Top 100 Courses 2017 - Golf Digest Ireland

We really have a lot of incredible courses for such a small country.

some strange movements in the list.

Ceann Sibéal (Dingle) should be much higher .

I've played 40 of them now.

My own golf journey, which has gone from an initial love of championship parklands to adulation of dune-heavy links, right through to a full appreciation for classic parklands,has seen me derive a simple 2 part calculation for favourite courses. Marks out of 10 for memorability and marks out of 10 for playability. I've come to the conclusion that everything else we talk about ultimately gets factored into those two weightings.

By my (peculiar) calculations, the two best courses I've played so far (by a clear head) are Murvagh and Druids Glen. Courses I'd happily play every day forever.

Played RCD again lately (6th time) and I'm growing less enamoured with the place. It's simply too cruel in places, and the last 6 holes would honestly be marked down anywhere else but on its exalted land. It's a treat to play but that's not in my mind enough for its perennial top position.

I've only played 11, some really great course in this country. Would like to get to a few more this year.

fred funk }{ wrote: »

It's all about who spends the most on advertising (so I'm told).

Heard this too from a very reliable source, so I look at that list and take it with a grain of salt.

To Note: The Golf Digest Ireland Top 100 Ranking Panel meeting took place last October in County Sligo. The Golf Digest Ireland Top 100 rankings were finalised at this meeting and this list has NOT been changed in any way since. The Golf Digest Ireland Top 100 Rankings published by Kevin Markham last Friday was incorrect. The note posted yesterday by Kevin Markham, stating that the list had been updated following a late rankings change by the magazine is completely untrue, disappointing and unacceptable. Kevin Markham has today stated that this was his error. To view the correct Golf Digest Ireland Top 100 Irish Golf Course Rankings visit golfdigestTop100.ie.

Check out the panel - How many people on it would put their name to it if it had anything to do with advertising?

Telling the truth and presenting the facts shouldn't be confused with slating anybody.

In terms of the process, each year Golf Digest Ireland writes to all Irish Golf Clubs and asks if they they have completed any upgrade work or if they would like a member of the panel to visit their golf club.

The replies are added to last years Golf Digest Ireland Top 100 ranked golf courses and the top 30/40 golf courses, who did not make it into last years rankings. This list of circa 140 golf clubs then becomes the list of golf courses to be accessed during the upcoming year.

We have two panels, one made up of industry professionals from different sectors within the Irish Golf Industry: green keepers, general managers, PGA pro's, elite amateur golfers, tour operators etc. This is our senior panel.

The second panel is made up of 70/80 readers. The selection of this panel is based on gender, handicap and geographical location. The aim is to get each course on the list accessed by golfers of different handicaps and gender, 4/5 times at different times throughout the year.

Each one will meet the General manager or club official to get an update on any upgrade work which has taken place. He or she will then play the course and submit their assessment to the magazine. These course assessments go on throughout the summer.

At the end of the golfing season, the Senior Panel meets up for two days of discussion and debate. We begin with the Top 10 golf courses from last year and discuss the possible courses that could possible make it into the Top 10. These are in the main, golf courses who were ranked 11 - 15 in last year list, but not always.

We then discuss the golf courses in the Top 10 that could possible slip out of the Top 10. Any letter received from any golf club in this bracket is read out, along with assessments and scores from our Readers Panel. Once we have discussed this, we then write down the list of 15 golf courses and we vote on them. The result of this vote gives us the golf clubs who will be in the Top 10 section (not in any position).

We then discuss which clubs could come out of the Top 5 and which clubs could go into the Top 5. These two sections (not final positions) are verbally agreed around the table. We then discuss and debate the Top 5. On this is completed, we do a secret vote around the table - add up the scores and this gives us the actual positions of the Top 5. We repeat this for the second section, places 6-10 and this gives us the positions 6-10. This process is repeated for position 11- 20 and then repeated again throughout the entire list.

Once the list is completed, we add in the readers scores which counts for 25% of the overall vote. At the end of the second day we review every club and their position on the list and if it is felt that a club's position is incorrect a vote is taken and it is either moved or it is not. Once this list has been reviewed it becomes the final rankings to be signed off by the magazine.

The whole process takes eight months to complete and involves circa. 100 Irish golfers.

The rankings is hugely important to the brand and also to Irish golf clubs. I know people who have lost their jobs because of their course ranking. There is a great responsibility on the magazine to produce fair and accurate rankings of golf courses in Ireland. We do this thorough the people we use - industry experts and ordinary golfers and with a transparent process. As a result the Golf Digest Ireland Top 100 rankings have become the industry standard for the best golf courses in Ireland.

Over the years the process and the people has evolved into what it is today. Nothing is perfect, but I don't know of a golf magazine in the Europe that goes to so much trouble to produce a rankings or includes so many ordinary golfers their assessments.