GOLF has released its latest rankings of the 100 Best Golf Courses in the World (2025-2026), and while Pine Valley once again took the top spot, there were three newcomers and two returnees to the rankings. Here we introduce you to them.
Tom Doak batted second at Te Arai, stepping up to the plate after Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw hit one out of the park with the resort’s South Course. Doak’s North Course, less cozy on the coast, starts and ends among the coastal dunes, but also makes optimal use of the inland stretches. The real story, however, is the scale and drama of the greens, outsized, expressive surfaces that pose a very different challenge depending on where the flag is cut.
You know you’re in for some entertainment from the first hole, a drivable par-4 that often leaves a tricky pitch on a tight lie for your second hole. Other early highlights include the par-4 5th, which, like the tee of the Dell hole 6th, occupies a ridge next to the remains of an ancient Maori fort, a feature that sharpens the property’s vibrant sense of place.
As the route moves toward the back nine, it becomes transportable and takes advantage of a natural sand crater that Doak has likened to the landscape of Pine Valley. This is the backdrop for a particularly exciting stretch that begins with the 11th: a muscular par-5 with a bunker on the green side about two stories deep. It leads to a short par-3 downhill; then a rollercoaster par-4 with a blind tee shot and an unruly green; followed by an elegant par-5 and an Eden hole so faithfully reproduced it could pass for a postcard from St Andrews.
On several loops up north, some of my favorite memories include watching playing partners linger after the final putt, experimenting with bump-and-runs, flops and even the occasional Texas wedge, a testament to a course that makes you want to get back out there and test yourself again.
Michael Goldstein is a course evaluator for GOLF.
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