The Golf Pilgrim Top 100

The city of Belfast is in County Antrim, but Royal Belfast Golf Club is north-east of Northern Ireland's capital, in County Down. It's celebrating the centenary of its Harry Colt-designed parkland course on the shore of Belfast Lough.  But the club is facing a very modern problem; a new housing development adjacent to the course means several holes will have to be reconfigured for health...

Shane Lowry helped bring Baltray, County Louth, to wider acclaim when he won the Irish Open here as an amateur. But connoisseurs of Irish courses have always known this was one of the country’s finest links. It’s also the home course of the 2026 Amateur Champion Stuart Grehan, who tells us how it will help him prepare for playing in The Open, as well as the US Open and the Masters. County Louth re...

Wallasey has not just one, but two great claims to fame, and is a course that attracts plaudits from those who play it. Bobby Jones, arguably the greatest amateur golfer in history, played in a qualifier at Wallasey and went on to win the Open Championship at Hoylake and complete the original Grand Slam.  And those of you who prefer playing in stableford competitions rather than a medal round will...

A famous old golf course, which is in the running to stage an Open Championship in the coming years, and we have two former Ryder Cup players who tell us why it should.   Paul McGinley and Andrew Coltart are big fans of Portmarnock, and so are we… though do try to avoid the bunkers if you want to score well! Andrew also shares his memories of playing in the Walker Cup at Portmarnock, where he face...

Royal Dublin may be unique among links courses - while many others suffer from coastal erosion, its land grows bit by bit every year. Find out why by listening to this episode… And to guide us round, we have a caddie who has helped his man win the US Open. Colin Byrne has carried the bag for Retief Goosen, Ernie Els and many others, but can he help The Golf Pilgrim boys plot their way around his h...

The Open Championship returns to Royal Birkdale in 2026, but there have been significant changes to the course since it last hosted the championship. This episode tells you all you need to know, whether you're planning to watch the event in person or on TV, or to play the course at some point.   Among those joining us on the podcast are architect Tom Mackenzie, who oversaw the changes, and Ia...

A special episode celebrating what many believe is the greatest golf course in the world! Royal County Down regularly tops the list of the best courses outside America, and some rate it as high as Cypress Point and Pine Valley. So why is it so revered?  The challenge of the design and the beauty of its surroundings make it a must-play destination. We played alongside some of those who know the cou...

It's more than 30 years since St Mellion last hosted a top-level European Tour event, but that shouldn't reflect on the quality of a course which saw the likes of Seve Ballesteros, Bernhard Langer and Jose Maria Olazabal triumph. The top pros now play fewer events in England as the Tour embraces ever more international venues.  But the course that Jack Nicklaus built, because Seve had cr...

You know what you're getting if you book a round at Old Head - but even the photographs of the spectacular setting don't do justice to the experience of playing golf on fairways perched precariously next to clifftops, with the waves crashing against rocks 300 feet below you. What you won't know until you get there is how big a factor the wind will be - the weather forecast had sugge...

Here's a top tip to take note of even before you play the wonderful Waterville Links.  If you're driving a car from Killarney, take the scenic Ballyghisheen Pass through some of the most spectacular scenery in Ireland; coaches transporting tourists and golf groups have to use the main N70 around the coast. And the breathtaking views continue as you reach Waterville.  Framed by the Atlant...

Legend has it that an Irish monk, St Brendan, set sail from Tralee and landed in America centuries before Columbus.  Now thousands of Americans make the reverse journey on a pilgrimage to a golf course designed by Arnold Palmer.  Mind you, he credited God with doing half the work. Tralee Golf Club is surrounded by water and sand dunes, with scenic holes that set the pulse racing and a few quirky o...

Formed in 1873, this is one of the oldest clubs in England, but it is as relevant to the history of golf as it was when it was founded. Its close relationship with Royal Liverpool means that West Lancs will jointly stage the Amateur Championship with Hoylake in 2026.  And it will also continue to host the Final Open Qualifying for the top pros looking for a last-minute ticket to Royal Birkdale. Bu...

The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers can lay claim to being the founders of modern golf, having established the first set of competition rules soon after being founded in 1744. Muirfield has been their home since 1890, and the course has hosted the Open Championship sixteen times - but not since 2013.  The club changed its much-criticised rules and now admits women as members, but it still...

