In this video, Neil Tappin is joined by Rob Smith & Jeremy Ellwood, who are in charge of Golf Monthly's Top 100, and Golf Monthly's editor Mike Harris to run through the top 10 of Golf Monthly's Top 100 golf courses in the UK & Ireland for 2023/24. How many of the top 10 have you played?
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00:00Hello everyone, Neil Tappan here from Golf Monthly and welcome to Walthamston Golf Club and this video in which we're going to take a look at the top
00:0610 golf courses in the UK and Ireland.
00:10So I'm going to be joined by Rob Smith and Jeremy Elwood who run our top 100 courses panel and
00:16Mike Harris who's the editor of Golf Monthly and we're going to discuss what makes these 10 golf courses so special.
00:22We're going to run it through from 10
00:23through to 1 so make sure you watch through to the end to find out what comes out on top. Right, let's get started.
00:30Okay, so we're going to start at number 10 and work our way down to number 1 and actually we'll start with 10 and 9 together because they are the same venue, the same golf club, but two separate golf courses.
00:47Mike, you're going to kick us off and we're looking at the two Sunningdales here.
00:51We are indeed and interestingly for a number of years we had the new ranked above the old and I think that
00:59most people would agree that the new is a harder golf course.
01:03I would. It's a really, really strong test of golf.
01:07If you're not on your game, it will really find you out.
01:11But actually we've promoted the old ahead of the new.
01:16I think we did it at the last rankings and it stayed ahead this time and I think we've done that just because it is such a delightful 18 holes of golf.
01:26Even if you're playing not the best, you will still really, really enjoy the old.
01:32There are some incredible holes on there.
01:35I just think the ambience of the old, it's such a charming golf course.
01:40The new as well, again, some amazing holes.
01:44That sweeping par five, where big hitters like you sort of take it over the corner and the rest of us go out to the left.
01:50The par three before that, which is the fourth, I think.
01:54Sorry, the fifth and then the par five is the sixth.
01:57Yeah, that's right.
01:58And then such a great run of holes around the turn as well.
02:02The tenth lovely par three that goes back to the halfway hut.
02:07In fact, both of the tenths go to the halfway hut, don't they?
02:10And of course, no visit to Sunningdale is complete without a stop at the halfway hut for a sausage sandwich and a drink of your choice.
02:18But I think together, it's the best 36 holes comfortably in GB and I, possibly in the world.
02:27And it's a wonderful place to visit.
02:28As I say, what's unique about Sunningdale is that you've got two golf courses that are very similar in terms of...
02:33Obviously, they're similar in terms of sitting at 10 and 9 on our list, but they're quite different actually to play.
02:39As you said, Mike, one of them's a lot, I'd say a lot harder than the other one.
02:42But they do play quite different, even though they're on the same bit of land.
02:46It's not because I find the same at the Berkshire.
02:48You have two that are side by side.
02:50I think the blue is substantially tougher than the red.
02:53Maybe it's because of the pars and so on.
02:55But it seems to be a feature of the Surrey Berkshire ball is that you've got these fabulous 36 hole venues like that.
03:01So let me put you all on the spot.
03:02If you were going to play one of those Sunningdale courses tomorrow, but only one of them, which one would you go for, Jez?
03:08I'd go for the new because I didn't play a lot of good golf last year.
03:11But one of my best rounds was on the new, so it's fresh in the mind.
03:14But I particularly like that fifth and sixth back-to-back combo, which is probably two of the best back-to-back holes in the UK.
03:20There you go. Mike?
03:22It would depend on how I was playing.
03:24If I'm playing well, I'd like to play on the new because it's a great test of golf.
03:28But if I'm not playing so well, I think it's a pretty relentless golf course.
03:33So I'd opt for the old, which I think is a bit more...
03:35It's a bit more user-friendly, definitely.
03:37I think you're going to have an enjoyable round, whether you play well or not.
03:42And I would opt for the old as well, for fairly obvious reasons.
03:45Particularly as we're recording this in the height of winter, really, and I'm not getting a great deal of distance.
03:52So the old will keep a smile on your face the whole way, whereas the new might actually start to make you frown.
03:59How about you?
04:00I'd go for the old, too.
04:01I'd go for the old, but regardless, as you said, I'd definitely take a bit of time at the halfway heart.
