Golf Digest - World Rankings

[Greg Tallman]

http://www.golfdigest.com/golf-courses/2012-05/photos-best-courses-outside-us?slide=2#

No surprise at the top... slightly surprised a couple of newbies did not crack the top 20

[Jim Colton]

Kidnappers at #6. Ellerston seems to be getting more and more acclaim - #11 here.

Do we know how they are coming up with these? Expert panel or combining lists from their various sister publications worldwide?

[Greg Tallman]

Kidnappers at #6. Ellerston seems to be getting more and more acclaim - #11 here.

Do we know how they are coming up with these? Expert panel or combining lists from their various sister publications worldwide?

Same way the come up with their US list. Not sure what the number is but I want to say somehwere in the neighborhood of 1000 panelists.

[Mac Plumart]

Weird list...lots of movement.

In...

Anyang Benest
Black Mountain
Castle Stuart
Chantilly
Diamante
Fontainbleau
Jasper
Kinloch NZ
Lake Karrinyup
Lost Farm
Mangilao
Naruo
Narwana Bali
Pacifico
Paraparaumu
Phoenix
Royal Melbourne East
Sagebrush
Saunton
Shaughnessey
Sunningdale New
The National (Old) Aus
Victoria
Wee Jeong Hills
West Sussex
Yas Links


Out...

Banff
Buenos Aires
Carne
Durban Country Club
Emirates (Majilis)
Fox Harbor
G. de Moliets
G. de Sperone
G. Santander
Gary Player CC
Hamburger
Jockey Club
Limburg
Monte Rei
Oarai
Old Head
Olivos
Prestwick
Queenwood
Royal Zoute
St. Andrews (jubilee)
St.Andrews (castle)
St.Andrews (new)
Vista Vallarata


I think I'm missing a coupe "out"'s...I'll keep looking at it.

A lot of Asian courses.  

Some other weird places:  One on Guam.  One in Bali (maybe that is Asia?) .

[Anthony Butler]

http://www.golfdigest.com/golf-courses/2012-05/photos-best-courses-outside-us?slide=2#

No surprise at the top... slightly surprised a couple of newbies did not crack the top 20

The 5 out of the last 10 have no business on this list..

[Greg Tallman]

The list

[Greg Tallman]

http://www.golfdigest.com/golf-courses/2012-05/photos-best-courses-outside-us?slide=2#

No surprise at the top... slightly surprised a couple of newbies did not crack the top 20

The 5 out of the last 10 have no business on this list..

Anthony, Can you clarify? 10-20 or 90-100?

[Jud_T]

I find it hard to believe that there's 100 courses outside the US better than Prestwick.

[Anthony Butler]

http://www.golfdigest.com/golf-courses/2012-05/photos-best-courses-outside-us?slide=2#

No surprise at the top... slightly surprised a couple of newbies did not crack the top 20

The 5 out of the last 10 have no business on this list..

Anthony, Can you clarify? 10-20 or 90-100?

Sorry Top 20... They probably have a place in the Top 100 though..

[Tom_Doak]

My understanding of how they come up with this list is that they take the lists of all their sister publications and paste them together somehow.  For example, you can see that the Australian courses are in the same order as the recent list from Australian Golf Digest ... and I assume [without checking] that the UK and Continental Europe courses follow the same order as the lists printed in Golf World (UK).  I don't know how exactly they paste them all together, but I doubt it has a lot to do with numbers, and I suspect there are a fair number of token entries there at the end so that more countries are represented.

[David_Tepper]

Aren't these rankings a product of Darius Oliver/Planet Golf?

It is interesting (and personally gratifying ) to see Royal Dornoch at #4, especially when it has not even cracked the Top 10 of Golf World's (UK) ranking of GB&I courses for a number of years. However, I believe RD is a personal favorite of Mr. Oliver.  

www.planetgolf.com.au

[Mac Plumart]

Aren't these rankings a product of Darius Oliver/Planet Golf?

