Recently, my fellow rankings collaborator Jeremy Ellwood revealed his selection of ten excellent courses in the Next 100 that most significantly float his own particular golfing boat. Now it’s my turn, and I will start by saying that while he and I tend to agree on most things regarding the various attributes of different courses, without consulting we each came up with an entirely different list with no overlaps. This, I think, shows perfectly just how much we all have our own inclinations and tastes. My personal preferences, as you will probably deduce from my choices, are very much about visuals and variety. I tend to go for courses where the holes themselves look lovely as does their setting in the wider, external context, and where each is different from the others, a new and unknown adventure.
Knole Park
Like Jeremy, I shall start close to home, and Knole Park is one of four English clubs in my selection. I first played its unique, expansive, endlessly varied Abercromby design way before I joined a club. On the outskirts of Sevenoaks in Kent, it runs through a beautiful, pastoral, gently undulating deer park. Celebrating its centenary last year, it grabbed me from day one with its intoxicating mix of four par 5s and six varied short holes. Two of the prettiest of these are the 5th, which is played over a valley and up to a perfectly-sited green, and the lovely, downhill 8th, flanked by ponds and bracken. Fully deserving of its place in the Golf Monthly Next 100, I will happily keep going back for as long as they will have me!
Cowdray
My second pick, also driving distance from home, is the greatly improved Cowdray in West Sussex. Set in the scenic South Downs, it was substantially upgraded by Tom Simpson more than a century ago, and then again just a couple of winters ago when William Swan completed a comprehensive and visually appealing bunker upgrade. The hillside site offers up panoramic views, and there are plenty of interesting design features such as the rollercoaster double green shared by the 8th and 16th. The opening is particularly testing featuring three tough par 4s punctuated by a lovely downhill short hole, and its promotion into the Next 100 this time round is fully warranted.
Cavendish
Moving up to the middle of the country, and I am very much looking forward to returning to Cavendish in Derbyshire this Summer. I first encountered its deceptively short Alister MacKenzie design in 2014 and came home raving about it. The lack of overall length is simply down to just one par 5 in its par of 68, but there are half a dozen two-shotters in excess of 400 yards and it is jam-packed with charisma and charm. Three of the short holes may be tiddlers, but the super-tough par 4s that bookend the back nine are par 4½ for most of us. The setting is blissfully unspoiled and the green fee has to be one of the most reasonable in the Next 100.
Goswick Links
My final English selection is so far north that it’s only just in England. Goswick Links in Northumberland offers a really interesting game of two nines, the first of which has been enjoying some reinvigoration from Mackenzie and Ebert since I last played it between the first two Covid lockdowns. There is great variety here, with plenty of memorable holes. The course is a legacy of Tom Dunn and James Braid with later work by Frank Pennink, and I remember particularly enjoying the opening seven and the exciting loop from 12 to 15. This is a supreme links in a peaceful and unstuffy setting that should appeal to all links’ lovers.
Conwy
I always enjoy my trips to Wales, and last Summer I made it back to Conwy, midway along its busy north coast. This is the best links on the north Wales coastline and enjoys a fabulous setting by the estuary and the beach. It is overlooked by mountains to the west and the Great Orme to the east and north, and is a serious test when the wind is up. The course has been used for countless professional and amateur championships, most recently the 2021 Curtis Cup. There are two loops from the clubhouse, of 10 and 8, with frequent changes in direction meaning the wind can go from your friend to your enemy in the blink of an eye. None of the par 3s is particularly long, but the wind can have a huge impact on club selection. This is especially so on the back 9 pair which are usually into the wind. The 13th is played to tricky, 2-tier green, while the 15th is shorter but has a cluster of bunkers peeping at you from the front. Each is a beauty with Conwy Mountain serving as an imperious backdrop.
Elie
Visiting various family members over the years, I have now played well over 100 courses in Scotland. The two I have selected are both are on the east coast, with Elie this year celebrating its 150th anniversary. Before playing it, I think I had been put off by the dauntingly dull configuration of sixteen par 4s and just two short holes. As someone who craves variety, I thought this would be its undoing for me. How wrong can you be! The fours vary in length from 252 to 466 yards, and are so very different from one another that any thoughts of similarity never crossed my mind.
