The Golf Pilgrim Top 100

It's always a dilemma when we feature a golf course that's so exclusive that you can't play unless you know a member. But we make an exception when a course is so highly rated that anyone who aspires to play the World's Top 100 will try to find a way to get on. Opened in 2015 and designed by Tom Doak, Tara Iti has such a stellar reputation that Rory McIlroy wanted to play a rou...

If you've ever played The European Club, or ever wanted to, then this is a must-listen episode! Because The European is dead - but in 2027 will be reborn as The Brittas Bay Club. Raymond and Nicky Conlan bought the club from its founder, Pat Ruddy, and have hired Kyle Phillips (the man who gave us Kingsbarns), to do a complete redesign of the course. We have exclusive interviews with Nicky an...

When the R&A feel that one of their Open Championship venues needs an update, Martin Ebert is the man they turn to.  He's already working on changes to the Old Course at St Andrews ready for 2027, and supervised improvements to Royal Birkdale which hosts in 2026.  How does he go about enhancing courses which are already considered the best in the world?  Take a listen as he chats about hi...

Join us as we step back in time, to a club where the lockers still bear the names of long-dead members, and where a competitive round of golf often takes second place to a good lunch. The New Zealand Golf Club (listen to the podcast for an explanation of the name) sits on Surrey heathland near Woking, and its well-draining clay base means great conditions even in the depths of winter.  It feels pr...

What are the very best golf courses in Scotland?  In 2025 Neil and Ian joined the ratings panel for National Club Golfer, and their new top 100 list has just been published. Dan Murphy, who sets the guidelines and edits the rankings joins us to talk through those on the rise… So if you're planning a golf trip to Scotland this year, this is what you need to hear… Music: Brian Fahey Do you agre...

Some golf days are just a bit more special than others, so this mid-winter visit to The Island, north of Dublin, will linger long in the memory. A chilly, but sunny day; a very warm welcome from the staff, and a challenging course in great condition. Don't just take our word for it…the day after we visited, three-time major winner Padraig Harrington played The Island on a charity day - a sure...

Even if you've never heard of the golf course, you all know Sherwood Forest thanks to dozens of depictions of Robin Hood in TV and cinema.   Any course designed by Harry Colt and later by James Braid is always worth exploring, and the heathland track is particularly appealing in the winter, when fairways and greens remain firm. Renowned course architect Martin Ebert describes the changes he&a...

In the second half of our review of the year, we explore golf in Scandinavia and the Baltic, as well as Ireland's Wild Atlantic coast.  But nothing beats a visit to Fife when the Old Course at St Andrews is on the itinerary. Golf commentators Andrew Cotter and Nick Dougherty share their champagne moments of the year, and we recall the drama of the Ryder Cup, as well as the less savoury moment...

While we take a bit of a break for Christmas, join us for a look back on some of the best courses we played during 2025.  In this first half we recall rounds in continental Europe as well as Great Britain…with Cruden Bay in Scotland among the favourites. And Ewen Murray from Sky Sports returns to The Golf Pilgrim to recall his champagne moment of the year. Do you agree with our review? Text us you...

The club’s motto translates as “go straight and you will never fail”, which is sensible advice on most courses, but particularly so at Rosendalelsche with its huge number of trees   One of continental Europe’s top ranked courses, on the one occasion that it hosted the Dutch Open, it was won by Bernhard Langer. His course record score lasted 30 years! https://www.thegolfpilgrim.com/post/rosendaelsc...

"Ch-ch-changes.." sang David Bowie, and we know many golf club members are deeply suspicious of any dramatic alterations to their beloved course. But the vast changes at The Addington this decade have been widely praised. The Addington was once the premier club in London, but the march of time had seen the course become overgrown. Now, the city skyline is more visible, giving it a unique...

If you feel weary after your 18 holes at Kennemer, spare a thought for Ryder Cup stars Jose-Marie Olazabal and Ronan Rafferty, who endured a record-breaking NINE hole play-off here to decide the Dutch Open in 1989. Ronan joins us on the podcast to describe in hilarious detail that endurance test where he and Jose played on and on and on in a storm. It's also the course where Andy Sullivan&apo...

