Golf.com Top 100 Courses in the World (2019)

[iacas]

 

GOLF's Top 100 Courses in the World: A deep dive into the rankings - Golf

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This year’s numbers reveal trends and tastes that altered the standings like never before. Here’s why some longtime favorites didn’t make the list.

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Another potential shock for our audience is Augusta National coming in at No. 9 — its lowest-ever ranking. When the trend everywhere is to remove trees, widen playing corridors, increase playing angles and promote strategic and attacking golf, something had to give. We appreciate that Augusta National is in the uniquely difficult position of annually hosting the Masters. Still, the founding vision of Bob Jones and Alister MacKenzie matters, and a sense is starting to develop among panelists that the club is moving too far away from it.

Ran Morissett of GolfClubAtlas is the new architecture editor for GOLF magazine (and golf.com), so it's interesting to see his influence take hold so quickly.

[Bonvivant]

I flipped through the whole slide show just to see the beautiful pictures. Man, do I love golf. Didn't realized that I had 2 of the top 100 within 60 miles of me, but that was cool too.

[iacas]

Oakmont is ahead of Augusta. 🙂

[mcanadiens]

On 11/23/2019 at 11:44 PM, Bonvivant said:

I flipped through the whole slide show just to see the beautiful pictures. Man, do I love golf. Didn't realized that I had 2 of the top 100 within 60 miles of me, but that was cool too.

Camargo for one, I'd guess. Then The Golf Club in New Albany. Inverness, up in Toledo tends to make these sort of lists.

Funny, none of them are on GolfNow.

[Bonvivant]

1 hour ago, mcanadiens said:

Camargo for one, I'd guess. Then The Golf Club in New Albany. Inverness, up in Toledo tends to make these sort of lists.

Funny, none of them are on GolfNow.

All 3 were on it, but Toledo is quite far.

[mcanadiens]

22 minutes ago, Bonvivant said:

All 3 were on it, but Toledo is quite far.

It's a straight shot up 75. Not much more than three hours and one could stop in Bowling Green on the way back and get Mister Spots food.

Of course, convincing the gentlemen at Inverness to let you play their course would be the real trick.

 

[Bonvivant]

Just now, mcanadiens said:

It's a straight shot up 75. Not much more than three hours and one could stop in Bowling Green on the way back and get Mister Spots food.

Of course, convincing the gentlemen at Inverness to let you play their course would be the real trick.

 

Schleps like me belong on munis! lol

[Buckeyebowman]

On 11/25/2019 at 1:29 PM, Bonvivant said:

All 3 were on it, but Toledo is quite far.

As @mcanadiens pointed out, it's straight up I-75! But you do have to get on the course! 

On 11/25/2019 at 3:53 PM, Bonvivant said:

Schleps like me belong on munis! lol

 

[phan52]

I have played six of the top ten and I would rank them personally in this order:

1. Cypress Point

2. Shinnicock Hills

3. Royal County Down

4. Oakmont

5. Pine Valley

6. National Golf Links

I am not a fan of Pine Valley. I don't think being the most penal translates into the "best". Don't get me wrong, I would play it whenever given the opportunity but, IMO, it doesn't come close to Cypress Point, Shinnicock or Royal County Down.

[iacas]

28 minutes ago, phan52 said:

I don't think being the most penal translates into the "best".

That's not why it's #1.

[phan52]

5 minutes ago, iacas said:

That's not why it's #1.

I don't care. That is my ranking and I am sticking to it.

Everything about Cypress Point outranks it. And as my caddie at Cypress said, When you finish your round at Cypress, you are in Carmel. When you finish your round at Pine Valley, you are in Clementon, NJ. 😎

[iacas]

On 1/10/2020 at 3:17 PM, phan52 said:

I don't care. That is my ranking and I am sticking to it.

I didn't say anything about your ranking. I simply said that if you think Pine Valley is anywhere near the top fifty because it's "penal," then you're not really a golf course architecture kinda guy.

On 1/10/2020 at 3:17 PM, phan52 said:

Everything about Cypress Point outranks it.

Including how penal the 16th hole plays.

