Top 100 Golf Courses in Scotland

TOP 100 SCOTLAND 2015
HOW WE PRODUCED THE LIST
As with last month’s Top 100
Courses in England, we must
quickly get to the matter in
hand. Much of this page has
the same content as for the
English Top 100, so I’m afraid
it will be tedious for those who read it last
month. This time, we focus even more
strongly on courses not in the GB&I Top 100;
to those 28 courses, usually those receiving
all the attention, we devote just two pages. It
is also a real pleasure to add three panellists
for this ranking: Alan McPherson, who has
played 661 of the 692 courses (of all types!)
he has tracked down in Scotland (read more
on p14); Neal Stewart, who has played 548 of
those more widely recognised; and Dougie
Donnelly, a broadcaster on golf, football and
snooker among other sports and who is a
‘weel-kent’ face as we’d say north of the
border. Terrific to have them on board, and
this is how they helped devise the list.
WHO DECIDED THE POSITIONS?
Our panel of readers, who are efectively
‘Mystery Shoppers’. They visit the courses
unannounced, pay the green fee and make
their judgements. The list (and the Next 100)
is an amalgamation of their opinions.
DO YOU ‘MARK’ EACH COURSE?
No. This is done by other rankings inside and
outside golf, but at this time the panel purely
rank the course using a ‘mental’ aggregate of
the various factors*. A numerical breakdown
might well add ballast but it’s not something
I personally yearn for, at least not until every
panellist has played every course and we can
thus produce a valid statistical breakdown.
At the moment, producing one would in my
opinion be no more useful than the ‘mental’
ranking. Watch this space – although I am
more keen on getting a large panel who’ve
played every single course. That would, in
my view, further improve our Top 100 lists.
WHAT ARE THE FACTORS* IN ASSESSING?
This seems obvious to me, but people do
ask; we ask panellists to consider strategic
merit, presentation, memorable holes,
playability, consistency of test and visual
appeal. But not anything of the course.
DO TOUR PROS OR ARCHITECTS FEATURE?
Many others use ‘celebrity’ panellists, and
GW has done in the past – but I just don’t see
how even the most famous Tour player or
the most feted architect can add credible
assistance to the ranking given they may well
have played less than half of the contenders
(Dougie is a celebrity, but a very ‘well golfed’
one!). The only reason the panel and I have
any justification for contributing to a list of
the ‘best’ courses in Scotland is because,
by virtue of having played all or the vast
majority of the contenders, they have the
ability to compare. If you wanted a ranking
of the top 100 football grounds in England,
would you ask Rickie Lambert (moderately
talented, played in all four leagues) or Eden
Hazard (superstar, played in only the
Premiership)? Or in Scotland, Celtic icon
Henrik Larsson or Inverness’ Barry Wilson?
DO READERS MAKE GOOD PANELLISTS?
I believe they do. In addition to their ability to
compare, I also love the fact they have paid
their green fees, which removes any possible
inhibitions and means they can relate to our
readers – and hopefully vice versa, as they
are readers themselves. Our Top 100s are
lists for golfers who like to go on golf trips to
the best courses, created by golfers who like
to go on golf trips to the best courses. Our
aim is for you to feel confident that what we
suggest in our Top 100s will be the reality
when you arrive. It’s not to say we aren’t
interested in the views of famous names. In
this guide alone we hear from Sandy Lyle,
Colin Montgomerie and Andrew Cotter to
name a few, plus feted architect Kyle Phillips.
CAN I JOIN THE PANEL?
Yes! The only proviso is you have a wealth
of experience of what are regarded as the
finest courses in GB&I. There are no freebies
or expenses, this is a labour of love – but all
panellists seem to enjoy being involved.
Chris Bertram
Top 100 Editor
THE PANEL
Mike Bailey
Club: Formby Hcp: 12
Brendan Blair
Club: Bristol & Clifton Hcp: 12
John Chapman
Club: Royal Cromer Hcp: 5
Dale Concannon
Club: Press Golfing Society Hcp: 7
Dougie Donnelly
Clubs: St Andrews New,
Glenearn, Gleneagles. Hcp: 12
Nick Dungay
Club: Singing Hills Hcp: 11
Stuart Edgington
Club: Ladbrook Park Hcp: 12
Alan Ferguson
Clubs: St Andrews New,
Glenbervie Hcp: 4
Ian Johnston
Club: The Oxfordshire Hcp: 7
Richard Lillesmart
Club: Thorpeness Hcp: 12
Ian MacDonald
Club: Ramside Hcp: 11
Alan McPherson
Club: The Glen Hcp: 10
Peter Rudd
Clubs: Woodbridge, Thorpeness
& Woodhall Spa Hcp: 7
Ben Sargent
Club: The Wisley Hcp: Pro
Mark Squire
Club: Scarcroft Hcp: 8
Neal Stewart
Club: Haggs Castle Hcp: 8
Andrew Stracey
Clubs: R&A, Loch Lomond, Royal
Worlington, Denham Hcp: 0.6
Mike Stuckey
Clubs: Lochinvar, Houston,
Texas Hcp: 15
Gary Vaulks
Club: Royal Liverpool Hcp: 8
The Queen’s course
at Gleneagles.