Golfers visiting East Lothian are spoilt for choice, but many choose to include Kilspindie in their itinerary. These tight, traditional links offer spectacular views, and the relatively short course is popular with those who favour accuracy over distance. https://www.kilspindiegolfclub.co.uk/ https://www.thegolfpilgrim.com/post/kilspindie Do you agree with our review? Text us your opinion!

Ony five courses in Continental Europe make it into the best in the World list according to Top100golfcourses.com - but Royal Hague is one of them. Awarded its "Royal" tag on its centenary in 1993, the Dutch King and Queen frequently play there along with other members of the Royal family. Designed by Colt and Allison, its huge dunes make it a tough climb but the effort is well worthwhil...

Unusually, we've combined two golf clubs into one episode - but they do have something in common. Musselburgh Old Links was one of the original venues for The Open Championship, but the limitations of its nine-hole layout led to its replacement by Muirfield, and golfers migrated to other courses with more land. One of those clubs was Royal Musselburgh, a parkland course and very different to...

The first of a quartet of Dutch course reviews coming up in the next few weeks as the Netherlands becomes the 15th country to be visited by the Golf Pilgrim. De Texelse is a tranquil resort on an island just off the coast of Holland, and the venue for a recent European Nations Cup for journalists.  Suffice to say, the British team was some way short of the podium…. But the links-like course is a w...

We are delving into the history books in this episode…because recent research indicates that Lanark is the oldest inland golf course in the world. They've been playing here since 1851, with Old Tom Morris and James Braid lending their expertise to its design. Its location means it may be an excellent option on your way to or from a Scottish golfing holiday…. https://www.lanarkgolfclub.co.uk/...

Stoke Park was the setting for one of the most famous moments in golf, albeit a fictional match. Its proximity to Pinewood film studios meant it was the perfect spot to film James Bond's match against Auric Goldfinger in the 007 movie released in 1964. Now in the hands of a real-life billionaire, Stoke Park has quite a story of its own. The club closed for several years and had its membership...

Powfoot may be some distance from Scotland's most famous links, but that can have advantages. Visitors will discover a much lower greenfee than better known courses.  And its location, a dozen or so miles from the M6 and the English border makes it very easy to get to for golfers heading north or south. And we hear from upcoming star Chloe Tarbard who battled apocalyptic weather to win the Sc...

Back to the west coast of Ireland and another links course on the Wild Atlantic Way.  Enniscrone is rated highly enough to feature in the top 100 in GB & Ireland, having been extended from 9 to 18 holes by Eddie Hackett in the 1970s. The course is situated among towering dunes, and even if you don’t encounter many birdies or eagles during your round, you should spot a variety of birdlife in th...

The great American golfer Tom Weiskopf won the Open at Troon and was runner-up at the Masters at Augusta four times.  But when he designed this exclusive course on the banks of Loch Lomond, he considered it his lasting memorial to golf. Loch Lomond's website gives a clue to the membership, claiming it's only "90 minutes from London, two hours from Paris, and approximately six hours...

When golf writer Tom Coyne travelled around Ireland playing all its great links courses, everyone was keen to know which one he enjoyed the most.  Carne was not the favourite that most would have expected. But its rawness and remoteness stole his heart, and he helped publicise its charms worldwide, which helped save the club when it almost went out of business. Tom tells the Golf Pilgrim what make...

Reasons to listen to this extra-special, bumper edition episode from St Andrews... We offer practical advice on how to secure a tee time on the Old Course and how to play if you're a mid-to-high handicapper. Sky Sports Golf host Nick Dougherty tells us how he won the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship here in 2007. It's our 100th episode! It's the Home of Golf!! And we may even throw...

Have you ever had a hole-in-one, three days running, on the same hole? In a competition? No, we didn't think so. That's why the 16th at Hunstanton Golf Club has a plaque honouring Bob Taylor. He tells us about his extraordinary feat at the Norfolk course in 1974, and we learn what makes "Sunny Hunny" on England's east coast so special. https://www.thegolfpilgrim.com/post/h...

The Golf Pilgrim teams up with two of the internet’s most popular golf video creators at one of Ireland’s most popular courses! County Sligo, also known as Rosses Point, is set amid the stunning scenery which inspired the Nobel Prize-winning poet WB Yeats.  How will these modern-day wordsmiths describe the challenge posed by these 18 holes? https://www.thegolfpilgrim.com/post/county-sligo https://...