A new year means new golf courses, and they are popping up in some of the most scenic locations! Legendary golf course designers are working diligently year round to bring new, environmentally immersive golf experiences that will amaze even the most experienced golfers. If your New Year’s resolution involves discovering new links, you’ll want to check out these exciting new golf courses expected to open in 2020:
Lustica Bay Golf Club, Montenegro
Lustica Bay, a Gary Player Design currently under construction, will be this tiny country’s first golf course. The course is projected to open in 2020 and is a part of a larger development project which includes a marina, hotel, course villas, and residential marina villages. The course will offer dramatic elevation changes throughout; stepped fairways, cavernous bunkers, and steep putting surfaces that are bound to challenge any player. Let’s not forget to mention the views this course will offer over the Adriatic Sea!
Payne’s Valley, Missouri
Payne’s Valley was named in honor of Payne Stewart, a golf legend and Ozarks native. It will be the first public-access golf course designed and led by TGR Design, Tiger Woods’ design firm. This championship course is said to feature a very dramatic par-3 19th hole which is said to be an island green and will take the name “The Big Rock”. This stunning yet challenging course will be walkable and conclude with a natural cavern golfers can travel through to return to the clubhouse. Payne’s Valley is a part of Big Cedar Lodge Nature Links and is projected to be fully open Summer of 2020.
Dumbarnie Links, Scotland
Designed by Clive Clark, the “artist among golf course design”, the Dumbarnie Links is a prestigious daily fee golf course on a site of genuine links only a short distance from St. Andrews. This course will feature a mile and a half of sea frontage and panoramic views over the Firth of Forth. The dual elevation allowed the designers to elevate a number of tees, where golfers can play directly towards the stunning panoramic views. The total yardage will range from 5,300 to 6,900 but offers a special set of tees positioned where the course can stretch up to 7,600 yards. The Dumbarnie Links is scheduled to open on May 16, 2020.
Rancho San Lucas, Mexico
Rancho San Lucas is a Greg Norman-designed course with a multi-themed layout spanning three different terrains: windswept dunes, thick cactus forests, beach and sea. This versatile par-72 layout spans across 7,210 yards with multiple holes on the beach. The most notable holes are the par-3 third, which runs parallel to the sea and the par-3 17th which features a signature island green. If you are looking for a new golf experience on the Pacific, you will want to check out this spectacular course just 15 minutes from downtown Cabo San Lucas. The Rancho San Lucas course is scheduled to open February 2020.
The Sheep Ranch, Oregon
The Sheep Ranch is a par-71, 6,785 yard, 18-hole golf course designed by Coore & Crenshaw at Oregon’s Bandon Dunes Golf Resort that will display a mile of ocean frontage; 9 coastline greens and ocean views on all 18 holes. The course moves in and out of the shoreline with peninsulas that offer an opportunity to play over the cliffs on tee shots. If you are feeling like a hero you might take a daring shot over the bluffs. However, the course will not have a single sand bunker, only grass bunkers, so this will be a course that encourages a ground game. Sounds like Bandon has saved their best for last! This course is expected to open June 2020.
Excited about a new year but don’t want to play the same greens? Add these grand opening dates to your calendar and get these new golf courses on your list!
