by Ian Farquharson

Created on: August 26, 2010

Golf is a sport that is enjoyed by many and it is one of those sports where amateurs can walk in the footsteps of the great professionals by playing the same golf courses. There are a number of great golf courses around the world and many of these offer the everyday player the opportunity to try their skills out on some great golf holes. In Europe there are a few exceptionally good courses on offer and the following are a few of these.

Old Course, St. Andrew, Scotland

As the “Home of Golf” St. Andrews golf club in Scotland is a venue that many golfers want to play. It is one of the oldest golf clubs in the world having been founded as far back as 1754 and the Old Course is considered the oldest golf course in the World. It presently hosts the Open Championship on a 5 year cycle with Louis Oosthuizen of South Africa winning the 2010 tournament. The Old Course has some unique features such as huge double greens, with seven greens on the course being shared by two holes. There are also some great golf holes with the most famous of these being the 17th. This is known as the Road Hole and features the extremely deep “Road Hole Bunker” in front of the green and hazards such as a tarmac road and old stone wall behind it. The Old Course ranks as one of the best and most famous golf courses in the world and is a great venue to play in Europe.

Royal Birkdale, England

Royal Birkdale is another golf course that has hosted the Open Championships with the last time being when Padraig Harrington won in 2008. Located in an area known as England’s Golf Coast it is a seaside course which is regularly voted as one of the best in the UK and Europe. The club was founded in 1889 when a 9 hole course was built, although they moved to the site of the present 18 hole course in 1897. The Open has been played on the course 8 times and it has also hosted the Ryder Cup twice. Some great players have therefore played the club over the years. The course is 6,690 yards in length with the golf holes running through an area of high sand dunes next to the coast. There are some great holes to play and you can pit your skills against the 13th, which at 498 yards in length ranks as one of the longest par 4 holes in golf.

Valderrama, Spain

This course is located at the Sotogrande resort in San Roque, Spain. It is one of the most well known courses in Europe and was the site of the first ever Ryder Cup tournament to be held in Continental Europe. The course is relatively

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