It is interesting (and personally gratifying ) to see Royal Dornoch at #4, especially when it has not even cracked the Top 10 of Golf World's (UK) ranking of GB&I courses for a number of years. However, I believe RD is a personal favorite of Mr. Oliver.  

www.planetgolf.com.au

Although I'm sure Darius had input into this list, it is NOT a total product of his.  On his site, he ranks Prestwick #31 in the world (http://planetgolfusa.com/index.php?id=55).  Yet this list doesn't recognize Prestwick as being worthy of a Top 100 spot.

[Steve Lapper]

My understanding of how they come up with this list is that they take the lists of all their sister publications and paste them together somehow.  For example, you can see that the Australian courses are in the same order as the recent list from Australian Golf Digest ... and I assume [without checking] that the UK and Continental Europe courses follow the same order as the lists printed in Golf World (UK).  I don't know how exactly they paste them all together, but I doubt it has a lot to do with numbers, and I suspect there are a fair number of token entries there at the end so that more countries are represented.

So very academically rigorous, wouldn't you say? This is, in my estimation, practically a fraud as they hardly have one consistent (supposedly expert) body of raters using their collection and comparative knowledge to assemble a competitive list. Pasting together a bunch of lists is more retread than representative. If those raided publications weren't tied by common ownership, it would be just another case of lazy contemporary golf journalism.

I'll also add that with 1500 raters, it must be incredibly difficult to find enough who've far enough out their front yard to find anything of value. I'll take the opinions of the 100 Golf Magazine stalwarts or the 600 or so GW B. Klein minions all day over those Orts haphazardly picked by the lords of GD. Of course, I am just a wee bit biased 

[Ronald Montesano]

so...no need to summer in St. Andrews for a year or two, am I correct?

What an impossible undertaking this must be? Why do humans insist on relentless construction of towers of Babel? Sometimes the tide is too much to be borne against, is what F. Scott might have added.

[hhuffines]

I have a hard time with Jasper Park included without Banff Springs....

[David_Tepper]

Planet Golf's "World 100," which includes U.S. courses:

http://planetgolf.com.au/index.php?id=55

[Tom_Doak]

Planet Golf's "World 100," which includes U.S. courses:

http://planetgolf.com.au/index.php?id=55

Wow, he has Ballyneal at #15
Augusta at 16
Oakmont at 17
Pebble Beach at 18
Kingston Heath at 19
and North Berwick at #20!

[Greg Tallman]

Planet Golf's "World 100," which includes U.S. courses:

http://planetgolf.com.au/index.php?id=55

Wow, he has Ballyneal at #15
Augusta at 16
Oakmont at 17
Pebble Beach at 18
Kingston Heath at 19
and North Berwick at #20!

And Sebonack at 55

[Joel_Stewart]

Prestwick out of the top 100 by Golf Digest doesn't seem right?

[Jud_T]

Planet Golf's "World 100," which includes U.S. courses:

http://planetgolf.com.au/index.php?id=55

Pac Dunes- #10
Bandon Trails- #24
Old Mac- #34
Bandon Dunes- N/A

Technical question- How can Kingsley be #74 with a 1 flag rating and Rock Creek CC #97 with a 2 flag rating? 

[Michael Goldstein]

Golf digest list is pants.

Darius's list is better.  Although North Berwick is too low at 20!

[Niall Hay]

I find it hard to believe that there's a 100 courses outside the US better than Prestwick.

Completely agree. Is Prestwick normally on this list?

[Cristian]

I don't know how this list was produced, but it does not follow the sister magazine ranking for GB&I or Continental Europe.

[Jim Sherma]

St Andrews New being out is a travesty - I'll admit there is little WOW-factor but there can not be that many better places to spend 4 hours golfing. It is pure and honest and just plain good. If it was anywhere other than next to the Old Course it would easily be more highly rated.

[Carl Nichols]

.....I suspect there are a fair number of token entries there at the end so that more countries are represented.

That was the very reason that I had thought led to the inclusion of Argentine courses in earlier lists; interestingly, all three (Jockey, Buenos Aires and Olivos) dropped out this year.