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.