This is my list of the top 10 golf courses in Korea. Of course as a disclaimer I will say that this is my personal top 10 list and is simply my opinion so if you have a different criteria, then your list will likely be different. In addition, although I have been to many golf courses in Korea, I have not been to all of them. In fact, I probably have not been to most of the top golf courses in Korea so I am likely missing a bunch that are great. So if your favorite is not on this list, it could be that I’m a moron or it could be that I have just never been there. I’m only including golf courses that I have personally experienced. Most of these courses are private but a few are public. So with all that said…
- (Private) Anyang CC – This is a Samsung owned golf course and is the flagship golf course owned by the Samsung Group. It is located in Anyang so not far from Seoul (30-40 min drive). It is a private club with a very strict member roster. Not only is it expensive but you need the approval from the top leadership of Samsung (including the Lee family) to become a member here. The clubhouse is nice and very formal (men must wear jackets while in the clubhouse). The course itself is wonderful with some of the most beautiful trees and gardens in the country. It is also unique in that the course must be walked (no carts) so there are 2 caddies who walk the course with you. Anyang is truly a special and unique course in Korea and holds the #1 spot for me!
- (Private) Trinity – Trinity is owned by the Shinsaegae (SSG) group which was started by the one of the daughters of the Samsung Founder (in fact, SSG was spun off from Samsung in the 1990s). The founder is Lee Myung-Hee who is also known as “Madame Chung” (Chung is her married name). In any case, the country club is highly exclusive and private and very expensive (rumors say that membership starts at around 3b KRW (~$2.5m)) but similar to Anyang, it’s not just money that will get you in. Membership is highly limited and Madame Chung herself is rumored to approve all members. The course and clubhouse are immaculate. Unlike Anyang (which is more old and traditional with a hint of modern), Trinity is very modern. The course itself is fairly difficult though. My favorite part of Trinity is the practice range that you can experience before going to hole 1. You can take 5-10 minutes to warm up which is nice. The practice range is not open to the public and is only open to members for practice before hole 1. It is an open grass range.
- (Public) South Cape – This is the best public golf course in Korea. It is far from Seoul so you need to make a road trip out of playing here. The golf course is located in the southern islands of Korea in Namhae and is roughly a 5 hour or so drive from Seoul. The golf course is very picturesque with many holes near the ocean with great views. There are many couples who play here and pictures are common so the caddies are great with suggestions on where to take the best pictures, etc. The course itself is nice as well. The clubhouse also overlooks the ocean.
- (Private) Pinx – This is an SK owned private country club on jeju island. It is a wonderful course with soft fairways. The course is a lot of fun. There is also a condo facility at the country club so it’s great to make a trip out of it (stay overnight and play golf on the day you arrive as well as the day you leave).
- (Public) Sagewood Hongcheon – This is actually my favorite public golf course in Korea. It’s a little far from Seoul (takes about 1.5 hours to drive there) but the course is fun and nice. The clubhouse is very modern and clean. It’s a little more expensive than most public golf courses so tee times tend to be relatively easy to book in peak months and they open up their reservations early. In the summer they also have some specials for twosome play. They also allow no-caddie play so that’s nice as well. The course is owned by Mirae Asset Group. I play Sagewood 2-3 times per year at least and really enjoy this course.
- (Private) Hwasan – My boss is a member of this private country club and it’s great. It’s a small 18 hole course (not 27 holes like most Korean golf courses). Hwasan means “volcano” and there is a par 3 hole with a bunch of small hills with holes in the middle that look like volcanos so maybe it’s named after that…not sure.
- (Public) La vie est belle (Old Course) – This is a public country club run by the Kolon group in Korea. There are 2 courses here – old course and dunes course. Both are nice but I like old course much more because it’s western grass (stays green all year round). The dunes course is more of a links style course and isn’t bad either. Booking tee times are extremely difficult with the website opening at 10am on Tuesdays for bookings 3 weeks out and the books fill up within 60 seconds of opening.
- (Private) Ansung Benest – I have been a member of this private country club for the past 2 years so I have probably played here more than any other golf course in Korea. It’s a nice course with some fun holes. I especially like hole 7 on the west course since you are high up on the tee looking down to the fairway across water. North/West are good long courses and South/East isn’t bad either.
- (Public) Bear Creek (Pocheon) – This is a nice public course located north of Seoul. Traffic is usually a little lighter going north than going east in Korea so I like playing here. The course is a lot of fun with some nice wide fairways and well maintained greens. There is also a Bear Creek in Chuncheon which I have heard is nice as well but I have never played there.
- (Private) Asiana – I struggled a bit with whether to include Asiana or not on this list. It’s a hard course with lots of undulating fairways so many of my friends hate this course. But I always have fun here if you just focus on having fun and don’t focus on trying to score well. The east course is harder than west but I like playing east because it has a funicular that you ride to take you up to another section towards the end of east course.
Outside of the top 10 but honorable mention include some public courses such as Bear’s Best (Incheon), Cascadia, The Crosby, and Club 72 (Haneul and Ocean course).
There are a few private courses that I’m pretty sure would make this list if I ever have the opportunity to play there including: Jack Nicklaus (Incheon), Nine Bridges (Jeju), Gonjiam, East Valley, Wellington, etc.
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