And, yeah, that's your opinion.

[phan52]

On 1/15/2020 at 6:58 PM, iacas said:

I didn't say anything about your ranking. I simply said that if you think Pine Valley is anywhere near the top fifty because it's "penal," then you're not really a golf course architecture kinda guy.

 

Yeah, I'm not. I just belong to a club built by George Thomas and am surrounded everywhere in the Philly area by clubs built by people like Tillinghast, Flynn and Ross, so what do I know? BTW, I did rank Pine Valley in my top 5 so I don't know where you get me dissing the place. It's just not my cup of tee because, yes, it is overly penal. 

[Rippy_72]

I have played most of the top 20......Shinnecock, Cypress and County Down can't hold a candle to Pine Valley in my mind although I love them dearly.  Pine Valley isn't penal.   It is a mind f***.  It scares the living daylights out of you visually.   I have played 15 rounds there and have never lost a ball.  Not one.  I am lucky to play a round at any Tom Fazio course without a lost ball.  If someone isn't a low HcP player, I can understand the aversion to Pine Valley.  Most courses are like playing checkers, Pine Valley is three dimensional chess on one hand and like hitting into a Monet painting on the other.  If you put the ball in the wrong place, you have every opportunity of returning to play.  You miss once and you are just in purgatory.  Miss again?  Straight right to hell.  I have seen one of the two par 5 holes hit in two shots....once.  They are not easy to make par let alone birdie.   The one course in the top 20 that I would still love to play is Royal Melbourne.   Personal preferences come into play, I don't like either of the Winged Foot courses or Somerset Hills but I like the Black course.  Go figure.

 

[Double Mocha Man]

On 1/10/2020 at 12:17 PM, phan52 said:

And as my caddie at Cypress Point said, When you finish your round at Cypress, you are in Carmel. When you finish your round at Pine Valley, you are in Clementon, NJ. 😎

Good one!  And I know a great little Italian bistro in Carmel.

[phan52]

On 2/4/2020 at 5:29 PM, Rippy_72 said:

  I have seen one of the two par 5 holes (at Pine Valley) hit in two shots....once.  They are not easy to make par let alone birdie.   

 

#15 is the hole where my frustration peaked. I don't have a lot of length so I knew I couldn't hit it in three without three heroic shots. So I hit two decent shots and decided to lay up to my sweet spot of 90-100 yards. I hit a perfect shot, to the middle right of the fairway, but the fairway was so cantered right to left in that spot that the ball rolled into a fairway bunker with a tree in the middle of it. Who puts a tree in the middle of a fairway bunker, a scrub tree at that?

[Rippy_72]

1 hour ago, phan52 said:

#15 is the hole where my frustration peaked. I don't have a lot of length so I knew I couldn't hit it in three without three heroic shots. So I hit two decent shots and decided to lay up to my sweet spot of 90-100 yards. I hit a perfect shot, to the middle right of the fairway, but the fairway was so cantered right to left in that spot that the ball rolled into a fairway bunker with a tree in the middle of it. Who puts a tree in the middle of a fairway bunker, a scrub tree at that?

I hear ya.  I hate the bunkered tree on the 17th at Cypress Point, makes for a risky teeshot to the right of it with ocean over there.  Of course, one can whimp out and bunt one up the left side and leave 170 yards approach.  Tree inside bunkers is like layering purgatory onto hell in the bloody middle of the fairway.  What was Alister mackenzie smoking?

I honestly don't remember a tree inside a bunker on the 15th at PV.  I was generally coming out of my three wood and putting it somewhere to the right or short right of the green.  The fairway cant and narrow green make it a real challenge for sure.  Who knows who designed the 15th there.    First time playing it, they had the caddies quickly go ahead to the 15th tee box and move the markers on the back tees to align with the 16th green across the water.  I get there and the caddy hands me the driver.  Just before I was going to pull the club back, they all busted out laughing.  Me:  great, anyone got TP?

[leftybutnotPM]

1 hour ago, phan52 said:

Who puts a tree in the middle of a fairway bunker, a scrub tree at that?

Someone who understands that bunkers are to be avoided.