In this video, the Golf Monthly team take a look at the Top 100 UK & Ireland golf courses. Rob Smith, Jezz Ellwood and Mike Harris all pick two courses outside of the top 25 that you might not already be aware. They discuss what makes these golf courses so good and why they are well worth a visit!
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00:00Hello and welcome to this video on hidden gem golf courses.
00:03If you're looking for some golfing inspiration this year,
00:06then this video is definitely for you.
00:08You're gonna hear from Rob Smith and Jeremy Elwood
00:11who run our Top 100 Courses panel,
00:13and Mike Harris, the editor of Golf Monthly as well.
00:16And I've asked them all to take a look
00:18on our top 100 courses in the UK and Ireland,
00:21and pick two courses that don't feature
00:24maybe at the top end of that top 100,
00:27but that are well worth the visit
00:29that you may, may not have already heard about before.
00:33We're here at the beautiful Wapleston Golf Club.
00:36Let's get started.
00:47Right, so let's focus on some hidden gems.
00:50I think it's fair to say
00:51that when we talk about our top 100 courses,
00:53there aren't that many hidden gems amongst them
00:55because a lot of them are very well known.
00:58So the challenge that I set these three
00:59was to take out the top 25.
01:01So you're not allowed to pick anything
01:02that's in the top 25,
01:04but I do want you to highlight some courses
01:06that people watching this video
01:07may not have already considered
01:09if they're thinking about playing somewhere
01:11that's a real wow golf course.
01:13So, Jez, I'm gonna start with you.
01:15What's your, two each,
01:17what's your first nomination as a hidden gem?
01:19Okay, well I'm gonna go with Doonbeg,
01:21which is in County Clare, West Coast of Ireland,
01:23now called Trump International Golf Links,
01:26I believe, Ireland.
01:28I played it just after it opened in 2003, I think.
01:32And I'd played quite a few classic old links by then,
01:35but never anything quite like this
01:37in amongst the towering dunes.
01:38And to be honest, it just blew me away.
01:40It was just a fantastic golfing experience
01:43from start to finish, real wow factor.
01:45And that sort of sparked my enthusiasm
01:47for modern links with the towering dunes
01:50like Trump Aberdeen and Rossapenna Sandy Hills.
01:54Some purists probably balk at the idea of modern links,
01:58whereas I actually really embrace them
02:00and enjoy them as much as possibly,
02:03if not more so, than some of the older links.
02:05Yeah, I would throw Castle Stewart into the mix
02:07on that front,
02:08because I think that's a fantastic golf course.
02:09Now, Jez, what number is it on the list?
02:11It's 47th, so just inside the top 50.
02:15And if those people who are maybe putting a trip together
02:17and they want to play somewhere else,
02:19where else could they play in the area?
02:21Well, the obvious one is Le Hinge,
02:23which is higher in the rankings,
02:25much older traditional old links.
02:27But actually when they built Le Hinge,
02:29they looked at the plot of land
02:31where Doonbeg was subsequently built
02:33and decided to build it elsewhere.
02:34But it was earmarked for potential golf course
02:37sort of a hundred years before it became a golf course.
02:40Okay, okay, so that's Doonbeg
02:42or Trump International Golf Links, Ireland.
02:44Mike, over to you.
02:45So my first one is Wallasey.
02:48It's a new entry in the list, this time at number 89.
02:53It has been on the verge of getting in for a while,
02:58I would say, but the level of work
03:00that's been going on at Wallasey in the last few years
03:04under the stewardship of John McLaughlin,
03:07his course manager there,
03:09really I think it's fully deserving of its place.
03:12And interestingly, I first played it,
03:14I think on my stag weekend.
03:15So talking about 20 odd years ago,
03:18and I've been back and played it
03:19a number of times subsequently.
03:21I've always felt like it's a really great golf course.
