Believe it or not, Rory McIlroy still has some revered golf courses left on his bucket list…
There’s not a great deal for Rory McIlroy to be envious about anymore in this game.
Not only has he won every single golf tournament that truly matters, he has played just about every single golf course that truly matters, too. He’s done it all.
Or so you’d think.
It turns out that, even during a 20-year professional career where McIlroy has had access to every vaunted layout on every corner of the globe, it’s impossible to check every golf course off your bucket list. In fact, there’s still a smorgasbord of great courses of which McIlroy is still yet to visit.
In an engrossing interview with The Fried Egg’s Kevin Van Valkenburg, McIlroy name-checked some of these incredible places he still wants to go and play.
“When the time comes where I have a little more free time and I’m just playing golf for fun, I’d love to go and do that stuff, but right now I just don’t have time,” he smiled.
“I took that golf trip to Tara Iti in New Zealand a couple years ago which was absolutely amazing and I’d love to do one of those a year because that was so much fun.”
These are the seven golf courses McIlroy says he would love to play before he hangs up his clubs…
DLF Golf & Country Club
McIlroy says the notorious Gary Player design in New Delhi is still on his bucket list. “I’d love to play the DLF,” he said on his first visit to India last October, where he played Delhi Golf Club in the inaugural DP World India Championship. “I think it’s become this infamous golf course around the world, just the bunkering, and that 17th hole seems to be just an absolute menace of a golf hole. I’d love to get there and play at some point.”
New South Wales Golf Club
McIlroy played the Australian Open at Royal Melbourne last year and will return in December when the event moves to Kingston Heath, his favourite golf course Down Under. Should he get chance, McIlroy would clearly love to briefly swap the Melbourne sandbelt for the New South Wales course near Sydney. This links-style clifftop layout, designed by Dr Alister MacKenzie no less, has epic views overlooking Botany Bay and is famous for its testing, rugged terrain. It’s a private club too, but something tells us McIlroy won’t struggle to find a tee time.
Bandon Dunes
There’s a reason Bandon Dunes is known as the Disneyland of golf. There are five courses on the iconic resort in Oregon that each deserve recognition among the best in the United States. Surely, when McIlroy does eventually make the trip, he will start on the original course, a routing by Scotsman David McLay-Kidd’s which takes you out to the ocean from the 4th and back again at the 6th, 12th, 15th and the mesmeric 16th. Even McIlroy will be left spellbound.
Fisher’s Island
That this ultra-exclusive club on an ultra-exclusive island is often compared to Cypress Point tells you exactly why McIlroy is desperate to visit. Just two miles off the coast of Connecticut, this is one of the toughest tee times to get in the world. Even McIlroy would have to ring a fair few favors to get on here. The links-style layout, founded in 1927 and laid out by Seth Raynor, looks like heaven on earth.
Chicago Golf Club
This fiercely private club has long been recognized among golf obsessives for having some of the most interesting and unique greens anywhere in the United States. Seth Raynor built the green complexes here in 1923 and they have stood the test of time. The Walker Cup was last held here in 2005, but that came too soon for a prodigious McIlroy, who played in the matches at Royal County Down two years later.
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Waterville Golf Club
Who knew there was a notable golf course on the island of Ireland that McIlroy has not played? Perhaps McIlroy not being able to check off Waterville in his youth owes to simple geography. He grew up in Holywood, five miles north east of Belfast, while the revered links track is a six hour drive away in County Kerry on Ireland’s South West coast. Tiger Woods, Mark O’Meara and Payne Stewart all loved their experience at Waterville, its spectacular holes running through the dunes along the coastline. Summer green fees here start at €400 ($460).
Pasatiempo Golf Course
Alister MacKenzie’s personal favorite from amongst his many designs (and a personal favorite of mine as well): Pasatiempo Golf Club.
A terrific routing, exceptional bunkering and world-class greens are among the highlights, and perhaps best of all, Pasa is publicly accessible. pic.twitter.com/2TidqfT2y4
— LinksGems (@LinksGems) April 12, 2022
This is McIlroy’s pick on America’s West Coast that he is still to play, and the Californian club would certainly love to have him. “Needless to say, you have an open invite,” they wrote, responding to being name-checked by five-time major champion. This semi-private venue overlooks the stunning Monterey Bay and the Alister MacKenzie design is only an hour away from Pebble Beach, home of next year’s US Open.