The Most Picturesque Golf Courses in 2025

When it comes to experiencing the great outdoors in style, few activities compare to golfing on a truly picturesque golf course. Our methodology for ranking the most scenic courses involved utilizing data from Google Maps reviews and Instagram post counts.

By focusing on picturesque keywords in reviews, such as ‘beautiful’, ‘stunning’ and ‘amazing’ along with social media visibility, we’ve crafted a list of golf courses that are as pleasing to the eye as they are challenging to play.

Without further ado, here are the golf courses you simply must see to believe in 2025. Please note, we have excluded golf courses with less than 100 written reviews from our final ranking.

Top 10 Most Picturesque Golf Courses

Rank	Name	Country	Picture Perfect Score
1	Cabot Cliffs	Canada	70.3
2	Augusta National Golf Club	USA	59.8
3	Cabot Links	Canada	59.6
4	Whistling Straits (Straits)	USA	56.4
5	Bandon Dunes Golf Resort (Bandon Dunes)	USA	53.0
6	Pebble Beach Golf Links	USA	52.5
7	Banff Springs Golf Club	Canada	50.9
8	Sand Valley Golf Resort (Sand Valley)	USA	44.1
9	Cypress Point Club	USA	42.6
10	Southern Hills Country Club (Championship)	USA	41.7

#1 – Cabot Cliffs: The Most Picture-Perfect Golf Course in North America

Cabot Cliffs in Canada tops the list as the most picturesque golf course. A stunning 65.4% of its 107 reviews classify it as picturesque. The dramatic cliffs and breathtaking ocean views of this Canadian marvel make it a must-visit for any golf enthusiast eager to play in a nearly ethereal setting. Despite having a modest Instagram presence of 1,380 posts, Cabot Cliffs achieves the highest “Picture Perfect Score” of 70.3, largely due to its stunning natural beauty that inspires awe in person.

Golfers at Cabot Cliffs often describe their experience as incredible and stunning, emphasizing the beautiful layout that merges seamlessly with the surrounding landscape. From the moment you step onto the fairways, you’re transported to a visual paradise, making it no wonder this course stands out in our rankings.

Whether it’s the captivating green fairways set against the backdrop of the Atlantic Ocean or the intricate design that challenges both amateur and seasoned golfers, Cabot Cliffs is the place where golfing dreams come true.

#2 – Augusta Comes in Second

Augusta National Golf Club in the USA isn’t just a household name; it’s a hallmark of golfing excellence. Known globally, Augusta boasts the highest Instagram presence with a staggering 136,000 posts. Yet, only 42.8% of its 229 reviews label it as picturesque, leading to a “Picture Perfect Score” of 59.8. Even renowned icons have room for improvement, it seems.

Despite this, Augusta’s timeless elegance makes it unforgettable. With lush green fairways and a historic aura, it’s a sacred ground for golf fans worldwide.

Runner-Up Beautiful Golf Courses

#3 – Beyond Augusta lies Cabot Links in Canada, which showcases an impressive picturesque review percentage of 59.4% with 1,591 Instagram posts, achieving a Picture Perfect Score of 59.6.

#4 – Following close behind is Whistling Straits in the USA, where a balanced mix of 56.8% picturesque reviews and 7,539 Instagram posts contribute to a Picture Perfect Score of 56.4.

#5 – Other remarkable contenders include the Bandon Dunes Golf Resort with its significant Instagram presence (64,300 posts) but a lower picturesque percentage (47.9%), thus earning a Picture Perfect Score of 53.0.

#6 – Not far off, Pebble Beach Golf Links garners attention with 10,700 Instagram posts and a picturesque review percentage of 54.3%, culminating in a Picture Perfect Score of 52.5.

#7 – Banff Springs, located in Alberta, comes in at 7th with a solid score of 50.9.

