Best Greg Norman designed golf courses

Australian Major champion Greg Norman has been a firm fixture in the golfing news over recent years. However, in addition to his involvement in the professional game, he’s also been a prolific course designer across the globe.

From Malaysia to Mexico, Norman’s eye for the spectacular has created some of our most visually stunning courses. Check out some of our best Greg Norman designed golf courses below.

Built in 2010, Norman has helped to create what many consider to be the first true links course in Southeast Asia here in Vietnam at BRG Da Nang. The eponymous Norman Course mixes the links stylings of North West England (i.e., more trees than the typical Scottish layout), with the sandbelt courses where Norman learned to play the game.

The course boasts stunning views out over the water, and particularly notable is the use of sand from Danang beach to help build the course – the beach used for America’s first landing during the conflict. The course is based on the wider BRG Da Nang resort with an additional course designed by Jack Nicklaus – a nice spot to sample the work of both the Great White Shark and The Golden Bear!

Whilst there are a variety of teeing options, be sure to bring your A-Game, with both courses able to stretch back well over 7,000 yards (the Earth can actually play as much as 7,770!). Additionally, water comes into play throughout the Earth Course, whereas the Fire is protected by sandy wasteland which frames each hole.

Another Norman gem in Vietnam and an easy addition to our best Greg Norman designed golf courses is the Bluffs Ho Tram Strip, previous host of the Vietnamese Open on the Asian Tour. Norman himself describes it as one of the most “exceptional golf experiences in the world”, and it’s easy to see why! Flanked by ocean on one side and dense rainforest on the other, a trip around this stunning layout is a sensory extravaganza, with towering sand dunes helping to add a change in elevation to the routing too.

Interestingly, the course has two separate Stroke Indexes, one for the wet season, and one for the dry – with the design playing differently throughout the season. Those in need of a relaxing sit down after their trip around The Bluffs can also take advantage of the Rare Cask Room within the clubhouse, offering up some of the world’s most desirable whisky.

Closer to home, El Prat is a 45-hole Norman designed destination that has hosted more than 250 national and international events. It’s a venue of real quality and seen as one of the most desirable clubs to join for golfers around Barcelona.

Unsurprisingly, there are extensive practice facilities and a full driving range to help to get you ready for your day on the course. We also love the clubhouse, adorned with memorabilia from Spanish greats, as well as a balcony from which you can enjoy an idyllic lunch whilst looking out over the course.

We wouldn’t dare say that the Great White Shark sticks to one style of course design – as you’ve seen at Jumeirah, he’s adept in both parkland and links. That said, he is regularly blessed with some fantastic linksland on which to build his designs, showing the trust that the world’s biggest developers have in his ability to bring the landscapes to life.

The Trump International Golf Links at Doonbeg has transformed the local area, and is seen as one of the strongest examples of links golf in Western Ireland. Not bad for a course that was only opened in 2002.

The majority of our guests will take a tour down the ‘Wild Atlantic Way’ and will experience how Doonbeg fits in perfectly with the other notable names on this coastline. As with all Trump-managed courses, the conditioning is excellent, with the 14th often thought of as one of the best Par 3’s in the world.

The El Camaleon Course at Mayakoba has fast-become one of Mexico’s finest, and most well-known courses; thanks in no small part to the PGA TOUR adding it to the schedule in recent years.

Like with other Norman designs, there’s an element of the spectacular, brought on by the layout’s proximity to the ocean; as well as it’s routing alongside clifftops and aside the mangroves. Famously, the course’s 7th hole is home to a huge centre-line cave bunker, one of the PGA TOUR’s most striking hazards – and something definitely worth avoiding if you’re looking to put together a good round!