How did we put together our NCG Top 100s: GB&I list

Ever wondered how we get to the stage where we can push out a new list? Well here’s how we did so with our new and updated NCG Top 100s: GB&I list!

Dan Murphy, the editor of NCG Top 100s, chairs all of our panels. We assembled national panels for each of the constituent nations. In all, over 40 experienced, enthusiastic and knowledgeable golfers have contributed to this list. 

Our panel were out and about visiting the short-listed courses throughout the last four seasons. This has enabled us to produce an up-to-date list. 

We are only interested in golf courses – the round begins when we arrive on the 1st tee and ends when we walk off the last green. 

What we base our rankings on…

The following categories and weighting in brackets result in a final mark out of 100 for each course. 

Architecture and design (40 points)

How well designed are the individual holes, and the course as a whole?  

Do the holes offer the golfer choices? Is there a mix of penal, strategic and heroic holes? How does the course flow? Are tees generally close to the previous green? Does the course ‘fit’ into its surroundings? 

Are long and short holes interspersed evenly? How much better is the best hole than the least best hole? Do all the holes feel like they belong on the same course? Does the course test all facets of the game or is it asking the same questions repeatedly?  

Is the golfer’s ability to play a variety of shots with each club in the bag duly rewarded?

Conditioning/presentation/greens (20 points) 

How good is the turf to hit off? How good are the greens to putt on? Does each hole play in the same way as the others?

Surroundings (10 points) 

How attractive a place to play is this course?

Challenge & playability (10 points) 

When played off the correct set of tees, to what extent does the course challenge and test the skills of the elite golfer, while also being enjoyable and playable for the shorter hitter and higher handicapper?

On the one hand, does it give the golfer the chance to display their skills to the limit? On the other hand, are there forced carries and excessively penal hazards that make it difficult for the recreational golfer to enjoy the course to the maximum, regardless of how conservatively they play?

Memorability (20 points)

Does the course inspire affection and live long in the memory? How reluctant are you to leave and how much do you want to return?

Upweighting panellists’ rankings   

We value more the rankings of panellists who have either played a course recently, played a course several times or both. 

x2 If the course was most recently played in the last 10 years OR the reviewer has played the course 3 times or more 

x3 If the course was most recently played in the last 3 years OR the reviewer has played the course 5 times or more  

x4 If the reviewer has played the course 3 times or more and most recently within the last 10 years  

x5 If the reviewer has played the course 5 times or more and most recently within the last 10 years OR the reviewer has played the course 3 times or more and most recently within the last 3 years  

x6 If the reviewer has played the course 5 times or more and most recently within the last 3 years 

Example: Five panellists have played a course. Reviewers A, B, C and D each played the course once, 15 years ago. Their scores are 48, 46, 50 and 56 respectively. Reviewer E has played the course eight times, most recently this year. Their score is 70. 

Score: 48 + 46 + 50 + 56 + (6 x 70) = 620 / 10 = 62 

Courses who wished not to be included 

Some courses ask not to be considered for our lists. They have various reasons for doing so and we always respect their wishes. We list them here for no other reason than to make it clear that we wanted to include them in the rankings of their respective nations. It does not follow that they would necessarily all have made it into this list. 

• Beaverbrook 
• Hog’s Head 
• Queenswood 
• Royal Wimbledon  
• Woburn (Duke’s)
• Woburn (Duchess)
• Woburn (Marquess)

We will consider all of these courses for future lists and hope they choose to be included next time – indeed some already have. 

How we compile our GB&I list…

In 2021, we created a panel to update our NCG Top 100s England list. In 2022, we created a panel to update our NCG Top 100s Scotland list. And in 2023, we created a panel to update our NCG Top 100s Ireland and Wales lists.  

Now, we are bringing together those lists to update our GB&I list. 

The same data we have collated that informs our national lists is also used to inform our GB&I lists. 

It is important to note a guiding principle of our GB&I list: If Course A is higher than Course B in one of our national (ie England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales) lists, then Course A will also be higher than Course B in our GB&I list. 

However, a course or courses from one or more of our other national lists may well come between them in our GB&I list. 

What do you think of our new and updated GB&I list? Let us know your thoughts with a post on X, formerly Twitter!