04:07Whichever one I play.
04:08OK, so number eight on our list is Royal Portrush.
04:13Rob, are you looking at Royal Portrush for us?
04:15Yeah, I first played it back in the late 80s, early 90s, I think, and fell in love with it straight away.
04:21It's a classic Lynx, but it has got some fabulous students as well.
04:26There's a Harry Colt course, and I'm a big fan of Colt, as are many people, obviously.
04:30He's one of the greatest architects of all time.
04:33It was always a great course anyway, and it kind of came back even higher in the public eye when it got the Open back four years ago in 2019.
04:42And, of course, Mackenzie Nebert came in and did some changes as well, including two new holes, which is quite important because it had a slightly weaker finish.
04:49So it's kind of come up in our rankings based on the fact we've got two fabulous new holes as well.
04:54So you had the fifth and the 16th, which were glorious in the first place.
04:57You've now got the two new holes as well.
04:59It's an absolute cracker from start to finish now.
05:01But hard as well, though.
05:02Very hard, as evidenced by the fact it's got the Opening already again back in two years' time.
05:07So, you know, everyone loved it. The 2019 Open was a huge success.
05:11And the public acclaim and the worldwide acclaim is so great that it's going back there straight away.
05:15Right. Moving on. We need to get to course number seven, Jez, on our list, which is Canusti.
05:21Canusti is, people will often say about Canusti, it's a fantastic goal.
05:25Of course, the views are not great.
05:27You know, it's enclosed by houses and it's not a great sea view golf course.
05:33But I think bunkering and burns are what Canusti is all about.
05:37The two Bs.
05:38They're always in the wrong place for where you as a golfer tend to hit it.
05:41Some fairways have bunkers both sides in the driving zone, some just on one side.
05:46And then you get this added factor of the burns, not just on the closing stretch, but on early holes like the third,
05:52where I think now some of the big hitting guys can get pretty close to the green on the third, can't really knock it on.
05:58Yeah. But for mere mortals, you're factoring in having to clear that burn on the second shot.
06:03And I just think it's such a brilliantly bunkered golf course.
06:06And then as tough a finish as you'll encounter anywhere.
06:09Yeah, I think that you're right there, Jez, that feeling with some of these golf courses,
06:13the ones where maybe they don't have the breathtaking views of Royal Port Rush
06:17or another one that appears on our list a bit further down.
06:20They do then need to have that amazing bunkering, that definition that you get off the tee at places like Cunnington.
06:26Yeah. A lot of people say it's the best bunkered golf course in the UK and I probably wouldn't disagree with that.
06:34Yeah. Right. So on to number six on our list.
06:37And Rob, you're going to take a look at Royal Dornan.
06:39But before you talk about the golf course itself, just talk a bit about the club, because I've no doubt in my mind,
06:43it's one of the friendliest courses I think I've ever been to.
06:48Just so you get that sense immediately as you arrive that you're sort of almost like a member of the club for the day.
06:52Well, you certainly do. And that's because going back, it was a real pilgrimage to go there.
06:56Again, going back some time when I first went, you had to take the ferry from Inverness.
07:00You didn't have to, but it was the quickest way to get the ferry across the Cromarty Firth.
07:04And therefore, once you got there, it was a very special place to go to.
07:07And because it was off the beaten track, it was, of course, a little less stuffy than some of the other clubs.
07:11And there's always therefore been welcoming as a result.
07:14Yeah. And it's welcoming. But then you get out onto the golf course and it's a fantastic place to play golf.
07:19Tell us a bit about the golf course.
07:20Well, the setting is just dream, isn't it? It's so remote.
07:23You've got kind of almost like a two level thing working your way down to the shore.
07:27And you look back across and it's just a traditional out and back.
07:31Some super tough holes. If you play in a strong wind, you might really find it quite tough.
07:36But of course, like elsewhere, it's improving all the time, too.
07:40So they have since the last rankings, they have a new 7th hole par 4,
07:43which has been realigned to kind of open up the views across the Firth moor and make it even more sexy to look at as you play.
07:52They're working currently, as we speak, on the 8th to build a new tee to create the views again and then open that up as well.
07:59So like many places, it's not resting on its already very high laurels. It's improving all the time.
08:04Yeah. And it's a brilliant place to play golf.
