stevek1969
Money List Winner
Played it twice a few years ago it was a bit wet but a fantastic course ,the clubhouse ,locker room were top class and very expensive mind your pint of lager came in a tankard.
The new Top 100 Course in UK & Ireland
- Thread starter Dodger
- Start date
Played it twice a few years ago it was a bit wet but a fantastic course ,the clubhouse ,locker room were top class and very expensive mind your pint of lager came in a tankard.
It would be interesting to know what sort of backhanders some of these clubs have given out to 'influence' their rankings
Royal County Down offered all the panellists a year's free membership and a dozen ProV1s each, but were just pipped by Muirfield who matched that and also included a week's stay in the secretary's holiday home just along the East Lothian coast...
D
Deleted Member 1156
Guest
Aaaahhhh......so it all came down to the Secretary's holiday home. Almost as close as the Ryder Cup :rofl:
timchump
Q-School Graduate
good news my home track has moved up 5 places, and i noticed the golf panelists have done their homework regarding improved tee positions.
i guess it would take a substantial incentive to get us into the top 10 ? :rofl:
richart
Major Champion
I realise that everyone is never goimng to agree on the rankings, but my problem is more with how they are assessed. Only 35% of the marks is given to the quality and design. This is way too low, should be nearer 60/70 % in my eyes.
Condition and presentation gets nearly the same marks, 30 %. If a course is poor, its condition and presentation makes little difference to me. Also if you visit a course just after it has had major maintenance it is never going to be in great condition. We have ours at the beginning of September, and the course is just sand, with temporary greens. Presumably we would get low marks for course maintenance. Play Hindhead up the road, where their major maintenace is done in August, and the course will be in top condtion in September. How can you compare unless you visit a course on a regular basis, rather than a one off ?
Ambience is even more subjective. The most unfriendly club I have ever visited was Royal North Devon. Rude members, we even complained to the Pro as they ruined our round, and nothing done. Not one person spoke to our group of six in the clubhouse. Played Saunton, and members were coming up to us all day, asking how we enjoyed the course etc. They did advise us the RND is not very friendly ! Liphook is another Club I have found very unfriendly, lovely course, but how can you close the clubhouse at 7.00 in the evening in the middle of summer. They offer a twilight deal after 4.00, but you have to get changed in the car park, otherwise your gear gets locked in the clubhouse. I hate having to change in the car !!!!!! No chance of getting a well derserved drink after your round either. Our place stays open until at least twenty minutes after it is dark, and if you are still drinking for longer.
Finally visual appeal. Surprsied Lytham and St Annes gets any marks, can't see the sea, only the back of not very attractive houses. Added together with condition/presentation,ambience and visual appeal, this accounts for 70% of the marks. Sorry that is way to high for me. A good condition, friendly goat track with a view, could outscore a cracking course like North Hants.
I realise all the categories make up a good course, but I always come away from a course judging it foremost by its quality and design. Get down to Broadstone, and tell me how that is not ranked in the top 100.
Condition and presentation gets nearly the same marks, 30 %. If a course is poor, its condition and presentation makes little difference to me. Also if you visit a course just after it has had major maintenance it is never going to be in great condition. We have ours at the beginning of September, and the course is just sand, with temporary greens. Presumably we would get low marks for course maintenance. Play Hindhead up the road, where their major maintenace is done in August, and the course will be in top condtion in September. How can you compare unless you visit a course on a regular basis, rather than a one off ?
Ambience is even more subjective. The most unfriendly club I have ever visited was Royal North Devon. Rude members, we even complained to the Pro as they ruined our round, and nothing done. Not one person spoke to our group of six in the clubhouse. Played Saunton, and members were coming up to us all day, asking how we enjoyed the course etc. They did advise us the RND is not very friendly ! Liphook is another Club I have found very unfriendly, lovely course, but how can you close the clubhouse at 7.00 in the evening in the middle of summer. They offer a twilight deal after 4.00, but you have to get changed in the car park, otherwise your gear gets locked in the clubhouse. I hate having to change in the car !!!!!! No chance of getting a well derserved drink after your round either. Our place stays open until at least twenty minutes after it is dark, and if you are still drinking for longer.
