I think it is hard to look beyond Loch Lomond. I do think it got overrated, a combination of the beauty of the setting, the exclusiveness and yet being on telly every year - it's not anywhere near the 24th best course in GB&I, as Top100 has it, imo, and despite huge amounts of drainage works it's never been anything but soft when I've been there, kinda inevitable in such a wet spot. But it has a bunch of wonderful holes, a very interesting set of greens, and it's a class above anything else inland and modern as far as I'm concerned.
Of the other contenders mentioned here, I like Chart Hills very much; Smyers, imo, is a strong designer who generally sets you a bunch of good questions with his holes. I'm not that keen on the aesthetic, which removes it from consideration for top honours - and it's worse since they had to cut costs and reduce the greens crew, because some of the ott 1990s bunkering is still there, but just not being maintained as well. But I'd never turn down a game.
I do think Cherkley Court/Beaverbrook GC will be a serious player in this debate. It is a glorious piece of land, and now David has rediscovered the joys of fun golf and is less interested in kicking players in the head over and over again I suspect he and his crew will do something pretty special there. For that matter, I liked gWest a great deal when I saw it, but that was four and a half years ago, on the way to the 2010 St Andrews Open; it was basically finished then, and it still hasn't opened, so who knows when it actually might? I still can't believe the ownership was crazy enough to have the entire golfing world within half a mile and not have the place open...