03:23There's some very spectacular holes overlooking the sea,
03:28but they've done a lot of work
03:29and they've brought, I guess,
03:30the standard of some of the weaker holes up.
03:33And it's a great experience, lovely,
03:35very, really, really friendly club.
03:36It probably sits in the shadow of Royal Liverpool,
03:40which is literally just up the road.
03:42Okay, so Rob, over to you then.
03:43What's your first nomination?
03:45Well, like the other two, I've gone for Links,
03:48but sort of midway between the two.
03:49So not a totally modern, but also not traditional.
03:51I've gone for Enniscrown in Ireland,
03:53which is kind of midway-ish between County Sligo and Cairn.
03:58And it was built in the mid seventies.
03:59Eddie Hackett was the designer.
04:02You start off in the most ridiculously open bit of land.
04:05You think, well, what's going on here?
04:06And then you turn immediately into the dunes.
04:08You then come out of them
04:09and you play down some holes down by the river.
04:10And then you go back for a cliche alert,
04:13rollercoaster ride for a few holes
04:15with some cracking path eyes
04:17and some dog legs where you hit down into little valleys.
04:19And then you go around the corner up to greens on shelves.
04:21It's just enormous fun from start to finish.
04:23And it really is a lovely, lovely golf course.
04:26I think it's quite an important point to make here
04:28about the courses on the top 100,
04:30that you want there to be an element of fun, don't you?
04:33And there'll be some courses,
04:34perhaps that people think,
04:35is that really a top 100 course?
04:37But as you just said there, when you describe it,
04:38I can see how animated you are with it, Rob.
04:41And you're like, well, it's such good fun to play.
04:43Yeah, absolutely.
04:44I think fun is an important factor.
04:46We don't really figure it in to the rankings
04:48or in terms of the criteria, the formal criteria,
04:50but you have to bear in mind,
04:51everyone is looking at these courses
04:53and as they think about the categories that we do have,
04:56you can't actually divorce that from fun
04:58because you can't think it's a great strategic test
05:01if you're not enjoying it.
05:02So fun has to be a part of it.
05:04I think hidden gems is an interesting term
05:06because if you're in that area,
05:09you'll know all about that course.
05:11But venture further afield
05:12and apart from the very top courses,
05:14you'd be surprised how few golfers have really heard
05:17of some of these very fine courses
05:18that sit, you know, 50 to 100 or whatever.
05:21Some of them are quite anonymous outside their home area.
05:23Particularly, I think when they're off the beaten track
05:25is, you know, a lot of the courses,
05:27I must say that's probably my blind spot in top 100
05:30is some of those sort of further flung Irish courses.
05:33I've never been to Ennis Crone.
05:35I would love to go particularly.
05:37Having seen some of the photography of it,
05:39obviously hear your description of it.
05:41Yeah, and it's a good point, actually.
05:43Wherever you are in the world,
05:44there will be a hidden gem golf course somewhere near you
05:46that we probably haven't even heard of.
05:48And we'd love to hear your description of it.
05:50So please do leave some comments below.
05:52James, back to you, your second course.
05:54Well, let's go for my home county, West Sussex.
05:56This is the only top 100 course in my home county
06:00and it's called West Sussex.
06:01There is another course in East Sussex, Frye,
06:04which is in the top 100,
06:05but West Sussex is just a beautiful Heathland golf course.
06:09You arrive and it's got this old school clubhouse,
06:12a big practice ground.
06:14And then the first is the only par five on the course.
06:17So there's always this kind of,
06:18right, I've got to make the most of this
06:19because there's nothing,
06:20and invariably you don't, of course.
06:22And then the fourth and fifth
06:24are probably two of the prettiest
06:25back-to-back holes I've ever played.
06:26There's a dogleg round to the left.
06:28Not long, but testing enough.
06:31And then a most beautiful par three in amongst the trees.
06:34And you need to make the most of those
06:35because the hole after that is a quite ludicrous par three.
