How to judge the quality of a Golf course your are playing on?
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00Hello everyone and welcome to Walpoleston Golf Club and this video in
00:03association with Peter Millar in which we're going to take a look at how you
00:07judge the quality of golf course that you are playing. So I'm going to be
00:11joined by Rob Smith and Jeremy Elwood who run our Top 100 Courses panel and
00:15the editor of Golf Monthly Mike Harris as well to look at the Golf Monthly
00:19list of Top 100 Courses and in particular how we rank those golf
00:24courses. Now there are five different criteria that we use to help us judge
00:29where each of the golf courses sits. We're going to talk through each of
00:31those with some key discussion points along the way that well worth bearing
00:35in mind whenever you're out playing a golf course for the first time. Right
00:39let's get started.
00:47Okay so it's important to say right at the beginning of this part that the way
00:51in which Golf Monthly rank its Top 100 Courses is slightly different to the way
00:55some other people do it in that we have five different categories and we're
00:59going to look at those in order starting with the one that's weighted the most
01:03the most so the most important so 35% of a score of a golf course will be on
01:08Rob the quality of the test and design. Now obviously the Top 100 Courses have
01:14all got great test and design what makes those so good in terms of the way in
01:17which they're laid out? Well what you're looking at for this category and as you
01:20say it's the most important of the categories is that you want a golf
01:24course that has got every kind of variety of hole on it and will therefore
01:28keep you interested all the way around but also test you all the way around so
01:32you want to come off the course having probably used every club in your bag you
01:36want bunkers in different places you want strategic thoughts you want some
01:40risk and reward holes you want holes that turn to the right holes that turn
01:44to the left this is very much about how you would look at a hole if it was drawn
01:48for you on a piece of paper that's what you're evaluating that hole on where the
01:52hazards are where the landing areas are what how do you approach into the green
01:56and so on so you want something that's fair that all golfers can play but it's
02:01still testing so that you've really got to think about what you're doing so
02:05that's what we mean by the design and test it's really what the golfer has to
02:09do to get from the tee into the hole. Yeah and I guess it's a really good
02:14point that Rob that balance that you you want from a golf course in terms of
02:18testing you being challenging but also being rewarding as well if you play well
02:22now Mike and Jess give us some examples of golf courses on the list that
02:26performed well in terms of the quality of the test and design. Well I would pick
02:30out somewhere like Royal Lytton maybe where you know it's maybe not the most
02:36visually attractive surroundings enclosed by houses but each individual
02:40hole will make you think all the way from tee to green because of its
02:45bunkering because of its topography because of its shape and you're at the
02:49far end near the turn there's changes in elevation where you play up towards a
02:53couple of greens up there so it's got everything even though externally you
02:59know it's not got ocean views and glorious sights to behold but it is
03:04still very very well designed. Fantastic test of golf no matter what. And a tough closing stretch.
03:08What handicap you are. Mike? I think do you know where we are today Walthamston is
03:12fantastic for its variety of shots there's some nice elevation changes you
03:18play up some holes you play down some other holes again you know as Rob said
03:23you've got that variety of dogleg left dogleg right you've got some shorter you
03:27know par fives you can get out and then you've got a couple of really long par
03:31fours that are really going to test you the par threes are not all the same length
03:34got the lovely par three across the water which you feel like that's a really
03:38great chance have a birdie some of the other par threes here you know longer
03:42more testing but I think it's that it's that variety across the ATV. I'm gonna I'm gonna play devil's
03:48advocate here I'm not asking you to name any courses that are on the top 100
03:51because there probably aren't aren't any but what are the things that golf
03:53courses do that bug you in terms of the quality of the testers I'm gonna start
03:58one because I'm one that you always say to me Mike which is growing up long
04:01rough beneath the trees so you hit it in the trees and then you can't actually
04:04get out you're in the thick rough is there anything else that you can think
04:07of that that is a bit frustrating when you find that at a golf course? I think
04:11if you've got a relentlessly long carries right I think is something which
04:17is fine for tall players and for you know for low you know single-figure
04:23golfers but for the ordinary golfer too many forced carries I think is you know
04:29I wouldn't you know I probably mark a course down for that. Right okay. I think
04:35for me it would be that demand as I mentioned earlier for variety I don't
04:40want to have 18 holes that are the same regimented through the trees the four
04:45par threes are pretty much the same length and you've got the same shot
04:48coming I want that variety and that therefore to have to think about
04:52different things on each hole. Yeah Jez? I would go for already long par four
04:57testing long par fours 450 yards and then they throw a really tricky green
05:02and a very narrow entrance at you as well and you're thinking I've done the
05:05hard part here I've got the green now I don't want to you know take three or
05:09four more shots to get down I think you know if you've got a long par four don't
05:13make the green amongst the most tricky on the golf course. Yeah I would agree
05:17with that. I think there's always a really good principle of hard par easy
05:23bogey again I think it's something which you know yes there should be a test and
05:28you should feel like you know it's an achievement if you've made par but making a bogey
05:33it's like that gives you you know that option to have a bail out shot. A way out yeah
05:38you know to not you know cross 18 holes not keep on forcing carries whether it's over bunkers or over walls.
