Golf Digest – one of my favourite golf publications – has just published its World Top 100 list of golf courses outside the USA. Now that the Peugeot and Rolex guides are no longer printed, Golf Digest (World) and Today’s Golfer (Europe) are the two best references…As well, of course, the experiences of yours truly!
Pictured above is Cruden Bay, Scotland rated No.21 in the world.
The new Golf Digest list is actually quite shocking with a huge move towards sand-based courses and a subsequent move away from more man-made modern layouts. In fact, there are 30% more links courses on the list than last time. Of course, sand-based (mostly links with some notable heathland layouts too) are authentic to the origins of the game, the land is cheaper and there are usually fewer ecological and planning concerns than inland sites. However, this new criteria means we don’t see some great courses like Les Bordes in the Loire Valley or Finca Cortesin on the Costa del Sol.
Portugal has taken a massive hit with only two courses listed (one links) but I think that will change when Dunas and La Torre on the coast south of Lisbon officially launch next year but there’s no mention of the exceptional West Cliffs on the Silver Coast for example. Perhaps it will encourage Portugal to lower the green-fees on the Algarve! Another surprise omission, given that it’s a heathland/forest course built on the sandy soils south of Paris, is Fontainebleau…Rated 77th on the previous list, the course has undergone some great improvements and I’ve never seen it look and play so well. Perhaps it opened too late to be considered but I am convinced that La Reserve in Mauritius will be on the list next time – on an island of glorious golf courses, it’s the most dramatic of them all.
There are lots of reasons why other courses should be included but it’s also very hard to argue with those that are in it. Perhaps the list is too fanatical about golf in Scotland, Ireland and Northern Ireland with a total of 34 courses but we need to remember that this is an American list and Americans don’t often take their clubs to mainland Europe. The east and west coast of Scotland boast several World Top 100 courses each as does the north coast of Ireland and pretty much any coast in the Republic of Ireland. Royal Portrush’s two courses are both listed as are the two at Walton Heath, St Andrews Old & New and Turnberry Ailsa and Robert The Bruce…Bravo to them and what a way to play two wonderful golf courses in the space of two days without even having to drive!
There’s also a welcome acknowledgement of brilliant but previously under-rated courses like Enniscrone and Royal St David’s.
Here’s a link to the Golf Digest article
Here’s the ranking by country
Scotland – 18 courses
England – 13
Republic of Ireland – 12
Canada – 11
Australia – 8
New Zealand – 7
Northern Ireland – 4
Japan – 4
South Africa, Wales, Mexico, China, Portugal, South Korea, Spain, Netherlands, Dominican Republic – 2 each
France, UAE, Vietnam, Norway, Thailand – 1 each
Give us a call if you fancy playing any of the courses…A lot of them are open to the public but we have ways and means of playing on many of the private clubs too.