08:07OK, so course number five on our list is Royal Birkdale.
08:10Rob, another open venue, beautiful golf course to look at. What makes it so good?
08:15Well, looking back at the rankings since we've been going, which is about 20 years now,
08:19this has been the leading course in England the whole way through.
08:23I was lucky enough to play there again last summer and I already knew it was great before I went.
08:28But going back, I just couldn't believe how good it is.
08:31It's got 18 strong holes all the way through.
08:34It's got fantastic dunes for England, particularly for the northwest, which is a cracking coastline all the way through.
08:40But it's got some of the best dunes. I just loved it from start to finish.
08:44It's also super friendly. Strangely enough, now for an Open Championship venue,
08:48members are very friendly and welcoming, as are the management team.
08:51I was absolutely blown away going back again.
08:54When last time I was there for the Open, which would have been the year that Jordan Spieth won,
08:57I remember standing on the first tee and thinking this is possibly the most intimidating shot ever.
09:02There's a dogleg right to left, there's wind all the way off the left-hand side.
09:05It hits both ways, actually.
09:07For most golfers, you've got to hit it out there and then you've got to draw it and then fade it, which it's not.
09:13So let me ask you, what makes it such a good golf course then?
09:17Well, I mean, I think it was rerouted many years ago to play along the valleys rather than up and over the hills.
09:25Probably for the older English links courses, it has some really impressive dunes
09:31and you play along the valleys between them and every hole is almost like a wow factor.
09:36I think it's a really fair golf course as well.
09:39You don't tend to get those quirky link slides that you might get at somewhere like the Royal St George's.
09:49When it comes to ranking a golf course from the top 100 courses in Golf Monthly,
09:54you don't just take a look at just the quality of the tests and design, there are some other factors as well.
09:58Take a look at the video that's on that subject as well to know more.
10:01OK, so for number four on our list, we're going back north of the border to Scotland.
10:05Mike, Muirfield.
10:07Yeah, well, it's an incredible golf course.
10:10We had it number one for a number of years and although it's at number four, it is still an epic golf course.
10:20I think the thing about Muirfield that everybody acknowledges is the strength of its routing.
10:25It's two concentric nines, so you are never playing in the same direction two holes in a row,
10:31which means that the wind is constant.
10:34There's always a wind there at Muirfield, it's constantly shifting.
10:37You've really got to take that into account.
10:39A very, very strong test.
10:42It's a hard golf course.
10:45There's some really enjoyable holes, but it is a difficult golf course.
10:49You'll get a lot of great bunkering there.
10:52So we're staying in Scotland for number three.
10:55We're going to go to Turnberry, Jez, which has always been one of the most beautiful golf courses in the UK and Ireland.
11:01But tell us a bit about the test that you find when you get there.
11:04Well, it was always regarded as the most visually picturesque of the open.
11:09It's not on the rotor at the moment, but picturesque of the open rotor Venice,
11:13because it's so close to the coastline there in Ayrshire.
11:16And the front nine in particular, and the turn, you're hugging the shore all the way.
11:20And I think there was perhaps some concern when someone came in in 2016 to start doing some changes.
11:26What can you do to improve this already fantastic course?
11:30The masterpiece of a golf course, how do you improve it?
11:32Particularly when you found out he was going to be doing holes like 9, 10 and 11,
11:36which were already right on that rocky shore.
11:38And then the results that he managed to create proved that it was all justified.
11:44Because it just raised it, raised the whole thing another notch on the old scale.
11:49And it is just an immense experience.
11:51And he's also improved holes on the back nine that traditionally were perhaps a little bit weaker.
11:56You know, you now play the 14th is now a par five, coming back up to where the old ninth fairway was.
12:02That's making far better use of the land than when the ninth was this kind of unusual par four
12:07with the hogs back fairway.
12:09And the whole thing has just gone up several notches.
12:12I think it explains why we do this process every couple of years.
12:15Because the best golf courses in the UK and Ireland, they are evolving, aren't they?
12:19They're constantly evolving and changing.
12:21And as you said, you can take a masterpiece like Turnberry and make it even better.
12:25I mean, few people would have thought that was even possible.
12:28Well, particularly when you found out what holes he was going to be tinkering with.
12:31But it was a job well done.
12:35OK, so number two is St Andrews.
