When that first white-knuckled drive is struck in the early morning hours of September 26, the Ryder Cup will begin at a familiar venue, Bethpage Black in New York, one of the toughest tests in tournament golf. It’s also the finest purely public course to host golf’s most prestigious team event, being a municipal layout in the state park system.
Bethpage Black is one of 20 Ryder Cup courses open to visitor play. Based on the rankings in The LINKS 100, as voted by the world’s society architects, here are the top 10 Ryder Cup courses you can play—and all 20, ranked.
1. Muirfield—Gullane, Scotland
Year(s) hosted: 1973
Perennially ranked among the top 20 courses in the world, Muirfield is a 16-time Open Championship venue, none more memorable than 2013, when Phil Mickelson rode his 3-wood to victory. Its current course is a 1925 H.S. Colt creation that so impressed Jack Nicklaus in his 1966 win that he named his own major-worthy course in Ohio after it. Unquestionably formal (jacket and tie are required inside the clubhouse), the home to the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers does permit visitor play on Tuesdays and Thursdays in fourballs from 8:20 am to 10:10 am and in foursomes after noon. For 2026, fees are approximately $818 U.S., which includes lunch. For an 18-hole fourball only, times range from 10:50 am to noon and will cost $534. From May to September, you must book a foursome.
2. Kiawah Island (Ocean Course)—Kiawah Island, S.C.
Year(s) hosted: 1991
Pete Dye softened his windswept, oceanside masterpiece several times over the years since its 1991 Ryder Cup “War by the Shore” debut, but players still look at tidal marsh carries, scrub-topped dunes, Atlantic vistas, and fiercely guarded, wildly undulating greens every time they tee it up. Located about 30 miles south of Charleston, S.C., Kiawah’s Ocean features 10 holes along the Atlantic Ocean, with the other eight slightly inland, but those sport ocean views as well, thanks to their elevated (and thus breeze-addled) fairways. Guests staying in a Kiawah Island Golf Resort property can book a tee time up to one year in advance; non-guests may book up to 60 days prior. The Ocean Course is walking-only, with or without caddie, except in June, July, and August after 10:00 am, when riding is permitted, but limited to cart path only. Weekend rates in high season can go up to $670 but can be considerably less if you book the Ocean Course in a resort golf package.
3. Whistling Straits (Straits)—Haven, Wis.
Year(s) hosted: 2021
Boasting eight holes overlooking Lake Michigan—or what the caddies call, “the Sea of Wisconsin,” the Straits course at Whistling Straits is second to none for lakeside excellence. Home to three PGA Championships and the 2021 Ryder Cup, this 1998 Pete Dye design boasts 70-foot, fescue-cloaked sandhills, more than 1,000 bunkers, and a course rating and slope so high they could produce nosebleeds. However, the architecture is compelling, without a weak link and the views are stunning, notably on the par threes, each of which peers over the lake from high above. The Straits course is walking-only, with or without a caddie. A la carte rates can be north of $500 for outside guests, who have limited booking privileges, but most who play here are on a golf package, which reduces rates significantly. Juniors, Replays, and Twilight times also benefit from substantial discounts.
4. Royal Birkdale—Southport, England
Year(s) hosted: 1965, 1969
Praised by competitors as the fairest Open Championship venue, Royal Birkdale rolls through the Lancashire Coast of northwest England with holes that run between gigantic dunes, rather than up and over them. In these flat, valley fairways, players get level lies and stances, and their shots are less affected by the strong winds that blow off the Irish Sea. Thus, Royal Birkdale is the links course that best rewards skill, rather than luck—at least that’s what Jordan Spieth would tell you from his magician’s performance in capturing the 2017 Open Championship. Host to the Open Championship again in 2026, it was also home to “the Concession,” when Jack Nicklaus conceded Tony Jacklin’s two-and-a-half-foot putt at the final green in 1969 to assure a Ryder Cup tie. Royal Birkdale welcomes visitors. In 2026, fees range from $609 to $670 depending on season. On Wednesdays from May to September, the club will offer the Birkdale Open Experience, which includes a meet-and-greet, special gift pack from the professional, picture with a replica Claret Jug, 18 holes of golf, and a two-course bistro meal. Price is $765.
5. Pinehurst Resort (No. 2)—Pinehurst, N.C.
Year(s) hosted: 1951
Donald Ross’s subtle masterpiece rolls gently and spaciously through tall pines, with a layout that emphasizes placement and angle of attack. That’s because the “turtleback” greens will only accept certain approaches. After that, it turns into one of the fiercest tests of chipping in golf, where almost any club in the bag might work. Ben Hogan led the U.S. to victory in the 1951 Ryder Cup, but more famous was Payne Stewart’s thrilling U.S. Open win in 1999 and Bryson DeChambeau’s equally stellar U.S. Open effort in 2024. Almost all resort play on No. 2 is via package, with lodging and meals built in. Depending on season and availability, a la carte golf can range from $350 to upward of $600.