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Complete Ranking

Please find the complete rankings for North America’s most beautiful golf courses below:

Rank	Name	Country	IG posts with this location	Picturesque Reviews	Total Reviews	Percentage of Picturesque Reviews	Picture Perfect Score
1	Cabot Cliffs	Canada	1,380	70	107	65.4	70.3
2	Augusta National Golf Club	USA	136,000	98	229	42.8	59.8
3	Cabot Links	Canada	1,591	114	192	59.4	59.6
4	Whistling Straits (Straits)	USA	7,539	104	183	56.8	56.4
5	Bandon Dunes Golf Resort (Bandon Dunes)	USA	64,300	90	188	47.9	53.0
6	Pebble Beach Golf Links	USA	10,700	178	328	54.3	52.5
7	Banff Springs Golf Club	Canada	8,377	96	179	53.6	50.9
8	Sand Valley Golf Resort (Sand Valley)	USA	7,009	89	178	50.0	44.1
9	Cypress Point Club	USA	8,810	70	143	49.0	42.6
10	Southern Hills Country Club (Championship)	USA	24,100	74	159	46.5	41.7
11	Kiawah Island Golf Resort (Ocean)	USA	26	95	198	48.0	39.0
12	TPC Sawgrass (Stadium)	USA	637	112	234	47.9	38.9
13	Oak Hill Country Club (East)	USA	5,572	84	179	46.9	38.3
14	Victoria National Golf Club	USA	6,280	49	105	46.7	38.0
15	Bandon Dunes Golf Resort (Pacific Dunes)	USA	1,194	46	101	45.5	34.9
16	Hamilton Golf & Country Club (West & South)	Canada	9,504	65	147	44.2	34.4
17	St George’s Golf & Country Club – Ontario	Canada	6,793	62	141	44.0	33.3
18	Shadow Creek	USA	3,518	71	160	44.4	33.3
19	Cabo del Sol (Cove Club)	Mexico	192	145	340	42.6	29.5
20	Muirfield Village Golf Club	USA	513	78	185	42.2	28.7
21	Aronimink Golf Club	USA	12,700	43	109	39.4	26.6
22	Scioto Country Club	USA	8,174	45	113	39.8	26.3
23	Oakland Hills Country Club (South)	USA	9,792	43	110	39.1	25.3
24	Highlands Links	Canada	27	64	160	40.0	24.8
25	Los Angeles Country Club (North)	USA	15,300	53	146	36.3	21.6
26	Riviera Country Club	USA	567	78	209	37.3	20.1
27	Inverness Club	USA	797	38	104	36.5	18.8
28	Diamante (Dunes)	Mexico	292	65	185	35.1	16.2
29	Winged Foot (East)	USA	6,154	39	116	33.6	14.8
30	Winged Foot Golf Club (West)	USA	6,154	39	116	33.6	14.8
31	Olympic Club (Lake)	USA	145	54	159	34.0	14.1
32	Oakmont Country Club	USA	20,000	43	137	31.4	13.9
33	Pinehurst (No.2)	USA	534	61	183	33.3	13.0
34	The Country Club (Clyde & Squirrel)	USA	35	35	106	33.0	12.4
35	Bethpage (Black)	USA	32,700	55	199	27.6	10.0
36	Pasatiempo Golf Club	USA	10,700	45	149	30.2	9.7
37	Shinnecock Hills Golf Club	USA	23,700	42	152	27.6	8.0
38	Lawsonia (Links)	USA	3,380	43	165	26.1	0.7

Although the ‘beauty’ of a golf course won’t impact a player’s performance, if you’re interested in placing a bet on golf you should check out some of the best sports betting apps in Canada, how to bet on the RBC Open, or the US Masters.

Methodology

Our methodology for ranking these exquisite golf courses centered around both qualitative and quantitative measures. We first gathered data using Python to scrape reviews from Google Maps and count Instagram posts.

1. Data Collection:
   • Google Maps Reviews: We compiled a list of courses from Top100GolfCourses and extracted reviews, focusing on those with picturesque descriptions.
   • Instagram Post Counts: We used the Instagram API to determine the posts tagged with each golf course.
2. Data Cleaning & Processing:
   • Eliminated Duplicates and Irrelevant Information: Ensured reviews were genuine and informative by removing duplicates and irrelevant entries.
   • Standardization and Text Processing: Converted all text to a standard format and filtered out non-descriptive elements.
3. Data Analysis:
   • Picturesque Keyword Identification: Scanned reviews for keywords indicating visual appeal (beautiful, stunning, etc.).
   • Calculated Picturesque Percentage: Used this to calculate the percentage of reviews noting picturesque quality.
4. Ranking System:
   • Weighted Scoring: Combined picturesque review percentage (70%) with Instagram post count metrics (30%) to arrive at a comprehensive Picture Perfect Score.

You can find the full dataset here, with a detailed breakdown of the keywords used for our analysis.

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