The latest and eagerly-awaited European Top 100 list is out with an interesting lean towards established courses which have undergone “retro” design work in recent years.
France has the most courses with 17 – with the brilliant Morfontaine (pictured above) rated as No.1 and even it’s 9-hole course coming in at No.86. Located in pine woodland to the north of Paris, Morfontaine is just 20 minutes from Chantilly Vineuil which comes in at No.11 and just over an hour from Saint Germain, rated No.19 and the beautiful Fontainebleau, No.5. and the slightly over-rated Golf National at No.38. Now that makes for a golfing week to remember!
Netherlands is back in favour with seven courses rated between 2 (Utrecht de Pan) and 31 (Rosendaelsche). My favourite regions in Holland are in and around inland Urecht which features two classic courses and on the west coast which features two modern courses. Utrecht is better value and the apres-golf is more interesting too.
Of course, the enviable area of Sotogrande in the South of Spain should be on every golfer’s tick list with Valderrama, Sotogrande, Finca Cortesin and La Reserva making for a wonderful pocket of exclusive golf. And on the south-west coast of Spain, La Manga West and Las Colinas are two wonderful courses offered at very attractive prices. North Spain – with Pedrena (91) and Neguri (58) – along with its world-class cooking and scenery should appeal to golfers who like the apres-golf and touring to be an important part of their holiday.
The Algarve, of course, comes in very high with Monte Rei, Palmares, Vilamoura Old, San Lorenzo and Quinta South and North all rated among the very best courses you can play in Europe. And the Lisbon Coast with Oitavos Dunes (34), Royal Obidos, Praia d’El Rey (36), West Cliffs (15), Penha Longa (49) and Troia (7) all within reach of each other and the sparkling city of Lisbon and coastal resorts. For “style”, the Algarve is the place, for surprisingly contemporary comfort blended with rugged and natural coastal scenery and the attractions of the capital, the Lisbon Coast is the choice to make (and extremely good value too).
The laid-back and gorgeous Aquitaine region in the south-west of France is ideal for a touring holiday with wine and rich food naturally included in the equation – Medoc is the only resort in Europe with both its courses included in the listings with Les Chateaux at 13 and Les Vignes at 52, Saint Emillionais on the other side of Bordeaux is 32 and the trio of Seignosse, Moliets and Chiberta (all near Biarritz) complete this wonderful selection.
Turkey shows the new emphais with only four of its courses featured in the Top 100 against seven courses two years ago. There’s nothing wrong with the other three but the rankings now seem to rate tradition and classic design over the big, modern, American-type layouts. The four still in favour in Belek are Carya, Lykia Links, Sultan and National.
I’m a great fan of golf in Italy but there are fewer courses listed than in previous years – perhaps for them to come back into favour as the 2022 Ryder Cup in Rome looms? In and around Turin and the Lakes offers Villa d’Este (40, Royal Park (52), Biella (75) and I can suggest four more that should be in the list!
Of course, there are plenty of areas with one great course with several others nearby to make it a worthy golfing destination: Son Gual in Mallorca, Sevilla in Andalucia, Sperone in Corsica, Thracian Cliffs in Bulgaria are four destinations that I’ve very much enjoyed.
Northern France has offered Hardelot Les Pins (26) and Le Touquet La Mer (29) for nearly 100 years and are the perfect example of how both courses have come back into fashion after undergoing extensive design work to do-away with decades of tweaking and bring back the original layouts. But where is nearby Belle Dune which rates highly in anyone’s personal list?
Another strange exclusion is Les Aisses in the Loire Valley which is now rated in the French Top 10 (above its neighbour Les Bordes) but doesn’t get into the European Top 100 while Les Bordes is rated No.3!
Like Northern France, Belgium is easy to get to do via Eurotunnel or the numerous cross-Channel routes and you can play Royal Zoute and Royal Ostend within an hour of arriving in Calais and Royal Waterloo and Ravenstein, which have several excellent golf courses nearby, are just over two hours from Calais and just 20 minutes from Brussels Airport.
I’ve been lucky enough to play many courses in many parts of the world and Scandanavia is no doubt attractive and has some great courses but the list contains way too many courses in Finland, Denmark, Sweden and Norway to be taken seriously – 18 to be precise. While some of the courses are inventive and beautiful and deserve to be in the list, some seem to be have included for other reasons.
So where is Alcanada in Mallorca and Vidauban and Taulane in Provence – these are three superb courses, previously rated very highly. Alcanada is still wonderful and Vidauban might be penalised because of its exclusivity but there are several courses in the list that are just as private. And Taulane is the best overall course in the south of France. As with any list, there are strange decisions and perhaps some political or diplomatic reasons but wherever you choose to play, Europe boasts a massive variety of brilliant courses on which you can test your game and enjoy the experience.
Compiled by National Club Golf, the list is interesting and not without fault. Overall, I would suggest that the Golf World list is better balanced. Or, better still, speak to me and I can suggest the best courses for you and your needs!