UK & Ireland Top 100 Courses - Your shout!

[GB72]

I have played very few of the top 100 courses. The Belfry was the first and seemed good at the time but I did not know better and the fact that I remember few of the holes says a lot. That said, would like to give it another go now I have played a few more courses.

The big eye opener for me was Hillside on Monday. Until then I had been very much in the 'not going to pay more than £50 for a round' school of thought but that has now changed. Hillside was worth every penny of the green fee even at full price and now I want to try any course that is widely considered to be better as it must be something pretty special.

 

[thecraw]

I have played 21 of the top 100.
More or less agree with most of what Snelly has written on an earlier post.

My top 5 that I have played would be
Muirfield
Turnberry Ailsa
Sunningdale Old
St Georges Hill
Walton Heath.

One course that I love but never seems to make these lists is Longniddry.

Gleneagles Kings has at least 5 very poor holes. [IMO]
Courses like Worlington, Machrie and even Machrihanish seem to be picked for the wrong reasons.
eg If Machrihanish and The Machrie were on the East Lothian coast do you think it would be rated so highly?
I always thought The Belfry was a poor course until I played it.
How anyone can rate B&B above Gullane No1 beats me.

It is all about your own opinion.
As I stress on these types of debates you really have to have played the course to be allowed to express an opinion.

No, they would be voted even higher as they have character and definition, they have undulation and punch bowls they have natural swells and run offs.

 

[cookelad]

Played the Wirral Classic last year of course the top of the bill was Royal Liverpool - a decent track (in the top10 2 years back from memory) but everyone I spoke to during the week said they were more looking forward to Wallasey! At the end of the week I agreed with everyone else - Enjoyed Hoylake but preferred Wallasey, and can't understand how it didn't make the list last time out!

 

[chris661]

I have played very few of the top 100 courses. The Belfry was the first and seemed good at the time but I did not know better and the fact that I remember few of the holes says a lot. That said, would like to give it another go now I have played a few more courses.

The big eye opener for me was Hillside on Monday. Until then I had been very much in the 'not going to pay more than £50 for a round' school of thought but that has now changed. Hillside was worth every penny of the green fee even at full price and now I want to try any course that is widely considered to be better as it must be something pretty special.

There are a few courses over here that full into the category of being too expensive although it is changing. Not every course that charges top dollar is worth it, although it does seem to be morenof an exception now.

 

[Canary_Yellow]

I played at New Zealand Golf Club a couple of months ago and I thought it was fantastic.

It was like stepping back in time as soon as you are through the gates. It really is a totally unspoilt course, quiet, in beautiful surroundings, you can't see any other hole other than the one you are on and a good test of golf and a thoroughly charming place.

 

[Deleted Member 1156]

As expected, this thread has had some interesting and varied responses. Some I agree with and some I think are quite a long way off the mark.

So, to provoke a bit more discussion, here are a few of my thoughts on the comments so far (and don't forget, this is purely my opinion)

1) The Belfry.....agreed, it shouldn't be anywhere near this list. At best it has 3 or 4 good holes. Top 100 courses should have at least 12-15 good holes.
2) The best course in GB&I is Royal County Down by a country mile.
3) Courses like Queenwood and Loch Lomond should be excluded from the list as they are not accessible to the general public.
4) Bogside....sorry but it would struggle to get into the top 10 in Ayrshire never mind top 100 in the country. Agreed it is a perfectly nice track but it takes more than good greens to make the top table. New Zealand is another perfectly nice track but again, overshadowed by too many of it's illustrious neighbours.
5) Too many courses cash in on their reputations and rankings in order to hike up their prices. Many of the big name courses are now charging up to £200 a round and that is a ridiculous amount of money to expect the ordinary man in the street to pay for 4 hours (hopefully!!) of entertainment.
6) Links and heathland courses are generally more highly rated than parkland and other types of courses. Moving tonnes of earth to create 'features' never sits as well on the eye as natural features found on links and heathland tracks. This is why tracks like The Oxfordshire and The Grove will always struggle to do well in these types of rankings.

Hope I haven't upset anyone with these comments, as stated at the beginning of the thread these are purely my opinions.

