Golf is opening up to a wider public and different profiles among its followers. We are seeing younger players, more women and even more families practicing this sport together. Golf is in fashion.
The golf industry grows without great ostentation, but without stopping. New facilities and courses are constantly being built all over the world, even in countries with lesser golfing traditions, such as Belarus or Azarbaijan. However, it is in the United States where the largest number of golf courses in the world are concentrated (45% of the total), but also Canada, Japan, and of course England and Scotland.
In the United States you have one of the top courses in the world, Cypress Point. On the Monterey Peninsula, in California, we can find one of the most special golf courses, and an icon in this sport, due to its combination of design, fauna and landscape. Also, in southern New Jersey we have the option of Piney Valler, a select club that is difficult to access. Its exclusivity is such that the secret list of names of its partners does not reach 1000 worldwide. You can only access it by invitation from one of them.
But if you don’t need so much exclusivity, you can also look at the neighboring country, Canada.
The Dakota Dunes Golf Links, in Sakatchewan, is an 18-hole course opened in 2004, set in a surprising setting, on rugged terrain between natural sand dunes and prairie. With a changing landscape of crocuses, cactus flowers and wild roses, each hole is a different challenge. The Dakota Dunes Golf Links is host to the Dakota Dunes PGA Tour of Canada, held each year during the first week of July. In it, 156 professional golfers from the international circuit compete for a trophy of 150,000 dollars.
And it is that Canada is a perfect enclave for great golf courses, in fact the Dakota Dunes Golf Links is not the only one. Waterton Lakes, in Alberta (one of the oldest), also deserve a mention; Kirrie Glen in the Ontario region (9 holes with beautiful scenery) or the Humber Valley, in the Atlantic province of Newfoundland and Labrador (fabulous 18-hole course, somewhat overshadowed by surrounding real estate development) or the Stanley Pitch and Putt in Vancouver.
However, the title of best golf course, according to many experts, is not found on the other side of the Atlantic, but in Scotland. The Old Course of Saint Andrews is for many the best in the world. Of course, with five centuries of existence, it is one of the oldest and most traditional. It is a public tour, actually overseen by the Scottish Parliament. In this case, there are several clubs that can play in this field that, as a curiosity, we will tell you that it closes on Sundays, because the field has to rest too.
In Spain we also have many clubs that are highly valued by golfers from all over the world, especially on the islands. The Abama Golf or the Buenavista Golf in Tenerife, or the Andratx Golf Course in Mallorca are just a few where you can practice your swing.