Some Top 100 ranking lists are more useful than others. Sometimes, the plethora of UK or World lists are curiosities rather than helpful guides for planning a trip. The recent Golf World ‘Under £60’ list was one of the best for finding hidden gems in the UK and probably far more useful than most other lists.
I have usually found Continental Europe lists one of the most useful out there - whether for planning a golf trip with mates or looking for a round to throw in when on a family holiday.
The Golf World ranking is probably the most prestigious published (the other two worth looking at are top100golfcourses.com and National Club Golfer). The latest incarnation of the Golf World Top 100 list is out now and there’s plenty in it to enjoy.
There has been a change in editorship and methodology at Golf World since the last ranking which explains some of the significant movements on the list.
Chris Bertram, the editor, is one of the very few people in the world to have a job ranking golf courses and he is excellent at it. He has pulled together a well-travelled panel of raters - a mixture of industry professionals and enthusiastic amateurs. Courses are rated using a range of criteria - design, setting, memorability, playability, consistency and presentation.
Personally I’m not a massive fan of the ‘formula’ approach to rating courses but the recent lists coming out from Golf World have been really strong, so it clearly works! I should say that I am on the panel though I only played a small part given the wealth of experience of the others. I have played about half of the courses, so plenty still to get to!
I would encourage you to get your hands on a copy of the print magazine - the supplement is really brilliant. Each of the 100 courses is profiled and there are in-depth looks at the three top courses which is worth the price of the magazine alone. There’s a piece on David McLay Kidd’s Comporta course which opens next year and an exclusive about what else is being built in that area. I won’t spoil it, but Lisbon looks like it may be THE European golf destination to visit in years to come.
You can see the full write-ups of every course as well as more on the process and ranking here. Well done to Today’s Golfer for sharing this online, although I would still encourage you to buy the magazine for some of the extras!
Here is the list, and some of my key takeaways.
VIVE LA FRANCE
For most Brits, when they think about playing golf in Europe, it’s Spain, Portugal and maybe Turkey that come to mind. However, when you look at where the best golf courses are, France is the clear winner. It has seventeen of the top 100 courses and five of the top 10 - including the undisputed number 1, Morfontaine.
One of the most anticipated aspects of this list was where the New course at Les Bordes would debut. It has come straight at number 8, while the delightful Fontainebleau has risen to an all-time high of number 3.
I wouldn’t be amazed if France had an even better showing when the next version of this list comes around. Not enough panellists have seen Vidauban in the South of France to include it, but on a recent visit I had it firmly in the Top 10.
VIdauban could add to the French top 10 domination
FORGET THE ALGARVE - IT’S ALL GOING ON IN LISBON!
Portugal has so much to offer when it comes to planning a golf trip - easy to get to from most places in Europe, great value and excellent golf. Many will head for the courses on the Algarve (congrats to Monte Rei for taking the crown of Portugal’s best course) but if you are looking for sustained quality then look no further than Lisbon.
Praia d’el Rey, an hour to the north of Lisbon airport
Within an hour’s drive you have enough courses to fill a week with high quality golf - West Cliffs, Praia d’el Rey, Obidos to the north, Oitavos Dunes and Penha Longa to the west and Troia to the south. With three new courses coming soon near to Troia this is fast becoming a ‘must visit’ destination
A trip to Lisbon also feels like you are going to a different country which I quite like - full English breakfasts and Irish pubs are a bit harder to find than in Vilamoura…
REPUTATION AND CONDITIONING JUST ISN’T ENOUGH
A lot has changed since the golf magazines first started producing Continental Europe lists. Bertram says, ‘We have moved away from perfectly nice, manicured parklands with a few holes being made dramatic by water as being good enough’ and you can see that in the results.
This ranking is following the trends of other lists - it rewards enjoyment over pure brawn, authenticity over conditioning. A few big names have suffered. In the 2011 Golf World ranking Le Golf National, home to the 2018 Ryder Cup, was in position 5. It’s current 40th place feels a lot more appropriate. PGA Catalunya in Spain reached a peak of 4th in 2015. It’s 17th now but I suspect this relentlessly dull course has further to drop yet!
