What makes this sport magical are the many thousands of courses you can discover across the planet. Each have something distinctive to offer the golfers who visit them.
But while they all come in different styles and possess varied reputations behind them, the cost to play these layouts can differ widely, which is why most of you out there are understandably keen to find the best value for money where possible.
However, sometimes you just have to bite the proverbial bullet and accept that in some instances, the highest quality demands a suitably expensive green fee to go with it.
Now, it should be said that "value" doesn't always correlate to something being inexpensive. Often, things are costly but they justify that by simply being so good.
That's why we asked golfers online to name the best courses they had played that were worth every penny - even if that meant a LOT of pennies.
Here are the most common suggestions (from hundreds of comments) we received in the UK and Ireland, with respondents identifying superstar places that while being expensive to play, it was a cost that they were happy to pay as the experience provided left a truly lasting impression on them.
And that truly is value.
Featuring images by Kevin Diss Photography, let's now take a look at the recommended destinations.
St Andrews
Playing the Old Course is an opportunity to walk in the footsteps of legends and through the history of the game. Standing on that iconic first tee can be an overwhelming experience, before you take on the most famous holes, including the 17th, which precedes that crossing of the Swilcan Bridge when you make your way back towards town.
The strategic element and architecture of this unique layout is fascinating and timeless. Yes, it's not a cheap tee time to secure, with peak season green fees being £355, but it can be played in winter for £180 (albeit with fairway mats in use).
Old Head of Kinsale
Stretching out into the Atlantic Ocean from a dramatic headland that offers the most spectacular and breathtaking views, playing the Old Head of Kinsale is something that many golfers have cherished when visiting Ireland.
During the high season, the course charges €550 to play, which reduces to €275 throughout non-peak months of the year. That makes it a once-in-a-lifetime round for many golfers, but those who have been there would suggest that it's an opportunity you simply won't forget.
Royal Dornoch
Venturing into the far north of Scotland, Royal Dornoch is roughly an hour up the road from Inverness, the capital city of the Highlands, but once you complete that formidable journey, you will have reached what is undeniably one of the greatest courses that these islands can offer.
The famed Championship Course - beloved by the likes of Tom Watson and Ben Crenshaw - can be played from £200 in the winter, with 2027 summer green fees set to rise up to £390, but there is a twilight rate of £235.
Kingsbarns
Truly a modern masterpiece that is showcased each autumn during the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, Kingsbarns is a visual treat but also a design that boasts several memorable holes, including the par five 12th and the regularly photographed par three 15th.
While it has quickly (since it opened back in 2000) become considered one of the world's best courses, it's also among the most expensive, with 2027 green fees rising to an eye-watering £524. But if you had the money and really, really wanted to have that dream tee time, why not?
Sunningdale
One of England's most storied golf clubs, Sunningdale enjoys a legendary reputation that is merited. Visitors are welcomed Monday to Thursday from May to October each year, where guests can sample the classic hospitality of this venue and play what is arguably the best 36 holes in golf.
We can't separate the Old and New courses here, they're both widely celebrated, with each costing £485 to play in 2027. However, for the ultimate golf experience, one that simply sounds unbeatable if you're a true aficionado, you can consume it all (both layouts) on the same day for £850.
Carnoustie
Among the most formidable examinations that any golfer can take on, the Championship Course at Carnoustie is one of the most revered of all tests, this is where Ben Hogan, Tom Watson and Padraig Harrington have lifted the Claret Jug, it has made legends and crushed dreams, but playing here is truly bucket list stuff.
Much has been said about Carnoustie's green fee increasing to £450 during the peak season of 2027, but it remains a priceless tee time for many golfers out there.
Royal Birkdale
We've just seen Royal Birkdale looking resplendent during the 154th Open that was won in brilliant fashion by New Zealand's Ryan Fox. There can be no greater advertisement for a venue than by having watched the world's best golfers take on its challenges, so there will be a rush to book times during the weeks and months ahead.
But it does come at a premium. 2027 tee times between May and October cost £495, with April green fees being slightly lower at £450. The course isn't scheduled to be available outside of those months, meaning that there unfortunately isn't a more generous winter rate to consider.
Royal Portrush
One of the Open Championship's great successes has been the restoration of Royal Portrush to the rota, taking the game's oldest major back to the island of Ireland. While the location is wonderful and the crowds tremendous, the underpinning quality is the standard of the Dunluce Links itself.
Green fees this season were £420, while there is an unpublished Golf Ireland rate for groups of four available upon request that might be worth exploring for those who are eligible.
Machrihanish
Located right at the southern point of the Kintyre peninsula, Machrihanish isn't the most straightforward of places to reach, it might take a lengthy car journey or even a ferry or two, but that is part of the charm. Once you get here you will encounter an Old Tom Morris creation that is one of the most natural and authentic in the game.
Pure golf, and it's a tee time you can book from £160 (or £120 twilight) in the peak months and £95 in winter.
North Berwick
One of the most influential courses in the game, one that has been copied and ripped off around the world, but there is nothing quite like the original thing and that is exactly what you get from North Berwick's fabulous and timeless West Links.
Part of Scotland's Golf Coast in East Lothian, you can easily make your way here from Edinburgh and play an organic design that has stood the test of history. 2027 green fees start from £260 in March to £360 from April to October, but there is a less costly rate (£160) for Scottish residents who are members of a Scottish golf club.
Silloth-on-Solway
For a long time, Silloth had the status of being England's best golf course that you can play for under £100, but these days it has crossed into the three figure mark, but its rate of £120 in the summer still represents strong value for money (in this modern climate) for a links of such undoubted quality.
If you want to make your way to the Solway Coast, it's an experience that other golfers heartily recommend.
Saunton
Part of the magnificent North Devon coastline, Saunton Golf Club is home to a pair of courses - East and West - that routinely are ranked among England's finest.
Winter green fees (to play either) start from £125 and rise to £175 in the summer months, but twilight rates can see that expense drop by a considerable bit to make playing here somewhat more affordable for the majority of us.
Cruden Bay
Boasting some of the most unique terrain in Scottish golf, there is nowhere quite like Cruden Bay in Aberdeenshire, which made it something of a cult favourite for a long time, but its popularity is now fully in the mainstream.
Weekday rounds in the peak season cost £205 (weekends are £220) but the 36-hole rate of £265 sounds pretty appealing to us. Cheaper green fees are available in April and October, taking things down to an even more palatable £140 for those who want to tick off a course that you simply won't forget.
Brora
Remaining in the north of Scotland but heading over to the Highlands, Brora is a short drive north of Dornoch and is a James Braid gem that has captivated visiting golfers for generations.
The presence of livestock on the course is certainly a throwback, but don't let that quirk distract you from the brilliance of a design that is continually growing in stature. UK golf club members can play here from £90 in winter to £120 during the peak months of the year - and golfers think it's worth every penny.
No one is going to pretend that these courses are realistically accessible or affordable for everyone, but it was golfers themselves who suggested to us that despite the high costs regularly involved, these experiences were truly worth the expense.
If you have a golfing bucket list - and some of these places are part of it - then maybe now is the time to make those dreams a reality.
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