05:44Yeah I believe that is what Bobby Jones wanted all the holes at Augusta to be. He used that very phrase effectively hard par easy bogey.
05:52Yeah and I think we can all agree that's a very good golf course and so so 35% of
05:57the courses Mark goes on quality and test and design 30% goes on the
06:03conditioning and the presentation of the golf course Rob. Well that's obviously
06:07vital because there's no point in having a lovely golf course in front of you but
06:11you can't play it because the surfaces aren't correct. What you want is true
06:14greens are of a consistent pace all the way through all 18. You don't all have to be really fast.
06:19Absolutely not but it's the consistency. It's the only important thing really.
06:23Obviously you don't want them to be stale pace but you want them to be the same pace all the way through so that you don't suddenly get caught out because that's so different from what you've just played.
06:32And it's the same with the way all the way. You want the bunkers to be well presented. You want any hazards if you can use that word anymore such as walled houses and so on to be nicely lined and to look good.
06:42So the whole presentation first kind of rough if there is one second kind of rough and so on you want it to look and feel and then most importantly play consistently all the way through.
06:51Yeah and actually it's quite an interesting point here because I feel as if there are some golf courses that can look and feel rugged but that are also well maintained.
06:59I think sometimes when you talk about condition people get caught up in that sort of Augusta mindset of having it absolutely pristine but actually it can be rugged but it can also be in fantastic condition as well.
07:10Oh 100%. I think if you talked about Royal West Norfolk Brancaster or someone like Royal North Devon they are meant to be natural golf courses.
07:20Some of the links in Ireland and Scotland they're not meant to be pristine. It wouldn't be appropriate. I think appropriate conditioning is so on an inland course particularly on a parkland course I think you do expect courses to be of course be immaculate.
07:35I know Adair Manor perhaps is the ultimate inland conditioning wise ultimate inland course. It's incredible. The tees could almost be greens at some golf courses. The approaches are incredible.
07:50Yeah that comes at a cost too.
07:52Absolutely. They obviously have a lot of maintenance teams, big green grouping teams. They have as many for 18 holes as 36 hole courses have. But that's appropriate for that type of golf course. It wouldn't be appropriate for a link to be absolutely pristine. It needs to have that element of pristine.
08:14And feeling natural. Feeling totally natural to its environment.
08:17Yeah. Jezza give us another course that you'd like to give a shout out to in terms of conditioning.
08:21Conditioning. Well Rob's home club. It's probably better that I speak. Tanridge is not very far from us. Probably the closest Top 100 course to my home. Tanridge in Surrey. And I've played it a few times and thought it's kind of on the cusp of Top 100. I played it last summer with these two gentlemen and it was just absolutely immaculate. The best condition I've ever seen. And when you're on the cusp just that little extra percentage in that category can't be enough to be over the edge.
08:50Because there's so many great golf courses. Because it's important to say there's a lot of fantastic golf courses in the UK that are not in the Top 100 that are well worth obviously considering. And we do consider them very dearly.
09:01Our next 100 you wouldn't be disappointed if you played any of them. And probably the next 300 beyond that. But somehow we've got to differentiate between them.
