Walking a golf course is not a compromise. It is the original way the game was played, and on the right course, it transforms a round from a commute between shots into a real experience - feeling the slope underfoot, reading the wind off the sea, arriving at each tee having genuinely earned the view.
The best walkable golf courses in the world are not just flat. They are designed with rhythm, with natural terrain that guides you from hole to hole, and with enough variety to keep every step interesting. Whether you carry your bag, push a trolley, or loop with a caddie, these are the tracks that reward walking most.
What makes a golf course genuinely walkable?
A walkable golf course is one where the routing flows naturally from green to tee without excessive backtracking, steep climbs between holes, or long road crossings. It does not have to be pancake-flat - some of the world's most enjoyable walking courses have real elevation change - but the terrain should work with the golfer, not against them. Compact routing, firm turf, and clear sightlines between holes all help. So does a course that was simply designed with walkers in mind from the start.
Why walking makes you a better golfer
There is a reason tour caddies insist on walking every hole on a practice round. Moving through the course on foot gives you information a cart never can. You feel the gradient of a fairway as you walk up it. You clock the true distance between the front bunker and the flag before you reach your ball. You arrive at your shot having had time to commit to your club.
Hole19 turns that awareness up a notch. With GPS yardages to the front, middle, and back of every green - plus hazard distances and layup markers - you have a caddie-level overview in your pocket before you pull a club. For walkers who are already reading the course with their feet, that kind of precise data is a natural extension of how they already think about each shot.
→ Read more: How amateur golf data changed training and the way golfers approach the game
The best walkable golf courses in Scotland
Scotland is where walking golf begins. Almost every course here was designed for golfers on foot, and the links routing that defines the country - out nine, back nine, wind on every hole - is perfectly suited to a walking round.
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St Andrews Old Course, St Andrews
The most famous course in golf is also one of the flattest. The Old Course sits on a narrow strip of linksland beside the Eden estuary, and its routing - straight out to Eden and straight back - is as logical for walkers as it gets. What it lacks in elevation it more than makes up for in complexity: the massive shared greens, the Principal's Nose bunkers, and the Road Hole are all revealed slowly, on foot, as you work your way around. The town itself forms the backdrop for the walk back in, which is unlike anything else in sport. Explore St Andrews Old Course on Hole19
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Machrihanish Dunes, Kintyre
Sit on the far western tip of the Kintyre peninsula and Machrihanish Dunes is one of the most remote and rewarding walks in golf. The routing runs through natural duneland with minimal shaping - the USGA certified just 15 acres were touched during construction - and the result is a course that feels like it has always been there. The opening drive over the Atlantic beach is one of golf's great moments. Arrive, walk, and take your time. Explore Machrihanish Dunes on Hole19
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Brora Golf Club, Sutherland
Brora is old Scotland in the best sense - a James Braid design on the Sutherland coast where sheep still share the fairways and the sea is never far from view. The layout is compact and the walking is gentle, which makes it accessible for golfers of all fitness levels. It is also genuinely cheap by the standards of great golf, which is rare. If you are already heading to Royal Dornoch (25 minutes south), Brora deserves a second day. Explore Brora Golf Club on Hole19
The best walkable golf courses in Ireland
Ireland's links courses are among the most walkable on earth. The coastal terrain funnels holes in natural sequences, the turf is firm, and a culture of walking is deeply embedded in how the game is played here.
