Golf has always had its fair share of print publications. Some monthlies such as Golf Illustrated have been around for more than a century while others, most notably Golf Magazine and Golf Digest, have been around since the post-World War II era. Some magazines are regional entities such as California Golf or Southern Links, while weeklies such as Golf World and Golf Week appeal to the most avid of golf fans.
While most golf print publications feature golf news and interviews, equipment updates, instruction and travel, some of the aforementioned magazines also feature issues on golf course architecture and design as well as annual ratings of the game”s top venues. It was way back in 1972 that I initially saw the Golf Digest rankings of the top 100 courses in America. While course architecture and design wasn”t all that big a deal some 40 or more years ago, the rankings were a big deal if you were a member at one of those noted golfing establishments. It was all about recognition and bragging rights, and many of the ranked courses were old-money establishments with a blueblood lineage.
The rankings were a big deal at the golf course I happened to work at way back then. I caddied and then worked in the pro shop at Beverly Country Club at Chicago”s south side. At that time, Golf Digest ranked the courses in pods of 10 and Beverly was rated in the listing between 51 and 60. Of course, Beverly just so happened to fit the profile of the vast majority of the country clubs listed in the newly introduced top 100. It was an old-time establishment course that first opened in 1907. Donald Ross, one of the godfathers of American golf architecture, designed it. It stood up to the test of time with a who”s who of former champions, including Chick Evans in the 1912 Western Open, Franics Ouimet in the 1931 United States Amateur, Arnold Palmer in the 1963 Western Open (winning an 18-hole Monday playoff against Jack Nicklaus and Julius Boros), and Jack Nicklaus in the 1967 Western Open. Five years ago Vinnie Giles won the U.S. Senior Amateur at Beverly. Tom Weiskopf holds the course record at 7-under-par 64.
Down through the years a myriad of golf publications have published top golf course rankings and have expanded the process, developing listings for top public courses, top tour courses, the top worldwide courses, the top courses by state, and even the best nine-hole golf course in America. Locally, nine-holer Adams Springs is listed in the top five of the most recent rankings. The most recent edition of Golf Week magazine has its annual listing of the top 100 courses of the classic era, through 1959, and the top 100 courses of the modern era, starting in 1960. This week”s annual architectural issue also includes the next 100 in both categories as well as the top-ranked golf courses on a state-by-state basis. Did you know that Okemo Valley Golf Club in beautiful Ludlow in the fourth-ranked course in Vermont?
The top courses on the classic list have pretty much remained the same during the past 40 years. From the West Coast, Cypress Point and Pebble Beach remain firmly entrenched in the top 10, ranked second and seventh, respectively. Of course, their design, their history and most importantly, their drop-dead-gorgeous location along the Pacific Ocean add to their status among the game”s finest venues.
Augusta National, the home of the Masters, is ranked fifth and has always been a fixture among the top 10, often finding itself atop the rankings. Other top-10 traditional courses of note include Shinnecock Hills, Merion and Oakmont, all multiple-U.S. Open venues, along with the National Golf Links, site of last September”s Walker Cup matches.
The largely unknown entity among the top 10 of classic courses is Crystal Downs, an Alister Mackenzie and Perry Maxell parkland design located in a most remote area of northwestern Michigan. Along with Cypress Point and Pebble Beach, Crystal Downs is the only member of the classic course top 10 that I”ve been fortunate enough to play. Thanks to the kindness of top Midwestern senior amateur Jim Hegarty and renown golf course architect Mike DeVries, I spent a most memorable day, some 15 years ago, on one of the game”s most noted settings and designs. DeVries has two courses, the Kingsley Club and Greywalls at Marquette, among the modern era top 100.
Other California courses on the classic list include The Olympic Club at No. 27 and Pasatiempo in Santa Cruz at No. 34. Their rating seems quite fair. I”ve never been able to play the San Francisco Golf Club, but its reputation is well known and it finds itself highly regarded with a ranking of 15. Another old-time private club, The California Club in South San Francisco, is included in the listings at No. 36. Beverly Country Club, my old stomping ground, is still hanging in the top 100 after all these years. It is ranked 93rd.
On the modern side of the rankings, the four courses at Bandon find themselves among the top 22 with Pacific Dunes coming in at No. 2, the ultra-quirky Old Macdonald at No. 6, and the original Bandon Dunes at No. 8. Bandon Trails is ranked 22nd and Spyglass Hill, the neighbor of Pebble Beach and Cypress Point, finds itself positioned at No. 20 among the modern era rankings. Another Pebble Beach course, the very private Monterey Peninsula Country Club”s Shore Course, a site of the old Bing Crosby and current AT&T Pro-Am, is listed a No. 33.
Of course, from my perspective as a lover of the game as well as an unabashed course collector, too many of the great courses are inaccessible. They are very private country clubs with restrictive policies toward guests or non-members. Some of the top-ranked courses that are open to the public are quite expensive, with Pebble Beach, Pinehurst and Trump National Doral being three really good examples.
This ranking of the great courses is all pretty subjective. Yet it is fun to compare thoughts and experiences. It”s kind of like discussing the merits of Fenway Park or the old Boston Garden. The top 100 golf courses are brilliantly designed, historic and full of tradition and memories.
