Which golf course have you never played and is top of your to-play list?

Steve CarrollAlex PerryDan MurphyHannah Holden

What’s that one course that you are absolutely desperate to play?

There’s always somewhere we’ve yearned to tee it up, a must play course we’re desperate to sample but have never quite managed to get it done.

Either the stars haven’t aligned, or the wallet hasn’t allowed it. Well, in this edition of fourball, the NCG team are dreaming…

Hannah: Torn between Kingsbarns and Hillside. I have visited both but never had the chance to play. Maybe 2021 will be the year…

Steve: The Old Course. Obvious, I know, but I’m 43, have no other hobbies outside of golf, and I have never hit a shot on the famous links. It’s a travesty. In fact, it’s a disgrace. I’m trying to rectify it as a matter of urgency.

Alex: As a lover of links that has yet to set foot in Northern Ireland, let alone play golf there, it has to be Royal County Down.

Dan: Sticking to my area of speciality, the British Isles, I think that would have to be Ardfin, on Jura. WIth a respectful nod to Dumbarnie Links, Beaverbrook, Royal Household, the JCB Club, Wentworth’s Edinburgh course, Reay, Durness, and Yelverton. How’s that for a bucket list? Now, where did I forget?

So where do you REALLY want to play? What tops your must play course list? Let us know in the comments, or tweet us.

Related: Which of these courses made our list of the best in Great Britain & Ireland?

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About the author

Steve Carroll

A journalist for more than 25 years, Steve has been immersed in club golf for almost as long.

A former club captain, he has passed the Level 3 Rules of Golf exam with distinction having attended the R&A’s prestigious Tournament Administrators and Referees Seminar.

Steve has officiated at a host of high-profile tournaments, including Open Regional Qualifying, PGA Fourball Championship, English Men’s Senior Amateur, and the North of England Amateur Championship. In 2023, he made his international debut as part of the team that refereed England vs Switzerland U16 girls.

A part of NCG’s Top 100s panel, Steve has a particular love of links golf and is frantically trying to restore his single-figure handicap. He’d like to tell you he floats around 10. The reality is more like 13.

Steve plays at Sandburn Hall, in York, and is a country member at Close House in Newcastle. He has served on various club committees during his time in the game, and is the current Rules Secretary at Sandburn.

Having studied history at Newcastle University, he became a journalist having passed his NCTJ exams at Darlington College of Technology. He began his career working on weekly papers in Newcastle, before joining the York Press in 2001. After five years as a news reporter, he joined the sports desk – specialising in horse racing and snooker – and was Digital Sports Editor when he joined National Club Golfer in 2016.

What’s in Steve’s bag: TaylorMade Stealth 2 driver, 3-wood, and hybrids; Caley 01T irons 4-PW; TaylorMade Hi-Toe wedges, Odyssey 2Ball Microhinge putter.

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