Royal County Down, Northern Ireland
"The championship course, laid out along the curve of Dundrum Bay, is one of the glories of world golf. For many discerning and widely traveled golfers, it is their single favorite course. We are struck at the outset by the sublime views, the massive nature of the sand hills, the profusion of the gorse (a blaze of gold in spring, impenetrable at all times), the multitude of bunkers (130) and their ferocity. These deep pits are generally fringed with long marram grass; in some instances they are heather bewhiskered. The mandate is simple: If you get in, get out."