Recently I have noticed a lot of golf publications posting their most recent golf course rankings. Golf Digest posts a Top-100 list of courses inside the US -- as well as a list of the Top-100 outside the US. They rank their favorite courses in each state, which I am always underwhelmed by the number of public access courses listed in Illinois. Golf Magazine goes out on a ledge and combines both lists to produce a Top-100 in the World list. I've seen lists of the best "modern" courses and best "classic" courses. The number of ways to create a list is unlimited.
With that being said, I've created a list of the Top-15 courses I've played in my life. Before releasing my list, there are a couple of things I found to be true about my perception of how "good" a course is. First, I put a lot more weight on the experience I had at the club. I tried to keep my own score out of the equation, but I've found I always enjoy courses I play well more than courses I've never posted a good score on. Second, I love the history of a club -- so older courses always rank higher on my list than "modern" ones. Third, desert courses don't ever seem to make the cut. I've found they all look the same to me. I very rarely remember much about desert courses I've played. Finally, I love courses that are unique. I understand every course is different, but there are just some courses that are more unique than others.
I've played 15 courses on the 2011 list of Golf Magazines Top-100 in the World. This is how my Top-15 would rank if I exclusively used their list:
1, St. Andrews (Old) | 2, Pebble Beach | 3, Pinehurst (No. 2) | 4, Royal Dornoch | 5, Ballybunion (Old) | 6, Pacific Dunes | 7, Carnoustie (Championship) | 8, New South Wales | 9, Sunningdale (Old) | 10, Lahinch | 11, Whistling Straits (Straits) | 12, Portmarnock (Old) | 13, Bandon Dunes | 14, Shoreacres | 15, Medinah (No. 3)
My list would look different. I've also noted how these courses rank with my four key criteria when evaluating a course.
1 | Ballybunion (Old), Ireland | Picking number 1 was harder than picking number 15. When reflecting on each course on this list, this one is special. I had the opportunity to play this course twice when I was 15 and would love to get back and play there again someday. While Ballybunion doesn't have the history of major championships like St. Andrews and Pebble Beach, it has 18 great holes. I've never played a better set of 18 holes. (Experience: 9 | History: 7 | Uniqueness: 10+)
2 | Pebble Beach, USA | This course has my second favorite six hole stretch of any course I've ever played. While I played the old 5th hole when I was there, I'd have to imagine an ocean-front par-3 is stunning and you don't get much better than the next five. The second shot on the 8th hole is probably my favorite shot in all of golf. And then to finish you have 17 and 18 -- enough said. (Experience: 9 | History: 9 | Uniqueness: 10)
3 | St. Andrews (Old), Scotland | In Webster's Dictionary you could put a picture of this golf course as the definition of history. The idea that just about every noteworthy golfer in the history of the game has walked these fairways makes this place special. The thing I remember most about this course was walking up the 18th with a couple hundred people in town lining the property fence. I hit my approach shot to about 20-feet and received an applause from the gallery. I then proceeded to three-putt for bogey. (Experience: 10 | History: 10+ | Uniqueness: 8)
4 | New South Wales, Australia | The most spectacular view I've every seen is after the tee shot on the par-5 5th. About 200 yards off the tee, the hole falls over 50-feet and seems to crash into the Pacific Ocean. The par-3 6th allows golfers to cross a bridge onto a small rock island and play a tee shot back over the cove and onto the mainland. (Experience: 9 | History: 7 | Uniqueness: 9)
5 | Pacific Dunes, USA | The best place to go for a golf trip. No spa, no fine dinning, no glitz or glam. This is just pure golf. (Experience: 10 | History: 2 | Uniqueness: 10+)
6 | Carnoustie, Scotland
7 | Portmarnock (Old), Ireland
8 | The Bears Club, USA
9 | Sunningdale (Old), England
10 | Shoreacres, USA
11 | Bandon Dunes, USA
12 | Whistling Straits, USA
13 | Skokie Country Club, USA
14 | Bandon Trails, USA
15 | Pinehurst (No. 2), USA
-EH
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