Every two years sees the publication of the most highly regarded world golf course ranking list. GOLF Magazine has established itself as the pre-eminent voice in the field (really only the top100golfcourses.com ranking can be compared) and this year’s list has been even more highly anticipated than its predecessors. That’s because Ran Morrissett, founder of Golfclubatlas.com and co-contributor to the Confidential Guide, has recently taken over as the Architecture Editor and is overseeing the curation of the list.
You can see the process for rating here, but basically a group of 80 well-travelled golf aficionados are asked to apply points to courses they have played. This list doesn’t give points separately for multiple factors and then apply a formula to come up with an overall score - it’s a lot simpler than that.
With Ran at the helm, and the trend in recent years for the more naturalistic styles of the world’s leading architects, many were wondering whether this was a year of change in the GOLF rankings. It was safe to say it has been! There’s a great article by Ran here giving his thoughts some of the big moves.
Clearly one of the key variables in the process is who is doing the rating. Apparently the panel underwent major surgery this year with more than half of the old panel not invited back and 20-30 new panellists added.
You can see the full rankings below and on the golf.com site here but here are some of my observations:
A list that celebrates fun and playability
The overwhelming feeling from this list is that the raters are putting fun and playability high up their priorities. Seeing courses like Swinley Forest (up 32 places to position 55), North Berwick (up 17 to 37) and Friar’s Head (up 7 to 26) make such moves up the rankings shows that this is a list which celebrates courses you will play with a smile on your face.
If you’re looking for fun then North Berwick at 37 is a good bet!
Ran also makes the point in his article that this list likes courses that don’t demand crazy length to be successful, and celebrates courses that are easy to get round. He says ‘The idea that a round should take little more than three hours to complete is gaining steam, so it's no surprise to see 'short' courses that ooze character inch up the ranking’.
Stand still and go back
When I was at Pine Valley earlier this year (humblebrag I know…) Tom Fazio was on site. In recent years they have done some fantastic work there and are already planning changes for the next couple of years. The member I was with said that the club revered its status as the number 1 course but knew that if they didn’t continuously look at how to improve the course they would risk losing that status.
You can see the courses who have suffered in this way. Pebble Beach has fallen to number 11 in the world, and I would suggest this is still too high. As recently as 2001 Pebble was ranked at number 3 in the world but unless they give someone a mandate to take a serious look at the course it is only going to keep falling. But when you’re getting $2,000 a tee time it’s hard to bite the bullet and close the course to do real surgery.
There are no such concerns at Augusta, but it too has suffered. By its standards it has plummeted down the rankings - at number 9 now having never previously been out of the top 5. Morrissett suggests in his comments than planting trees and lengthening the course isn’t a secret to success in this new Golden Age of architecture. It’s hard to argue.
Every year new work emerges from winter at Pine Valley - like this recent bunkering on the 12th
There are some spectacular drops
I was once in discussion with a compiler of a ratings list and he said to watch for the moves, to look at which courses made dramatic moves down to get a good feel for the zeitgeist of the raters.
Well, this lot have eschewed some of the courses outside of the US whose inclusion had people scratching their heads in days gone by. Oitavos Dunes in Portugal was always a questionable choice for many and it has plummeted out of the list, from 55th! Almost as dramatic is the drop for The Club at Nine Bridges from 41st to 94th. Those who are trying to tick off the top 100 may be pleased to know they no longer need to make the trip to Ayodhya Links in Thailand!
It is also unlikely that President Trump will be too enamoured that Trump International in Aberdeen is just clinging on to the top 100 in last position, down from 46 last time. While this course divides those who have played it, few would argue it is a true links experience, and it has probably suffered for that.
Such dramatic drops have impacted some of the US old favourites too. Baltusrol was barely outside of the top 50 until 10 years ago and has now dropped out the Top 100 completely. Muirfield Village drops 26 places to 85. Courses that have made their reputations in competitive play but not entranced the raters have suffered.
A classic list
In case you are in doubt, this is a list that likes the classics. Courses like Garden City, Cal Club, Prestwick, Rye, Woodhall Spa, Somerset Hills, Winged Foot East, St George’s Hill and Myopia have all either entered for the first time or shot up the list and it’s wonderful to see the Colt masterpiece of de Pan in Holland make an entry. Royal Dornoch has leapt 5 places to 10th and there are 30 courses from the UK in the list now, up from 19 in 1987.
The gorgeous Utrecht de Pan enters in 88th
But a few quibbles…
When you get into the top 30, and definitely into the top 10, it gets very hard to argue with this list. Is Royal Melbourne really better than Muirfield? You could argue it either way, but both are among the very best in the world. However, further down I have a couple of issues.
There is one course that for me is massively misplaced and that it Cape Wickham. It is one of the wonders of the modern world and I think a case could be made for it being a top 10 course. Without any doubt it should knock out some of those I have played that are in the top 30. You don’t have to take my word for it, Alan Shipnuck makes its case here and I know two other people who have played most, if not all, of the top 100 in the world who would put it in their top 10. Maybe the issue is its remoteness means few raters have played it, but surely it must rise up the ratings as more discover its magnificence?