Fairmont St Andrews - Torrance
And while this is old-school golf of the highest order, just on the other side of East Fife, the Torrance Course at Fairmont St Andrews is an excellent example of something new and different. One of two courses here, it runs on slightly higher ground with holes 6 to 9 looping round the impressive hotel. The back nine has some panoramic views towards the Auld Grey Toun and features a pair of signature holes at 16 and 17 that run down to and along the cliff edge. I’m not suggesting you would bypass the Old Course and come to St Andrews just to play here, but I am very much suggesting that it makes for a different and fun golfing experience.
Portsalon
Last year I enjoyed a fantastic week in Ireland, and have selected one that I visited for the first time, and one that had undergone very substantial changes since I last played it. Portsalon had been high on my hit-list since seeing some aerial photographs. The course benefited from a substantial Pat Ruddy redesign in 2000. Ruddy, who recently sold his pride and joy, the European Club, has designed or remodelled many wonderful courses. This is no exception and it serves up a thrilling ride through the dunes with plenty of elevation changes and rumpled dunes. I don’t think it would be exaggerating to say that any list of golf’s most spectacular holes would be incomplete without the monster, par-4 2nd here. You drive from an elevated tee and are teased into biting off as much of the dogleg, i.e. the beach, as possible. Even if successful, there’s a substantial approach over the river, and a par here might just feel like an eagle.
Narin & Portnoo
Staying in County Donegal but this time on its wild, west coastline, Narin & Portnoo is the beneficiary of a comprehensive and extremely spicy upgrade by Gil Hanse, co-designer of the Castle Stuart course at Cabot Highlands, and Jim Wagner. They have really elevated this wonderful, engaging and exciting links that works its way out into the dunes. The highlight is a sensational stretch of holes that gyrate their way around the headland in the middle of the round and would not look out of place on a fantasy golf calendar. It may be remote, but I would make the effort to get back here anytime.
Ardglass
For my final selection, we are heading over into Northern Ireland. The last time I visited our number one course at Royal County Down, I was also lucky enough to play just along the coast at Ardglass. With a 15th-century castle as its clubhouse, this is a friendly club with a course that is both scenic and challenging. It contains my two essentials, variety and views, by the bucket load. There is a thrilling opening with five holes running along the cliffs, but also great diversity thereafter, especially from the long 9th round to the picturesque par-3 12th. Ardglass is undoubtedly one of my favorite courses in the Next 100.
So there we have it, a somewhat selfish and unapologetically personal selection of ten exceptional courses that I would happily recommend to anyone. As Jeremy said in his Next 100 choice, we are all different with our own preferences and tastes. Your choices would almost certainly be different from mine, and that is the beauty and joy of being an ardent golf course fanatic. In fact, ask me again in a year or two’s time, and I might well come up with ten completely different courses.
Rob’s Next 100 picks
The ten courses and his favourite holes at each
Ardglass, County Down - the par-4 1st - a gentle climb to a beautifully-sited green with glorious views back to the castle
Cavendish, Derbyshire - the par-3 4th - a picture-perfect drop hole with a pond to the left and a bunker either side
Conwy, County Conwy - the par-4 7th - a strong two-shotter parallel to the beach with a punchbowl green
Cowdray, West Sussex - the par-5 5th - sweeping from left to right, downhill, and over a hidden dip short of the green
Elie, Fife - the par-4 13th - a medium-length two-shotter played up to an angled green beneath steep cliffs
Fairmont St Andrews (Torrance), Fife - the short 17th - an attractive par 3 played beside and over a drystone wall to a large, undulating green
Goswick Links, Northumberland - the par-4 14th - a classic Braid hole, a left to right dogleg at the far end of this tranquil course
Knole Park, Kent - the par-3 8th - a seriously pretty downhill hole with old ponds to the left and run-offs
Narin and Portnoo, Donegal - the par-4 7th - down the slope to a hidden, wow-factor green in an outstanding location on the promontory
Portsalon, Donegal - the par-4 2nd - a sensational hole alongside the beach with an elevated drive and a long approach over a burn