12:38The old course at St Andrews had to be high up on the list.
12:41Of course it did. Mike, tell us a bit about St Andrews.
12:45I think everybody knows it's the most famous golf course in the world, home of golf.
12:51And when you play there, you are walking in the footsteps of everybody who's who of the game.
12:58Molton, Morris, Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods.
13:02And it's an incredible experience.
13:06What I really like about St Andrews is it's playable for all levels of golfer.
13:11You've got to do quite well to lose a golf ball.
13:14You probably would have to hit it in one of the wind bushes that are sort of around.
13:19Although they've taken out quite a lot of the winds.
13:21It's pretty difficult to lose a golf ball.
13:24I've always found that it was fairly straightforward to get an OK score.
13:33Quite difficult to get a really good score because you've got to be a bit more ambitious and a bit more aggressive.
13:39And you've got to be putting well because you are going to have a lot of long putts.
13:43Big double greens and some subtle movements in some of them.
13:50And you think that the really hard holes are hard, but then you can easily get caught out.
13:56I remember playing in a medal which was going really quite nicely.
14:00I think I was one or two over, stood on the 12th tee and had an eight.
14:06It feels like it's a potential birdie opportunity.
14:11St Andrews gives you decisions to make and it's sort of, I really should have hit driver,
14:16but I hit hybrid, hit it into one of the fairway bunkers.
14:19I think it took two to get out.
14:21Then I, oh I don't know, the red mist came down.
14:24And then you've got that green with the step in it.
14:28There are plenty of places to come a cropper, but it is quite user friendly.
14:33It is.
14:34It's only consolation that Paul Casey came a cropper there, didn't he?
14:36Did he?
14:37The year when Hoosetails and Money opened and he made a hat trick.
14:41I think what sums it up, playable for all, the very first time I played there on the two par threes,
14:47I had a two on one and a 13 on the other.
14:51Consistency has always been a hallmark.
14:55Before we move on to the top ranked course on the list,
14:59what's it like to play the first and the 18th at St Andrews?
15:03Still for me, I must have played the old course 20 plus times.
15:08It is still a magical feeling, stood on the first tee, hitting down there.
15:14And then the journey up 18 is amazing.
15:17Walk over the bridge.
15:19Waving to the imaginary crowd as you go.
15:21You've got to have a photograph on the bridge,
15:24particularly if it's your first time and if you're taking friends.
15:28It's a really special experience.
15:29And then walking up there with obviously R&A Clubhouse and Hamilton Grand behind it.
15:35I know, Neil, you had a room in Hamilton.
15:37Yeah, it was my hall of residence at university.
15:40What a room with a view.
15:42And of course, you've got all these sort of famous buildings,
15:44Bruce Axe and all the others up the right hand side.
15:48Normally you've got a crowd behind the 18th green, which is,
15:53it's pretty inspiring, can be a little bit daunting,
15:55but yeah, it's just an incredible place to play golf.
15:58And I would recommend it for everybody.
16:02And it's probably on everybody's bucket list, but it is well worth the pilgrimage.
16:06It is. It really is.
16:07OK, so that leads us to number one on our list.
16:10And for this one, we're going back over to Northern Ireland and Royal County Down.
16:16Who has played Royal County Down most recently?
16:19I've played it most recently.
16:20I've also been right next door to it most recently and not played it.
16:25So, Jez, you've got on this list the best inland courses,
16:29the best Lynx golf courses.
16:31Why does this one stand out for you?
16:33Well, I think people have always, a lot of people think it's the best golf course in the world.
16:37That's always been touted as being up there.
16:40I don't know whether I agree with that or not, but it's as a setting for golf,
16:45surrounded by mountains.
16:47You've got the sea, you've got the iconic town,
16:51townscape with the towering buildings and the hotel, isn't it, next door?
16:55Yeah.
16:56Sleave Donard.
16:57And it's got a magical feel about it, the whole place.
17:00And then you get on the course and the first three holes sort of play along the coast,
17:06gently uphill, isn't it?
17:07You climb up to the fourth tee and then look back down and get the whole of that view.
17:14And I know, you know, the views are not the major part of our rankings,
17:18but given that they are still a decent percentage,
17:22this one would score as highly as anywhere for the visual appeal.
17:26And then some of the individual holes are just fantastic to play.