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Ballybunion Old Course, County Kerry
Tom Watson called it one of the finest tests of golf in the world. Walk it once and you understand why. The Old Course at Ballybunion runs along clifftops above the Atlantic in County Kerry, and the routing means you are constantly aware of the ocean, whether ahead of you, beside you, or below. The terrain has natural drama built in - elevated tees, valley fairways, and green sites perched at the edge of the dunes - but the walking itself is fluid. This is what golf on foot is supposed to feel like. Explore Ballybunion Old Course on Hole19
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Lahinch Golf Club, County Clare
Lahinch is one of Ireland's most beloved golf towns, and the Old Course sits at the centre of it. An Alister MacKenzie redesign in 1928 gave the layout its current character - flowing holes through the dunes, short par fours that reward boldness, and long par fours that demand patience. Walking here has a rhythm to it. You always know roughly where you are going, and the routing feels designed to be discovered on foot. Explore Lahinch Golf Club on Hole19
→ Read more: Alister MacKenzie and Donald Ross - the golf course architects who shaped the game
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Royal County Down, Newcastle
The Mourne Mountains on one side, Dundrum Bay on the other. Royal County Down's setting is one of the most dramatic in golf, and it is best appreciated entirely on foot. The blind shots and elevated tee boxes demand that you read the course rather than just react to it - which is exactly the mindset walking encourages. Caddies are available and worth taking for your first visit; they will save you shots and tell you things no GPS can. Explore Royal County Down on Hole19
The best walkable golf courses in England
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Sunningdale Old Course, Berkshire
Sunningdale is English heathland golf at its peak. The Old Course winds through mature pines and heather on gently rolling ground that is exceptionally kind to walkers - you never feel like you are grinding uphill, and the transitions between holes are smooth. The course itself was designed by Willie Park Jr at the turn of the twentieth century and has barely needed updating since. Walking it on a clear autumn morning, with the heather in full colour, is one of English golf's great pleasures. Explore Sunningdale Old Course on Hole19
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Royal Liverpool (Hoylake), Merseyside
Hoylake is links golf in a slightly different style to Scotland or Ireland - flatter, more exposed, with internal out-of-bounds lines that tighten every tee shot. That flatness makes it one of the most walkable links courses in England. A full round never feels physically punishing, which means your energy stays where it belongs: reading fairway gradients, picking the right side of the green, managing the constant wind. Hole19's Plays Like Distance feature is particularly useful here when the breeze picks up. Explore Royal Liverpool Golf Club on Hole19
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Woodhall Spa (Hotchkin Course), Lincolnshire
Woodhall Spa is England's inland equivalent of a destination links - a place serious golfers make a trip for, not just a local round. The Hotchkin Course is flat heathland with deep cavernous bunkers that are as much a visual spectacle as a playing challenge. The routing is generous and walkable, with enough width to allow course management from the tee without constant penalty for slight misses. It is also the home of English Golf, which gives it a particular place in the game. Explore Woodhall Spa Hotchkin Course on Hole19
The best walkable golf courses in the USA
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Bethpage Black, New York
The sign at the first tee warns that the Black Course is for highly skilled golfers only. What it does not warn you about is the walk - which is long, hilly, and genuinely demanding. But that is the point. Bethpage Black is a public course that gives everyday golfers a US Open venue, and walking it is a rite of passage for serious players on the East Coast. Take plenty of water, leave early, and use Hole19 to stay ahead of your decisions - the length of some of these holes means you need to start thinking about your third shot before you have hit your second. Explore Bethpage Black on Hole19
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Bandon Dunes, Oregon
Bandon Dunes on the Oregon coast was built specifically for walking golf - carts are not even an option on the main courses. The resort has four eighteen-hole courses (plus a par-three layout) spread across Pacific clifftops, and all of them are served by caddies who are part of the experience. The flagship Bandon Dunes course is the most accessible walk; Pacific Dunes, designed by Tom Doak, is the most dramatic. Book a caddie, bring waterproofs, and give yourself two or three days. Explore Bandon Dunes Golf Resort on Hole19
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Pinehurst No. 2, North Carolina
Donald Ross built eight courses at Pinehurst, and No. 2 is the one that defines them all. After its 2014 restoration by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw, the greens went back to their natural sand-and-wiregrass surrounds, and the course now looks and plays more like Ross intended. It is a walking course at heart - gentle elevation, flowing routing, and green complexes that demand careful walking approach reads before you chip. The village of Pinehurst itself makes the trip worth the flight. Explore Pinehurst No. 2 on Hole19
→ Read more: Why golf courses take years to build - inside the design and construction process
The best walkable golf courses in Australia
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Royal Melbourne West Course, Victoria
Australia's Sandbelt region south of Melbourne is one of the world's great golf corridors, and Royal Melbourne's West Course is its crown jewel. Designed by Alister MacKenzie and finished by Alex Russell, it is a walking course by nature - the terrain is rolling sandbelt with natural heath between holes, and the routing is compact enough that transitions are short and purposeful. The greens are some of the most complexly contoured you will encounter anywhere. Come prepared to read every putt twice. Explore Royal Melbourne West Course on Hole19
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Kingston Heath, Victoria
Just down the road from Royal Melbourne, Kingston Heath is regularly rated among Australia's top three courses and is one of the most satisfying walks on the Sandbelt. Dan Soutar's original design was bunkerless; Alister MacKenzie added the sand in the 1920s and transformed it. The result is a course where bunkering and ground game work together in a way that rewards walking awareness. You understand the angles better on foot. Explore Kingston Heath on Hole19
→ Read more: Best golf courses in Australia and New Zealand - a destination guide
How to get more from walking a course
Walking gives you time - time to think, reset, and prepare. Here is how to use it.
