- today
In this video, the Golf Monthly team take a look at the Top 100 UK & Ireland golf courses. Rob Smith, Jezz Ellwood and Mike Harris all pick two courses outside of the top 25 that you might not already be aware. They discuss what makes these golf courses so good and why they are well worth a visit!
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00:00Hello and welcome to this video on Hidden Gem Golf Courses. If you're looking for some golfing
00:04inspiration this year then this video is definitely for you. You're going to hear from Rob Smith and
00:10Jeremy Elwood who run our Top 100 Courses panel and Mike Harris the editor of Golf Monthly as
00:15well and I've asked them all to take a look at our Top 100 Courses in the UK and Ireland and pick
00:22two courses that don't feature maybe at the top end of that Top 100 but that are well worth the
00:28visit that you may, may not have already heard about before. We're here at the beautiful
00:34Warpleston Golf Club. Let's get started.
00:47Right so let's focus on some hidden gems. I think it's fair to say that when we talk about our Top 100
00:52Courses there aren't that many hidden gems amongst them because a lot of them are very well known.
00:57So the challenge that I set these three was to take out the Top 25. So you're not allowed to pick
01:01anything that's in the Top 25 but I do want you to highlight some courses that people watching this
01:07video may not have already considered if they're thinking about playing somewhere that's a real
01:11wow golf course. So Jez I'm going to start with you. What's your, two each, what's your first nomination
01:18is? Okay well I'm going to go with Dunebeg which is in County Clare west coast of Ireland now called
01:23Trump International Golf Links I believe, Ireland. I played it just after it opened in 2003 I think
01:32and I'd played quite a few classic old links by then but never anything quite like this in amongst
01:37the towering dunes and to be honest it just blew me away. It was just a fantastic golfing experience
01:42from from start to finish real wow factor and that sort of sparked my enthusiasm for modern links
01:48with the towering dunes like Trump Aberdeen and Ross Apen or Sandy Hills and some some purists
01:55probably balk at the idea of a modern links whereas I actually really embrace them and enjoy them as much
02:02as possibly if not more so than some of the older links. Yeah I would throw Castle Stewart into the mix
02:07on that front because I think that's a fantastic golf course. Now Jez what number is it on the list?
02:11It's 47th so so just inside the top 50. And if those people who are maybe putting a trip together
02:17and they want to play somewhere else where else could they play in the area? Well the obvious one
02:21is Le Hinch which is higher in the rankings much older traditional old links but actually when they
02:28built Le Hinch they looked at the plot of land where Dunebeg was subsequently built and decided to
02:33build it elsewhere but it was earmarked for potential golf course sort of 100 years before it became a
02:39golf course. Okay okay so that's Dunebeg or Trump International Golf Links Ireland. Mike over to you.
02:45So my first one is Wallasee it's a new entry in the list this time at number 89. It has been on the verge of
02:55getting in for a while I would say but the level of work that's been going on at Wallasee in the last few
03:02years under the stewardship of John McLaughlin who's course manager there. Really I think it's fully
03:10deserving of its place and interesting I first played it I think on my stag weekend so talking
03:16about 20 odd years ago and I've been back and played it a number of times subsequently. I always felt like
03:22it's a really great golf course there's some very spectacular holes overlooking the sea but they've done
03:28a lot of work and they've bought I guess the standard of some of the weaker holes up and it's
03:33a great experience lovely very really really friendly club. It probably sits in the shadow of
03:38Royal Liverpool which is literally just up the road. Okay so Rob over to you then what's your first
03:45nomination? Well like the other two I've gone for a Lynx but sort of midway between the two so not
03:49totally modern but also not traditional. I've gone for Enniscrone in Ireland which is kind of midway-ish
03:54between County Sligo and Karn and it was built in the mid 70s. Eddie Hackett was the designer.
