Golf Venues You Can Play<\/a><\/p>\n

\tThe Best Golf Courses to Play Near The Open Venues<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"If you have been watching the news or scanning through the depths of social media, you will probably…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":37330,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[5904,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-37329","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golf","tag-golf","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37329","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37329"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37329\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37330"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37329"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37329"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37329"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}