The Top 100 Courses I’ve Played – April
Idanha Ridge Golf Club by Henrik Sundqvist
In comparison to the past few months, there was not a lot of turnover in April. This is mostly due to my usual review time being occupied by the impending release of Oakmont Country Club. A milestone was reached in April, though, as I played and reviewed my 200th course since my reviews began. If you rewind back to November, when I hit my 100-course milestone, you would have needed to place 42nd or better on that list to still be in the top 100 today. That not only speaks to the quality of new courses coming out every month, but is also a testament to those 42 courses that have stood the test of time despite incredible competition.
Bethpage State Park Black Course by Bryan Boomer
Without further ado, let’s get right into it…
Rank | Name | Designer | Last Month |
1 | Whistling Straits, Sheboygan WI Overseeded | Craig Frey | 1 |
2 | Tye Dunes | Patrick Yates | 4 |
3 | Congressional CC | Rod Simpson | 5 |
4 | Oceanic Athletic Club | Adam Benjamin | 2 |
5 | Loa Pali Golf Resort | Dario Logan | 3 |
6 | Pebble Beach Golf Links (All versions) | Brandon Pugh | 6 |
7 | Kipahulu Reserve | Henrik Sundqvist | 7 |
8 | Pine Valley, New Jersey | Craig Frey | 8 |
9 | Old Beaver Creek – Championship | Bill Rader & Brian Jeffords | 9 |
10 | Royal Lytham & St Annes 2015 | Yeltzman | 10 |
11 | Bison Run | Brian Jeffords | 11 |
12 | Muirfield 2013 Open | Yeltzman | 12 |
13 | TPC at Sawgrass | Brandon Pugh | 13 |
14 | Promenade Golf Club | Adam Benjamin | 14 |
15 | The Breakers | Rich Banker | 15 |
16 | The Timberwolf | Andre Quenneville | 16 |
17 | Halton Beach | Dan Hebert | 17 |
18 | Idanha Ridge Golf Club | Henrik Sundqvist | New |
19 | Purgatory Golf Club | Steve Pope | 18 |
20 | Bailiwick Grand Golf Club | Job Fickett & Dan Hebert | 19 |
21 | The Course at Hiwassee Hills | Todd Driver | 20 |
22 | Columbia National Golf Links | Brian Jeffords | 21 |
23 | Royal Birkdale 2016 (Thursday Dry) | Yeltzman | 22 |
24 | Bethpage State Park Black Course | Bryan Boomer | New |
25 | Firestone CC South (Rustic) | Brandon Pugh | 23 |
26 | Freshwater Golf Club | Adam Benjamin | 24 |
27 | Dr. Yeti’s 9 Hole Haven at Crater Lake | Bryan Cowles | 25 |
28 | Hoodoo Hills: Remastered | Bryan Cowles | 26 |
29 | Harbor Island Platinum | Jeremy Blaylock | 27 |
30 | Glen Abbey GC (Canadian Open) Saturday | Bryan Boomer | 28 |
31 | Coyote Canyon 2016 | Nick Weisgerber | 29 |
32 | Spyglass Hill 2015 | yeltzman | 30 |
33 | Red Rock National | Nick Weisgerber | 31 |
34 | Pittsburgh Field Club (thurs) | Pete Kohelis | 32 |
35 | Skull Valley Golf Club – Outlaw | Steve Pope | 33 |
36 | Golf Club of Houston | William Bradford | 34 |
37 | Dovetail Park Golf Club | Simon Morris | 35 |
38 | Tobacco Dunes | Steve Pope | 36 |
39 | Vallentuna Golfklubb – Sweden | Mikael Thunberg | 37 |
40 | McKee McGrodo Platinum (A) | Jeremy Blaylock | 38 |
41 | Fossmill Golf Club | Mikael Thunberg | 39 |
42 | Escalante Steps (Par 3) | Brian Jeffords | 40 |
43 | Le Golf National | Dean Lowden | 41 |
44 | Harrison Mills Golf Club | Andre Quenneville | New |
45 | Killarney Golf and Country Club | Nick Weisgerber | New |
46 | St. Lorin Golf Club, Baumgarten Is. Hawaii #1 | David Jensen | 42 |
47 | Welican National @ Llandudno | Bobby Anderson | 43 |
48 | Celtic Vineyard Golf Club | Adam Benjamin | 44 |
49 | TPC @ Boston – thurs (new textures) | Kenny Canham | 45 |
50 | Southern Hills Country Club | Trey Coursey | 46 |
51 | Eighteen at Strawberry Plains | Todd Driver | 47 |
52 | Mai Phu Kyn Golf Club, Mekong Delta, Vietnam | David Jensen | 48 |
53 | PGA West (Palmer) [Sunday] ’16 | Rod Simpson | 49 |
54 | The Capilano Club | Andre Quenneville | 50 |
55 | Riviera Country Club – Thursday | Bryan Boomer | 51 |
56 | Loch Lorne Golf Club, Perthshire, Scotland | Chris Biggins | New |
57 | Scarpacci Island | Antonio Scarpacci | 52 |
58 | Apache Creek | Todd Driver | New |
