{"id":661002,"date":"2025-12-29T20:42:13","date_gmt":"2025-12-29T20:42:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/661002\/"},"modified":"2025-12-29T20:42:13","modified_gmt":"2025-12-29T20:42:13","slug":"scotlands-most-dreamed-about-golf-course-for-americans-revealed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/661002\/","title":{"rendered":"Scotland’s ‘most dreamed-about’ golf course for Americans revealed"},"content":{"rendered":"

A SCOTTISH golf club has been listed among the top ten courses that Americans dream of playing the most.<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s NOT the famed Old Course at St Andrews or Turnberry\u2019s renowned Ailsa course.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSign up for Scottish Sun newsletter\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\tThank you!\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

The Old Course might be the most famous golf course anywhere in the worldCredit: Getty Images \u2013 Getty<\/p>\n

But neither it or Turnberry (above) made the top 10 of a new surveyCredit: Alamy<\/p>\n

Neither is it the birthplace of The Open<\/a>, Prestwick Golf Club, or even Scotland<\/a>\u2018s most exclusive golf club, Loch Lomond<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Royal Dornoch in the Highlands is also a popular pilgrimage for American players \u2013 but it doesn\u2019t feature here.<\/p>\n

Instead, it\u2019s Muirfield Golf Club in Gullane.<\/p>\n

A study carried out by BreakfastBalls.Golf<\/a> has found that the Old Tom Morris-designed track is the course Americans dream about playing the most in Scotland.<\/p>\n

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BAD BETTING<\/p>\n

St Mirren cup hero’s brother and ex-SPFL star caught up in match-fixing ring<\/p>\n

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TEE FOR FREE<\/p>\n

Golfers queue up for FREE round at historic Scots golf course on Christmas Day<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

Their research analyzed Google search volume and Instagram hashtag data to create an index score that ranks the world\u2019s most sought-after golf destinations. Each destination was given an overall score out of 100 and ranked accordingly.<\/p>\n

The venue, which makes up part of East Lothian\u2019s famous Golf Coast (including top courses such as the Renaissance Club, Gullane Golf Club, Archerfield Links and North Berwick Golf Club) is listed eighth in the world, one spot behind the 2025 Ryder Cup<\/a> venue, New York<\/a>\u2018s Bethpage Black.<\/p>\n

This ranking also makes Muirfield most sought-after non-US links destination for American golfers.<\/p>\n

Muirfield has hosted The Open Championship on 16 occasions, most recently in 2013.<\/p>\n

It was struck off the Open rota due to its policy of not allowing women members but this was overturned in 2017. Muirfield hosted the Women\u2019s Open for the first time in 2022.<\/p>\n

Muirfield\u2019s layout was particularly unique at the time it was designed, going against the grain of links courses having a set of nine holes running along the coast and another nine more inland coming back towards the clubhouse.<\/p>\n

Instead, Muirfield is arranged in two loops of nine holes, one running clockwise and one anti-clockwise.<\/p>\n

The picturesque Casa de Campo in the Dominican Republic came on top in the findings, with the venerated Pinehurst in second.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\tThe top 10 most dreamed-about golf courses*\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t*according to BreakfastBalls.Golf\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

1. Casa de Campo<\/p>\n

Average monthly searches: 239,578<\/p>\n

Instagram posts: 1,555,119<\/p>\n

Index score (out of 100): 100<\/p>\n

2. Pinehurst<\/p>\n

Average monthly searches: 202,902<\/p>\n

Instagram posts: 239,958<\/p>\n

Index score (out of 100): 91.21<\/p>\n

3. Augusta National Golf Club<\/p>\n

Average monthly searches: 88,639<\/p>\n

Instagram posts: 120,262<\/p>\n

Index score (out of 100): 84.02<\/p>\n

4. Bandon Dunes Golf Resort<\/p>\n

Average monthly searches: 81,909<\/p>\n

Instagram posts: 37,570<\/p>\n

Index score (out of 100): 78.67<\/p>\n

5. Whistling Straits<\/p>\n

Average monthly searches: 41,200<\/p>\n

Instagram posts: 22,312<\/p>\n

Index score (out of 100): 72.93<\/p>\n

6. Pebble Beach Golf Links<\/p>\n

Average monthly searches: 29,189<\/p>\n

Instagram posts: 26,182<\/p>\n

Index score (out of 100): 71.84<\/p>\n

7. Bethpage<\/p>\n

Average monthly searches: 24,699<\/p>\n

Instagram posts: 22,203<\/p>\n

Index score (out of 100): 70.28<\/p>\n

8. MUIRFIELD<\/strong><\/p>\n

Average monthly searches: 32,729<\/p>\n

Instagram posts: 14,243<\/p>\n

Index score (out of 100): 69.84<\/p>\n

9. Shoreacres<\/p>\n

Average monthly searches: 18,095<\/p>\n

Instagram posts: 25,754<\/p>\n

Index score (out of 100): 69.32<\/p>\n

10. Fishers Island<\/p>\n

Average monthly searches: 20,852<\/p>\n

Instagram posts: 21,058<\/p>\n

Index score (out of 100): 69.19<\/p>\n

Third is Augusta National, home of The Masters<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Three American links-style courses were next in the list prior to Muirfield in Bandon Dunes, Whistling Straits and Pebble Beach.<\/p>\n

Shoreacres and Fishers Islands, both in the US, rounded out the top ten.<\/p>\n

Seth Krenek, President and CEO of BreakfastBalls.Golf, said: \u201cWhat stands out from this data is how golf\u2019s dream destinations span both famous tournament venues and hidden gems. Casa de Campo\u2019s dominance shows that today\u2019s golfers value remarkable experiences regardless of tournament history.<\/p>\n

\u201cAmerican courses remain highly desirable, but we\u2019re seeing international destinations like Casa de Campo and Muirfield capture golfers\u2019 imaginations. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe presence of lesser-known courses like Shoreacres in the top ten suggests that golfers are looking beyond the obvious choices for exceptional playing experiences.\u201d<\/p>\n

The North Sea, visible from Muirfield Golf Club in Gullane, East LothianCredit: Times Newspapers Ltd<\/p>\n

The clubhouse at Muirfield Golf ClubCredit: Getty Images \u2013 Getty<\/p>\n

Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A SCOTTISH golf club has been listed among the top ten courses that Americans dream of playing the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":661003,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4106],"tags":[2826,81221,4298,79,13791,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-661002","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-golf","8":"tag-golf","9":"tag-pga-european-tour","10":"tag-pga-tour","11":"tag-sports","12":"tag-the-open-golf","13":"tag-uk","14":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115804802127337001","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/661002","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=661002"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/661002\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/661003"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=661002"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=661002"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=661002"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}