6. Walton Heath (Old)—Walton-on-the-Hill, England
Year(s) hosted: 1981
Its bleak, heathland setting won’t set anyone aglow, but as a test of character and shotmaking, Walton Heath has few peers. A superb, strategic delight, Herbert Fowler’s 1904 design is stern but fair, with heather, gorse, rough, and bunkers that must be avoided at all costs. Yet, the chalk beneath the sandy subsoil allows for firm fairways that yield plenty of links-like run. Host to many important tournaments, Walton Heath was the venue of the 1981 Ryder Cup, when arguably the strongest American side of all time—featuring Jack Nicklaus, Johnny Miller, Lee Trevino, Tom Watson, Raymond Floyd, Hale Irwin, Ben Crenshaw, and Tom Kite to name eight—demolished the Europeans, 18 ½ to 9 ½. Visitors are welcome weekdays from 9:30 am onward, and weekends from 12:00 pm, 11:00 am during winter. In 2025, fees range from $372 to $474 for 18 holes, and from $541 to $670 for 36 holes.
7. Bethpage State Park (Black)—Farmingdale, N.Y.
Year(s) hosted: 2025
To be sure, the course hasn’t yet hosted a Ryder Cup. Barring a natural disaster of epic proportions, however, it will get on the board in a matter of days. In the education of a golfer, Bethpage Black is a bar exam. Located on Long Island, about an hour’s drive east of New York City, the walking-only Black scares golfers with a sign at the first tee: “Warning—The Black Course Is An Extremely Difficult Course Which We Recommend Only For Highly Skilled Golfers.” Among the highly skilled? Tiger Woods, Lucas Glover, and Brooks Koepka, who have captured majors here. Massive bunkers, wrist-fracturing rough, glassy greens, and uphill climbs combine to send scores soaring. Yet, the A.W. Tillinghast design, restored and revamped by Rees Jones in 1998, is the real star. It’s punishingly hard, but eminently fair, as 2025 Ryder Cup participants will discover. Non-residents can now book online to secure a tee time on the Black, for $130 weekdays and $160 weekends, but those tee times are exceedingly scarce. Walk-ups can fill in the vacant slots, a process that may require you to sleep in your car in a designated parking lot.
8. Real Club Valderrama—Sotogrande, Cadiz, Spain
Year(s) hosted: 1997
Said Robert Trent Jones Sr. of his “favorite five” entry: “The greatest golfers in the world have found it a difficult test, yet it is beautiful and playable for the club member.” This impeccably manicured 1997 Ryder Cup host, long considered the Augusta National of Europe for conditioning, features narrow, cork tree-framed fairways, sculptured bunkers, small greens, and the short but diabolical par-five 17th that was infamously toughened by Seve Ballesteros. The club is private but does welcome limited outside play. It will set you back $644 to play Valderrama, plus extra fees for buggies, caddies, trolleys, and forecaddies.
9. Royal Lytham & St. Annes—Lytham St. Annes, England
Year(s) hosted: 1961, 1977
Roughly 200 bunkers menace this rugged links that has hosted Open Championships since 1926, when Bobby Jones triumphed. One of those bunkers in particular, in the left-center of the 18th fairway, cost Adam Scott the 2012 Open. There are no views of the sea here, but the wind and vegetation shout “seaside.” Best of all at Lytham was Spaniard Seve Ballesteros, who won here in 1979 and 1988. Despite future broadcasters Nick Faldo and Peter Oosterhuis going 3–0º0 for Great Britain & Ireland, the Americans won the 1977 Ryder Cup easily, 12 ½ to 7 ½, paced by Lanny Wadkins, who won all three of his matches. Art Wall Jr. and rookies Arnold Palmer and Billy Casper all went unbeaten in the Americans’ 1961 victory. Visitors can tee it up at Royal Lytham & St. Annes for fees ranging from $332 to $623 and can book further in advance if on-site lodging is reserved at the Dormy House.
10. Ganton—Ganton, Scarborough, England
Year(s) hosted: 1949
Venue for the 1949 Ryder Cup, Ganton excels in its rural setting in the Yorkshire countryside, via its stern, brilliantly conceived bunkering, and consistently excellent par fours. Frequent changes of direction in the routing, firm, fast-running fairways, gorse patches, and a compelling set of finishing holes combine to form one of the world’s great inland links. Originally designed in 1891 by Tom Chisholm of St. Andrews, Ganton witnessed a parade of Hall of Fame architects who made tweaks in succeeding years, including Harry Vardon, James Braid, Herbert Fowler, Harry Colt, and Alister MacKenzie. With Ben Hogan as the non-playing U.S. Captain, the Yanks triumphed by a slender 7 to 5 margin in 1949. Visitor rates start at $150 per round and go up to $339 for international visitors, a fee that will allow for single-round or all-day play.
Ryder Cup Courses You Can Play—ranked 11 through 20
- Le Golf National (Albatros)—Guyancourt, Ile-de-France, France (Year(s) hosted: 2018)
- PGA National (Champion)—Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. (Year(s) hosted: 1983)
- The K Club (Palmer North)—Co. Kildare, Ireland (Year(s) hosted: 2006)
- Celtic Manor (Twenty Ten)—Newport, Wales (Year(s) hosted: 2010)
- Gleneagles (PGA Centenary)—Auchterarder, Perthshire, Scotland (Year(s) hosted: 2014)
- Marco Simone—Rome, Italy (Year(s) hosted: 2023)
- Southport & Ainsdale—Southport, Merseyside, England (Year(s) hosted: 1933, 1937)
- Moortown—Alwoodley, Yorkshire, England (Year(s) hosted: 1929)
- Lindrick—South Yorkshire, England (Year(s) hosted: 1957)
- The Belfry (Brabazon)—Birmingham, England (Year(s) hosted: 1985, 1989, 1993, 2002)
The Greenbrier course at the Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, W. Va., remains open to resort guest play, but was reduced to 10 holes following storms and a flood in 2017.
