The past year saw the opening of several new golf courses of note, COVID-19 notwithstanding. And while the pandemic certainly hindered the number of people who have been able to play these layouts, it has done nothing to diminish the desire among golfers to give them a try once travel becomes easier.

What follows is a list of the four most exciting 18-hole courses to come online in 2020, as well as a pair of short courses that are attracting a fair amount of attention of their own. Located in the wilds of northern Michigan and along the western shores of Nova Scotia’s Cape Breton Island, they are part of a growing trend of layouts that have fewer than the traditional number of golf holes but give up nothing in terms of design, interest and playability.

The roster also features three short courses at established golf resorts that will open in the spring and summer of 2021. They include a nine-hole track by Tiger Woods at Pebble Beach on California’s Monterey Peninsula and a new layout at Destination Kohler in Wisconsin.