 

[Scadge]

This is my second go at the thread so apologies. I think there is an interesting angle to the top 100 courses around variety. Don't get me wrong I am passionate about links golf and given the chance would always put links first. But I am not sure if I had played 99 links I wouldn't be tempted by a parkland/woodland course. Also it stands to reason that if RCD is by far and away the best links course (I don't know having never played there) that the other links courses are inferior so why have a links only dominance, on the other hand other types of course are hard to compare.

My point is that I like different courses for different reasons, I like the natural links, the easy walking heathland bouncy underfoot, staying out of the trees or the water on parkland courses and I like to play where the pros have had great battles which is why I would include the much maligned Belfry which I accept is not natural or a great test of golf or by the seaside like the classic links (being from near B'rum I kinda guessed that). I would also in my personal top 100 include courses where I have great personal memories - the wonders of nostalgia - so there are many different angles to come at for the Top 100, hugely subjective and it needs great criteria. I hope the GM folks (Mike we trust you here big-time) can be really ruthless on the criteria (rather than if its a links score high, if not score low) and reflect my view that a high cost, poor welcome, difficult to get on etc should see a high quality course pushed down the list as there are many high quality courses which are welcoming, easy to get on and good value. If you simply want high quality, poor value, impossible accessibility my vote is Augusta and before someone points out the obvious geographical issue here, its only the same as Loch Lomond if you cant play there either.

 

[Snelly]

One other thing I forgot to say is that I have played both courses at Sunningdale more than ten times and I am of the view that you are absolutely wrong when you place the new course above the old. No way. Unthinkable. You are wrong. Old is better than new without a shadow of a doubt.

 

[Crow]

Whenever I see these top 100 lists it makes me realise just how lucky we are in the UK to have such a stunning selection of courses.

Not only are they some of the best in the world but the diversity of courses, from links through heathland to parkland, must be the envy of any other country.

I've played some of the courses listed (far fewer than I'd like!) and have never been disappointed, and then there are the many courses which are just outside the 100 that are the equal of many of those on the list.

It's easy to forget just how lucky we are to have such a fantastic array of truly superb courses here in the UK, and it makes for great debate about which is the best!

 

[alnecosse]

I wonder if the new Trump course will make the top twenty never played probably never will at the prices, but be interesting to see where it figures in this years rankings.

 

[RGDave]

Courses that should perhaps be in your list and are not:

Little Aston
New Zealand

Played both of these a lot in my 2 golf careers in 2 very different areas of the country.

NZ should be in the top 50, LA should be in the top 100. Anything else would be madness.....

 

[RGDave]

As expected, this thread has had some interesting and varied responses. Some I agree with and some I think are quite a long way off the mark.

So, to provoke a bit more discussion, here are a few of my thoughts on the comments so far (and don't forget, this is purely my opinion)

1) The Belfry.....agreed, it shouldn't be anywhere near this list. At best it has 3 or 4 good holes. Top 100 courses should have at least 12-15 good holes.
2) The best course in GB&I is Royal County Down by a country mile.
3) Courses like Queenwood and Loch Lomond should be excluded from the list as they are not accessible to the general public.
4) Bogside....sorry but it would struggle to get into the top 10 in Ayrshire never mind top 100 in the country. Agreed it is a perfectly nice track but it takes more than good greens to make the top table. New Zealand is another perfectly nice track but again, overshadowed by too many of it's illustrious neighbours.
5) Too many courses cash in on their reputations and rankings in order to hike up their prices. Many of the big name courses are now charging up to £200 a round and that is a ridiculous amount of money to expect the ordinary man in the street to pay for 4 hours (hopefully!!) of entertainment.
6) Links and heathland courses are generally more highly rated than parkland and other types of courses. Moving tonnes of earth to create 'features' never sits as well on the eye as natural features found on links and heathland tracks. This is why tracks like The Oxfordshire and The Grove will always struggle to do well in these types of rankings.

Hope I haven't upset anyone with these comments, as stated at the beginning of the thread these are purely my opinions.

Can't comment on "4)" but the rest....well said!

 

[Crow]

Forgot to say, after Monday, Hillside is the course I've enjoyed more than any other.

