Golf World Top 100: Fun Golf Courses In Great Britain and Ireland

Golf World has returned with a second crack at a top 100 “fun” courses of Great Britain and Ireland. As always there are possible omissions and things to quibble about, but overall it looks like another fantastic effort to highlight the fun factor.

Chris Bertram introduces the list and writes:

What constitutes a fun course is a question that could take up several pages. I asked our panel to suggest what made a course fun for them, and by way of a hint as to the sort of courses you’ll see in this list, here are some of their thoughts: “A sense of intrigue and adventure, a little bit of the unknown”. “Clever use of slopes, green positioning and well-placed hazards, rather than heavy rough. Usually shorter than average”. “Short walks from green to tee, quick to play”. “A ‘good shot’ does not always end up in the perfect position”. “Do I want to return there soon?”

The list starts here, with North Berwick still holding off the Old Course for the top spot. I blame the excess of gorse for holding TOC back! Oh, and North Berwick is really, really fun.

Only quibbles: not including Old Moray, Peterhead or maybe even the Eden at St. Andrews. Still, it’s great to see so many super-fun lesser-knowns getting the validation of a ranking.