THE OLD COURSE at St Andrews may be the oldest golf venue in the world but it can now claim to be the most Instagrammed too.
A new study has revealed the Scottish course to be by far the most popular golfing destination on earth when it comes to uploading photos onto social media.
Completing the podium are Edinburgh locale Muirfield and New Zealand’s Cape Kidnappers.
Research conducted by GolfSupport.com looked into how many hashtags each course accrued on Instagram with a whopping 42,159 tagging St Andrews.
Muirfield registered 13,185 before Cape Kidnappers’ 11,305 and famous American coursed Pebble Beach (8,546) and Bandon Dunes (5,609).
All of these courses share a stunning coastal setting and a lengthy history, in particular St Andrews that is thought to have first been played on in the 15th century and will host the 2021 Open Championship.
However there is a considerable fee to be handed over for enthusiasts to play their own round.
The Old Course will set you back a minimum 195 with California’s Pebble Beach costing a minimum 421 for a go on the 2019 US Open venue.
View this post on InstagramWe are thrilled to say that @golfdigest has named Cape Kidnappers at #17 in their Greatest 100 Golf Course in the World, alongside our sister course @kauricliffs which was named #37. Thank you Golf Digest, it is an honour.
: (c) @sjomanart Jacob Sjoman . . . #golf #beautifulgolfcourses #golfcourse #capekidnappers #newzealand #visitnewzealand #travel #travelphotography #golfphotos #golfphotographer #golfpics #whyilovethisgame #golfdigest #goodgolf #birdiecage #hawkesbay #instagram #instalike #instagood #landscapephotography #golfchannel #golftravel
Also in the top ten is Augusta National, the home of the fabled Masters tournament, that perhaps suffers on Instagram due to being a members-only club.
Rounding off the ranking are Canada’s Cabot Cliffs and Royal Melbourne, sixth and seventh respectively, before Oakmont Country Club and Royal County Down in Northern Ireland.
The most affordable course on the Instagram list is found in Australia.
Barnbougle Dunes on the island of Tasmania was featured in 2,307 hashtags to rank 12th on the leaderboard – and costs just 51 to enter.
