If you fall into the group where ?birdies? and ?eagles? are not seen through binoculars, but hit with a golf club, we?ve scouted out some of the world?s greatest greens for you to have a swing?

The Classics

Augusta National, Georgia
This private golf club in Augusta, Georgia, is one of the most exclusive golf clubs in the world. Founded in 1933 by Bobby Jones, it has hosted the annual Masters Tournament since 1934.

Unfortunately, unless you have friends in high places, it?s unlikely that you?ll get to play here. The exclusive green-jacket club only has about three hundred members at any given time and membership is strictly by invitation. The fees are, shall we say, steep. Nevertheless, if you happen to be golfing in the area, it is definitely worth visiting.

Old Course at St Andrews, Scotland
King of the Classics - golf was being played on the Old Course at St Andrews before Columbus even set foot in America. This Scottish course is a must on any avid golfer?s itinerary, and the good news is that as it?s a public course you?ll be able to play a round.

One of the unique features about the Old Course is that it has huge double greens ? seven greens are shared by two holes each and only four holes (1, 9, 17 and 18) have their own greens. Technically the course can be played in both directions, although it is currently played in an anti-clockwise direction.

Putting Paradise

K Club, Ireland
Situated 40 minutes outside Dublin, the K (Kildare) Hotel and Golf Club, with its rural surroundings, five-star hotel and exclusive spa, is the perfect (albeit very expensive) getaway. It is also home to two of Ireland?s finest championship golf courses. Both - The Palmer Course and The Smurfit Course - were designed by Arnold Palmer.

With their smooth, big greens, these lush courses are always in great nick. The Palmer Course is regarded as one of the most spectacular in Europe, while the Smurfit Course lays claim to one of the most dramatic holes - the seventh hole is surrounded by a series of water cascades and features.

Steenberg, Cape Town
This 18-hole championship course, set against the backdrop of vineyards, forests and mountains, was designed by Peter Matkovich. A peaceful and not very crowded course, Steenberg is regarded as having the best greens in Cape Town. And after an exhausting day of doing exactly what your heart desires, you can relax at the stunning five-star Steenberg Hotel.

Best of SA

Leopard Creek, Mpumalanga
Leopard Creek is the ultimate African golfing destination ? a fusion of golf and safari. Situated in Mpumalanga on the southern border of the Kruger National Park, the 18-hole course designed by Gary Player and Johann Rupert is set in a 360-hectare park filled with baboons, impala, giraffe, hippos and crocodiles. Golf has never been so potentially hazardous.

Gary Player Country Club, Sun City

Yip, you guessed it, this 18-hole course was designed by Gary Player. Home to the prestigious Nedbank Golf Challenge, it is nevertheless enjoyed equally by novices and professionals. And if the crocs in the water make you nervous or you have a family to entertain, Sun City offers plenty as a holiday destination ? from gambling and concerts to water-parks and the Pilanesberg National Park.

Coastal Courses

Pebble Beach Country Club, California
With its cliff-side fairways, sloping greens and wide vistas, Pebble Beach is regarded as one of the most beautiful courses in the world. Hugging the coastline and bordered by forests, it is also regarded as one of the most challenging. Designed in 1919 by Jack Neville and Douglas Grant the course was later altered by Jack Nicklaus.

The Pebble Beach lodge and spa, which came in fourth in the USA at the 2006 Conde Nast Traveller Awards, is another good reason to visit Pebble Beach. But be warned, the resort is renowned for being ridiculously overpriced.

Wild Coast Sun Country Club, Wild Coast
Golf course architect Robert Trent Jones Jnr has used the rugged beauty of the magnificent Wild Coast to full effect in his 18-hole course. Consistently ranking in South Africa?s top 10 since 1983, the course - with its 59 large bunkers - has one of the country?s most challenging designs. The talking point of this course is undoubtedly the 12th hole, which is almost certainly the most dramatic in Africa.

Kapalua, Hawaii
Set within a pineapple plantation on Maui?s northwest shore, Kapalua offers to breathtakingly beautiful courses ? the Bay Course and the Plantation Course. The Bay course was designed in 1975 by Arnold Palmer and Francis Duane. Characterised by gently rolling fairways and generous greens, the course is user friendly and caters for all skill levels.

The Plantation course, dubbed the ?jewel of Kapalua?, is a rambling course with magnificent views designed by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw. When you?re not playing golf, you can play tennis, scuba dive, hike and embark on pineapple tours or cultural programmes.

The Intrepid Golfer

Valderrama, Spain
Located in the southern region of Andalucia, Robert Trent Jones Snr?s championship course is ranked as the best course in Spain. With its cleverly-planned fairways, almost 100 bunkers and surplus of aquatic hazards, Valderrama is a course where even the champs struggle to make par. A private club, with exceptional standards of course maintenance, Valderrama does permit a limited number of guests to use the greens.

Bethpage Black, New York
A public golf course, run by the state, Bethpage is relatively inexpensive. A.W. Tillinghast designed this magnificent course on a grand scale ? everything is huge. It is also really difficult, with its narrow fairways, high roughs and well-placed bunkers. So difficult, in fact, that a sign near the first tee box warns away all but the low-handicapped golfer.