As with the last two rankings, the 2017 Golf Digest Top 100 Public Course list swapped out 10 courses but there were few surprises, only a little jockeying for position. Old MacDonald moved into the top 10 at number 10 and TPC Sawgrass slid out of the top 10 to number 12. Leaving the Top 100 rankings were Pinehurst #4 (which is undergoing a major renovation at this time), Turtle Bay Palmer, Trump National LA, Maderas, Sandpiper, Old Works, Bay Hill, Circling Raven, Buffalo Ridge and Wailea Gold. Making an appearance on the Top 100 for the first time are Sentry World (34), Gamble Sands (37), Poppy Hills (62), Troy Burne (69), Quintero (87), Mid Pines (94), Trump Golf Links at Ferry Point (96) and We-Ko-Pa Sagauro (99). Returning to the Top 100 after last making the list in 2013 are Trump National Doral Blue Monster (61) and Edgewood Tahoe (93).
Of the new ten courses, I have only played Mid Pines to date and I am happy to see this 1921 Donald Ross classic is finally being recognized as a premier golf course. The renovation that Kyle Frantz performed and the new Bermuda grass installed on the greens has made this course an absolute pleasure to play.
David McLay Kidd’s Gamble Sands opened in 2014, the Blue Monster at Doral was reopened in 2015 after a Gil Hanse redesign, Ferry Point by John Sanford and Jack Nicklaus opened in 2015, Sentry World was reopened in 2015 after Trent Jones, Jr. refurbished his original design and Poppy Hills was also redone by Trent Jones, Jr. in 2014. It is no surprise that all of the above courses are now listed as Top 100 Public Courses by Golf Digest.
It is also not surprising to see Edgewood Tahoe return to the list after being left off in 2015 and We-Ka-Po Sagaura by Coore and Crenshaw has been getting rave reviews for the past few years in other publications. The big surprises to me are the addition of Quintero Golf Club which is a 2000 design by Rees Jones and especially the Hurdzan-Fry and Tom Lehman design of Troy Burne. It is just unusual for a course to be around for almost twenty years with no national recognition to suddenly make a Top 100 list without some type of renovation. I am not saying Troy Burne does not belong in the Top 100, since I have obviously not yet played it, but it has been open since 1999 and has had very little previous mentions from any publications or golf journalists. To debut at #69 after all these years is quite curious to me. I look forward to playing it in the summer of 2018 as I have always liked the courses designed by Dr. Michael Hurdzan and Dana Fry. I also loved Tom Lehman’s Prairie Club Dunes Course. Perhaps I will then see what Troy Burne is all about.
The courses that saw the most upward movement in the rankings were #55 Tobacco Road, #59 Lawsonia Links, #64 Pinehurst no. 8 and #83 Hualalai. All of these courses moved up 16 spots in the rankings.
The courses that had the most downward movement without falling out of the rankings were #76 Atunyote which fell 24 spots, #80 Golden Horseshoe Gold which fell 18 spots, #84 TPC San Antonio Oaks and #92 Linville which both fell 16 spots and #85 Bull at Pinehurst Farms and #90 Prairie Club Pines which both fell 15 spots.
Forty two courses have made the rankings in all eight Top 100 lists since they began in 2003. Twenty other courses in the current top 50 have been added since 2003 and would seem to be firmly entrenched. They are unlikely to be omitted from future lists. That leaves just 38 spots for all the other great courses in the United States. As you can see, to make a Top 100 list in any publication takes an outstanding design that is in pristine condition. Competition is keen and sometimes it is the little things like customer service that make the difference.
As I mentioned in an earlier post, whether you agree or disagree with the rankings by Golf Digest or any other publication, you can be sure that you will be treated to a challenging and enjoyable experience if you play any of the courses that are on the current or past lists.
Share This:
