In preparation for a fall visit to play Prairie Dunes, I am reading their club history, included within is a copy of Golf Magazine's rankings from 1983. I was struck by how much the list has changed in 23 years. 38 of the courses on this list are not on the current list. It also seems that a lot of courses in Australia (Victoria, The Australian, Commonwealth and Huntingdale) and Canada (Royal Montreal, Glen Abbey and Capilano) were taken off the list. I must say it is tough to argue with the Florida courses taken off the list (Bay Hill, Doral, Pine Tree and Innisbrook).
The top 25 courses really didn't shift that much over time as they shouldn't, unless of course you have a worthy new entrant such as Sand Hills.
And dare I say it lest I get accused of picking on Fishers Island. Where is it?
Any sense for why such as dramatic shift? I know it is a subjective exercise but wonder whether the list has gotten too U.S. centric? Are we in a new golden age of architecture and there should be this much turnover? Is technology or course maintenance a factor in courses such as Yale and Stanford University no longer being on the list? What happened to El Saler in Spain that it went from being #28 in the world to off the list? What is the story of Pevero in Sardinia Italy at #51?
I was pleased to see The National Golf links move from #58 in the world to where it rightfully belongs - in the top 25. As did Royal Portrush from #43.
The Complete 1983 List:
1. Pine Valley, Clementon NJ
2. Pebble Beach, Pebble Beach CA
3. Muirfield, Gullane Scotland
4. Cypress Point, Pebble Beach, CA
5. Augusta National, Augusta GA
6. Royal Melbourne, Melbourne AUS
7. Royal County Down, Newcastle Ireland
8. Merion (East), Ardmore PA
9. Ballybunion (Old), County Kerry Ireland
10. St. Andrews (Old), Scotland
11. Shinnecock Hills, Southampton, NY
12. Royal Dornoch, Scotland
13. Seminole, North Palm Beach FL
14. Pinehurst #2, Pinehurst NC
15. Oakmont, Oakmont PA
16. Winged Foot (West), Mamaroneck NY
17. Turnberry (Ailsa), Scotland
18. Olympic (Lake), San Francisco, CA
19. Oakland Hills, Birmingham MI
20. Muirfield Village, Dublin OH
21. Royal Birkdale, Southport England
22. Carnoustie, Scotland
23. Southern Hills, Tulsa OK
24. Harbour Town, Hilton Head Island SC
25. Baltustrol (Lower), Springfield, NJ
26. Prairie Dunes, Hutchinson KS
27. Woodhall Spa, England
28. El Saler, Valencia Spain
29. Portmarnock, Ireland
30. Riviera, California
31. Los Angeles (North), California
32. Medinah (No. 3), Illinois
33. Quaker Ridge, New York
34. Wild Dunes, South Carolina
35. Casa De Campo, Dominican Republic
36. Royal Troon, Scotland
37. Shoal Creek, Alabama
38. Hirono, Japan
39. El Rincon, Bogota Columbia
40. Oak Hill (East), New York
41. Royal St. George's, England
42. The Golf Club, New Albany OH
43. Royal Portrush, Ireland
44. Firestone, Akron OH
45. TPC at Sawgrass, Florida
46. Kasumigaseki (East), Tokyo
47. Kingston Heath, Melbourne AUS
48. Cascades (Upper), Hot Springs VA
49. Phoenix, Miyazaki, Japan
50. Colonial, Ft. Worth, TX
51. Pevero, Sardinia, Italy
52. Sunningdale (Old), England
53. Sotogrand, Spain
54. Inverness, Toldeo OH
55. Wentworth (West), England
56. San Francisco, California
57. Royal Dar-Es-Salam, Morocco
58. National Golf Links of America, Southampton NY
59. Oak Tree, Oklahoma
60. Cherry Hills, Denver CO
61. Huntingdale, Melbourne AUS
62. Royal Liverpool, England
63. Royal Adelaide, Australia
64. The Country Club, Brookline MA
65. Capilano, Vancouver Canada
66. Doral (Blue), Miami FL
67. Pine Tree, Del Ray Beach FL
68. Chicago, Chicago IL
69. Royal Montreal (Blue), Canada
70. Ganton, England
71. Yale, New Haven CT
72. Glen Abbey, Oakville, Canada
73. Club de Golf, Mexico City
74. Bay Hill, Orlando FL
75. Commonwealth, Melbourne AUS
76. Butler National, Oakbrook IL
77. Canterbury, Cleveland OH
78. Long Cove, South Carolina
79. The Vintage Club, Indian Wells CA
80. The Australian, Sydney
81. Somerset Hills, Bernardsville NJ
82. Victoria, Melbourne AUS
83. Royal Lytham & St. Annes, England
84. Innisbrook (Cooperhead), Florida
85. Saucon Valley, Bethlehem PA
86. Scioto, Colombus OH
87. Notts, England
88. Stanford University, Palo Alto CA
89. Walton Heath (Old), England
90. Sun City, South Africa
91. Falsterbo, Sweden
92. Maidstone, East Hampton NY
93. Gleneagles (Kings), Scotland
94. Bali Handara, Indonesia
95. Nueva Andalucia, Marbella, Spain
96. Jupiter Hills, Florida
97. Peachtree, Atlanta GA
98. Garden City, New York
99. Country Club of North Carolina, Pinehurst NC
100. Durban, South Africa