How many of the top 100 have you played?

[GolfSpy_APH]

Not nearly enough of them

[ZJeb67]

Played Crystal Downs at least 2 decades ago and well before I could appreciate it.
Watched John Daly drive at Oakland Hills 
Guess I have miles to go before I sleep (on the top 100 courses)

[William P]

I agree with not having played enough of them, but I have had the pleasure of Pebble Beach, Pinehurst #2, and Kiawah Island Oceans Course.

[funkyjudge]

Of course, if you add the courses on this list that I have played on a simulator (far removed from the real thing, I know), my total would jump from just 6 courses (increasing to 10 by June 1 of this year) to more than 15.  I have also worked at U.S. Open Championships at another four of these courses (Merion, Oak Hill East, Winged Foot and Baltusrol), a PGA Championship at Oak Hill East, and at two U. S. Opens at Bethpage Black, where I have also played a few times.

[GaDawg]

I have played 9.  3 each in US, Scotland and Ireland.

[David Leighton Reid]

I'm afraid it is a big fat zero for me.  I have played Sawgrass and the TPC course is Scottsdale, but they didn't make the list.  

[William P]

1 hour ago, David Leighton Reid said:

I'm afraid it is a big fat zero for me.  I have played Sawgrass and the TPC course is Scottsdale, but they didn't make the list.  

They may not be on the list but they are most certainly courses I would love to play!

[MGoBlue100]

North Berwick (30), and Crystal Downs (34). Not sure I agree with that list (who knows or has played The Lido?!?) but it is what it is.

Any course is great course if I am able to be on that course & play!

[DaveP043]

Well I've found out that I'll be adding one more from the list.  In February my wife and I will join some friends for a visit to Pebble Beach, playing Pebble, Spyglass, and Spanish Bay .  Her idea, not mine, although I didn't resist very hard.

[10Hockey]

Played 22 of them .  Lucky to get a hole in one at New South Wales in Australia !  They are all unbelievable in their own right.  Every one of the courses has some uniqueness to it in design , location,  etc....

[Middler]

I was guessing 2 to 4, but evidently only 1. I've played Muirfield Village (barely made the list) and I thought Pinehurst #4 would have made the list but no. Thought La Costa and Cog Hill might make the list since they've hosted the PGA, but nope. I will play Pinehurst #2 sometime in the next few years, I could play Kiawah but not that interested. So I guess my golf resume is lacking...

Edited January 5 by Middler

[Dweed]

Only in my dreams.

[ILMgolfnut]

20 hours ago, MGoBlue100 said:

(who knows or has played The Lido?!?)

I'm a fan of Tom Doak's work. The Lido is essentially a reconstruction of the original Lido, which was a C.B. Macdonald course on Long Island, transplanted to Michigan. The Navy trashed the original Lido design during World War II. Like many of Macdonald's designs, the original copied holes he had seen in Scotland, including the Redan at North Berwick, #11 at the Old Course and the Alps at Prestwick. And then Doak copied that.

[ILMgolfnut]

On 11/2/2023 at 10:21 AM, StrokerAce said:

I wonder how many of the 100 are public? 

There's public, and then there's private courses that allow the public to play. I don't pretend to know everything about courses in Australia or Japan or France, but in looking at courses I do know (in the Golf Magazine world top 100, updated in November), I count at least 41 that are open for public play at least two days per week, and there are probably quite a few others. It should be noted that the hyperexclusive, armed-guard-at-the-gate type of course familiar to us in the US is largely an American phenomenon. Even Muirfield, regarded as the snootiest club in Scotland, lets the public play on Tuesdays and Thursdays. But you have to reserve those spots at Muirfield many months in advance, and you play either alternate shot or four-ball, because that's what the members play (many of their members have to maintain their handicaps by playing somewhere else, because they never play their own ball for 18 holes).

Oh, and @MGoBlue100, the Lido is on that list at #68.

Edited January 6 by ILMgolfnut

[Headhammer]

Pinehurst #2

Bethpage Black

Kiawah 

[DaveP043]

14 hours ago, ILMgolfnut said:

The Lido is essentially a reconstruction of the original Lido, which was a C.B. Macdonald course on Long Island, transplanted to Michigan.

I'm pretty sure the Lido is at the Sand Valley resort in Wisconsin.

[MGoBlue100]

14 hours ago, ILMgolfnut said:

I'm a fan of Tom Doak's work. The Lido is essentially a reconstruction of the original Lido, which was a C.B. Macdonald course on Long Island, transplanted to Michigan. The Navy trashed the original Lido design during World War II. Like many of Macdonald's designs, the original copied holes he had seen in Scotland, including the Redan at North Berwick, #11 at the Old Course and the Alps at Prestwick. And then Doak copied that.

I know exactly what it is, recreated digitally as close as possible from the original. That said, it’s automatically #68 in the Top 100? How? Only a handful of people have even seen the course, let alone played the course. #Marketing. 

[MGoBlue100]

14 hours ago, Dweed said:

Only in my dreams.

 Not true. I went to Scotland and played one on this list (and some that I think should be) with a few guys on this forum and I didn't miss a mortgage payment to do so. I couldn’t go every year, but once in four or five is doable. If you love to play golf, you should go!

[DaveP043]

5 minutes ago, MGoBlue100 said:

I know exactly what it is, recreated digitally as close as possible from the original. That said, it’s automatically #68 in the Top 100? How? Only a handful of people have even seen the course, let alone played the course. #Marketing. 

This is one of the valid complaints about most "Best Course" rankings.  While Tom Doak is a fine architect, as are Crenshaw and Core, their current popularity can impact the rankings of their courses.  For Golf Digest and other publications, money spent in advertising has the potential to impact the ratings.  I think that combination has elevated the (almost brand new) Lido a bit higher than it otherwise might be.  I'd love to play it to find out, I know the other two at Sand Valley are really good in their own right, so I expect Lido to be great as well.

[MGoBlue100]

4 minutes ago, DaveP043 said:

This is one of the valid complaints about most "Best Course" rankings.  While Tom Doak is a fine architect, as are Crenshaw and Core, their current popularity can impact the rankings of their courses.  For Golf Digest and other publications, money spent in advertising has the potential to impact the ratings.  I think that combination has elevated the (almost brand new) Lido a bit higher than it otherwise might be.  I'd love to play it to find out, I know the other two at Sand Valley are really good in their own right, so I expect Lido to be great as well.

…and I agree it is most likely spectacular, but to “debut” at #68 seems a little far fetched. Just my opinion, and I wasn’t consulted for the Top 100 list, so