09:09Which is one of the challenges that you chaps face. Now the next one for me is really important because I always want to play a golf course that is fun and has an element of excitement about it. And I think that probably manifests itself in the visual appeal which we give 15% of the weighting to. Rob tell us a bit about that side of things.
09:32Well it covers two aspects really. One is as you're standing on the tee or on the fairway. What do you see in front of you? What's the test in front of you? How good does that look? How much does it get your juices going? How much does it excite you? But also you're really talking about the backdrop. So behind the hole. What's going on over there? And outside the course. And obviously you've got so many links courses. Views over the sea if you're lucky enough to have those really count for a fair bit too.
09:56So we've got 15% for visual appeal. And I think that's really important. So it's what takes the original architect's design off the page and brings it into life. The visual appeal is really important.
10:06Yeah. Yeah. It's interesting. I see Rob's got three courses down there that he sort of picked out. I'm going to sort of steal Rob's homework there. I talked about Old Head over in Ireland. You'll see many many many famous photographs of Old Head. It is a spectacular place.
10:21It's incredible. You know, it's almost, you know, these high cliffs. So you've got dramatic drops. You've got amazing, you know, the lighthouse. It's almost like one of those fancy golf holes. Yeah. And then you've got Hollingwell, Knott's Golf Club.
10:37Which is interesting because it's so different to Old Head. It's like a totally different thing, isn't it?
10:41And I think that sort of, you know, that's about inner beauty. The holes look lovely. Really, really fantastic, peaceful place to play golf. And then the other one you put there is Gleneagles. Naturally, interestingly, for this ranking, we have brought in the Centenary course. It's been sat outside of the Top 100.
10:59I think we just feel like the presentation of the golf courses, all three of the Gleneagles have been moved to another level. And then, of course, you've got the beauty of the, you know, Perthshire Hills, you know, sort of the backdrop for all three of the courses that we've moved the Centenary course in alongside the Kings and the Queens. I think there's three.
11:19I think to carry the Gleneagles on a bit further, the first time I played there, it didn't stop raining the whole day. I played 36 holes and I loved every minute of it because the setting just blew me away. So, you know, I couldn't hold a club by the end. But it was just such a beautiful place to play.
11:35It is. It's spectacular. Now, so you go from 15% for visual appeal to 10% for the facilities, which is, again, a really important part of the mix because you want to play a golf course, great golf course, but you also there's other stuff that goes on around that that elevates the experience even further.
11:53Well, it's a big day out for all of us to play a top 100 course is a real treat for many people. It's a treat they can't do that often. So it's absolutely the whole day out that we're looking at here. So you want to be in a clubhouse that's comfortable, is welcoming, is friendly. You want, if you're the kind of person who warms up beforehand, you want a practice ground where you can get your swing going.
12:15A halfway hut that's nice is good. And sometimes it's at the clubhouse. Sometimes we've got some real crackers. We mentioned Sunday earlier. Out on the course as well. You want the whole thing. You want the whole package for your day out, I think.
12:29Without a doubt. So give us something that you think.
12:32Well, let me say Dundonald is another course that's come in this time. And it's always been a strong golf course. It's hosted the Scottish Open and it's on that glorious stretch of coast in Ayrshire. But it never had a clubhouse. Now it's got a fantastic clubhouse as well as the accommodation, which is a separate thing. But just getting that proper clubhouse rather than a nice cabin, nice temporary clubhouse.
12:57But now it's got the proper facility to match the experience you're getting out on the golf course. And when you're right on the cusp again, it's just enough to take you from outside to inside.
13:09I think it's really important, as Rob said, to play a top 100 golf course. It's a significant investment on the green fees. The green fees are really high. So we are ordinary golfers. We're not professionals. That's the whole thing about the Golf Monthly List. It's for golfers, by golfers. And if you don't play brilliantly, and if perhaps the quality of test and design beats you up, you still want to see a beautiful golf course that's well presented.
13:36And from when you arrive to when you leave, the facility, that is for us part of our rankings. I know for some other rankings, they're literally first tee to 18th green. And that was just really looked at the golf course. We don't take into account accommodation, but it's pretty much everything else that as a regular vision golfer, you will experience. So the locker room, the shower is good. The quality of food is really good as well.
