Skip to content
    • Tour Homepage
    • PGA Tour
    • LIV Golf
    • DP World Tour
    • LPGA
    • LET
    • The Masters
    • The Open
    • The Players
    • US Open
    • PGA Championship
    • Ryder Cup
    • Solheim Cup
    • WITB
    • Betting
    • News
    • Features
    • Equipment Homepage
    • Reviews
    • Drivers
    • Fairway Woods
    • Hybrids
    • Irons
    • Wedges
    • Putters
    • Golf Balls
    • DMDs
    • Apparel
    • Shoes
    • Trolleys
    • Features
    • News
  • Buying Advice
    • Rules
    • WHS
    • Features
    • News
    • Instruction Homepage
    • Driving Tips
    • Long Game
    • Iron Play
    • Short Game
    • Putting
    • Learn from the pros
    • Course Management
    • Fitness
    • Mental Game
    • Nutrition
  • Giveaways
    • Top 100 Rankings
    • Travel
    • Top 100s Tour
    • Society Guide
    • NCG Golf Podcast
    • NCG Top 100s Podcast
    • Your Golf Podcast by NCG
  • Digital Magazine
National Club GolferNational Club Golfer Logo
  • TourHas submenu items

    Tour Homepage

    • PGA Tour
    • LIV Golf
    • DP World Tour
    • LPGA
    • LET
    • The Masters
    • The Open
    • The Players
    • US Open
    • PGA Championship
    • Ryder Cup
    • Solheim Cup
    • WITB
    • Betting
    • News
    • Features
  • EquipmentHas submenu items

    Equipment Homepage

    • Reviews
    • Drivers
    • Fairway Woods
    • Hybrids
    • Irons
    • Wedges
    • Putters
    • Golf Balls
    • DMDs
    • Apparel
    • Shoes
    • Trolleys
    • Features
    • News
  • Buying Advice
  • ClubHas submenu items
    • Rules
    • WHS
    • Features
    • News
  • InstructionHas submenu items

    Instruction Homepage

    • Driving Tips
    • Long Game
    • Iron Play
    • Short Game
    • Putting
    • Learn from the pros
    • Course Management
    • Fitness
    • Mental Game
    • Nutrition
  • Giveaways
  • CoursesHas submenu items
    • Top 100 Rankings
    • Travel
    • Top 100s Tour
    • Society Guide
  • PodcastsHas submenu items
    • NCG Golf Podcast
    • NCG Top 100s Podcast
    • Your Golf Podcast by NCG
  • Digital Magazine

Sign up here for our newsletter and you'll never slice a drive again. Promise.

Newsletter sign up

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
National Club Golfer Logo

© 2026 National Club Golfer | 2 Arena Park, Tam Lane, LS17 9BF

  • About
  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • Editorial Policy
  • Meet the NCG Team
  • Privacy
  • Terms & Conditions
Country: gb Page generated at: Thursday, 2 April 2026 at 22:38:49 British Summer Time
travel
NCG Top 100s: Scotland – Our Panel’s Favourite Non-Scottish Courses

published: Apr 2, 2026

NCG Top 100s: Scotland – Our Panel’s Favourite Non-Scottish Courses

Matt ColesLink

FacebookXInstagramYouTubePodcast0 comments

2025 was the year of visiting Scottish courses for our panellists, but what are their favourite non-Scottish layouts?

15th hole at Royal St David's | Source: Royal St David's

Table of Contents

Jump to:

  • What are our panellists’ favourite non-scottish courses?

2025 was a year that saw our panellists travelling around Scotland, but what are their favourite non-Scottish golf courses?

Like Scotland, there are some stunning links courses across England, Wales and Ireland, some of which our panellists have mentioned.

There were plenty of mentions for courses and resorts further afield as well, with venues in Europe and even around the world also getting their nominations!

What have our panellists gone for, then? And do you agree? Check out their favourite non-Scottish golfing venues below…

RELATED: Check out the NCG Top 100s: Scotland list
RELATED: Meet the panellists that toured Scotland!
RELATED: What is the methodology behind the new NCG Top 100s: Scotland list?

Top 100s England panel

What are our panellists’ favourite non-Scottish courses?

Unsurprisingly, there were many choices within the United Kingdom. A certain Open Championship venue came up, along with plenty of venues in and around the English capital…

Ed Battye: Royal St. George’s. The ultimate in championship challenge and endlessly intriguing quirk.

Steve Watton: Royal St. George’s

Jim Banting: Sunningdale Old

Andi White: New Zealand

David Fox: Hankley Common

RELATED: Which courses do our panellists think are underrated?
RELATED: Which region of Scotland is the best?

15th hole at Hankley Common | Source: Hankley Common
15th hole at Hankley Common | Source: Hankley Common

There were also others in England, from Cornwall all the way to Cumberland.

Craig Redston: Parkstone is the closest thing to a religious experience for me.

Chris Myatt: Rye Golf Club – It makes the most of its dunes with holes routed along, over, between, to and from them.

Hugh Masson: St. Enodoc. Rugged, yet pristine. A strong test in beautiful surroundings.

Charles Abraham: Woodhall Spa (Hotchkin) – A heathland course of great variety and a fabulous test of strategic golf all year round.

Phil Bedford: Perranporth

Paul Watson: Saunton (East) – a links that never fails to excite. The par 4 first epitomises the tough test ahead all the way to the 18th.

Neil White: Silloth – I adore links courses and this was love at first sight. Played it once before applying to be a member.

Advertisement

Stu Bennett: Formby – challenging off the tee, fair with a variety of stunning holes that test every part of your game on fantastic turf.

