A ticket to this year’s Ryder Cup would have cost you $750, and we’ll let you decide if that price was worth the admission. Maybe it was. Maybe it wasn’t.
But there may be little debate about the value of the entry fee play the course where the event took place. Consider this:
You can pin it five times a day on Bethpage Black – for about the price of one of the aforementioned tickets.
And that’s if you’re coming from out of state ($140 during the week). New York State residents can play it 10 times ($70 during the week).
Bethpage Black tops our list of the five most affordable courses in our Top 100 world rankings, which you can view below.
5 most affordable courses in our Top 100 in the world rankings
1. Bethpage (black), Farmingdale, NY, No. 56 in the Top 100: The Black intimidates golfers with a sign at the first tee that states the course is “for highly skilled golfers only.” Among them? Tiger Woods, who won the ‘People’s Open’ in 2002, as the US Open became known. Woods was the only golfer to break par over 72 holes, thanks to the rugged, uphill par-4s, huge bunkers and wrist-breaking rough technique found on this Rees Jones-restored AW Tillinghast layout. The Black enjoys one of the great routes, highlighted by the masterful way in which Tillinghast has arranged the fairways and greens from the second hole in a valley all the way to the dogleg left of the ninth. The par-5 4th and its iconic cross bunkering is a world beater.
2. Cruden Bay, Cruden Bay., Scotland, No. 61 in Top 100: This cult classic is a personal favorite of both Pete Dye and Tom Doak. Twenty-three miles north of Aberdeen, Cruden Bay offers many new features, including the picture-perfect par-3 4th, which overlooks the Water of Cruden and the fishing village of Port Erroll, and the par-4 14th, with its funnel-shaped bathtub green. The 4th starts a five-hole stretch that any links course would love to claim as its own, so incredibly varied and well thought out is each hole.
3. Machrihanish (Championship), Campbeltown, Scotland, No. 92 in the Top 100: On the Mull of Kintyre, the course makes the most of its romantic setting, starting with the opening tee shot diagonally across the beach. One panelist sees the third as an ideal links hole, writing: “The tee ball sits blind above a swaying dune, creating a sense of adventure as you aim your ball into the unknown. Then, as you climb the hill, a distant view of the Irish Sea opens up, with the beautifully situated greenery in the foreground, submerged in its own natural amphitheater.” The rumpled fairways never let go and create the awkward positions that make playing in the wind difficult. But the real star is the set of greens. The surfaces from 12 to 16 are all stunning and highlight that the best links holes are not necessarily limited to those closest to the sea. It’s always a pleasure to find a trail that raises so many questions, all at a distance of less than 6,500 meters.
4. Utrecht de Pan, Bosch en Duin, The Netherlands, No. 89 in Top 100: Modern architecture didn’t do itself any favors by pursuing holes that constantly scream at the golfer, because at some point the golfer becomes tone deaf. Designer Harry Colt never took that path and that is why his courses have a timeless appeal. At Utrecht de Pan he did what he was good at: creating a course where it is a pleasure to play every day. The Pan may not have the topography of St. George’s Hill, but there are sand dunes all over the site. Colt, a master router, has processed the dunes in every way possible.
5. Woodhall Spa (Hotchkin), Woodhall Spa, England, No. 74 in the Top 100: Credit architects HS Colt and SV Hotchkin for improving on Harry Vardon’s initial work and turning the course into one of inland golf’s greatest delights, an oasis amid the surrounding flat Lincolnshire peatland. Deep bunkers are the defining feature of Woodhall Spa, along with abundant gorse and stellar par-3s. During a careful restoration carried out in recent years by Renaissance Golf Design, trees have been felled and the heathland has been regenerated. Located 150 miles north of London, Woodhall has a relatively low profile as it is not part of a cluster of great courses. A shame, because this outpost trail is definitely worth the trip.
Editor’s Note: Below are additional links to the Top 100 Courses in the World:
Top 100 courses in the world 2025-26: our reviewers’ votes announced! | Complete methodology: how we assess courses | World list 2025-26 sorted by country | 2025-26 World List Courses You Can Play
“>
#affordable #courses #Top #world #rankings