Top 5 Golf Courses in the World (that you have played!)
I will admit that I am seldom at a loss for words while surrounded by friends, and bathed in the warmth of companionship and the cascading lights thrown from the dancing embers of a peat fire in some cozy little pub.
Immersed in such confines and deeply entrenched in dialog of all things golf; lately, I have taken to quiz my cohorts with a hypothetical query a cynic will claim has no right answer. On the contrary, I believe in fact, it does have a correct answer, only the answer is likely different for each person.
My simple question is as follows:
What are the Top 5 Courses in the World?
Simple enough, right? Invariably, a totally non-shocking list will begin to take form, barked from eager participants that suddenly take on the persona of grade-school pupils looking to purge rapturous enthusiasm.
“Augusta National!”
“Pine Valley!”
“Pebble Beach!”
“St Andrews!”
“Spy Glass!”
“Hold on,” I say in my most scholarly patronization, “I didn’t finish the question (insert pregnant pause here), what are the Top 5 Courses in the World, that you have played?”
Invariably, now is when the conversation takes a turn that is truly interesting. While one’s list certainly could mirror the suggestions made above, for most people, their “Top 5” courses in the world that they have played, takes on a far more personal tone. For many, included on the list is the course where they learned the game, and/or played golf with their dad, grandfather, mother, friends, coach, etc. Sometimes it is the course where they marked a personal milestone, such as breaking 70, 80, 90 or 100. For others, it is some special course that they played while touring Scotland, Ireland or some other international destination.
However, mostly, I find that the answers given are strained under the weight of the search to actually define our personal Top 5. On the surface, this exercise may seem easy, but until you have done it, it is not. What’s more, to attempt to define such a list can be immeasurably more fun when done in a round-table format as invariably, a course that one person declares as among their top 5 will be decried by another as a dung heap.
In the context of such, I recently featured Golfweek course rater, Bob Adams, on my show, Fairways of Life, on the PGA Tour Network. Bob has traveled the world officially sorting out courses and judging them against very strict criteria for the purpose of producing macro lists of which courses are “the best”. While respectful of such an objective (and given that he is my brother and we have played many of these great courses together), I posed the same question to him and here was the list he provided:
Top 5 Courses in the World: Bob Adams
- Muirfield
- Turnberry Ailsa
- Carnoustie
- Ballybunion Old
- Waterville (County Kerry, Ireland)
Perhaps it should not come as any great shock that my list bears great similarity to Bob’s, as follows:
Top 5 Courses in the World: Matt Adams
- Ballybunion Old
- Lahinch
- Turnberry Ailsa
- Royal County Downs
- Muirfield
It was not deliberate that our Top 5 lists did not include any American courses, but more reflective, I think, of the intense love we share for links golf courses. As such, my personal list of courses that almost made my list includes the likes of Medinah, Pinehurst #2, Newport Country Club, Newport National, Caladonia and Bethpage Black. Having discussed the same with Bob, I know his list of courses that would be included if I had asked for more than just five courses, would include Bandon Dunes, Pebble Beach and the Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts.
Lists of one’s personal favorites, in any area, are always a moving target, and that is part of what makes it so much fun. My list may be the same in six months, but my guess is that it will not be as time, place and circumstance serve to alter my perception.
What are your Top 5 Courses in the World, that you have played?
I would love to know and plan to feature some of the answers in my columns and on-air during my show (please be sure that you ONLY include courses you have played and that you rank your top five. I am happy to know which courses almost made the list, but if you wimp out and fail to actually commit to a Top 5, then yours will be treated with nothing more than passing interest). Have fun.
