The Top 100 Courses I’ve Played – January 2016

Halton Beach by Dan Hebert

 

And just like that, we are already a month into 2016, which means it’s time for another Top 100 list update. At the end of 2015 we saw several golf publications release their course ratings for 2015, and one thing that struck me was the Golf Digest list, which featured a lot of shuffling in it’s top 4 courses alone.

 

I’ll admit, I have been a little hesitant to do re-ordering of my list, other than adding in new courses. The Golf Digest list made me reconsider, though. Why shouldn’t I re-evaluate my rankings and consider new information, new advancements in the GNCD, and any other contributing factors? I couldn’t come up with a good reason not to, so you will see more changes this month than in the past.

 

The Timberwolf by Andre Quenneville

 

In addition to re-ordering of the list, I’ve made strides in the last month to get through some courses by some of the top designers in the game who hadn’t yet been featured on the list. There are still a number of designers and courses that are sorely missing from the list, but they are most certainly on my courses to play list and will be featured in due time.

 

With that said, a reminder is in order. If you don’t see your name or course on the list and feel it is worthy, there is a strong likelihood that I have not played your course yet. Please check my courses to play list, and run a Ctrl+F search for your course. If you do not see it, drop me a line and request for me to play it.

 

Royal Lytham & St Annes 2015 by T. Yeltzman

 

Lastly, scroll all of the way down past the list to check out a new Other Notable Courses section, which is my attempt to highlight a few other courses not on the list, and maybe do a little self-promotion in the process.

 

 

Muirfield 2013 Open by T. Yeltzman

 