Some of the resorts have suffered too - only one of the Quinta da Lago courses makes it onto the list and there is no space for any of the three from La Manga.
While it’s easy to dwell on the drops, the quality of the courses that have risen is to be celebrated. Utrecht de Pan was 35th on the list ten years ago but its rise to number two is thoroughly justified, it’s one of golf’s special places.
Another I would call out is Vilamoura Old Course. Other courses on the Algarve have come and gone from the listing but it is good to see that class lasts. It’s never going to be a top 20 course but it has risen from languishing in the 80s to a more realistic number.
The wonderful Utrecht de Pan has shot all the way up to number 2 in the rankings in recent years
BUT HOW GOOD ARE THESE COURSES REALLY?
One way of looking at how good these courses really are is to look at how many of them would get into a GB and Ireland Top 100 list. To give that some perspective the following courses are numbers 80-100 on a composite UK Top 100 ranking from the top golf magazines and rating sites:
The Berkshire (Blue), Portstewart, Saunton (West), Aberdovey, Moortown, Prince's, Pennard, , Ballylifin (Old), Walton Heath (New), West Hill, Queenwood, St Andrews (Castle), Royal North Devon, Wentworth (East), Parkstone, Broadstone, Moray (Old), Woburn (Duke's), Woburn (Marquess), Aldeburgh, Sherwood Forest
Helpfully Golf Word have scored each of these courses in recent months and their scores range from 80 out of 100, down to 77.4. The top 10 courses in Europe all score 80 points or more so they would all make the GB and Ireland list comfortably. I think you can go down to Hamburger, 14th on the Continental Europe and make a case for all 14 of those clubs being worthy of inclusion.
At the top end Morfontaine, de Pan and Fontainebleau would all be ranked in the upper echelons of any UK list - they are really that good.
Hamburger golf - worthy of a place on a Top 100 list including the best of the UK and Europe
THE TWO I REALLY WANT TO SEE…
It’s always interesting in these lists to look for the outliers - the courses which are ranked differently on different lists (I won’t use this platform for another polemic on the travesty of Golf Monthly and Cruden Bay...). There are two here which really stand out, and I’m determined to get to them in 2022.
First up is Lofoten Links - it is in here at number 6 - up 46 places! The Top100golfcourses website has it in 47th place. The magazine says ‘The setting is the biggest lure – and is peerless – but it is more than that. So many holes carved out in this utopia are world-class’. But number 6? That’s a hell of a position which I will need to judge for myself!
The other one which stands out is Parnu Bay in Estonia. I have always had a hankering to play in slightly off-the-beaten-track locations (evidenced by my playing in the Accra Open once) and Estonia fits the bill. It is in this list at number 16, but top100 have it at 75. Golf World talks about combining it with a trip to some of the Finnish courses which sounds like a trip well worth taking.
While both of these look like outliers, I have a lot of faith that the trip will be worth it. The editor Chris Bertram has been to these, and almost all of the other, courses so isn’t just relying on views of panel members. I think that makes a big difference when it comes to the way these lists are constructed.
Lofoten Links - photo Mickael Tannus at lofotenlinks.no
As I said at the top, I find these European lists so helpful for discovering new places and I think this is the best one I’ve seen yet.
Previously I had wondered if some courses had got their elevated ranking through judicious advertising spend or a strong PR department. From my experience with this list I have no such worries, this one is rewarding merit.
Exploring golf in Europe can be a real pleasure. Not only do you find great golf courses, but you will have exposure to people and cultures you just don’t get by staying at home. The last couple of years have been tough when it comes to seeing the best that Europe has to offer but hopefully we have turned a corner now.
I’ve made this map showing all of the locations to help you plan your next trip. If you use the slider in the top left you can look at the top100golfcourses list too. Happy travels wherever you get to!