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
01:06video 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?
01:18Okay well I'm going to go with Dune Beg 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 played quite a few classic old links by then but never anything quite like this in amongst the
01:38towering dunes and to be honest it just blew me away. It was just a fantastic golfing experience from
01:43from start to finish real wow factor and that sort of sparked my enthusiasm for modern links with the
01:49towering dunes like Trump Aberdeen and Rosser Penner Sandy Hills and some some purists probably balk at
01:56the idea of a modern links whereas I actually really embrace them and enjoy them as much as
02:03possibly if not more so than some of the older links. Yeah I would throw Castle Stewart into the mix on
02:07that 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 and
02:17they want to play somewhere else where else could they play in the area? Well the obvious one is
02:22Le Hinch which is higher in the rankings much older traditional old links but actually when they built
02:28Le Hinch they looked at the plot of land where Dune Beg was subsequently built and decided to build it
02:34elsewhere but it was earmarked for potential golf course sort of a hundred years before it became a
02:39golf course. Okay okay so that's Dune Beg 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
02:55of getting in for a while I would say but the level of work that's been going on at Wallasee in the last
03:02few years under the stewardship of John McLaughlin who's course manager there. Really I think it's
03:10fully deserving of its place and interesting I first played it I think on my stag weekend so
03:16talking about 20 odd years ago and I've been back and played it a number of times subsequently I always
03:21felt like it's a really great golf course there's some very spectacular holes overlooking the sea
03:28but they've done a lot of work and they've bought I guess the standard of some of the weaker holes
03:32up and it's a great experience lovely very really really friendly club it probably sits in the shadow
03:38of Royal 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 Caan and it was built in mid 70s Eddie Hackett was the designer you start
04:02off on the most ridiculously open bit of land you think well what's going on here and then you turn
04:06immediately into the dunes you then come out of them and you play down some holes down by the river
04:10and then you go back for a, cliche alert, roller coaster ride for a few holes with some cracking
04:16par fives and some dog legs where you hit down into little valleys and then you go around the corner up to
04:20greens on shelves it's just enormous fun from start to finish and it really is a lovely lovely golf
04:25course. 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
04:34perhaps that people think is that really a top 100 course but as you just said there when you describe
04:38it I can see how animated you are with it Rob and you're like well it's such good fun to play. Yeah
04:43absolutely I think fun is an important factor we don't really figure it in to the rankings or in terms of
04:48the criteria the former criteria but you have to bear in mind everyone is looking at these courses
04:53and as they think about the categories that we do have you can't actually divorce that from fun
04:58because you 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 Ennis
05:35Crone 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
06:12a big practice ground and then the first is the only par five on the course so there's always this
06:17kind of right I've got to make the most of this because there's nothing and invariably you don't of
06:21course and then the fourth and fifth are probably two of the prettiest back-to-back holes I've ever
06:26played there's a dog leg around to the left not long but testing enough and then a most beautiful
06:32par three in amongst the trees and you need to make the most of those because the hole after that
06:36is a quite 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
07:21over the 18th which is a par three to finish with so yeah Parkstone I think which we have ranked
07:27at 81 if I remember correctly is would be my second choice for Hidden Gem. Bonus prize is one of five
07:34in the top 100 that finish with a par three 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
07:46your your 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 here which we mentioned really I'm going for Western Gales which is number 46 in the the new
08:03rankings this is an old school length but delightfully play four holes inland heading north then you reach
08:12the coast and you just have a you just run for nine holes all the way down the beach with it some sunken
08:19greens some sort of punch bowl greens um it's just a delight if the wind is behaving in the right
08:25way too 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 um it's less well known because of Turnberry, Prestwick and
08:37Troom which are so close but it really is well worth visiting for anybody who doesn't yet know it.
08:43Yeah there's a few areas within our top 100 where you can put together a brilliant trip you could go up to the
08:48East Slothian coast or you could go to one of the spots in Ireland to put together it this is another
08:53one you just you just listed off however many top 100 courses there's a few others actually in that
08:57area too well Dundonald links has gone in there and we actually did that the three of us did that as
09:02a trip a few years ago we played um 72 holes in two days didn't we a two-day trip we went up and played
09:08Dundonald and uh Western Gales on one day and then Troon and Prestwick on next they're really quite tired
09:15by the time we flew we flew back. Ayrshire is the third most successful county joint third most
09:20successful county in our top 100 behind Surrey which excels and then then Merseyside which if you
09:27break it down is bits of Lancashire and Cheshire and what have you but that's the second most
09:31successful and then it's Ayrshire and I think Aberdeenshire on four. Wow good knowledge yeah I've just written
09:37about it so very good very good so there you have it hopefully that offers you some inspiration for
09:43if 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
09:51yourself because I think all of us anyone who's in love with golf loves the chance of playing great
09:57golf courses 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.