17:30What do you have to do well to shoot a good score at Royal Castle?
17:33Apart from play very well.
17:35You have to...
17:36Go on a day when it's not windy.
17:39Stay out of the bunkers.
17:40I mean, it's a well-bunkered golf course.
17:43And you've got to know your lines on some of the shots
17:48where you can't necessarily see exactly where you're going,
17:50like the ninth and the eleventh in particular, isn't it?
17:55Can I ask you a question about blind shots?
17:57Because when we talked...
17:58Mike mentioned earlier about...
17:59I think it was Birkdale saying it's such a fair golf course.
18:02And when people talk about fair golf course,
18:04immediately the thing that goes off in my mind is that it's fair
18:06because you can see everything in front of you.
18:08But Royal Countertown is one of those golf courses
18:10where you do have a few blind shots to encounter.
18:14Are they a good thing?
18:15Are they a bad thing?
18:16How do you feel about that sort of makeup and how it works in golf?
18:20I've never been against them
18:21because I've played a lot of golf on quirky old golf courses
18:25where you get a lot of blind shots.
18:26And probably no designer would design a blind hole or shot these days.
18:32But playing them on some of these classic old links
18:35seems entirely inky.
18:36I think when you think of Prestwick
18:38and that blind par three straight over the hill,
18:41if you play that and you can't enjoy the experience
18:44of coming over the top and seeing where your ball is,
18:48I have no objection to them.
18:49I don't know what the other guys think.
18:50I totally agree.
18:51It's part of the tradition of the game, isn't it?
18:53It's part of the stepping back in time.
18:55It's part of embracing what golf started off as,
18:57just going out there into the elements.
18:59I'm all for it.
19:00Because if you're hitting somewhere that's then very quirky,
19:03I mean, you and I played at Ainswick this year,
19:06which was about as quirky a golf course.
19:08Yeah, and so many blind shots.
19:10And I think you just had to embrace it for what it was.
19:13But yeah, you're hitting in some pretty funky places.
19:16Interestingly, I did an interview with Sam Hartsby
19:19this weekend.
19:20He played the Irish Open there,
19:21and he was saying he built his practice round around
19:24hitting to these marker posts.
19:26But then for the tournament,
19:27they took all the marker posts out.
19:29So he's suddenly looking at his notes
19:31and it's saying hit towards marker post,
19:32and there is no marker post.
19:34So, you know, that shows you how
19:36there are obviously enough blind shots there
19:38for someone to be hitting towards.
19:39Now, can I ask you,
19:40if you were going to play Royal Counterdown tomorrow,
19:41would you want it to be dead calm, flat calm,
19:43or would you want there to be a wind?
19:45I think I'd want it to be relatively calm
19:47because anything more than about a two or three club wind,
19:50and I know I'm not going to be scoring particularly well.
19:53I think you want, when you play links golf,
19:56you want there to be some wind
19:58because it's part of the experience.
20:01But yeah, it can get,
20:03I played it in really poor weather,
20:05and it's still, you know, men's test of golf,
20:08great challenge.
20:09But yeah, sometimes I think for, you know,
20:12for ordinary golfers,
20:13then you don't want the wind to be up too much.
20:15Maybe like a two club wind
20:16helping on most holes.
20:18But you particularly want it on your approach shots,
20:20don't you?
20:21Because it really makes you think.
20:22On the drive, it can kill you,
20:24but on the approach shots,
20:25you've really got to take into account
20:27the extra club or the one club less or whatever.
20:29And then you can start to play bump and run shots
20:31and save the wind out of play.
20:33But no, I think a bit of wind.
20:34And maybe that explains why links courses feature
20:36so heavily in that top 10 list from our top 100.
20:39So a quick recap.
20:40So it's Sunningdale new at 10,
20:42Sunningdale old at nine,
20:44Royal Port Rush,
20:45Carnoustie,
20:46Royal Dornoch,
20:47number five is Royal Birkdale,
20:50then it's Muirfield,
20:51Turnberry,
20:52the old course at St. Andrews,
20:53and finally in at number one is Royal Countdown.
20:55And thank you very much for watching this video.
20:58If you've played any of the golf courses
21:00we've talked about here,
21:01then we'd love to hear what you have to say about them.
21:03But for now from Wapleston Golf Club,
21:05it's goodbye.