RELATED: What is the best par 3 in Scotland?
RELATED: What is the best par 4 in Scotland? – COMING SOON
RELATED: What is the best par 5 in Scotland?

8th hole at Formby GC | Source: Formby
8th hole at Formby GC | Source: Formby

There were also plenty of choices in both Wales and Ireland, with new and old courses receiving mentions!

Jim Marshall: I love Royal St. David’s for its stunning views, historic charm, and challenging yet fair links layout

David Elliott: Royal St. Davids

Craig Morrison: County Sligo. Why? Yeats. Colt. Ruddy. To be on the Rosses is to be in great company

Chris Griffiths: Portmarnock

Ian Woods: Royal Portrush’s Dunluce. Never tire of playing it, and thrilled to have watched two Opens there

Greg Webber: Royal Porthcawl

Peter Rudd: Waterville, stunning setting with one of the best finishes in golf

Lewis Marr: Waterville, Ireland

RELATED: Which Scottish courses are in our panellists top three’s?
RELATED: Which Scottish venue has the best greens?

8th hole at Waterville | Source: Waterville
8th hole at Waterville | Source: Waterville

RELATED: What is the best opening hole in Scotland?
RELATED: What is the best finishing hole in Scotland?

What about further afield? Some of our panellists also have favourites in North America and Australia.

Dove Jones: Banff Springs

Oliver Baker: Valley Club of Montecito

Michael Verity: Royal Adelaide

David Walker: California Golf Club of San Francisco – a quality golf course with welcoming members

Michael Atkinson: Alister MacKenzie’s Cypress Point in Monterey, California. The most magnificent Pacific Ocean setting. Simply stunning

RELATED: What is the best hole in Scotland? – COMING SOON
RELATED: What is the best golfing view in Scotland?

LIV Golf at Royal Adelaide | Source: Getty Images
LIV Golf at Royal Adelaide | Source: Getty Images

Listen to the NCG Top 100s Podcast

NOW READ: Where do our panellists want to visit next in Scotland? – COMING SOON
NOW READ: What are our panellists’ highlights from their travels around Scotland?

Have you played at any of the venues our panellists have mentioned? What would you say is your favourite non-Scottish course? Let us know your thoughts with a post on X, formerly Twitter!

Advertisement

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.

Twitter

Comments (0)

Leave a Comment

No comments yet. Be the first to comment!

What's Popular

Ganton Golf Club

The overlooked coastline offering some of the best-value golf in Britain and Ireland

By Max Mcvittie | Mar 11, 2026

Read full article The overlooked coastline offering some of the best-value golf in Britain and Ireland
Jon Rahm playing for Legion XIII | Source: Getty Images

Why we could be watching the beginning of the end for LIV Golf

By Matt Chivers | Mar 23, 2026

Read full article Why we could be watching the beginning of the end for LIV Golf
Bryson DeChambeau at LIV Golf Korea | Source: LIV Golf

Show me the money! How much has each LIV player made since signing up?

By Matt Chivers | Mar 26, 2026

Read full article Show me the money! How much has each LIV player made since signing up?
foursomes Golfers at a green | Source: Adobe Stock

Why do club golfers hate foursomes?

By Steve Carroll | Mar 16, 2026

Read full article Why do club golfers hate foursomes?
Jordan Spieth walking on a golf course with a club, at the 2025 Hero World Challenge

Jordan Spieth could lose his PGA Tour card. Where on earth did it all go wrong?

By Matt Chivers | Feb 13, 2026

Read full article Jordan Spieth could lose his PGA Tour card. Where on earth did it all go wrong?
Akshay Bhatia

Who is Akshay Bhatia?

By Matt Coles | Nov 8, 2024

Read full article Who is Akshay Bhatia?
An image from LIV Golf Dallas | Source: LIV Golf

Big DP World Tour events still allow LIV Golfers to compete, but how?

By Matt Chivers | Mar 25, 2026

Read full article Big DP World Tour events still allow LIV Golfers to compete, but how?
Brian Gay retrieves his ball from a penalty area on the first hole during the third round of the Regions Tradition at Greystone Golf and Country Club on May 14, 2022 in Birmingham, Alabama. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)

Why are penalty areas marked red or yellow?

By Steve Carroll | Mar 25, 2026

Read full article Why are penalty areas marked red or yellow?

Golf Giveaways: Win a full TaylorMade custom fitting experience at The Kingdom at The Grove

By Paul Miller | Mar 20, 2026

Read full article Golf Giveaways: Win a full TaylorMade custom fitting experience at The Kingdom at The Grove
golfers private jets

Which golfers own private jets and how much do they cost?

By Matt Coles | Oct 16, 2025

Read full article Which golfers own private jets and how much do they cost?
highest paid caddies

Who are the highest-paid caddies in golf? The figures might shock you…

By Samuel Neale | Oct 21, 2025

Read full article Who are the highest-paid caddies in golf? The figures might shock you…
(Back L-R) Bernd Wiesberger of Austria and team Europe, Matthew Fitzpatrick of England and team Europe, Tommy Fleetwood of England and team Europe, Paul Casey of England and team Europe, Viktor Hovland of Norway and team Europe, Tyrrell Hatton of England and team Europe, Shane Lowry of Ireland and team Europe, Ian Poulter of England and team Europe, (Front L-R) Jon Rahm of Spain and team Europe, Lee Westwood of England and team Europe, captain Padraig Harrington of Ireland and team Europe, Sergio Garcia of Spain and team Europe, and Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland and team Europe pose for a team photo prior to the 43rd Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits | Getty Images

Why should we care if Jon Rahm misses the Ryder Cup?

By Matt Chivers | Mar 26, 2026

Read full article Why should we care if Jon Rahm misses the Ryder Cup?