Whip it Out: Post your Top 25 Courses Played

[Martin Toal]

Martin,

I'm just giving you a hard time.  Thanks for being a good sport. 

Hey, I know.

Padraig's post just reminded me that I didn't include any courses from continental Europe, so I may have a few other contenders to displace Maderas.

I would also consider Praia del Rey, Troia and Monte Rei, all in Portugal.

[John Cornish]

Today's Top 25 (in no particular order)
Barnbougle Dunes
California GC of San Francisco
Cruden Bay
Golf de Morfontaine
Kingston Heath
Lahinch
Machrihanish
Merion
Muirfield
National Golf Links of America
New South Wales
North Berwick
Pebble Beach
Pine Valley
Royal County Down
Royal Dornoch
Royal Portrush
Shinnecock Hills
St Andrews Old course
St Georges G&CC
Sunningdale Old
Swinley Forest
Wade Hampton
Winged Foot West
Woodhall Spa


and those that on any other day, could jump into the list
Ballybunion
Baltusrol Lower
Counless in Ireland and Scotland
Lake Karrinyup
National (Moonal)
Oak Hill
Olympic
Peachtree
Portmarnock
Royal Lytham and St Annes
Royal Melbourne (West)
Royal Troon
San Francisco
Spyglass
TPC Sawgrass
Turnberry
Victoria GC (Melbourne)

[Michael Goody]

OK, here goes. Still have a lot left to see.

Shinnecock
Merion East
Yale
Pasatiempo
Teeth of the Dog
Spyglass Hill
Pebble Beach
Piping Rock
Kapalua Plantation
Atlantic
Winged Foot East
Quaker Ridge
Gulph Mills
Deepdale
Philadelphia Cricket Flourtown
Dye Fore
Olympic Ocean
Century
Baltusrol Lower
Montauk Downs
Stanford
Pine Barrens
Branton Woods
East Hampton
Hudson National

[Michael Goody]

I forgot Durban CC, which was very good. i'd probably put that just outside my top 10, right under Atlantic.

[Kevin Pallier]

Today's Top 25 (in no particular order)
Barnbougle Dunes
California GC of San Francisco
Cruden Bay
Golf de Morfontaine
Kingston Heath
Lahinch
Machrihanish
Merion
Muirfield
National Golf Links of America
New South Wales
North Berwick
Pebble Beach
Pine Valley
Royal County Down
Royal Dornoch
Royal Portrush
Shinnecock Hills
St Andrews Old course
St Georges G&CC
Sunningdale Old
Swinley Forest
Wade Hampton
Winged Foot West
Woodhall Spa


and those that on any other day, could jump into the list
Ballybunion
Baltusrol Lower
Counless in Ireland and Scotland
Lake Karrinyup
National (Moonal)
Oak Hill
Olympic
Peachtree
Portmarnock
Royal Lytham and St Annes
Royal Melbourne (West)
Royal Troon
San Francisco
Spyglass
TPC Sawgrass
Turnberry
Victoria GC (Melbourne)

John

Interested to see that in principle you have KH, NSW & BD all ahead of RM (West) ?

[John Cornish]

John

Interested to see that in principle you have KH, NSW & BD all ahead of RM (West) ?

Very true Kevin, and you'll also see that there are some courses on my 'second list' that I believe to have inflated positions in most rankings. Ballybunion and Turnberry are the two most obvious - I guess eye-candy golf just isn't high on my scale of appreciation.

RMW is a terrific course, no question and it's a great day out so it's rare that I decline an invitation, but Kingston Heath is far and away the leader in Australian golf for overall quality of holes, shotmaking, club usage and quality of surfaces, Barnbougle is the closest opportunity we have to play British / Irish-style golf that we both love, and New South Wales has quality and challenge behind the eye-candy. RMW is a great, fun golf course that technology is taking a large nibble out of.

[Kevin Pallier]

Cheers John

Thanks for your reply - look forward to exploring your thoughts on same in person hopefully sometime soon 

[David_Elvins]

RMW is a terrific course, no question and it's a great day out so it's rare that I decline an invitation

I am not sure that anyone who has ever rated it 5th in the country has ever recieved another invitation. 

Have you played or studied the composite course.  IF so, how would you rate it compared to Kingston Heath? 

[Andrew Summerell]

Today's Top 25 (in no particular order)
Barnbougle Dunes
California GC of San Francisco
Cruden Bay
Golf de Morfontaine
Kingston Heath
Lahinch
Machrihanish
Merion
Muirfield
National Golf Links of America
New South Wales
North Berwick
Pebble Beach
Pine Valley
Royal County Down
Royal Dornoch
Royal Portrush
Shinnecock Hills
St Andrews Old course
St Georges G&CC
Sunningdale Old
Swinley Forest
Wade Hampton
Winged Foot West
Woodhall Spa


and those that on any other day, could jump into the list
Ballybunion
Baltusrol Lower
Counless in Ireland and Scotland
Lake Karrinyup
National (Moonal)
Oak Hill
Olympic
Peachtree
Portmarnock
Royal Lytham and St Annes
Royal Melbourne (West)
Royal Troon
San Francisco
Spyglass
TPC Sawgrass
Turnberry
Victoria GC (Melbourne)

Nice list, John. I was interested to read Wade Hampton on your list. It's not one I would have in my top 25, but it's the best Fazio course I've played & wouldn't be far out of my top 25.

