A new year means new places to play. In 2026, those places range from soaring cliffs overseas to reimagined munis and ambitious resort builds closer to home. The 9 courses below differ widely in style, scale and setting, but they share a defining trait: all will be open to the public. Happy 2026.

The Commons at Sand Valley, Nekoosa, Wis.
Architect: Jim Craig
Opens: Summer 2026
Inspired by the “common land” layouts of the UK, Sand Valley’s new 12-hole short course is similarly egalitarian in spirit. Wide, welcoming fairways allow for play along the ground, while thoughtfully contoured greens create compelling targets for golfers of all stripes, from accomplished players to beginners just learning to bunt it around.

Old Petty, Inverness, Scotland
Architect: Tom Doak
Opens: Summer 2026
Like its sibling course, Castle Stuart, Doak’s design occupies stirring ground near the Moray Firth, but it works farther inland across heaving terrain. Though the sea comes into view on several occasions, it’s the course itself that commands attention, with its emphasis on angles and nuanced demands around the greens. Its arrival further elevates Cabot Highlands and cements the resort as a must-stop on any tour of the Scottish Highlands.

Ponta do Pargo, Madeira, Portugal
Architect: Nick Faldo
Opens: Late 2026
More than two decades in the making, Faldo’s design occupies a site that needs to be seen to be believed, draped across arresting bluffs on the Portuguese island of Madeira. In its vertiginous drama, the property recalls Ireland’s Old Head, transplanted to a balmier climate. But it has a character all its own—tree-less and wind-swept, with eight holes skirting cliffs that plunge some 300 feet to the Atlantic.

Oleada, Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
Architect: Ernie Els (with Greg Letsche)
Opens: Fall/winter 2026
Els’ first design project in Mexico sits where high desert spills toward the Sea of Cortez. The routing underscores that contrast, beginning on cactus-dotted ground before unspooling largely along the coast. In deference to the winds, Els and design partner Greg Letsche provide ample width off the tee while placing a premium on positioning, yielding a links-like challenge on a layout that is not technically a links.

The Patch at Augusta Municipal Golf Course, Augusta, Ga.
Architects: Tom Fazio, Beau Welling; TGR Design
Opens: Spring 2026
When the people behind the Masters lend their influence to a muni project, the marquee fills with prominent names. By the time the next green jacket is handed out, Tom Fazio and Beau Welling will have completed their remake of the Patch, giving a fresh face to Augusta’s beloved if bedraggled city-owned 18. The effort is part of a broader initiative to improve public golf access, expand junior opportunities and open career pathways into the game. Tiger Woods is involved as well, with TGR Design adding a 9-hole short course called the Loop. It is slated to open later in the year.

Rodeo Dunes, Roggen, Colo.
Architect: Coore & Crenshaw
Opens: Spring 2026
The first 18 holer at Rodeo Dunes marks the opening chapter of a headline golf development less than an hour from downtown Denver. In the year ahead, tee times will go largely to founding members and their guests, with a grand opening for the public in 2027. A second course is already underway, making Rodeo Dunes the farthest along of three major projects by Sand Valley co-developer Michael Keiser, who is also pushing forward on destinations in Texas and Florida.

Streamsong (New Course), Bowling Green, Fla.
Architect: David McLay Kidd
Opens: Winter 2026

Streamsong’s fourth 18-hole course doesn’t yet have a name, but its features are already clear. McLay Kidd’s layout will sit alongside the Black Course, sharing its clubhouse while carving a distinct identity through the sculpted landforms of a former mining site. With an engaging mix of drivable par-4s and reachable par-5s, the course will strike an entertaining balance of risk and reward, with relatively small and subtle greens that invite creative recoveries.

Wildcreek, First Tee of Northern Nevada, Reno, Nev.
Architect: Brian Curley (Curley Wagner)
Opens: Summer 2026
In an era dominated by high-end private development, Wildcreek offers a populist counterpoint. Formerly a county-owned 18-holer, the property joined the First Tee network in 2021. Curley has reimagined it as a flexible, community-first venue featuring a new 9-hole course, a 9-hole par-3 layout, and a three-tier practice facility built from repurposed shipping containers.

Wild Spring Dunes, Texas
Architect: Tom Doak
Opens: Fall 2026
Set across 2,400 acres of dunes, meadows and spring-fed creeks in East Texas, Wild Spring Dunes is developer Michael Keiser’s next big swing — and Tom Doak’s latest minimalist canvas. Roughly equidistant from Dallas and Houston, and even closer to Shreveport, La., the course will be joined by a second 18-holer, a Coore-Crenshaw design, as part of a resort and real estate development where golf remains the central draw.

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