Over the last few years I’ve shared and analysed plenty of the top 100 course lists. I have drooled over the top course rankings in Scotland, Europe, the UK and the world. But one frequent comment from readers is that, because of cost, many of these golf courses are simply out of their reach, so the lists aren’t particularly relevant for them. This hasn’t been helped by the recent green fee hyperinflation at the top end of the market in Great Britan and Ireland.

Whenever the issue of rising costs for green fees comes up on Twitter you get a bunch of people, often in the business themselves, who come out in defence of the incredible green fees. The arguments normally go like this:

Hang on a minute, at least you can play all the top courses in the UK. You can’t do that in American you know.
You can’t play tennis on Centre Court at Wimbledon or football at Wembley, so stop moaning.
Golf courses have to make money too, they’re not charities! And they can’t keep them in such pristine condition, and put in new back tees, without increasing green fees.
Why don’t you play with a member or in an Open Competition? Only fools pay the full rate.
There’s plenty of value just outside the very top courses, play them instead.

To be honest, depending on the mood I’m in, I sometimes agree with one or more of these points and sometimes I don’t! The last point is worth thinking about though, which is why I was delighted to see that Golf World/Today’s golfer have just launched a list of the top 100 courses in GB and Ireland where you can play for £60 and under. Public service journalism at its best!

As always, I will urge you to go out and buy the magazine. It has nice little write-ups on each course and more green fee information. They have also put it up online so you can see all the details here.

The criteria for inclusion in the list is pretty straightforward. The green fee needed to be generally available on a weekday in the summer. So it excluded twilight rates or ‘specials’ only available once in a blue moon. Some of the courses will cost a bit more at weekends, but not all of them, and often not that much more.

What results is a pretty impressive list. However, when you scratch under the surface some interesting stories emerge.

FOR THE BEST VALUE - HEAD TO WALES!
The value to be found in Wales is just incredible, there are 17 Welsh courses featured here. Golf World recently published its list of the Top 50 courses in Wales and, incredibly, 38 of the top 50 cost £60 or less to play! None of the other countries is anywhere close. Wales is a really untapped area for golf trips. There’s a great variety of courses and some lovely villages and towns to discover on the way.

AND FOR WORST VALUE? THE EMERALD ISLE…
There are only 7 courses from the island of Ireland on this list - quality golf appears to be a rich man’s game in those parts. If you have a trip to Ireland planned, you will either need a large budget or be willing to compromise on the quality of the courses you play.

IN ENGLAND, YOU’RE NEVER FAR FROM A VALUE COURSE
England really shines on this list. That’s probably not a huge surprise given the relative size of the population and country but it does mean that there is good value to be had wherever you are. You are never further than just a few miles from a top 100 course, wherever you are in England.

IT’S A GOOD LIST - BUT IT COULD BE BETTER
I think there are some startling omissions from this list and just a few years ago the list would have been much stronger.

Fewer than a third of Scotland’s top 100 courses are included here - only 6 of the top 50. And most of those are really remote. I think that’s a shame and some of the courses could take a different approach to pricing.

Here’s an example. If you are going to the Highlands to play the big beasts of Royal Dornoch and Caslte Stuart you might realistically expect to play some of the courses in the surrounding area for £60 or under. But here’s what you’ll find - Brora £125, Tain £70, Golspie £80, Fortrose & Rosemarkie £70. I know there are various deals to be had if you are flexible but many people will simply look at the clubs’ websites and make up their minds.

And I could do the same for pretty much any other area in the country - last year, I was amazed to see that a midweek round at Murcar was going to cost me £130. I passed.

HOWEVER, THE DEPTH IN QUALITY IS EXCELLENT…..
You may not recognise some of the names on this list but the depth is really fantastic. Play at any and you are pretty much guaranteed to enjoy a great course. The lowest ranked on the list that I have played is Dunstaburgh Castle in position 95. It’s a belter, and the fact that there are 94 better courses in the UK for £60 or under is pretty amazing.

Believe it or not, there has been a rather disturbing trend in recent years for some courses to increase their green fee to attract visitors! The idea being that people will think, ‘if it’s that expensive it must be really good’. The courses on this list have forsaken such gimmickry - the average green fee of the 100 on the list is just £43!

Overseas holidays will probably be few and far between this year and that means that those of us based in the UK and Ireland will have more time to explore our domestic courses. This list gives a fantastic reference guide and I’ll definitely be keeping it close to hand.