NCG Top 100 Courses in GB&I revealed... Is your favourite in?

It’s that time again! The NCG Top 100s: GB&I Golf Courses list has been updated for 2024 and there are some big changes, but who takes the top spot?

As is the way with the NCG Top 100s listings, it has been four years since the last iteration of the GB&I Golf Courses list, and in that time, there have been new lists for each individual country – England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

The methodology for how the 2024 GB&I list came to be is slightly different to how it has been in previous years. The national lists have been used much more to sort the order out, so there are some big changes in terms of previous positions for some venues.

There are the usual suspects at the very top of this list, but there might also be a few surprises…

Who makes the top ten on the NCG Top 100s: GB&I Golf Courses list?

1. Royal County Down

Simply put, Royal County Down is the best of the best! Not only is it the best golf course in Ireland, but it is the best course in the entirety of British Isles.

The Senior Open Championship, Irish Open, Curtis Cup, Walker Cup and Palmer Cup have all been played at Royal County Down over the course of the venue’s history.

While the multiple blind tee shots are an arresting feature, in truth the fairways are generous and this is really a second-shot course. The greens often flow away from their centres making them effectively much smaller targets than they appear.

2. St Andrews (Old)

The Old Course at the ‘Home of Golf’. It was always going to be high on the list!

Dating back to the 19th Century, the Old Course has played host to 30 editions of the Open Championship, most recently when Cameron Smith was the victor in 2022. The Senior Open Championship and the AIG Women’s Open – the latter also hosted in 2024 with Lydia Ko being the victor.

No other course comes close for weight of history and atmosphere. From hole names like Ginger Beer to Cartgate Out, and hazards from Hell to Miss Grainger’s Bosoms.

3. Trump Turnberry (Ailsa)

Another former Open Championship venue, and the course set to become the most expensive in the United Kingdom… The Ailsa at Trump Turnberry remains in the highest of echelons.

The Ailsa has hosted the Open on four occasions, most famously with Tom Watson’s incredible victory over Jack Nicklaus in the “Duel in the Sun”. Greg Norman, Nick Price and Stewart Cink were the other three winners at Ailsa.

Many courses in the list are the result of multiple design iterations but few have changed more than the Ailsa over the years. The constants are the lighthouse and the ocean views.

4. Muirfield

Although it is no longer a host of the Open Championship, Muirfield is still very highly-regarded, and continues to hold a spot in our top five.

Muirfield hosted the sport’s oldest tournament on 16 occasions, most recently in 2013 when Phil Mickelson lifted the Claret Jug. James Braid, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, Lee Trevino, Tom Watson and Nick Faldo are among the other winners.

As elegant, understated and flowing a course as you are ever likely to encounter. The genius of the design begins with the two concentric loops of nine – the inward half is contained within the outward half. The result is constant changes of angles.

5. Royal Portrush (Dunluce)

After recently returning to the Open Championship rota, the Dunluce Course at Royal Portrush remains a firm favourite of golfers from around the world.

An emotional win on home soil saw Shane Lowry lift the Claret Jug thanks to a dominant performance, as Portrush played host to the competition for the first time in almost six decades. The tournament will return to the Dunluce in 2025.

A true driver’s course, Portrush was prepared to host the Open once more with the construction of two new holes, the 7th and the 8th, on the valley floor. They are an improvement on the 17th and 18th they replaced, as well as creating much-needed room.

6. Royal St. George’s

You can retrace this Open champion's famous steps

Originally one of three, Royal St George’s is now the only Open Championship-hosting venue in the south east of England.

Collin Morikawa was the victor in 2021 at St George’s, as he won his second major in as many years. There have been 15 Opens at the venue, with Harry Vardon and Walter Hagen both winning twice on this famed links course.

While Sandwich may never truly be appreciated by the archetypal modern tour pro, it is a links that is treasured by lovers of seaside golf. Flat lies and clear views are a rarity, while the greens are deviously contoured. It plays differently every day.

7. Portmarnock

Not to be confused with the Portmarnock Resort and Jameson Golf Links, Portmarnock Golf Club is another Irish gem that rightly deserves its place in the top ten on our updated GB&I list. With 27 holes, Portmarnock also has that little something extra that a number of the big boys don’t have…

Perhaps one day we will see the Open Championship take place over what we believe is the best course in the Republic of Ireland. There are three loops and although the Red and the Blue form the established 18, the younger Yellow is all but their equal.

8. Royal Birkdale

One of five ‘Royal’ venues to have a place in the top ten on the NCG Top 100s: GB&I list, Royal Birkdale is the best golf course in the north of England.

It is a ten-time host of the Open Championship, most recently for Jordan Spieth‘s victory in 2017, and the Claret Jug will return to Birkdale in 2026. The AIG Women’s Open has also called this English beauty home on six occasions.

Birkdale has evolved significantly over the years, and the latest stage has seen Tom Mackenzie build a new 15th hole – that is now open – as well as significantly changing several others.

9. Sunningdale (Old)

Sunningdale Old NCG Top 100s: GB&I Golf Courses

The venue for this year’s Curtis Cup, the Old Course at Sunningdale has long been a favourite of those that love heathland golf in the United Kingdom.

Surely the prettiest heathland in the world. The Old is also scorable in places which increases enjoyment levels. There are several moments that linger long in the memory but few more so than the vista from the elevated 10th tee.

10. Royal Lytham & St Anne’s

Rounding out the top ten is another Open Championship venue, and the second course in the north west of England – Royal Lytham & St Anne’s.

England’s most northerly Open venue may be surrounded by houses and the railway line but its links credentials are undeniable. The bunkering is more prolific and severe than at any other championship venue.

What about the rest of the list?

As you would expect, there are plenty of big name courses that make it into the list, with Open Championship venues

Carnoustie (Championship), Royal Cinque Ports, Royal Liverpool and Royal Troon (Old) all feature in the top 40.

There are also some new entries into this year’s NCG Top 100s: GB&I list, including the incredible St Patrick’s Links at Rosapenna. That is our highest new entry, but just how high did it get?

Dumbarnie Links, another brand new golfing destination, makes the list, while the likes of Walton Heath’s New Course, Seacroft and Goswick are also new entries for 2024.

Now have your say

What do you make of our new and updated Top 100s: GB&I Golf Courses list? Is your favourite golf course on there? Let us know your thoughts with a post on X, formerly Twitter!

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.