National Club Golfer has revealed its first-ever ranking of the best courses in Great Britain and Ireland at a glittering awards ceremony in Leeds.
Over 150 guests gathered at the Royal Armouries for an evening hosted by sports commentator Andrew Cotter.
Royal County Down (main image) was crowned the best golf course in Great Britain and Ireland, while Royal Birkdale was the highest-ranked course in England, Royal Porthcawl the best in Wales, and Muirfield the best in Scotland.
Awards were also presented in each of the following categories:
- Most Playable Course – Kingsbarns
- Best Conditioned Course – Adare
- Most Consistent Course – Royal Lytham & St Annes
- Most Memorable Course – Old Course at St Andrews
- Best Designed Course – Muirfield
- Course with the Most Variety – Prestwick
- Best New Course – Kingsbarns
“Our first ever Top 100s Awards is the final piece of our Top 100s franchise, which also includes a quarterly print magazine, a website, busy social channels and an amateur tour,” said Tom Irwin, Commercial Director of Sports Publications. “We now have all the building blocks in place to become the most trusted home of Top 100s to give the best golf courses the oxygen they deserve. To get together 140 people from exclusively Top 100 courses at this event was inspiring and a unique sponsorship and networking opportunity.”
The full list – and many more – can now be viewed on the new NCG Top 100s section on the National Club Golfer website.All major lists will be refreshed on a two-year cycle – including GB&I, England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Continental Europe, GB&I Resorts and EU Resorts.
“We’re extremely proud to launch our new site with this painstakingly constructed list of the best golf courses in GB&I,” said Dan Murphy, Content Director at of Sports Publications. “It’s the culmination of three years’ work. We’re not setting out to be controversial – just to create the best lists. We understand, and respect, how much people care about their own clubs. In return, we hope they respect our integrity and professionalism in compiling these lists. Our ambition is for NCG Top 100s to become the home of course rankings – both online and in print.”