Golfers’ Choice Awards 2025

Running since 2013, when they featured only a handful of categories based in the Netherlands, the Golfers’ Choice Rankings have grown every year. Now in their 13th edition, they have become a benchmark in the golf industry — an announcement both golfers and golf clubs look forward to. As always, the rankings are based entirely on reviews shared by golfers on Leadingcourses.com, making them the most transparent golf course rankings in Europe.

Courses are awarded one of two official Leading Courses certifications based on their final rating:

🔹 Outstanding (8.5+) – A destination course. These clubs are truly exceptional and worth planning an entire golf trip around.
🔹 Recommended (7.5–8.5) – A trusted and highly rated experience. Perfect for those looking for quality, hidden gems, and a memorable round.

Which courses offer the best greens, food, value, and overall experience?

The answers are in the 2025 Golfers’ Choice Rankings.

The Golfers' Choice Rankings consist of 11 categories spread over 16 countries. The categories include:

• Best Maintenance
• Best Price-Quality
• Best Facilities
• Best Restaurant
• Best Surroundings
• Best Hospitality
• Best 9-Hole Golf Club
• Best Par-3 Golf Course
• Best 18-hole Golf Club
• Best Golf Course
• Most Improved Golf Club

A quick note on the difference between Best Golf Course and Best Golf Club, two of our most important categories. 

The Best Golf Club category is based on a weighted average of all nine components scored in a review, including the course, maintenance, facilities and restaurant. The Best Golf Course category is based solely on the course component of the review scores. The course has a high weighting in the overall club score, but the outcomes are often different.

One of the standout stories in the 2025 Golfers’ Choice Rankings is the newly opened Bois d’Arlon Golf & Resort in Belgium. In its very first year, the club has taken the top spot — a result made possible by recent updates to our ranking algorithm, where the most recent season now carries more weight. If a club delivers quality from day one, it can rise to the top immediately.

In Portugal, Terras da Comporta has made a major impact, finishing first in nearly every category — except Best Restaurant and Best Facilities, where they placed second. They also claimed the top position in the Most Improved Golf Club category, increasing their overall rating from 9.0 to 9.3.

This year also marks a new approach for the United Kingdom, which has been included as a single region for the first time, rather than separate countries. While some well-known private clubs are absent due to a lack of public reviews, the list still features a wide range of top-rated UK golf clubs that are open to visitors and offer a great golfing experience.

We’re also excited to have Sweden and South Africa back in the rankings. Both countries continue to offer highly rated golf experiences and unique courses that are well worth exploring.

Without further ado, let’s reveal the overall winners of the Golfers’ Choice Rankings 2025: the Best Golf Clubs in Europe and beyond.

Congratulations to all the clubs featured here and across the rankings for all the countries and categories. For a full view of the category rankings for each country, follow the links above and below.

Want to see your favourite course crowned a winner next year? Or think a hidden gem deserves more attention? Make sure to leave a review on Leadingcourses.com every time you play. With our updated algorithm, recent reviews have more impact than ever, so it’s always worth submitting a second (or third) review when you return to a course.

By sharing your golf experiences, you’re not only helping fellow golfers discover great courses — you’re also helping decide the Golfers’ Choice Rankings 2026.

Write reviews on Leading Courses to share your experiences with other golfers, and to help decide the rankings for next year!

All Golfers’ Choice Categories have a title sponsor. These brands have a strong connection with golf and we’re very proud to work with them. Our sponsors help us to promote the Golfers' Choice Rankings on a large scale. 

The more golfers we reach with the Golfers’ Choice Rankings, the more reviews we gather and the more powerful the rankings become. This enables Leading Courses to release rankings in even more countries in the future and advise more golfers worldwide.

As mentioned before, the Golfers’ Choice Rankings are 100% based on reviews of golfers, sponsors do not have any influence on the outcome of the rankings.

In several countries, we have media partners that help us spread the word about the Golfers' Choice Rankings. As we try to reach as many golfers as possible, these media partners play a vital role in publishing interesting content about the Golfers' Choice Rankings. We're proud to call these golf publications our media partners:

• France: Fairways 
• Sweden: Golfbladet
• Finland: Golfpiste
• Spain: MyGolfWay
• Netherlands: Golfers Magazine, Golf.nl