Thoughts on our Combined Great Britain & Ireland Top 100 Golf Courses List
Omissions:
Askernish is the obvious omission to me. It's probably too controversial to include for these main publications but it is twice the course of many that are included and despite its rudimentary conditioning, which is often used as a stick to beat it with, it is a golf course that undoubtedly merits inclusion in the below list for numerous reasons. It has an array of world-class holes and offers golf in its purest form. In many ways it highlights where golf has gone wrong over recent decades and brings us back to its roots.
That said, the course has now started to be included in some of the 'country' lists and is creeping upwards. It was also pleasing to see Golf.com include it in their Top 100 GB&I and this is hopefully a sign of things to come.
Other notable absentees from the "top 126" include Moray Old, Donegal, Beau Desert and Castlerock. And whilst none are shoo-ins for top 100 inclusion it is somewhat surprising they don't feature in any of the four lists at all.
Delving a little deeper, and sitting a tier below the courses mentioned above, you are looking at a plethora of layouts which must be knocking on the door including; Ipswich, Hayling, Perranporth, Littlestone, Blackmoor, Stoneham, Royal Wimbledon, New Zealand, Tenby and Gullane (No.2). It's hard to make a specific case for any of these individually except to say that if any appeared I would not be overly surprised.
In summary, and putting personal taste to one side, what this all tells us is that between the four companies they have just about got it covered in terms of discussing the best of golf in Great Britain and Ireland.
For the Chop | Higher | Lower
Firstly it should be stated that every course in the 126 list is there on merit and can rightly be acknowledged as one of the best courses in the British Isles. Ranking almost anything is very subjective and the courses I would potentially lose are based solely on personal preference to make way for the ones I feel should be included.
Naturally, all the courses listed in the 101-126 range can be questioned about their true top 100 credentials. Of the 26 courses in this bracket I would not shed a tear if any of the three Woburn courses, Royal Ashdown Forest, Ferndown or Tandridge were not to be found. I have enjoyed all my games at these venues but they do not scream GB&I Top 100 to me.
More harshly, and quite frankly, I do not see how Blairgowrie (Rosemount) and Mount Juliet make any of the lists... but they clearly do so perhaps I need to re-visit these and reaccess my own views on them.
I have no strong feelings on the others in this 101-126 section either way except to say I would probably push the following courses over the threshold and into the top 100; Ballyliffin (Old), Royal North Devon, Castletown.
As for those that are currently inside the top 100 I'd personally say the following courses are punching above their weight in their respective positions; Adare Manor, St. Enodoc, Gleneagles (Queen's), Royal St. David's, Liphook, The Berkshire (Blue), Walton Heath (New) and Broadstone. That's not to say I would exclude these from the Top 100 altogether but I would nudge them down. I do not see JCB as a Top 100 GB&I golf course at all though.
Annoyingly, Cruden Bay is placed far too low, as is Royal Aberdeen, and as good as both courses at Sunningdale are I just don't comprehend how they best the clutch of truly world-class links courses Great Britain & Ireland has to offer.
Similar could be said, albeit to a much lesser degree, about Woodhall Spa, Walton Heath, Swinley Forest and Ganton. One of the follies of trying to compare links and heathland golf together I guess. Loch Lomond is one that always puzzles me too with its lofty placement but that's probably to do more with the off-course experience as opposed to the actual golf course.
Other venues that I would bump up the list include seven Irish links; Portstewart (Strand), Enniscrone, Carne, Ballyliffin (Glashedy), Doonbeg, The Island and County Sligo. Simply put, when you compare them to their fellow counterparts from England, Scotland and Wales they stand out as being too low. The English links of Hunstanton, Silloth and Saunton (East) would get a boost too if I were the golf course ranking King.
In summary though, and like I said earlier, the four lists do a great job at bringing together the best courses and sifting the wheat from the chaff.
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