The Top 100 Courses i’ve Played – January

1	Whistling Staits, Sheboygan WI Overseeded	Craig Frey	1
2	Oceanic Athletic Club	Adam Benjamin	3
3	Loa Pali Golf Resort	Dario Logan	4
4	Pine Valley, New Jersey	Craig Frey	2
5	Old Beaver Creek – Championship	Bill Rader & Brian Jeffords	5
6	Bison Run	Brian Jeffords	6
7	Pebble Beach Golf Links (blacks)	Brandon Pugh	7
8	Royal Lytham & St Annes 2015	Yeltzman	New
9	The Timberwolf	Andre Quenneville	8
10	Muirfield	Yeltzman	9
11	Halton Beach	Dan Hebert	11
12	Bailiwick Grand Golf Club	Job Fickett & Dan Hebert	10
13	Columbia National Golf Links	Brian Jeffords	12
14	Freshwater Golf Club	Adam Benjamin	13
15	Firestone CC South	Brandon Pugh	14
16	Hoodoo Hills: Remastered	Bryan Cowles	15
17	Spyglass Hill 2015	yeltzman	17
18	Skull Valley Golf Club – Outlaw	Steve Pope	16
19	Harbor Island Platinum	Jeremy Blaylock	New
20	Dovetail Park Golf Club	Simon Morris	18
21	Tobacco Dunes	Steve Pope	21
22	Vallentuna Golfklubb – Sweden	Mikael Thunberg	20
23	McKee McGrodo Platinum (A)	Jeremy Blaylock	New
24	Le Golf National	Dean Lowden	19
25	St. Lorin Golf Club, Baumgarten Is. Hawaii #1	David Jensen	22
26	Escalante Steps (Par 3)	Brian Jeffords	23
27	Celtic Vineyard Golf Club	Adam Benjamin	24
28	Royal Birkdale 2015	Yeltzman	25
29	TGC @ the Engish Rose (Thurs)	Wendy Airey	26
30	TPC @ Boston – thurs (new textures)	Kenny Canham	New
31	Eighteen at Strawberry Plains	Todd Driver	27
32	The Capilano Club	Andre Quenneville	28
33	Harvest Plantation	Todd Driver	29
34	Valgrind Golf Club	Joseph Bowling	30
35	The Canuck Club at Devils’ Escarpment	Andre Quenneville	New
36	TGC Players’ Club – Stadium Course	Dario Logan	31
37	The Homestead	Brian Jeffords / Andre Quenneville	32
38	Kahiko Beach Golf and Surf Club	Andre Quenneville	33
39	Royal Ballylough	Rod Simpson	34
40	Yeti National CC at Sasquatch Pointe	Bryan Cowles	New
41	Mistwood Golf Course	William Bradford	35
42	Grand Epson V1	Wendy Airey	36
43	King Kyne Royal Tropicana	David Jensen	37
44	Hocking Hills Country Club (Thursday)	Tim Jaquith	38
45	The Canuck Club at Angels’ Plateau	Andre Quenneville	New
46	Falcon Bay Sunday Pin	Todd Driver	39
47	Sleepy Willow CC (Blacks)	Brandon Pugh	40
48	Rivington Hall	Martyn Shaw	41
49	Thousand Island Golf and CC	Bryan Boomer	42
50	PGA West (Palmer) [Sunday]	Rod Simpson	43
51	Sugar Hills: TGC Edition	John Rubenkoenig	44
52	Swindler’s Bluff (Thursday)	Brent Gravelle	New
53	El Caiman CG	Enrique De Guzman	45
54	The Red October G&CC	Mick Pitcher	46
55	Royal Troon Old Course 2015	Yeltzman	47
56	Elmview – Open Day 1	Brian Jeffords	48
57	Chicago Golf Club	JELindholm	49
58	Cohutta Country Club	Todd Driver	50
59	The Par 3 Course at Flora Park	Elliot Caw	51
60	The Walker Course Clemson, SC	William Bradford	52
61	Turnberry Kintyre Course	Alan McSpadyen	53
62	Songbird Country GC	Roger Ramjet	54
63	Burberry Black	superace33	55
64	Blue Oak Country Club	Brett Carr	56
65	Valefor 2015	Elliot Caw	57
66	TGC @ Murky Hollow	John Rubenkoenig	58
67	Cairn Orchard	Dale Burger	59
68	New South Flower	Ola Ericsson	60
69	Briarbanks Country Club	Brandon Pugh	61
70	Tropic of Capricorn	Stephen McIntyre	62
71	Longdale Pikes	Jeremy Holme	63
72	Celebration Cove	Jeff Reese	64
73	Royal Blackburn	Chris Lane	65
74	Hau’oli Mino’aka	Stephen Templar	66
75	Zewina Golf Club	Mikael Thunberg	67
76	Fraxinus Country Club	Andrew Sikorski	68
77	TGC @ Gull Island (Tour)	David Jensen	69
78	Lac De Verde Golf Club	Dean Lowden	70
79	Waltzing Matilda Golf Club	Stephen Templer	71
80	The Club at Ridenour – Thursday	Tyler Duke	72
81	Galveston Country Club	Trey Coursey	New
82	New Bronze Leaf Resort Goldclub	Roger Ramjet	73
83	Potomac Country Club	Brandon Pugh	74
84	The Reversible Course – A + B	Keith Callahan	New
85	Tri-Lakes Golf and Fishing Resort	Kelly Rayburn	75
86	The Traditional	Wayne Adams	76
87	Hunter Forest (US Open)	Keith Callahan	77
88	Evergreen Trails	Steve Sloan	78
89	Blackhawk Forest CC	Roger Ramjet	79
90	Harvest Hills	Gene Callahan	80
91	Barrhaven Black	Brent Gravelle	New
92	Abaddon Golf Club USO Edition	Bobby Anderson	81
93	Loon Lake State Park	Gene Callahan	82
94	Cuyahoga Golf Club	Dario Logan	83
95	Angel Downs	Jeremy Holme	84
96	Pinehill Country Club	Joe Greenhalgh	85
97	Lighthouse Hills (Dusk)	musicman2655	New
98	Kapalua Bay Golf Club	Bryan Boomer	86
99	Fishers GC – Fishers Island, NY	Matthew Essig	87
100	Baron Hills Complex (matured)	Mick Pitcher	88

 

 

Other Notable Courses

 

Just Eliminated: Old York Golf Cub by Steve Sloan

 

A Rural-themed course with massive firm and fast greens. It’s a bit of an oddity, but interesting hole designs make this one worth a look.

 

Near Miss: Miglianico Golf e Country Club by Fabrizio Cardelli

 

This real course rendition from Italy is nicely sculpted and has a very realistic look. It narrowly misses a Top 100 debut, though, due to some fast and firm greens that turn holes into a chipping contest from the back of the green.

 

New Release: Magnolia National 2016 (Sunday)

 

An update to the classic Magnolia National release featuring added pine straw and new textures, bringing it just a little bit closer to the real thing.

 

New Release: Chambers Bay 2016

 

This is another texture update, and features accurate pins from the 2015 U.S. Open.

 

New Release: Ross Society Country Club

 

This fictional, Donald Ross-style country club caps off a busy month of releases for me.