Scotland Has Been Voted the World's Best Golf Destination - Which Courses Should You Visit?
Scotland was recently voted as the World's Best Golf Destination at the annual World Golf Awards in Abu Dhabi – which courses should you visit?
The ninth annual World Golf Awards that recently took place in Abu Dhabi saw Scotland being handed the award for the World’s Best Golf Destination. There are too many fantastic Golf courses to list individually here, so which are the best courses you should visit to begin with?
What is the World Golf Awards?
The World Golf Awards is a prestigious annual awards programme that celebrates the golf tourism industry, honouring and rewarding excellence in golf tourism. The ninth World Golf Awards was held in November 2022 in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and some of the major global awards this year were handed out for the following categories:
- World’s Best Golf Course 2022: winner – Shinnecock Hills Golf Club (United States)
- World’s Best Golf Hotel 2022: winner – Park Hyatt Dubai (UAE)
- World’s Best Golf Destination 2022: winner – SCOTLAND (UK)
- World’s Best Golf Tour Operator 2022: winner – Golf Plaisir
- World’s Best 9 Hole Golf Course 2022: winner – JA The Resort Golf Course (UAE)
More honourable mentions
Some of the other notable winners from this year’s event include the World’s Best Eco-Friendly Golf Facility 2022 (winner – Sentosa Golf Club, Singapore), World’s Best Emerging Golf Destinations 2022 (winner – Greece), and World’s Best Golf Club Brand 2022 (winner – Royal Greens Golf & Country Club, Saudi Arabia). FootJoy won the World’s Best Golf Shoe Brand 2022 award. The Destination Golf Guide won the World’s Best Golf Travel Magazine 2022, and Sky Sports Golf won the World’s Best Golf TV Channel 2022.
Top Scottish Golf courses you must add to your bucket list
When you consider all of the amazing golf courses that Scotland has to offer, it’s easy to see how they won the World’s Best Golf Destination award. Some of the most iconic golf courses in Scotland that you must visit at some point include the Ailsa Course, the Trump Turnberry Resort, the Old Course, St Andrews, the West Links North Berwick Golf Club, and the Castle Stuart Golf Links.
If you enjoy playing at any of these courses or simply enjoy visiting them and betting on the professionals who play golf at these iconic courses, then you also need to check out the Championship Course Royal Dornoch, the Kingsbarns Golf Links, and the Championship Course Carnoustie Resort. You also have the Balgownie Links Royal Aberdeen Golf Club and the Championship Course Carnoustie Resort.
Which other countries were nominated for the World’s Best Golf Destination 2022 award?
The other countries that were also in contention for the World’s Best Golf Destination award were:
- Vietnam
- Argentina
- Dubai
- Jamaica
- Morocco
- Australia
- Canada
In the first five years of the World Golf Awards, Portugal won this award, an incredible five years in a row. Vietnam won the award in 2019. Australia were crowned the winner in 2020, and then in 2021, the award was handed back to Vietnam for the second time in three years. According to Visit Scotland, the golf industry in the country is worth more than £1.1 billion (which equates to around $1.3 billion). More than £286 million (approximately $339 million) is generated on an annual basis by the golf tourism market alone in Scotland, and the industry sustains jobs for more than 4,000 people.