The other one I would question (although not to the same degree) is Turnberry, or Trump Turnberry as it is now called. It comes in at 17 in this list, but I do wonder if enough of the raters have seen the course since the amazing renovations of the last few years. In the UK, Golf World has it as number 3 in their rankings, Golf Monthly has it in top spot, and top100golfcourses.com has it in 2nd. GOLF has it at 6th in the UK and Ireland which I think is just too low. The recent work is stunning and warrants a higher placing.
The magnificent Turnberry rennovation feels a little hard done by in this list
Half the fun of lists like this is in provoking a debate, and this list certainly does that. But I also think that a ratings list can play an important role in shaping the future of the game. What the raters and compilers choose to prioritise can encourage clubs to embrace the same styles when they develop their courses. With great power comes great responsibility, but I think Ran and his team have shouldered their burden well!
Rankings and movements (click on link to read my review) -
1 Pine Valley (no change)
2 Cypress Point (no change)
3 The Old Course, St Andrews (no change)
4 Shinnecock Hills (up 2)
5 National Golf Links of America (up 2)
6 Royal County Down (down 2)
7 Royal Melbourne West (up 4)
8 Oakmont (no change)
9 Augusta National (down 4)
10 Royal Dornoch (up 5)
11 Pebble Beach (down 2)
12 Muirfield (down 2)
13 Royal Portrush, Dunluce (up 1)
14 Sand Hills (up 1)
15 Merion (down 3)
16 Pinehurst 2, (up 2)
17 Turnberry, Ailsa (down 1)
18 Fishers Island (up 1)
19 Chicago Golf Club (up 2)
20 Los Angeles, North (up 2)
21 Ballybunion (Down 4)
22 Kingston Heath (Down 2)
23 Winged Foot, West (Up 4)
24 Bandon Dunes, Pacific Dunes (Up 2)
25 Crystal Downs (Down 1)
26 Friar's Head (Up 7)
27 Tara Iti (Down 2)
28 Riviera (Up 4)
29 Sunningdale, Old (Up 2)
30 San Francisco (Down 5)
31 Prairie Dunes (Down 1)
32 Carnoustie (Down 4)
33 Royal St Georges (Up 9)
34 Seminole (Down 11)
35 Barnbougle Dunes (Up 3)
36 Lahinch (Down 1)
37 North Berwick (Up 14)
38 The Country Club, Brookline (Down 1)
39 Hirono (Up 1)
40 Royal Birkdale (Down 6)
41 Morfontaine (Up 4)
42 Somerset Hills (Up 33)
43 Cabot Cliffs (Up 7)
44 Cape Kidnappers (No Change)
45 Shoreacres (Up 12)
46 New South Wales (Down 3)
47 Garden City (Up 9)
48 Portmarnock (Up 1)
49 Southern Hills (Up 20)
50 Californian Golf Club of San Francisco (Up 23)
51 Royal Troon (Down 4)
52 Camargo (Up 11)
53 Bethpage, Black (Down 1)
54 Woodhall Spa (Up 12)
55 Swinley Forest (Up 32)
56 Kawana (Up 12)
57 Ballyneal (Up 29)
58 Kiawah Island, Ocean (Down 4)
59 Casa de Campo (Down 11)
60 Cape Wickham Links (Up 12)
61 Royal Lytham St Annes (No Change)
62 Winged Foot, East (Up 21)
63 Cruden Bay (Up 14)
64 Maidstone (Up 6)
65 Royal Liverpool (Up 19)
66 Castle Stuart (Up 5)
67 Rye (New Entry)
68 TPC Sawgrass (Down 8)
69 Whistling Straits (Down 11)
70 Diamante (Down 34)
71 Kingsbarns (Down 7)
72 Oakland Hills, South (Down 19)
73 Sunningdale, New (Up 7)
74 Quaker Ridge (Up 4)
75 Prestwick (Up 25)
76 Sleepy Hollow (New Entry)
77T Ellerston (Down 15)
77T Koninklijke Haagsche (Up 4)
79 Olympic Club, Lake (Down 12)
80 Bandon Dunes (Down 15)
81 Inverness (Up 17)
82 Cabot Links (Up 14)
83 Yale (New Entry)
84 The Golf Club (Down 5)
85 Muirfield Village (Down 26)
86 St George's Hill (New Entry)
87 Bandon Trails (New Entry)
88 Utrecht (New Entry)
89 Barnbougle Lost Farm (Up 1)
90 Walton Heath (Up 2)
91 Peachtree (New Entry)
92 Myopia (New Entry)
93 Macrahinish (Down 5)
94 The Club at Nine Bridges (Down 53)
95 St George's (Down 1)
96 Royal Melbourne, East (New Entry)
97 Waterville (Down 15)
98 Ohoopee Match Club (New Entry)
99 Rock Creek (New Entry)
100 Trump International (Down 54)
No longer on the list -
Shanquin Bay (previously 39), Oitavos Dunes (55), Baltrusol Lower (74), Ayodhya Links (76), Royal Porthcawl (85), Ganton (89), Yas Links (91), Oak Hill East (93), Valderrama (95), European Club (97), Tokyo Country Club (99)