I would probably replace Pebble Beach with RMW, but that's probably a discussion for another golf forum. 

[Sean_A]

Delete

 

[Shane Wright]

Updated 9/06/11

1.   Royal County Down
2.   Ballybunion
3.   Pacific Dunes
4.   TOC
5.   Muirfield
6.   Ballyneal
7.   Sand Hills
8.   Royal Dornoch
9.   Prairie Dunes
10.   Turnberry
11.   Royal Portrush
12.   Waterville
13.   Lahinch
14.   North Berwick West
15.   Carnoustie
16.   Cruden Bay
17.   Old Head
18.   Kingsbarns
19.   Prestwick
20.   Tralee
21.   Whistling Straits
22.   European Club
23.   Bandon Dunes
24.   Portmarnock
25.   Bethpage Black

[David_Tepper]

Listed in no order other than location:

California
San Francisco GC
Olympic Club Lake
Cypress Point
California GC (post renovation)
Spyglass

Canada
Highland Links

England
Royal Birkdale
Royal Lytham & St. Anne's
Royal Liverpool (Hoylake)
St. Endoc
Sunningdale Old
Sunningdale New
Wentworth West
Berkshire Red

Ireland
Ballybunnion
Lahinch
Portmarnock

N. Ireland
Royal County Down
Royal Portrush

Scotland
Royal Dornoch
Royal Aberdeen
Castle Stuart
Cruden Bay
Nairn
  

[Brian Freeman]

Now that I'm back from Scotland I feel I'm finally eligible to participate in this one.  7 of my Top 10 are now from there so let's just say I came away impressed...

My criteria for evaluation is if I could be transported at this minute to the first tee of any course I've ever played for another crack at it, this would be my priority list:

Note: Edited 11/6/14 to add recent updates.

1. Royal Dornoch (3)
2. Carnoustie (1)
3. Royal Aberdeen (1)
4. Pacific Dunes (3)
5. Cruden Bay (1)
6. North Berwick (1)
7. Kingsbarns (1)
8. Linville GC (4)
9. Old Macdonald (2)
10. Bandon Dunes (3)
11. Bandon Trails (2)
12. CCNC - Dogwood (5)
13. Raleigh CC (250+)
14. Tidewater (5)
15. Sedgefield (9)
16. Old North State Club (3)
17. Treyburn (15+)
18. CCNC - Cardinal (3)
19. Cascata (2)
20. St Andrews Jubilee (1)
21. Musgrove Mill (5)
22. Chestatee ( 8 )
23. Mid Pines (1)
24. UNC Finley ( 8 )
25. Tanglewood Park - Championship (75+)

[Wade Schueneman]

Brian,

If you liked Scotland, then just wait and see what happens to your list when you make it to Ireland one of these days.  Royal County Down, Lahinch, Ballybunion, Portrush, Carne . . . are AMAZING, and several of those courses are offering specials right now due to the struggling Irish economy (ex. 2 rounds within a week for the price of one at Lahinch).  Combine that with great scenery and a relatively favorable exchange rate at present and it is just simply hard to beat.

Disclaimer - This is not a paid advertisement.

[Brian Freeman]

Wade,  It's just a matter of time and resources.  Every course on your list is one I'd like to play.  The pound at $1.50 US certainly helped on this trip for sure, would have been a completely different decision at $2.00.  I'd like to take 3 weeks one of these days and do Ireland right with plenty of time for the pubs and traveling as well... I don't think we can get away there with an Irish equivalent of waking up in St Andrews, playing Carnoustie, and hitting the putting green in Dornoch at sunset, all in the same day!

[Bill_McBride]

In no particular order, I hate rankings........

Cypress Point
Pebble Beach
Olympic Club Lake
Monterey Peninsula Shore
Pasatiempo
Valley Club of Montecito
Meadow Club
Oakmont
National Golf Links
Kingsley Club
Crystal Downs
St Andrews Old
North Berwick West
Muirfield
Dornoch
Alwoodley
Hoylake
Sandwich
Deal
Rye
Pacific Dunes
Cuscowilla
Friars Head
Beau Desert
Royal Porthcawl
Capilano

Add BALLYNEAL.   

I'm thinking about who to drop.............This could take a while.

[John Moore II]

My top 25 courses played, now ranked numerically. I had to change it like this given the volume of courses I am about to play that are sure to take spots in this list and I wanted to know for sure which courses were coming out first.

