Top 100 courses under £100: 40-31

40 – Southerness, Dumfries & Galloway
2013 green fee: £50

So many otherwise well-travelled golfers never seem to make it to Southerness, which is just across the Solway Firth from Silloth. Those who do are rewarded with an exceptional links experience including a stellar last five holes.

Why it’s special: That end-of-the-world feeling you get when discovering a golfing outpost

39 – Ferndown (old), Dorset
2013 green fee: £75

Ferndown occupies a delightful swathe of heathland just outside Bournemouth and is the kind of course that you just want to play  again and again. It’s a very classy layout and a lovely place to be. 

Why it’s special: Peter Alliss’s father, Percy, was the professional here for more than 25 years

38 – Little Aston, West Midlands
2013 green fee: £90

Most people think of The Belfry when asked about parkland golf in Sutton Coldfield but Little Aston is certainly prettier. It’s also a championship course with the occasional water hazard that demands your respect.             

Why it’s special: It’s in suburbia but you really wouldn’t know it. An extremely friendly club, too

37 – Saunton (West), Devon
2013 green fee: £79

This is another of those second courses that tends to be patronised by the occasional visitor. In this case, it’s the West that suffers but it really shouldn’t – it is a fine course in its own right.            

Why it’s special: A burn crosses several holes and must inform your strategy accordingly

36 – Dundonald, Ayrshire
2013 green fee: £95

The sister course of Loch Lomond is a modern links that gets better with every passing season. It is not exceptionally pretty but more than makes up for it by the sheer quality of the holes. The 16th hole is one of the hardest you will ever play.

Why it’s special: It is superbly designed by Kyle Phillips and of high technical merit 
So many golfers come to St Andrews and don’t play the Jubilee Course – that is a shame. 35 – St Andrews (Jubilee), Fife
2013 green fee: £70

Criminally under-rated, since Donald Steel’s redesign the Jubilee is categorically a top-quality links, with the possible exception of the uninspiring opening hole. So many golfers come to St Andrews and don’t play here – that is a shame.  

Why it’s special: It’s the same piece of linksland as the Old

34 – Boat of Garten, Near Aviemore, Highlands
2013 green fee: £41

If you’ve never played Boat, then it’s something you need to change. It’s a unique experience and all who visit seem to fall in love with this short, strategic and simply beautiful tree-lined course.      

Why it’s special: It’s the prettiest course in our list – bar none

33 – The Machrie. Isle of Islay, Argyll & Bute
2013 green fee: £72

There is remote and then there is the Machrie, on the Hebridean island of Islay, which is famed for its peaty whiskies. You will never play a course with more blind appoach shots.                          

Why it’s special: How can you fail to enjoy this improbable and often outrageous links?

32 – Royal St David’s, Harlech, West Wales
2013 green fee: £55

A tough and rugged links that sits in the shadow of Harlech Castle, Royal St David’s is the scene of many of Welsh golf’s most important moments. Outstanding value for money.                      

Why it’s special: You can’t fail to be inspired by the location. The 15th is one of the best in the land

31 – Royal Worlington & Newmarket, Suffolk
2013 green fee: £50

This is Britain’s finest 9-hole course. Much loved by the purists, it can be slightly underwhelming on first impressions, when you are faced with what appears to be a flat, tree-less expanse of land. On closer inspection, the holes are wonderfully subtle, with the greens often defended more by the contours of the land than by bunkers. The prime example is the short 5th, pictured, which has a raised green you simply don’t ever want to miss.

Why it’s special: The clubhouse – order your drinks through a hatch and sit by an open fire.

CLICK HERE to find out who made it to number 30-21 in our list…