Very Interesting Golf Course Ranking List I Came Across

[Steve Salmen]

https://golfscape.com/blog/top-100-golf-courses-in-the-world-2020/


I'm curious how many on this list Mr. Rudovsky has played.

[Mark Mammel]

What a different list! 3 courses in Vietnam! The most diverse I have seen and most I will never play. Interesting RDGC at #1 and Pacific Dunes at #7. It would be interesting to know how they came up with their rankings (with the usual caveat that a list is just one way of ranking things that actually defy ranking).

[Tommy Williamsen]

Forget how many he's played. How many has he even heard of? This is one of the more ridiculous lists I have seen.

[Dónal Ó Ceallaigh]

Probably all of them. I knew the name was familiar:
https://golfclubatlas.com/feature-interview/feature-interview-with-paul-rudovsky/

[Jim Franklin]

Pebble Beach, Pacific Dunes, and the Oconee Course at Reynolds Plantation are the three best in the US? Stupidest list I have ever seen. I would hope Paul has not played many of these. Apparently Viet Nam is a hot spot for "great" golf.

[Tom_Doak]

Looks legit to me -- I've only got three courses in it, but they are all in the top 14.   




For real:  It's the internet.  Anyone can create a ranking now and make it look authentic.  They probably sold some spots on it.


For example, the course at #100, Hambantota in Sri Lanka, is the worst of the four courses I saw in Sri Lanka.  It's a solid 3 on the Doak Scale.


I thought that was bad, but the course ranked #30 is ALSO a 3.  It's not even in the top three courses at Mission Hills - Haikou!


I have played 42 of the 100 courses, and seen 10 others.


There was one course I'd never heard of -- Hanazono Golf in Japan.  That's pretty amazing, considering how much research I've put in on The Confidential Guide in the past 2-3 years.

[Edward Glidewell]

I like seeing PGA Catalunya on the list at 51. I've played there -- I'm not sure it would make the top 10 if you dropped it in Myrtle Beach and made a list solely of courses there. That's not to say it was a bad golf course; I enjoyed my round there. But it certainly wasn't great or memorable in any way.


I also didn't know Bernhard Langer even had a golf design business, but based on that list he's one of the best in the world!

[Paul Rudovsky]

To answer all the questions...I have played 55 if I counted right.  Trust me, this ain't going on my top 100 spreadsheet.  TD described the list quite well.  I actually have seen a dumber list (don't know why people send these to me  )  which was basically the hardest to get to/most dangerous 100 in the world.  Course located in garden spots like Afghanistan, Venezuela (I have played there but a LONG time ago...1974), and Iraq.


Actually kind of amazed TD only has 4

[Garland Bayley]

Too many "true links" courses in climates where fescue won't grow.

[Tom_Doak]

I like seeing PGA Catalunya on the list at 51. I've played there -- I'm not sure it would make the top 10 if you dropped it in Myrtle Beach and made a list solely of courses there. That's not to say it was a bad golf course; I enjoyed my round there. But it certainly wasn't great or memorable in any way.


I also didn't know Bernhard Langer even had a golf design business, but based on that list he's one of the best in the world!

PGA Catalunya actually gets a lot of support from various provinces.  It's ranked quite high in the European rankings by both the top100golfcourses.com web site and one of the UK magazines.


I had it on my list of courses to see because I thought we had missed it for The Confidential Guide -- but actually Darius and Masa had both seen it and given it 5's, which is why it wasn't on my radar.


Of course, there are many connections to the European Tour whose officials may have a thumb on the scale of some rankings.


I did go see the Langer-designed [ ]  Ile Aux Cerfs course in Mauritius last year, a year ago tomorrow, actually.  It's a beautiful place, but the course is one of the great ball-eaters I have ever played.  Wouldn't be a problem for Mr. Langer, though.

[Edward Glidewell]

PGA Catalunya actually gets a lot of support from various provinces.  It's ranked quite high in the European rankings by both the top100golfcourses.com web site and one of the UK magazines.


I had it on my list of courses to see because I thought we had missed it for The Confidential Guide -- but actually Darius and Masa had both seen it and given it 5's, which is why it wasn't on my radar.


Of course, there are many connections to the European Tour whose officials may have a thumb on the scale of some rankings.


I did go see the Langer-designed [ ]  Ile Aux Cerfs course in Mauritius last year, a year ago tomorrow, actually.  It's a beautiful place, but the course is one of the great ball-eaters I have ever played.  Wouldn't be a problem for Mr. Langer, though.

Yeah, I've seen it ranked pretty highly in various European rankings. It was one of the finalists to host the 2022 Ryder Cup as well. There are actually two courses there -- the Stadium Course and the Tour Course -- and that list didn't specify which one they were ranking. Strangely enough, the Stadium Course is the tougher course and the one used for professional events.


I played the Stadium, and as I said, it's not a bad course. I was thinking a 4 or 5, so that sounds right to me. Its why I said I wasn't sure if it would make a top 10 in Myrtle Beach, as there are a few courses I'd rank as clearly better (Caledonia, Tidewater, the Reserve, the Dunes Club, and possibly others I'm forgetting among the courses I've played there) and a bunch of roughly similar quality.


The resort has a nice clubhouse, pretty surroundings, and couple of quality hotels, plus the greens were absolutely perfect when I played. All of those factors would give it a nice bump on certain lists, plus the European Tour status as you mentioned.

[Jim Hoak]

I don't see any introduction as to the criteria used.  Anyone know?  What is the background of the magazine or other source that published this?
Very focused on Asian and Middle Eastern courses--most of which I've never heard of, which is not necessarily a knock on them.
But looking purely at the US courses that made the list--and more importantly those that didn't--, it's a pretty silly list.

[Mark Chaplin]

Ah the Panda list as it’s known in my circles, always gives us a laugh.

[Stewart Abramson]

Osprey Point-On at #50,  while the Ocean Course didn't make the list.

[Cal Seifert]

How many of these courses advertise they are “top 100 in the world” in their pro shops? Thats what I’m curious about.

[Pete_Pittock]

Was going backwards, starting at #100.  Never got past this description of # 61 Paraparaumu Beach

  A host of the New Zealand Open 12 times, Paraparaumu Beach is a revered course situated on the waving dunes of the Kapiti Coast. Designed with renowned designer Dr Alister MacKenzie in 1949, the course has great hole variety and provides amazing mountainous views

Will have to alert Neil Crafter

[Jon Wall]

It's a list put together by a golf travel/online tee times company that gives obvious precedence to the courses it has best business ties with, many of which are in Asia.

Bright green grass, clear skies and crystal waters; The criteria from which the majority of golf holidays are chosen...