1. Eagle Point
2. Pine Needles
3. Golden Horseshoe (Gold)
4. CCNC (Dogwood)
5. NCSU Lonnie Poole
6. Forest Creek (North)
7. Mattaponi Springs
8. Thanksgiving Point
9. PGA (Dye)
10. Moose Run (River)
11. Tanglewood Park (Champions)
12. Bryan Park (Champions)
13. Bear's Best Atlanta
14. The President  (Eagle)
15. Tobacco Road
16.Nansemond River Golf Club
17. Tot Hill Farm (somehow omitted from earlier lists)
18. Duke Golf Club
19. TPC Wakefield Plantation
20. Pensacola Country Club
21. Mid South
22. Riverfront
23. Southern Pines
24. Pinehurst #5
25. Pinehurst #1

Edit from before, I've played some good courses here recently and I've really thought about some other courses. Taking off #2 because I haven't played the whole course, just 1/3 of it and walked the rest. So I'm taking that one off. Updated courses in RED.

Original courses in Black
April 11 updates in Red.
June 24 updates in Blue.
July 16 update in Green.
And I am actually ranking them as of July 16.


New lists appreciated from anyone willing to put them down.

[James Boon]

After a few trips to some pretty decent courses this year, I've revised my list, and changed from the alphabetical list also to rank them into tiers, though they are in alphabetical order within those tiers...

Top Tier
Royal County Down
Royal Dornoch

Second Tier
Notts (Hollinwell)
Royal Cinque Ports
Royal Portrush
Walton Heath Old
Woodhall Spa

Third Tier
Berkshire Red
Burnham & Berrow
County Louth (Baltray)
North Berwick
Saunton East

Fourth Tier
Brora
Castle Stuart
Royal West Norfolk (Brancaster)
St. Enodoc
Swinley Forest

Fifth Tier
Askernish
Beau Desert
Cavendish
Gleneagles Kings
Hunstanton
Huntercombe
Sherwood Forest
Sutton Coldfield

Those shown in italics have replaced:
Painswick I still adore this place but to have it on my Top 25 list is tricky...
Golden Horseshoe Gold
Colonial

Courses I've also played this year but haven't quite done enough to get on the list:
Lindrick
Berkshire Blue
Royal Worlington
Northamptonshire County

Courses that are often listed highly by others but I probably need to play again to find some love for:
Royal Liverpool
Nairn

Cheers,

James

[Jud_T]

James,
Surprised that Royal Worlington didn't make the cut.  Could you expound on the rationale?

[James Boon]

Jud,

I really enjoyed Royal Worlington so it was tricky to leave out. I loved the feel of the club and some of the holes (2, 3 and 5) are great, but some of the others feel a little ordinary perhaps? Certainly the best nine hole course I've played and it may be better than some of the others that made my list, but they'll probably have a little something, maybe a personal connection or something, that just bumps them above it.

Cheers,

James

[kconway]

Exceptional:
  Royal County Down
  Ballyneal

Very, Very, Very Good:
  Royal Portrush
  Royal Melbourne
  Shoreacres
  North Berwick West
  Sand Hills
  Pacific Dunes
  Crystal Downs

Pretty Damn Good:
  Royal Dornoch
  Lahinch
  Turnberry
  Western Gailes
  Bandon Dunes
  Pebble Beach
  Kings Barns
  Old Elm
  San Francisco Golf Club
  Portmarnock

[V. Kmetz]

Winged Foot East
Country Club of Fairfield
Siwanoy
Yale
Appawamis
National Golf Links
Tallgrass
Shinnecock
Fairchild Wheeler Red
Fisher's Island
Century
(I can never reveal my favorite)

cheers

vk

[Mac Plumart]

Vinnie...is your favorite on that list?

[V. Kmetz]

No Mac it isn't.  I can't even mention it publicly .  It's too perfect.  Thank god it is among the most exclusive private clubs in America but nearly the lowest in profile.  The last thing it or my love for it need is for people to say, "it stinks...they should do this..." or words to that effect.

The greatest thing it has going for it, is that it doesn't care to change or alter one little bit and it plays almost the same today with hot equipment as it did 30 years ago with persimmon, balata and those Wilson Staff wedges.

I will tell you privately if you inquire.

cheers

vk

[Ari Techner]

My Top 25 done quickly.  


1.  Sand Hills  (50+)
2.  Pine Valley  (9)  
3.  Muirfield  (2)
4.  Royal County Down  (2)
5.  National GL  (2)
6.  Shinnecock Hills  (3)
7.  TOC  (2)
8.  Oakmont  (3)  
9.  Merion  (1)
10.  Fisher's Island  (1) 
11.  Pacific Dunes  (250+)
12.  Chicago GC  (2)
13.  Crystal Downs  (5)
14.  SFGC  (4)
15.  Lahinch  (10)
16.  Royal Cinque Ports  (7)
17.  Ballyneal  (10)
18.  North Berwick  (1)
19.  Yale  (4)
20.  Pebble Beach  (2)
21.  Pinehurst #2  (3)
22.  Shoreacres  (10)
23.  Bandon Trails  (25)
24.  Old Macdonald  (3)
25.  Franklin Hills  (500+)
26.  Lookout Mountain  (100+)