06:38Down the hill, 230, 240 yards
06:42to a green with banks either side.
06:45So Mike, you went for Wallasey first,
06:47and then what's your second one?
06:48So my second one is Parkstone,
06:51which is down in Dorset near Bournemouth.
06:53Part of three courses that are down there,
06:57Ferndown, Broadstone, and Parkstone.
07:00Probably could have picked any of them, really.
07:02Parkstone, what I really like about it
07:03is there's lots of variety there.
07:06Some really spectacular holes,
07:08some nice changes in elevation.
07:11Feels like it's not overly long.
07:13There's some really good sporty holes there.
07:16Always thought it's been in fantastic condition
07:18when I've been there.
07:19Love the clubhouse as well.
07:20It's got amazing view over the 18th,
07:22which is a par three to finish with.
07:24So yeah, Parkstone, I think, which we have ranked at 81,
07:28if I remember correctly,
07:30is, would be my second choice for Hidden Gem.
07:33Bonus prize is one of five in the top 100
07:35that finish with a par three.
07:37If you can name the other four, leave a comment below.
07:39I was gonna start trying,
07:41but that wouldn't have made much viewing.
07:44Okay, very good.
07:44So Rob, what's your last one?
07:47Well, my second is,
07:48my first one was less well-known
07:50because it's kind of in the middle of nowhere.
07:53My other is not so well-known
07:54because it's surrounded by bigger names,
07:56which is kind of the feature here,
07:58which we've mentioned, really.
07:59I'm going for Westingales,
08:00which is number 46 in the new rankings.
08:06This is an old school length,
08:08but delightfully play four holes inland heading north.
08:12Then you reach the coast
08:13and you just have a,
08:14you just run for nine holes all the way down the beach
08:18with some sunken greens,
08:20some sort of punch bowl greens.
08:22It's just a delight
08:24if the wind is behaving in the right way too.
08:26And then of course you turn
08:27for potentially really tough 14 to 18
08:29back up towards the lovely clubhouse.
08:32I think it's got tons of charm.
08:35It's less well-known
08:36because of Turnberry, Prestwick and Shroom,
08:37which are so close,
08:39but it really is well worth visiting
08:42for anybody who doesn't yet know it.
08:43Yeah, there's a few areas within our top 100
08:46where you can put together a brilliant trip.
08:47You could go up to the East Lothian coast
08:49or you could go to one of the spots in Ireland
08:51to put together it.
08:52This is another one.
08:53You just listed off however many top 100 courses.
08:56There's a few others actually in that area too.
08:58Well, Dundonald Links has gone in there.
09:00And we actually did that.
09:01The three of us did that as a trip a few years ago.
09:03We played 72 holes in two days.
09:06Didn't mean it was a two day trip.
09:07We went up and played Dundonald and Westingales on one day
09:12and then Troon and Prestwick on the next day.
09:14Really quite tired when we flew back.
09:17Ayrshire is the third most successful county,
09:20joined the third most successful county in our top 100
09:23behind Surrey, which excels.
09:25And then Merseyside, which if you break it down
09:28is bits of Lancashire and Cheshire and what have you,
09:30but that's the second most successful.
09:32And then it's Ayrshire and I think Aberdeenshire on four.
09:35Wow, good knowledge.
09:36Yeah, I've just written about it, so.
09:38Very good, very good.
09:39So there you have it.
09:40Hopefully that offers you some inspiration
09:42for if you're putting a golf trip together
09:44or just generally if you live in one of these areas
09:46and maybe haven't played one of these golf courses,
09:48then they are well worth going out to see for yourself
09:51because I think all of us, anyone who's in love with golf
09:55loves the chance of playing great golf courses.
09:57And these are fantastic golf courses
09:59that are well worth the mention.
10:01So that's it for now.
10:02Thank you very much for watching.
10:03But for now from Wapleston, it's goodbye.
10:06♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh