Fun golf article and GB&I Top-100 Fun Courses listing

[Ally Mcintosh]

I guess it’s a “fun” list to look at. Completely arbitrary but it’s difficult not to be. It’s hard enough to be objective when measuring “best”. Measuring “fun” it’s impossible.


Nice to see some courses that wouldn’t usually get a mention in a list, that’s for sure.

[Garland Bayley]

And a 12-holer in the Top Ten. Fabulous!
F.

Is it only a 12-holer, or does everyone just skip playing the last 6 quite pedestrian holes? Never been there, but Grieg's book talks about the final 6 holes as I recall.

Defo 12 holes, with an option of playing 6 of them twice if you - really - must play 18…(different layout)
https://www.shiskinegolf.com/
Cheers,
F.

A full 18 holes were built at Shiskine. A book (that I can't locate right now) by author Andrew Grieg as I recall states that he played the final 6. However, I found what happened to the last 6 in The CG, by Tom. "At one time there were 18 holes here, but few of the members ever wanted to play the last six out to the back of the clubhouse, so they were abandoned."
EDIT
I just discovered that Grieg's hard cover is being sold on Amazon for nearly $1000. Maybe someone stole mine. 
TIDE

[Bill Gayne]

Surprised that I have played thirty of the courses listed and many due to attending BUDA Cups. Several of the courses listed were previous BUDA venues or played pre/post BUDA and our brethren in the UK have a keen eye for selecting not only architecturally interesting courses but also fun courses. Although it's #92, I would have to quibble with having Ballybunion Cashen course on the fun list.


Bill

[Charles Lund]

Thanks for posting.  Have played 22 of them.


Charles Lund

[Marty Bonnar]

And a 12-holer in the Top Ten. Fabulous!
F.

Is it only a 12-holer, or does everyone just skip playing the last 6 quite pedestrian holes? Never been there, but Grieg's book talks about the final 6 holes as I recall.

Defo 12 holes, with an option of playing 6 of them twice if you - really - must play 18…(different layout)
https://www.shiskinegolf.com/
Cheers,
F.

A full 18 holes were built at Shiskine. A book (that I can't locate right now) by author Andrew Grieg as I recall states that he played the final 6. However, I found what happened to the last 6 in The CG, by Tom. "At one time there were 18 holes here, but few of the members ever wanted to play the last six out to the back of the clubhouse, so they were abandoned."
EDIT
I just discovered that Grieg's hard cover is being sold on Amazon for nearly $1000. Maybe someone stole mine. 
TIDE

'Preferred Lies'? Brilliant stuff, but pristine first edition HBs are fetching a tenner on Amazon over here, so someone's having a laugh over there!
F.

[Niall C]

For the record, and yes I'm boasting, I've played 49 on the list. However I'm just not sure about what makes a fun course. Presumably something that isn't hugely penal ? Even then you can have fun rising to the challenge so is this a measure of courses you can have fun on or courses that are fun, and what really is the difference ?

Niall

[jeffwarne]

For the record, and yes I'm boasting, I've played 49 on the list. However I'm just not sure about what makes a fun course. Presumably something that isn't hugely penal ? Even then you can have fun rising to the challenge so is this a measure of courses you can have fun on or courses that are fun, and what really is the difference ?

Niall

An interesting list.
Most interesting to me are two things.
1.There are many on the list I'm aware of and wanted to play and simply ran out of time or couldn't fit into agenda(or had trip cancelled-Seascale, Silloth)
2. The fact that though I've played 62 on the list. I've played those on the list 105 times in total(at least), which means there are many repeat visits-the ones that are hit and runners(for me) tend to be the Open rota or heavily visited.
A place such as Northwest, Dunfanaghy(not on list), OTM Rosapena, Portsalon(not on list),Pennard, Aberdovey, Cruit, Hayling or Dunaverty I could return to again and again(and do)

[Thomas Dai]

Only 48 to go then Jeff …. great effort on the 62 by the way …… plus a few ‘secret’ others than haven’t been highlighted or publicised widely yet.
Atb

[jeffwarne]

Only 48 to go then Jeff …. great effort on the 62 by the way …… plus a few ‘secret’ others than haven’t been highlighted or publicised widely yet.
Atb

Is that new math?

[Thomas Dai]

Merely confused old bloke maths! Or as Capt Mainwaring, a famous sit-com character on this side of the pond, used to say “Ah, I wondered which one of you chaps would spot that”.
Only 48, whoops 28, whoops I mean ?? to go!

Atb

[Marty Bonnar]

“Don’t tell him, Pike”
 

[Bill Gayne]

I got an email from Links Dairy about Dunbar and really surprised it didn't make the list of fun courses.

[Clyde Johnson]

Think I'm 8 short of that list. I've never seen any mention of Clandeboye before, anyone seen it? (There must be someone from Newtownards on the panel, though Scrabo is fairly wild in fairness!)