Finally visual appeal. Surprsied Lytham and St Annes gets any marks, can't see the sea, only the back of not very attractive houses. Added together with condition/presentation,ambience and visual appeal, this accounts for 70% of the marks. Sorry that is way to high for me. A good condition, friendly goat track with a view, could outscore a cracking course like North Hants.
I realise all the categories make up a good course, but I always come away from a course judging it foremost by its quality and design. Get down to Broadstone, and tell me how that is not ranked in the top 100.
User20205
Money List Winner
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richart
Major Champion
True we certainly know one.maybe the panelists encountered some 'grumpy' members
Some interesting observations there richart, but 70% for quality of test and design would be too much of a weighting that way for me, given that condition and presentation must surely also be an important element in any process seeking to to pinpoint the very best. If a course were to score a full 70% for the former but be the tattiest, least well-kept course in the country, should it really warrant a Top 100 spot because of a high score in one category? That's why we've tried to balance things across all the elements we feel criticial to overall quality.
Perhaps a free year's pass to Wookey Hole or some other famous Somerset attraction...?
richart
Major Champion
I was convinced to try it again because it is just up the road. I wanted to go to your place. One of our members has just joined East Devon, and he raves about it.
richart
Major Champion
But Jezz how many really tatty courses are there anywhere near the top 100 ? Surely it is a given that they will be in reasonable condition, or if not it is probably to do with the weather, i.e some of the Scottish courses this year due to all the rain. I have played some top courses in the winter, and whilst not in great condition, I still come away thinking what a great course. I agree condition etc needs to be taken into account, but only 35% for thae actual course itself ?
D
Deleted Member 1156
Guest
True we certainly know one.
Now......who shall I invite to Broadstone for a game next..............
I hear the members at Hayling are just as bad
bigslice
Tour Winner
'St Nicholas and Irvine Bogside are better than the Castle' who needs GM top 100? when thecraw speaks the truth. i dont care what bomber and val say about you, your alright thecraw
Val
Ryder Cup Winner
Either im losing it or I dont se St Annes Old links in the Top 100, has to be a mistake for that to be overlooked. It's easily up there with Hillside and Southport & Ainsdale if not better.
T
thecraw
Guest
less of the sarcasm dave, i know i'm right when it comes to st andrews castle course. Bogside kicks its butt.
(caps locks stuck on, cant get them off, think i've dropped my phone once to often now!)
S
Snelly
Guest
I have played it.
I thought it was a very well presented, reasonably nice course in exceptionally lovely surroundings. Good food and drink too. Were it not in those surroundings though, I do not think it would warrant a high ranking. I accept this may sound a bit silly as it is where it is! All I am saying here is that as a test, it is okay but certainly undeserving of the plaudits it receives in my opinion.
The overall experience was a little bit OTT for me too. Someone to park your car, clean your clubs, get drinks etc all with a huge amount of enthusiasm that in my view, lacked a little authenticity. It was like being in a 5 star hotel in the States - overbearingly servile and full of fake sincerity. This did not suit me and put me off the place slightly.
The other issue on the day I played there was that the member I played with was a complete and total d***head. Genuinely unpleasant company and a major factor in my level of enjoyment for the day. If I had not been in his company, I think that I would have enjoyed Loch Lomond much more and had a more positive memory of the place.
As it stands, it is certainly not in the top 5 inland courses I have ever played. Maybe top 10 - not sure. I think in hindsight I would like to go back and play again but in different company as I might alter my view then.
richart
Major Champion
Especially the new ones.I hear the members at Hayling are just as bad
Hacker Khan
Yurt Dwelling, Yoghurt Knitter
Ballybunion higher than Tralee?? Are you mad?
Look, I mostly play cheap goat tracks and crazy golf courses as I am pretty awful at golf, and in fact I have never even been to Ireland. But I am professionally upset by a lot of things. And this list is a disgrace.
Look, I mostly play cheap goat tracks and crazy golf courses as I am pretty awful at golf, and in fact I have never even been to Ireland. But I am professionally upset by a lot of things. And this list is a disgrace.
bigslice
Tour Winner
wasnt sarcasm, wit course do i play at?
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