Arrive at your ball with your yardage already in mind. Hole19 updates your GPS distance as you walk, so by the time you reach the ball you already know you have 157 yards to the centre, the pin is back-left, and the front bunker is 138. No delay, no back-and-forth to a cart screen.
Use the time between shots to plan the next one. Walking gives you a view of the hole as you approach it - identify where you want your approach to come from before you even reach your drive. Golfers who think two shots ahead consistently score better than those who react to each shot in isolation.
Track your walking stats alongside your golf stats. Hole19's Shot Tracker logs every stroke and where it was played, and your post-round stats review can reveal which parts of a walking round tend to go wrong - whether that is fatigue on the back nine or a pattern of misses on long par fours. Knowing the data means you can fix the pattern.
→ Read more: Why you fall apart on the back nine - and how to stop
Is it worth carrying or using a trolley?
For most golfers on most courses, a push trolley is the sweet spot. You get all the benefits of walking - pace of thought, physical engagement with the terrain, that satisfying feeling of having earned your round - without the cumulative fatigue of carrying 14 clubs across 10 miles. On links courses with firm turf, the trolley rolls easily. On parkland or heathland, a lightweight carry bag works fine for those who prefer it.
Caddies are another option entirely, and on courses like Ballybunion, Bandon Dunes, or Royal County Down, they are more than bag-carriers - they are your course-management partner. Pair a good caddie with Hole19 GPS and you have a level of course knowledge that most golfers never access.
Do I need a golf GPS app if I am walking?
Absolutely - arguably more than ever. When you are walking, you have time to think, but you still need accurate numbers to think with. Hole19 gives you GPS distances to front, middle, and back of every green, hazard and layup distances, and a course flyover for holes you have not seen before. The app covers more than 43,000 courses worldwide, so wherever you are walking, the data is there.
For walking golfers who take the game seriously, Advanced Stats in Hole19 is worth exploring. Tracking your strokes gained, your approach accuracy, and your putting from round to round gives you a detailed picture of where walking rounds tend to cost you shots - and what to practise before your next outing.
→ Read more: Golf stat tracking - why golfers are obsessed with every number
Frequently asked questions about walkable golf courses
Are links courses easier to walk than parkland courses?
Generally yes. Links courses tend to be built on flat or gently rolling coastal land with compact routing and firm turf that is kind underfoot. Parkland courses often have more significant elevation changes, longer transitions between holes, and softer ground. That said, the parkland courses in this list were chosen precisely because their routing makes walking a pleasure.
Can I walk a golf course with a regular carry bag?
Yes. A lightweight carry bag with a stand - sometimes called a Sunday bag - is the most practical option for walking courses. Keep the bag light by leaving unnecessary clubs at home and carrying only the essentials for the day's conditions. If you are expecting a long or hilly walk, a push trolley reduces fatigue without sacrificing any of the enjoyment.
How long does a walking round of golf take?
A walking twoball on a well-managed course should take around three and a half to four hours. Walking rounds rarely hold up play - walkers typically keep pace with cart golfers because they are ready to play when they arrive at the ball. On busy resort courses, pace of play is managed by the starter regardless of whether you walk or ride.
Do most golf courses allow walking?
Most courses in the UK, Ireland, Australia, and much of Continental Europe allow or expect walking as the default. In the USA the picture is more varied - many resort and semi-private courses require carts, while serious walking destinations like Bandon Dunes and most public links-style tracks actively encourage it. Always check the course's policy before booking.
Ready to find your next walking round?
The best golf is often the simplest: a great course, a comfortable bag on your back, and enough time to enjoy every step. Whether you are planning a links pilgrimage to Scotland, a Sandbelt loop in Melbourne, or just looking for the best walk near home, Hole19 has the courses, the GPS data, and the stats tools to make it count.
Find your next course on Hole19 Discover Courses and download Hole19 free to take the complete GPS experience with you on every fairway.
Mafalda Gil
Customer Service Agent