They've been playing golf in this part of Scotland for hundreds of years, and for more than a century, they've had three 18-hole courses in Gullane to choose from.  Gullane Number 1 is the highest rated and has twice hosted the Scottish Open. East Lothian is blessed with a large number of quality golf courses, but what sets Gullane apart is the variety of holes and the huge change in ele...

We have a Golf Pilgrim Top 100 exclusive! The Els Club is the first private golf club in the Algarve, and its course was reimagined by Ernie Els from the Vilamoura Victoria, which previously hosted the Portugal Masters. The doors opened for us to be among the first to review a club which has five-star service and very lofty ambitions. https://www.thegolfpilgrim.com/post/els-club-vilamoura https://...

Three courses and a former Ryder Cup Captain are squeezed into this episode from one of Europe's top golf resorts. Quinta Do Lago South, North, and Laranjal offer different challenges.  Paul McGinley has an Academy at the resort and has been going there for three decades.  He tells The Golf Pilgrim what makes it such an attractive place to visit. https://www.thegolfpilgrim.com/post/quinta-do-...

The first of three episodes from Portugal, which has long been a favourite destination for British and Irish golfers, but is now attracting worldwide acclaim   The 27 holes at Palmares provide such a variety of challenges, that you might even forget you’re in the Algarve, with some holes akin to a Scottish links.   https://www.thegolfpilgrim.com/post/palmares https://www.palmaresliving.com/golf/ D...

Cavendish Golf Club styles itself as the inspiration for Augusta National, which is not as fanciful an idea as it may sound.  It opened in 1925 and was the last English course that Dr Alister MacKenzie designed before heading overseas to ply his trade. Eight years later, his breathtaking course in Georgia was born. So, with another US Masters almost upon us, let us take you to the English Peak Dis...

Our final New Zealand episode and arguably, we've saved the best for last.  Both Te Arai courses have leapt into the top 100 in the world despite being less than 5 years old. And we are delighted to say that New Zealand's best golfer, Ryan Fox, was so keen to talk about the courses, he joined us from Florida, while Jim Rohrstaff, the club's managing director, is also our special gue...

An honours board at Blackmoor gives a hint of its pedigree. How many provincial members clubs can boast of having had a US Open champion win a tournament on their course? Matt Fitzpatrick is one of several future professional stars to win a top amateur prize at this Harry Colt gem in Hampshire. In an effort to preserve the character of the course, the club hired designer Tim Lobb to carry out reno...

It's been called the spiritual home of New Zealand golf, having hosted many tournaments, and is still rated the country's second-best course.  It's also the only NZ course that Tiger Woods has played competitively - as a favour to his then Kiwi caddie Steve Williams. Paraparaumu Beach recently welcomed back the tour pros for the New Zealand PGA Championship.  It's not a long co...

Cleeve Hill has had a lot of publicity in recent years - largely because it almost went out of business until new owners took over - and it is now in England's Top 100.  But this is so different from a lot of courses in the rankings - not just in terms of its setting, high above Cheltenham, but because this is raw golf as it used to be.  The course might lack perfect paths and intensive maint...

Titirangi is the Maori word for "fringe of heaven", and is quite a contrast to many of the modern courses which have been opened in New Zealand in recent years. Dr Alister MacKenzie drew up his plans for the course a century ago, shortly after he'd designed Royal Melbourne and before he got to Augusta National.   And that legacy has been protected by recent renovation work. www.theg...

If you watch some of the birds-eye view videos of Tom Doak's course, you might think you need a head for heights to play it. Fear not, some of the holes may look precariously placed on the edge of a precipice, but the wide fairways and substantial greens will reassure those with vertigo. That is not to say Cape Kidnappers lacks the "wow" factor. It is world-class, and the vistas are...

A visit to one of the world's more unusual courses, where, as well as bunkers, you'll find thermal mud springs as hazards. Arikikapakapa is Maori for "the gentle sound of plopping mud", and it's set in one of the country's most popular tourist areas.   https://www.thegolfpilgrim.com/post/rotorua-arikikapakapa https://arikikapakapagolfrotorua.co.nz/ Do you agree with o...