Welcome to our latest ranking of the very best courses in Great Britain and Ireland. Let’s get straight into what we’ve done, why we’ve done it and how we’ve done it.
What’s changed?
Last year, we re-ranked our England list. The results of this ranking are now reflected in our GB&I list. If Course A is above Course B on a national list, it will also be above it on the GB&I list. Depending on the new marks we have awarded for the English clubs, Scottish, Irish and Welsh courses may have moved slightly up or down to accommodate them.
RELATED: Check out the new NCG Top 100s: England list
How often do we update our GB&I list?
Annually. This year, we are concentrating on our Scotland course ranking. The new ranking will be released at the beginning of 2026. Accordingly, this time next year we will be updating our GB&I list to reflect the movement in our Scotland list.
What’s our methodology?
Our methodology remains unchanged. You can find the details here, but it’s worth making clear that we only rank the courses themselves. We don’t pay any attention to the wider experience or off-course facilities for the purposes of our course rankings.
Who is on our panel?
Take a look at our full list of contributing panellists here. We use a wide and varied group of golf course enthusiasts and it changes from one year to the next. To be an NCG Top 100s panellist in any given year, you need to commit to getting out there and playing as many of the courses on a given shortlist as you can. We’re interested in contemporaneous opinions of the courses, not ones that are cloudy, often sepia-tinged memories from years ago. If you are not out there this year playing the courses and updating your views then, sorry, but we’re just not interested.
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What are the main takeaways from the new list?
Nearly every course in the list is objectively better now than it was, say, 10 years ago. There are occasional outliers, and we often admire them for their timeless charm, but, in the main, if you are standing still then you are moving down the list. On top of so many courses improving both architecturally and agronomically, you also have sporadic new entries to this list. These new courses are absolutely to be celebrated, but there are still only 100 spots in the list. What that means is that for every course that comes in, another has to drop out – and it may just be one of your favourites.
Are there any new entries?
Yes, there is one this time around. Wallasey are rewarded for their huge investment in their course, particularly in terms of its presentation. They make their debut in our GB&I list, coming in at No 98.
What about re-entries?
We have four courses re-entering the top 100 this year. They are West Hill (91st), Royal Worlington & Newmarket (94th), Ferndown (97th) and The Addington (98th). They are a fascinating mixture of courses that have done (or are still doing) extensive work and those that we just believe are sufficiently special to cross the threshold. Congratulations to all of them. The Addington, in particular, has the potential to go much higher under the expert eye of Mike Clayton and his architectural colleagues at CDP.
What about the big risers?
Ganton are deservedly rewarded for a long-term project to remove gorse, widen playing corridors and re-introduce ‘pandys’, sandy waste areas, to their highly unusual course which is built on tonnes and tonnes of sand.
Our panel have recognised the enduring quality of Walton Heath Old, which remains the closest approximation to a pure heathland as we have in the British Isles.
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Almost nothing has changed at Rye – but when your panel tells you with unanimity that they love the course then it’s time to pay heed.
The Berkshire’s Blue and Liphook are another two courses that we think offer a fundamentally better experience now than they did, say, five years ago.
We are also confident that Seaton Carew is well worth a place in this list – but perhaps because of its location in Hartlepool not everyone else has noticed yet. Go and play it – we think you’ll agree.
Are our rankings commercially influenced in any way?
No, they are not. Why are we telling you this? We’d like to make that clear for the simple reason that it is something we get accused of from time to time. It’s not true. We are just a bunch of enthusiasts who love playing great golf courses. Some of us are ever-so-slightly nerdy. But we all care deeply about the game and we want to make the most credible list possible. In short, we want people like you to trust our lists.
Or you can listen to the NCG Golf Podcast on our England ranking list
Now have your say
Have you been fortunate enough to play at any, many or all of the courses on our list, from the Old Course to Sunningdale New? If so, what did you make of them? What are the best courses in the land? Let us know your thoughts with a post on X, formerly Twitter
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