Top 100 golf courses under £100 in GB: The Top 10
Here is our Top 10 of the Top 100 links courses in GB&I. As you will appreciate it took a lot of time, debate and deliberation but we are confident that all courses which made the Top 10 are worthy of their place.
If you feel there are courses which should have made it into the Top 10 but missed out, please let us know in the comments box at the bottom of the page.
THE TOP 10 COURSES UNDER £100 IN GB
To view the full Top 100 list and how we ranked it CLICK HERE
To view No. 20 – 11 CLICK HERE
10. BOAT OF GARTEN
Highlands, Scotland
Designer(s): James Braid
Weekday green fee: £45Â
+ Position: 39
Overall Score = 84
JB: I think it’s just lovely. Simple as that. I have a bit of a soft spot for Boat and I suspect I am not the only one.
EB: I cant think of anywhere else that’s quite like it. An amazing course and experience.
DM: Arguably the prettiest course in the British Isles, and in my experience if anywhere rivals it for surroundings then it is not even close as a golf course. Boat is special ” it’s as simple as that.
Commentary: Boat of Garten is one of a kind. High in the Cairngorms just outside Aviemore, it enjoys a truly special location. Many of the holes are so good they look almost dream-like, especially those with elevated tees.
9. GANTON
Yorkshire, England
Designer(s): Tom Chisholm/James Braid/Ted Ray/Harry Colt
Weekday green fee: £80
+ Position: 4
Overall Score = 84
DM: I’m a huge fan of Ganton. I just think it exudes class from the moment youstand on that pristine 1st tee that is better than most greens elsewhere.
I think you could argue that the finish is a little weak compared to what has gone before. That may say more about the stretch from the 14th to the 16th inclusive, which is pretty hard to beat for me.
EB: A consistently good golf course.
Commentary: When you look at the list of great names who have helped shape Ganton, small wonder it is one of the British Isles’ finest inland courses.
It is built on land that was once alongside the sea and it retains those seaside qualities despite being some eight miles west of Scarborough.
8. THE MACHRIE
Isle of Islay, Scotland
Designer(s): Old Tom Morris/HS Colt
Weekday green fee: £65
+ Position: 18
Overall Score = 83
JB: What a place to play golf ” I look forward to seeing it again when the current work is completed.
DM: Outrageous and unique.
Commentary: Architect (and tour pro) DJ Russell is currently overseeing a large-scale renovation. We can’t wait to see the results.
7. SAUNTON (EAST)
Devon, England
Designer(s): Herbert Fowler
Weekday green fee: £80
+ Position: 2
Overall Score = 82
JB: Gives golfers options ” it’s a wonderful, natural piece of land used to the full.
EB: Rated higher than myself by other panelists but undoubtedly a fine test.
Commentary: A mighty links course. Grand in scale with a series of fine two-shotters ” and what a starting hole.
6. ROYAL WORLINGTON & NEWMARKET
Suffolk, England
Designer(s): Tom Dunn/HS Colt
Weekday green fee: £55
+ Position: 26
Overall Score = 81
DM: Worlington can seem unremarkable, for example as you make your way up the 1st fairway, but the closer you look the more it has to offer.
EB: It has exceptional green sites.
JB: It occupies the smallest piece of land I’ve ever seen a decent golf course built on. Some of the holes are unremarkable but others are special.
Commentary: The only 9-holer to make the Top 100 ” or even appear on the shortlist. That tells you a lot about Royal Worlington & Newmarket, which is an acquired taste for many golfers.
Happily, a day here involves at least two circuits, and possibly even more, so you should go away with an appreciation of its undoubted charms.
5. PENNARD
South Wales, Wales
Designer(s): James Braid/Ken Cotton
Weekday green fee: £50
+ Position: 30
Overall Score = 80
SA: Wonderful terrain and an endless parade of interesting holes.
DM: Impossible not to love. There are a few mediocre holes, in my opinion, but many more fine ones and the golf is never less than entertaining.
Commentary: Time and again, Pennard punches above its (apparent) weight in rankings lists. Those who have made the trip to the Gower Peninsula are inevitably rewarded with a golfing experience to treasure.
There are some fine courses where the holes can blend into one another; but by contrast you will never forget your visit to Pennard.
4. MACHRIHANISH
Argyll & Bute, Scotland
Designer(s): Charles Hunter/Old Tom Morris/JH Taylor/Guy Campbell
Weekday green fee: £65
+ Position: 15
Overall Score = 80
SA: Few courses are as isolated as Machrihanish and fewer still open with a hole which embraces that sense of remoteness.
DM: There are times in the front nine when you simply shake your head at the one outrageously contoured hole after another.
It’s a course where you can fall back in love with your short game because the shots you are asked to play are so varied and unusual that technical thoughts are abandoned for the day.
Commentary: There are many memorable holes here but none quite so much as the daring 1st which requires the golfer to negotiate Machrihanish Water.
3. ST ENODOC
Cornwall, England
Designer(s): James Braid
Weekday green fee: £75
+ Position: 5
Overall Score = 80
JB: Links courses don’t come much more fun that this. It is scenic, rugged and asks all the right questions. Most of the tee shots look straightforward but being on the right side usually makes the approach much easier.
DM: I think the last three holes here (a classic 5, 3, 4 combination) might be my favourite finishing stretch of anywhere in this list.
St Enodoc has a certain romance to it and is a favourite of mine.
Commentary: This is a classic James Braid design with undulating fairways and fast greens. It is unorthodox and joyously free-spirited in character.
Despite Peter McEvoy’s best efforts, the holes around the church remain, and will always remain, the weakest part of the course but the rest of St Enodoc is so good it hardly seems to matter.
2. LADYBANK
Fife, Scotland
Designer(s): Old Tom Morris
Weekday green fee: £60
+ Position: 19
Overall Score = 79
DM: Of its type, one of the finest courses in the land for my money. The experience here is always a rich one. Standing on the 1st tee, you know you are in for a treat.
JB: There are a few dog-legs between the trees where care is needed not to get blocked out. Never easy but always fun.
Commentary: Ladybank is a rare beast in Fife ” a tremendous inland course. It measures just over 6,500 from the medal tees, making great use of its heathland terrain.
It has changed little over the years, requiring the golfer to display real precision to hit the small and often contoured greens.
1. SILLOTH-ON-SOLWAY
Cumbria, England
Designer(s): Davy Grant/Willie Park Jr
Weekday green fee: £49
+ Position: 10
Overall Score = 59
EB: Silloth goes beyond what you would typically expect from a links course ” it offers charm, character and intrigue, while presenting a true and stern challenge of your game. A links of rare quality.
DM: The opening stretch takes some beating ” there’s a different challenge at every turn…
Commentary: Not just our No 1 but the winner by a country mile.
There was as big a gap between Silloth and Ladybank, in 2nd, than there was between Ladybank and Hunstanton, in 29th.
Yes, you have to find your way to the very north-western corner of England but when the golf is this good, and available for less than £50, the only question that should be remaining is ” when you are going to go?
The fun begins from the very first shot of the day played to a rumpled, rippling fairway with barely a flat stance to be found. That sets up an approach to a sunken, hidden green ” the adventure is well and truly underway.
To view the full Top 100 list CLICK HERE
To view the Top 50 CLICK HERE
DO YOU AGREE WITH OUR TOP 100 LIST? HAVE WE MISSED ANY OF YOUR FAVOURITE COURSES OUT? LET US KNOW IN THE COMMENTS SECTION BELOW!
