Meet the panel – NCG Top 100s: Ireland

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Get to know the people behind the NCG Top 100s: Ireland list here…

top 100s ireland panel

For a job as big as compiling the NCG Top 100s lists, there has to be a large panel of experts in place, and these are the people behind our updated Ireland list.

Over the course of a year, 13 panellists spent time playing a wide range of courses around Ireland.

Some of those courses you will see on the NCG Top 100s: Ireland list, other you won’t.

Each of these panellists took time out of their own schedules to do just that, and we thank them for their hard work in helping NCG to collate and compile this list.

You can learn more about the panellists here…

The NCG Top 100s: Ireland Panel

NCG Top 100s Wales Panel - Dan Murphy

Name: Dan Murphy

Chairman

Occupation: Editor of NCG Top 100s
Handicap: 4 Home Club: Alwoodley

A GB&I course outside Ireland I love:

Royal St George’s – slightly mysterious, always entertaining, sporty turf

A great course in four words? Design, turf, consistency, options

Name: Mike Atkinson

Occupation: Consumer brand investor, writer, speaker

Co-founder of Oltomo, publisher of Golfland Scotland

Handicap: 15 Home Club: Gullane

A GB&I course outside Ireland I love:

Boat of Garten. James Braid at his finest. Scottish Highlands. Cairngorms. Beautiful.

A great course in four words? Setting, variety, fairness, condition

NCG Top 100s Wales Panel - Mike Atkinson
NCG Top 100s Wales Panel - Jim Banting

Name: Jim Banting

Occupation: Golf journalist and author

Handicap: 0 Home Club: West Sussex

A GB&I course outside Ireland I love:

Saunton East – tough but fair

A great course in four words? Elegant, sophisticated, utterly unforgettable

Name: Ed Battye

Occupation: Runs golfempire.co.uk

Handicap: 3 Home Club: Woodsome Hall

A GB&I course outside Ireland I love:

Royal North Devon – so many virtues

A great course in four words? Options, firm turf, cadence

NCG Top 100s Wales Panel - Ed Battye
NCG Top 100s Wales Panel - Steve Carroll

Name: Steve Carroll

Occupation: NCG’s Club Golf Editor

Handicap: 11 Home Club: Close House

A GB&I course outside Ireland I love:

Swinley Forest. My happy place

A great course in four words? Fun, firm, variety, challenge

Name: Mike Hyde

Occupation: Golf photographer

Handicap: 11

A GB&I course outside Ireland I love:

Swinley Forest – I could play it forever!

A great course in four words? Flow, variety, inspiring, memorable

Name: Dove Jones

Occupation: International golf communications specialist

Handicap: 12 Home Clubs: Hoylake, Crail

A GB&I course outside Ireland I love:

Nefyn & District – quirky and challenging

A great course in four words? Strategy, fairness, condition, variety

Name: Lewis Marr

Occupation: Managing Director, Education Enterprise

Handicap: 0.0 Home Club: Seaton Carew

A GB&I course outside Ireland I love:

Cruden Bay: A unique magical setting

A great course in four words? Challenge, variety, aesthetics, agronomy

NCG Top 100s Wales Panel - Lewis Marr
NCG Top 100s Wales Panel - Craig Morrison

Name: Craig Morrison

Occupation: Author

Handicap: 8 Home Club: Mendip

A great course in four words? Meaning, unity, rhythm, balance

Name: Chris Myatt

Occupation: Tournament Controller, The PGA

Handicap: 9.8 Home Club: Knole Park

A GB&I course outside Ireland I love:

Rye – perfect design across perfect land

A great course in four words? Strategy, routing, personality, condition

NCG Top 100s Wales Panel - Chris Myatt

Name: Josh Poysden

Occupation: Cricket agent

Handicap: 6 Home Clubs: Seaton Carew

A GB&I course outside Ireland I love:

St Enodoc. Fun, beautiful and memorable

A great course in four words? Fun, interesting, memorable shots

Name: Mike Robertson

Occupation: Account Manager, 18Players

Handicap: 3 Home Club: Crosland Heath

A GB&I course outside Ireland I love:

Royal Cinque Ports – firm, fast and fun to play
A great course in four words? Location, variation, firm turf

NCG Top 100s Wales Panel - Mike Robertson
NCG Top 100s Wales Panel - Peter Rudd

Name: Peter Rudd

Occupation: Telecom company owner

Handicap: 6 Home Club: Woodbridge

A GB&I course outside Ireland I love:

Kingsbarns. Some truly amazing holes

A great course in four words? Setting, design, fairness, turf

Have you checked out the NCG Top 100s: Ireland list yet and do you agree with our panel? Let us know your thoughts with a post on X, formerly Twitter!

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About the author

Matt Coles
Matt Coles

Mention a European country, and Matt will tell you which resorts make the National Club Golfer Top 100s: European Resorts list. He might even throw in who designed the golf course and how many rooms the hotel has got at each one…

Matt got into the game of golf from a young age, following his old man to the local golf club. He fell for the sport, and now can’t seem to go a day without thinking about how to improve his game (Thanks Dad!). Matt has been a member of Howley Hall GC in Leeds since 2020, and is just about managing to maintain a single-figure handicap. He likes to remind people that he once broke 75, but won’t tell people that it was on a shortened course during the winter.

He moved to Leeds after graduating from the University of Central Lancashire with a First Class Honours degree in Sports Journalism. Matt joined NCG after almost five years travelling the world with the Professional Squash Association, working on events in all four corners of the globe.

Matt currently plays a Cobra King LTDx driver and RadSpeed 3-wood. TaylorMade monopolise the rest of his bag, with a SIM UDI, M5 irons and both Milled Grind and HI-TOE wedges, along with a Monza Redline putter. He uses a Vice Pro Plus golf ball, because he’s a bit different…

Away from golf, Matt is a Manchester United fan, and a keen runner, having ran the Rob Burrow Leeds Marathon (his first and possibly last), in May 2023.

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