When last we left off our ongoing exploration of the best courses in PGA Tour 2K21, we were taking a road trip across America from California to Georgia while stopping off at some of the most authentic courses created by the community. After getting home from that journey and taking a few days to rest and clean all the sand out of my shoes, the thought occurred to me that the fun didn’t need to end there. The golf adventures can continue beyond just the US thanks to the many international courses that the community has attempted to translate to PGA Tour 2K21. So let’s get to 10 of the best European courses in PGA Tour 2K21.
10 Of The Best PGA Tour 2K21 European Courses
Some of these courses are legendary ones that have been the sites for famous moments in golf history, while others are hidden gems that may not be all that familiar to anyone who isn’t actually from the area. Take whatever time you might need to quickly learn a few key foreign phrases that could come in handy (bear in mind that finding something to eat and somewhere to use a restroom is always important), ready your suitcase and golf bag just like last time, and let’s take a virtual flight across the pond to find what kind of wondrous sights (and low scores in a perfect world) hopefully await us over there.
Helsinki GC, Finland – Finland
A fun aspect of playing on real courses in PGA Tour 2K21 is that you can learn a little history about them in the process, should you choose to seek out the information. For instance, the Helsinki GC is the oldest golf club in Finland and still hosts one of the most prestigious amateur golf tournaments, the Erkko Trophy. On top of that, the layout itself isn’t all that challenging and should be a good way to begin our European Vacation. Many different types of trees also adorn the course and create some nice scenery that might help alleviate some of the pain should your round not end up going so well.
Gamle Fredrikstad GK – Norway
After playing on such historic grounds, let’s hop over to Norway to check out a much newer course that has only been open since 2012. However, this one will likely give you a few more problems thanks to plenty of long and tricky holes that have a lot of obstacles that can prevent you from hitting the green in regulation. It’s the water though that will most likely drive you absolutely bonkers somewhere along the way, as there is certainly plenty of it throughout the course. If you’re like me, any island holes are bound to make you just nervous enough to affect the tempo on your swing and have you regularly hooking the ball into the drink.
Vassunda GK Sweden Tour – Sweden
This course near Stockholm in Sweden is a prime example of how sometimes reality and fiction can blend together in the creation of a course. While this course does in fact exist in real life, its designer has chosen to add some distance in adapting it to the game to make it slightly more challenging for players. But don’t worry, it’s still a relatively simple and straightforward layout where your biggest problems are likely to be the unforgiving rough and finding an ideal path through the trees on some holes.
Royal Portrush 148th Open – Ireland
As you’ll occasionally find with certain course recreations, this design is specifically meant to emulate how this legendary course in northern Ireland played during a real-life event from the past, which in this case is the 148th Royal Portrush Open in 2019 (which was in fact won by Irish golfer Shane Lowry). Don’t let the fact that you’re essentially living in the past serve as any sort of deterrent, but instead embrace the magnitude of that event and see if it can’t make you rise to the occasion. Even though they may ultimately cause you some issues during a round, make sure to take some time to appreciate the beauty of the rolling hills that you would expect from any rendering of the Emerald Isle.
Lahinch (2019 Irish Open) – Ireland
While we’re in Ireland and magically transported back in time to the year 2019, we might as well also hit up this other course that was constructed around another event in the same year, the 2019 Irish Open (that was won by Jon Rahm). Lengthy par 4s and thin fairways make for the kind of lethal combo that will find you scrambling for birdies wherever you can find them. Just as with Royal Portrush, errant shots can often leave you mired in the tall grass that loves to grow in the region, and hacking your way out of that stuff with any sort of accuracy will not be an easy task.
Royal St George’s 2021(L) – United Kingdom
From Ireland, we head to the wonderfully named Sandwich, Kent in England for an opportunity to play on a legendary course that was first established back in 1887 and has hosted 15 British Open Championships since then. The course is relatively flat and sparse, but don’t let its serene beauty lull you into a false sense of security as its bunkers and tricky pin placements can ruin your round in a hurry. This recreation was apparently completed with the assistance from Strokesavers, a reputable course guide, which should consequently make it especially accurate when it comes to the distances and greens.
St Enodoc GC, Cornwall (L) – United Kingdom
Traveling from one side of the United Kingdom to the other, we’ll stick around the England area in the quaint fishing village of Rock to play yet another rather ancient course that dates back to 1891 (though it didn’t really become all that well known until James Braid re-designed it in 1907). You can’t help but admire some of the smaller details that have gone into capturing the rural life surrounding the course, such as the fields full of cows that exist just beyond the fairways. Those cows will be the least of your concerns though when it comes to the scorecard. You’re bound to have plenty of trouble navigating the thin, snaking fairways carved into large outcroppings of rock, and you’ll also struggle to hit some of the smaller greens that leave little margin for error when trying to get your ball to stick on them.
Green Eagle Nord (Tour) – Germany
Making our way to our next stop finds us ending up close to Hamburg at this gorgeous course that has hosted the European Open since 2017. There are some incredible sights to behold on nearly every hole that you’ll play, courtesy of the vivid greens of the trees and grass — not to mention that there seems to be some sort of small pond within sight at all times. You can easily imagine how that much water can cause a round to unravel in a hurry as one bad swing or even an unfortunate bounce can lead to a ball finding the bottom of one of those ponds and costing you a penalty stroke. Considering how Porsche typically sponsors the European Open, it seems appropriate to find a red car floating on an island near the green of the 18th hole.
Real Club Valderrama AM – Spain
We depart from Germany and arrive at this recreation of a renowned course located in the resort of Sotogrande in the Andalucia region of southern Spain that was the first place in mainland Europe to host the Ryder Cup back in 1997. As if the narrow fairways weren’t hard enough to hit on this challenging track, they also often happen to be shrouded in bushy trees that add one more element to the degree of difficulty. The greens are on the smaller side too, and you’ll often find them surrounded by bunkers, water, and more of those pesky trees that can be hard to maneuver around, especially when the wind speed is on the higher side.
Club de Golf Alcanada – Spain
We’ll finish up our latest golf adventure by taking in the amazing scenery at this gem of a course that’s located at the northern tip of an island in the Balearic Sea. As you might surmise from that description, the greatest appeal of this course comes from the views of the water that mange to create a peaceful and calming feeling, even just from this video game replica. As for the layout of the course itself, it only helps add to the relaxing atmosphere by having a lot of wide fairways and larger greens to ensure that you should never become too frustrated by racking up a lot of bogeys. All in all, it’s pretty much the perfect way to end a European golf vacation.
Published: Mar 8, 2022 02:05 pm