It was in great condition, the weather was fabulous (I'm told that this is always the case), the clubhouse was excellent, the members friendly and the views were amazing!

 

[Dodger]

Don't understand why people say courses that are tough to access should not be in a top 100 list.

The title is top 100 golf courses of Uk & Ireland and seeing as they are golf courses they should qualify if good enough.

Tough sh#t it you can't get a game on it,they are still great creations.

My brief thoughts for this new list?

Get Queens at Gleneagles out the list,make sure Silloth falls to it's rightful spot nearer the bottom end if not outside the top 100,get The Island up around where Silloth was and if Panmure and Montrose are in it along with the aforementioned Silloth then open your eyes and place my home track in it's true position of easily top 100.

Some of the rankings are frankly laughable.

 

[stevek1969]

Alan i've got to agree no place for my place which is better than Panmure,Montrose and Ladybank and put The Dunluce at Portrush above Kingsbarns.

Also The Valley at Portrush should be in the Top 100 as its a fantastic track in its own right.

 

[Scadge]

Don't understand why people say courses that are tough to access should not be in a top 100 list.

Tough sh#t it you can't get a game on it,they are still great creations.

How do you know if you cant get a game on them ?

Think of it in the extreme ie if all the clubs listed were as exclusive it would be a TOP 100 courses you can't play - what's the point of that ? however tough your sh#t is.

My view is that the list is TOP 100 courses in the UK. If you can't play them geography is irrelevant - as I said might as well be Augusta. Ironically I have played Lock Lomond and I can only say don't believe the hype - Woodhall Spa is by far the better inland track.

 

[Deleted Member 1156]

Dodger, where is your home track so we can make a subjective, unbiased decision ;-)

And Snelly....spot on about Sunningdale. The New is a great course but the Old is brilliant. Probably the best inland course in the country followed by Woodhall Spa and Ganton.

 

[Dodger]

Dodger, where is your home track so we can make a subjective, unbiased decision ;-)

Goswick,a course that should be in there if Panmure,Montrose,Silloth,I could go on and on,are.

SteveK is spot on with his post.

As I said,the rankings are frankly laughable and should be given little credence.

 

[Deleted Member 1156]

Goswick,a course that should be in there if Panmure,Montrose,Silloth,I could go on and on,are.

Unfortunately, I can't slag off your course as I've never played it ;-)

 

[thecraw]

As expected, this thread has had some interesting and varied responses. Some I agree with and some I think are quite a long way off the mark.

So, to provoke a bit more discussion, here are a few of my thoughts on the comments so far (and don't forget, this is purely my opinion)

1) The Belfry.....agreed, it shouldn't be anywhere near this list. At best it has 3 or 4 good holes. Top 100 courses should have at least 12-15 good holes.
2) The best course in GB&I is Royal County Down by a country mile.
3) Courses like Queenwood and Loch Lomond should be excluded from the list as they are not accessible to the general public.
4) Bogside....sorry but it would struggle to get into the top 10 in Ayrshire never mind top 100 in the country. Agreed it is a perfectly nice track but it takes more than good greens to make the top table. New Zealand is another perfectly nice track but again, overshadowed by too many of it's illustrious neighbours.
5) Too many courses cash in on their reputations and rankings in order to hike up their prices. Many of the big name courses are now charging up to £200 a round and that is a ridiculous amount of money to expect the ordinary man in the street to pay for 4 hours (hopefully!!) of entertainment.
6) Links and heathland courses are generally more highly rated than parkland and other types of courses. Moving tonnes of earth to create 'features' never sits as well on the eye as natural features found on links and heathland tracks. This is why tracks like The Oxfordshire and The Grove will always struggle to do well in these types of rankings.

Hope I haven't upset anyone with these comments, as stated at the beginning of the thread these are purely my opinions.

Western Gailes
Turnberry
Royal Troon
Prestwick
Dundonald
Glasgow Gailes
Barassie
Prestwick St Nicholas

Irvine Bogside
West Kilbride
Portland


It would probably make my top 10 but I get what your meaning. I don't think there is much to choose between the last three and St Nicks so I guess its down to personal preference where you place them. Also if you want pure fun and value then you have got to throw Shiskine into the mix, however I'm in no way suggesting its a top 100 course!