Top 100 Courses I’ve Played – June 2016

What do you get when one of the top designers in The Golf Club takes a crack at recreating one of the top golf courses in the world? Why, a new #1, of course! It’s been a long time coming, but Whistling Straits has finally been knocked from the top spot on the Top 100 list. I admit this could be a personal preference, because I am reading a book by the course’s architect, C.B. MacDonald, at the moment, but NGLA (the National Golf Links of America) has fascinated me for some time, and is among the highest of my bucket list courses. Henrik certainly knows how to design a course, and he has made this course look beautiful while successfully capturing MacDonald’s “template” holes, and his more successful non-template holes.

NGLA – The National by Henrik Sundqvist

The rest of the newcomers on the Top 100 list are heavily RCR, as well. If you are a fan of fictional courses, the good news is that I’ve caught up and played most of the new real courses by now, so I only have fictional courses left to play. Scroll down below the Top 100 list for more details on some of the new courses added, and an emotional farewell to the courses departing the list.

Newcomers

Royal Brumby by Patrick Yates

I had heard great things about this one going in, and wondered if it could top Patrick’s Tye Dunes. The detail work here is simply outstanding, but I still give Tye Dunes the slight edge for playability. Royal Brumby will have to settle for a disappointing 5th place on the list.

Peconic Bay Golf Club by Steve Pope

A fitting month for this Sebonack replica to enter the list, along with its next door neighbor NGLA. They may not be 100% accurate, but the wild greens feel just like something Tom Doak and Jack Nicklaus would cook up together.

Crooked Stick by Dean Lowden

Host of this fall’s BMW Championship, we should get a good look at this one on TV. The abundant heavy rough makes for a nice looking Harvest course, and the angled Pete Dye greens are always interesting to play to.

Torrey Pines – South 2016 by Kevin Gilmore

An RCR from a designer I don’t know and a release I didn’t see previews for? Surely this one was going bad when I fired it up. Out of nowhere, though, this course delivers the same spectacular coastline found in La Jolla, and everything about the course is surprisingly well done.

Stonebridge GC – Ottawa

A realistic creation of a course that I’m sure I would otherwise never hear about. Angled and steeply tiered greens create a good moderate to difficult challenge.

Montreux G&CC – Reno, Nevada by Jimmy Sheridan

Perfect timing. Get your Stableford geek on along with the Barricuda Championship on TV this week. This is a rare RCR with dramatic elevation changes normally reserved for fictional courses in TGC.

Exiting the Top 100

Brynhildr Golf Club by Elliott Caw

Windsong Shores Golf Sanitarium by David Jensen

Arctic Curse Golf and CC by Bryan Boomer

Rivington Hall by Martyn Shaw

The Tarantula Golf Club by Keith Callahan

Swindler’s Bluff by Brent Gravelle

Rio Morros by Clay Schelgel