04:02You start off on the most ridiculously open bit of land you think well what's going on here and then
04:06you turn immediately into the dunes. You then come out of them and you play down some holes down by
04:10the river and then you go back for a, cliche alert, a roller coaster ride for a few holes with some
04:15cracking par fives and some dog legs where you hit down into little valleys and then you go around the
04:19corner up to greens on shelves. It's just enormous fun from start to finish and it really is a lovely
04:25lovely golf course. I think it's quite an important point to make here about the courses on the top 100
04:30that you want there to be an element of fun don't you and there'll be some courses perhaps that
04:34people think is that really a top 100 course but as you just said there when you describe it I can
04:39see how animated you are with it Rob and you're like well it's such good fun to play. Yeah absolutely
04:44I think fun is an important factor we don't really figure it in to the rankings or in terms of the
04:48criteria the former criteria but you have to bear in mind everyone is looking at these courses and
04:53as they think about the categories that we do have you can't actually divorce that from fun because
04:58you can't think it's a great strategic test if you're not enjoying it so you know fun has to be
05:04a part of it. I think hidden gems is an interesting term because you know if you're in that area you'll
05:09know all about that course yes but venture further afield and apart from the very top courses you'd be
05:14surprised how view golfers have really heard of some of these very fine courses that sit you know
05:2050 to 100 or whatever some of them are quite anonymous outside their home areas. Particularly
05:24I think when they're off the beaten track is you know a lot of the courses I must say that's probably my
05:28blind spot in top 100 is some of those sort of further flung Irish courses I've never been to
05:34Ennis Crone I would love to go particularly having seen some of the photography of it obviously hear your
05:40description of it. Yeah it's a good point actually wherever you are in the world there will be a
05:44hidden gem golf course somewhere near you that we probably haven't even heard of and we'd love
05:48to hear your description of it so please do leave some comments below. James back to you your second
05:54course. Well let's go for my home county West Sussex this is the only top 100 course in my home county and
06:00it's called West Sussex. There is another course in East Sussex for I which is in the top 100 but West Sussex
06:06is just a beautiful Heathland golf course. You arrive and it's got this old school clubhouse a
06:12big practice ground and then the first is the only par five on the course so there's always this kind
06:17of right I've got to make the most of this because there's nothing and invariably you don't of course
06:22and then the fourth and fifth are probably two of the prettiest back-to-back holes I've ever played
06:26there's a dog leg around to the left not long but testing enough and then the most beautiful par
06:32three in amongst the trees and you need to make the most of those because the hole after that is a
06:37quite ludicrous par three down the hill 230 240 yards to a green with banks either side and over
06:44water. So you went for Wallasey first and what's your second one? So my second one is Parkstone which
06:51is down in Dorset near Bournemouth part of three courses that are down there Ferndown, Broadstone and
06:59Parkstone probably could have picked any of them really. Parkstone what I really like about it is
07:03there's lots of variety there some really spectacular holes some nice changes in elevation feels like
07:11it's not overly long there's some really good sporty holes there always thought it's been in
07:17fantastic condition when I've been there love the clubhouse as well it's got amazing view over the 18th
07:22which is a par three to finish with so yeah Parkstone I think which we have ranked at 81
07:28if I remember correctly is would be my second choice for a hidden gem. Bonus prize is one of five in the
07:35top 100 that finish with a par three or if you can name the other four leave a comment below. I was
07:40going to start trying but that wouldn't have made much viewing okay very good and so Rob yeah what's your
07:46your last one? Well my second is my first one was less well known because it's kind of in the middle
07:51of nowhere my other is not so well known because it's surrounded by bigger names which is a kind of
07:57a feature which we mentioned really. I'm going for Western Gales which is number 46 in the the new
08:04rankings this is an old school length but delightfully play four holes inland heading north then you reach the
08:12coast and you just have a you just run for nine holes all the way down the beach with some sunken
08:19greens some sort of punch bowl greens it's just a delight if the wind is behaving in the right way
08:25too and then of course you turn for a potentially really tough 14 to 18 back up towards the lovely
08:31clubhouse I think it's got tons of charm it's less well known because of Turnberry, Prestwick and
08:37Shroom which are so close but it really is well worth the visiting for anybody who doesn't yet know
08:43it. Yeah there's a few areas within our top 100 where you can put together a brilliant trip you
08:47could go up to the East Lothian coast or you could go to one of the spots in Ireland to put together
08:52it this is another one you just you just listed off however many top 100 courses there's a few others
08:57actually in that area too. Well Dundonald Lynx has gone in there. And we actually did that the three of us
09:01did that as a tripper a few years ago we played 72 holes in two days didn't we? It was a two-day trip
09:07we went up and played Dundonald and Westingales on one day and then Troon and Prestwick on there so
09:14really quite tired when we flew we flew back. Ayrshire is the third most successful county
09:19joint most successful county in our top 100 behind Surrey which excels and then then Merseyside which
09:27if you break it down is bits of Lancashire and Cheshire and what have you but that's the second
09:31most successful and then it's Ayrshire and I think Aberdeenshire on four. Wow good knowledge. Yeah
09:36I've just written about it. Very good so there you have it hopefully that offers you some inspiration
09:42for if you're putting a golf trip together or just generally if you live in one of these areas and
09:46maybe haven't played one of these golf courses then they are well worth going out to see for yourself
09:51because I think all of us anyone who's in love with golf loves the chance of playing great golf
09:57courses and these are fantastic golf courses that are well worth a mention. So that's it for now
10:02thank you very much for watching but for now from Warpleston it's goodbye.
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