14:03And again, appropriately priced. We've got a good section of beer behind us. But for us three, four of us, a really nice pint of beer at the end of the round, or a good glass of wine, that's what is encapsulated in that facility. 10% of them are.
14:21I think I just mentioned, you know, facilities don't have to be grand. You have to match the, you know, I've just been to Porthcall, and the clubhouse there is not grand in any way. But if you sit in that wood panelled room looking out to sea with a little tipple of something up around, however badly or well you've played, all is kind of well with the world. That's a place I love going to.
14:43OK, so 10% of the weighting goes to the facilities, but 10% also goes to something that we're calling experience, which is a bit more subjective, isn't it? It's hard to kind of put an exact mark against it, but it's a really important part of the mix when it comes to judging these golf courses.
14:59It's very important, but it recognises the fact that we're all different, and we all like different things and get pleased by different things, but ultimately we kind of end up marking these in the same way. It's the most subjective of the five criteria, because it's about how did you feel? How great was the occasion? How warm was the welcome? So it's about the touchy-feely stuff that you really can't write down and define very clearly, but it's still important to the overall experience of your day out at a lovely Top 100 course.
15:27Yeah, because I guess a lot of people watching this may have been to a fantastic golf course where perhaps the welcome hasn't been perhaps as good as they were looking for, because you really want to be treated like and feel like you're a member for the day when you go to these golf courses, don't you?
15:40Yeah, I think it's interesting. North Berwick actually have it as a sign, there is a sign just coming in, pay a visit to Greenfield, you are a member for the day. Again, I'm cribbing off Rob's notes again here. It's the welcome from both staff and from members as well, and I think that can be, you guys will, Neil and Jez, you'll remember the time that we went and played at a course that shall remain nameless where we were running late, we were on the way back from the Turnberry Open and we'd stopped in.
16:09We'd been held up by traffic. We had to get out the car onto the tee to make our tee time and quickly change shoes in the car park so we could get out quickly. And a member came over and said, you can't change your shoes in the car park. And it sort of, you know, could have said, do you need to know where the locker room is? It makes a difference. You know, you really, you know, when people are investing their hard-earned money and going to a Top 100 golf course, you really want to make it feel like it's a special day.
16:38So Jez, tell us somewhere that you feel comes out really well when it comes to the experience.
16:45Well, I think a lot of them do because they, as Mike says, they're charging a lot of money. And it is the ones that, maybe in the last 10 to 15 years, a lot of them have really come on in that regard. And a lot of, you know, the top clubs, traditional members clubs, maybe 15 years ago, did think, you know, it's a privilege for you to come here, so you'll do it how we want to do it. And there's definitely been a real change in focus that these people are paying £200, £300.
17:12Yeah, it gives.
17:13They need to be treated like customers.
17:16Yeah, and I think it's interesting because I think the number of club managers, secretaries as you would have called them, have experience in the hospitality sector. They go and do a lot of research in the hospitality sector to see how great hotels, great restaurants, what do they do to, again, make their customers feel really welcome and have a really special experience.
17:40So, again, if you want to come back, regardless of how well you play, you go, you know, I had such a great day there, what did you see, I don't know, probably millions, but I want to go back.
17:48Yes.
17:49And I think that, for me, is always the mark of a really great experience. It doesn't matter how you play, I want to go back because I had such a great day.
17:56Yeah, and if you can add that to that sense of occasion that you get from turning up to play somewhere that has that sort of spectacular look and feel to it, then you're on to a real winner.
18:03So there you have it. That's our look at how we rank golf courses at Golf Monthly. Now, it's important to say here that we haven't actually changed the criteria for how long.
18:14I think we had a minor recalibration maybe 10 years ago where we weighted something slightly differently. In essence, very little has changed since day one.
18:22Yeah, so it shows you that hopefully the consistency that we brought to the rankings provides a bit of confidence that hopefully what you're getting with our top 100 are just fantastic golf courses that are going to, in different ways, tick every single box that you've got.
18:36But that's it for now from Wapleston. Thanks very much for watching. We'll see you next time.