[Jeff Johnston]

Clyde, re Clandeboye Ava, I played it a LOT when I was a kid. Suits a less expansive game - short, tight in a good few parts, blind here and there, fair amount of elevation change, gorse, heather, lots of mature woodland, dry stone walls, skirts an old quarry - you get the picture. V good counterpoint to the main 18 at Clandeboye (the Dufferin), which is a more muscular, v solid 'estate' parkland.

Although I was born in Newtownards, I was overlooked for this panel ......I think I detect the hand of Mr Markham on these, Kevin is a long-standing advocate of Scrabo and also gives the Ava a favourable write-up in his book (and also Ardglass, which is listed too).

Overall a v enjoyable list IMO, nice to see some other personal favs on there as well, such as Arklow, Liphook, Portrush Valley, Rye, Rosapenna, Carne. News to all of us though that 'Arklow, Wicklow' is now in Scotland

[Ally Mcintosh]

A bit like Killarney, Clandeboye split up an excellent original 18 to create 36.


The Ava has quite a few of the shorter, more interesting, original holes.

[Clyde Johnson]

Thanks both.

Are St Helen's Bay or Carnalea any good?

[Ally Mcintosh]

Wouldn’t bother with St Helen’s Bay… haven’t been to Carnalea.

[John Chilver-Stainer]

Surprised but delighted to see the short 9-Holer at Corrie (Sannox) Isle of Arran with it's 5 crossed holes, on a naturally terraced slope with magic views over the Clyde and above to the steep cliffs of Glenn Sannox. and, when I played it as a teenager every summer holidays in the 60's, fenced off square greens and sheep as greenkeepers[size=78%].[/size]

[Jeff Johnston]

Clyde, I haven't played either of those I'm afraid. Carnalea fairly middle-of-the-road I believe.

[James Reader]

By my reckoning, there are 16 courses of less than 18 holes on the list (15 of 9 and one of 12) - and it doesn’t include Covesea, which I’d have put good money on being on there. Other than the obvious of a “best 9 holers” list, I can’t imagine there’s been many (any?) top 100 lists with such a strong representation.


What am I to make of that?


Are 9-holes intrinsically “more fun”?


Are the qualities that make a course “fun” more likely to be found in places where there wasn’t the pressure or desire to squeeze 18-holes into a piece of land that didn’t really have room for it?


Are there other courses which would have made the list if only they hadn’t been extended to 18 holes at some point?


Or is that still an under-representation when about 25% of courses in the UK are just 9 holes?

[Tom_Doak]

By my reckoning, there are 16 courses of less than 18 holes on the list (15 of 9 and one of 12) - and it doesn’t include Covesea, which I’d have put good money on being on there. Other than the obvious of a “best 9 holers” list, I can’t imagine there’s been many (any?) top 100 lists with such a strong representation.


What am I to make of that?


Are 9-holes intrinsically “more fun”?

I don't think you should make any more of it than that even the best nine-hole courses are excluded from other lists, so this is the only place to mention them, so they are more likely to get mentioned.

[John Mayhugh]

I've played 44 of this list and 77 courses in GB&I.

The methodology isn't really explained, but the article posted makes for interesting reading. In a short synopsis for each course, they list the number of times nominated overall and for the top ten, so I assume that's a hint at how the list was compiled. But just a hint. For example, Brancaster was nominated 14 times and in the top ten 11 times, but ranks ahead of Prestwick which had 13 nominations and 12 top tens. Someone more interested in math than me could possibly create a formula to explain this by looking at more nominees.

I did like how they mentioned other courses nearby the one on the list. Overall a decent planning resource to refer back to.

For me, some oversights are Eden, Dunbar,  & Baltray. Maybe even Braid Hills. I also have a problem with leaving off "big" courses like Muirfield. A day there is incredibly fun.

Too low on the list would be Huntercombe (35), Church Stretton (93), Cleeve Hill (32), Bamburgh Castle (66), Mulranny (64), Rye (68)

Too high on the list are Windermere (33), Formby Ladies (16) and one I've not played but seems too high is Dumbarnie (24). It was nominated 8 times to Cleeve Hill's 7, but two people had Cleeve in their top 10 and only one had Dumbarnie. Reports of Dumbarnie here have emphasized fun, but it's also a place that seems to be getting a big publicity push. I'm skeptical.





I like how they list other courses near the one that's on the list.
https://www.todaysgolfer.co.uk/courses/best/fun-golf-courses-in-great-britain-and-ireland/

[Marty Bonnar]

The most egregious omission has to be KINGHORN!
F.

[Jerry Kluger]

Cruit Island is only nine holes - I played it a few years ago and the cost was 15 Euros - so it is arguably the best value.

[Niall C]

Where was Forfar on the list ?


Niall

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