The middle of last decade was a strong moment for new golf course design. Last year, a slew of courses that opened in 2014 celebrated double-digit anniversaries, with standouts including Jack Nicklaus’s long-awaited dramatic layout in Cabo San Lucas, Quivira; Tennessee’s Sweetens Cove, the 9-holer that gained a cult-like following and popularized the idea that a course’s layout can benefit from some fluidity; another Cabo San Lucas design in El Cardonal at Diamante, representing Tiger Woods’s first foray into golf course architecture; and the Sands course at Washington’s Gamble Sands, which set David McLay Kidd down the avenue of creating golf courses that emphasized fun and playability over all else.
While we’re coming off a year that witnessed those courses—and several others—celebrate 10 years, we’re also entering a new one where several more notable golf designs are prepping for similar anniversaries. Here, we present five noteworthy courses that turn 10 years old in 2025.
Cabot Cliffs—Inverness, Nova Scotia, Canada
When Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw were putting the final touches on the second course at Cabot Cape Breton—a stunning links layout that presents dramatic vistas and offers equally stunning shot values and strategy—they were both affirming the resort’s legitimacy and carving out the fairways for what would soon become Canada’s perennially top-ranked course (ranked No. 29 on The LINKS 100). Anyone who adamantly proclaims that true links golf only exists in the British Isles simply hasn’t had the good fortune to tee it up on this modern gem.
The architecture duo’s propensity to build courses that provide options, encourage creativity, and utilize the land’s natural forms is on full display almost immediately, as the 2nd hole’s generously wide fairway is effectively compressed thanks to an expansive dune that fronts the green and, depending on hole locations, places a premium on positioning drives on either the left or right side of the fairway. The 6th hole takes prominent inspiration from classic par threes in the UK, where a multi-tiered green nestled amongst the dunes forces players to consider bounces and rolls. It’s the epitome of links golf. And the 16th and 17th holes sparkle for their ability to balance an intimidating position along cliff’s edge with plenty of room to land shots with the benefit of contours that can direct balls closer to the putting surface.

Tara Iti Golf Club—Te Arai, New Zealand
It’s safe to say that Tom Doak racked up a considerable number of frequent flyer miles in 2015. Not only did he complete his first course in Continental Europe with the 18 holes at Grand Saint Emilionnais Golf Club in Bordeaux, France—he also put the finishing touches on New Zealand’s premiere private course, Tara Iti (ranked No. 19 on The LINKS 100), a layout that has garnered a slew of accolades over the past decade.
In many respects, Doak was the ideal architect for the job, as his minimalist approach complemented the rugged, seaside parcel of land and allowed the natural beauty of the terrain—and the striking views of adjacent Te Arai, New Zealand’s most prolific surfing beach—to take center stage. If you need proof of the success of Doak’s design, consider that one of the most striking and talked-about holes—the long, uphill, par-four 12th—wows (and sometimes confounds) golfers with its elevated green that is pitched seven feet higher on its right side than the left. Remarkably, it’s a hole that captivates golfers even though it plays entirely away from the Pacific Ocean.

Cape Wickham Golf Links—King Island, Australia
Doak wasn’t the only architect readying himself for a 2015 grand opening Down Under. Almost 1,700 miles to the west of Tara Iti, American course designer Mike DeVries and Australian golf writer Darius Oliver were celebrating the completion of their collaborative effort, Cape Wickham (ranked No. 27 on The LINKS 100), on the northern tip of King Island, almost 100 miles off the southern coast of Australia.
Seeded with fescue grass from tee to green, the course plays as you might expect it to given such a varietal choice. That is to say, this 6,725-yard track offers firm and fast conditions. And that’s a good thing, as it opens up possibilities for a slew of creative shots on every hole, all 18 of which offer ocean views. Cape Wickham’s coastal journey starts remarkably close to where the Pacific’s waves crash against the rocks, and it culminates along Victoria Cove Beach, which can be in play if the tide is out.

Royal Blue Golf Club at Baha Mar—Nassau, The Bahamas
When Baha Mar’s Royal Blue opened on the island of Nassau in 2015, the 7,189-yard resort course made headlines for reasons beyond being Jack Nicklaus’s first creation in The Bahamas. The course was influential for featuring a single set of eponymous tees and empowered by Royal Blue’s continuously linked and flowing ribbon teeing areas, the club’s director of golf and the head pro would move those tee markers every day to create a fresh challenge and to offer golfers new perspectives on many of the holes.
Most days, the Royal Blue tees play between 6,400 and 6,500 yards, but the length of each hole and the placement of each tee box is merely a suggestion for what will offer golfers the most fun on a given day. The criteria for how drastically the tee locations are moved is influenced most by the list of tee-time reservations for the day. If just a single resort guest is returning to the course for another round, Baha Mar will make a point to set up the course in a much different way than it was the days before. In fact, the club has been known to relocate tees midday if a group of guests is scheduled to play 36 holes.

Bally’s Golf Links at Ferry Point—Bronx, N.Y.
When this Jack Nicklaus Signature Design golf course opened (formerly Trump Golf Links at Ferry Point), it provided public links players of all ability levels with a layout that delivered stunning views of the New York City skyline—something they had come to envy after Robert Cupp and Tom Kite created the championship course at the exclusively private Liberty National nine years earlier. Situated on a peninsula only about eight miles northeast of midtown Manhattan, the links-like track trundles over fescue-covered hills for more than 7,400 yards and offers memorable vistas that include the Big Apple’s skyline, not to mention the Throgs Neck and Whitestone Bridges (the latter of which appears to tower over the course at certain vantage points).
Beyond the Scottish links-style course, Bally’s Golf Links at Ferry Point shines for its comprehensive practice center. The full-swing driving range, short game area, and sprawling putting green has given Manhattanites a natural grass sanctuary where, for the last decade, they’ve been able to fine-tune their games.