59 | Humboldt Bay Golf Club – Eureka, California | Andre Quenneville | 53 |
60 | Harvest Plantation | Todd Driver | 54 |
61 | Daggerfen Manor 2016 | Dale Burger | New |
62 | Valgrind Golf Club | Joseph Bowling | 55 |
63 | TGC @ the Engish Rose (Thurs) | Wendy Airey | 56 |
64 | The Canuck Club at Devils’ Escarpment | Andre Quenneville | 57 |
65 | Demon Host G.C. (Thursday) | Ola Ericsson | 58 |
66 | Spectacle Island Links (Tour) | Antonio Scarpacci | 59 |
67 | Westmorland Manor CC | Wayne Adams | 60 |
68 | TGC Players’ Club – Stadium Course | Dario Logan | 61 |
69 | The Homestead | Brian Jeffords / Andre Quenneville | 62 |
70 | Kahiko Beach Golf and Surf Club | Andre Quenneville | 63 |
71 | Royal Ballylough | Rod Simpson | 64 |
72 | The Copse @ Malkie Coast | Ola Ericsson | 65 |
73 | Olde Scarpacci | Antonio Scarpacci | 66 |
74 | The Columbia Valley Preserve | Chris Nelson | 67 |
75 | Whonnock Lake Golf Club (Black Diamond) | Andre Quenneville | 68 |
76 | Yeti National CC at Sasquatch Pointe | Bryan Cowles | 69 |
77 | Mistwood Golf Course | William Bradford | 70 |
78 | Grand Epson V1 | Wendy Airey | 71 |
79 | King Kyne Royal Tropicana | David Jensen | 72 |
80 | Hocking Hills Country Club (Thursday) | Tim Jaquith | 73 |
81 | The Canuck Club at Angels’ Plateau | Andre Quenneville | 74 |
82 | TPC at Castaway Bay | Chris Saunders | New |
83 | Falcon Bay Sunday Pin | Todd Driver | 75 |
84 | Caldera Basin Golf Club | Jeremy Holme | 76 |
85 | Horned Viper G.C. | Bryan Boomer | 77 |
86 | Sleepy Willow CC (Blacks) | Brandon Pugh | 78 |
87 | Rivington Hall | Martyn Shaw | 79 |
88 | Arctic Curse Golf and CC | Bryan Boomer | 80 |
89 | The Tarantula Golf Club | Keith Callahan | 81 |
90 | Sugar Hills: TGC Edition | John Rubenkoenig | 82 |
91 | Swindler’s Bluff (Thursday) | Brent Gravelle | 83 |
92 | Thousand Island Golf and CC | Bryan Boomer | 84 |
93 | El Caiman CG | Enrique De Guzman | 85 |
94 | The Red October G&CC | Mick Pitcher | 86 |
95 | Shougleith Tournament Links – Thurs | Adam Hill | 87 |
96 | Chudleigh Golf Club | Lez Marwick | 88 |
97 | Royal Troon Old Course 2015 | Yeltzman | 89 |
98 | The Course of St. George | Mick Pitcher | 90 |
99 | Chicago Golf Club | JELindholm | 91 |
100 | Elmview – Open Day 1 | Brian Jeffords | 92 |
Top Debut
Idanha Ridge Golf Club by Henrik Sundqvist
Henrik made a splash debut on the Top 100 last month with Kipahulu Reserve, and he follows it up with his latest success, Idanha Ridge. Idanha is a great-looking, moderately easy course that should be enjoyed by all.
Narrow Miss
Owl’s Head CC by Wayne Adams
This course by Wayne is a visual treat, with the choice of textures used and gentle rolling hills throughout. A few too many long carries for my taste, but a very worthy course.
Exiting the Top 100
Cohutta Country Club by Todd Driver
One of the earlier RCR’s in the game, by an exceptional designer. This one has a very realistic feel to it, but is quite easy for the game. Should be a perfect fit for those who prefer an easier and more casual round.
The Players Club Conklin, NY by Randy Bellomio
The Par 3 Course at Flora Park by Elliot Caw
Scottsdale Silverado by Dean Lowden
This is a very nice course that just needed a bit of a visual update, and Dean has since made this update with his release of TGC @ Silverado Scottsdale. That course has not been reviewed yet, but I fully expect it to be back on the Top 100 list once it has been reviewed.
Royal Burberry Black (Sunday) by Jordan Springer
The Walker Course Clemson, SC by Willam Bradford
Grey Raven G.C. by Seth Campion
Songbird Country GC by Roger Ramjet
There are some very memorable holes here, and the 14th remains one of my favorites in the game.
Could you include a column that indicates RCR courses on the list?
Jimmy, I have a column in my personal spreadsheet that indicates this. I’ll see if I can fit it in the blog article without it screwing up the dimensions too much.