Top 100 Highest New Entries Of All Time
The very first Golf Monthly rankings date back to 2005/6, and in order to make them a little different, the original custodians decided that it would be the Top 120 courses in the UK and Ireland.
This gave them the scope to include more courses, something we would love to be able to do as standards rise all the time and there are so many extremely worthy contenders.
The current team took over for the third biennial publication in 2009/10, at which point we set about righting a few minor wrongs and oversights, and reverted to the more traditional Top 100 at the same time as introducing a Next 100. We thought it might be interesting to see which newcomers to the Top 100 have burst onto the scene with the greatest impact – the highest new entries of all time.
Deciding which courses are just inside the Golf Monthly Top 100, those that are in the Next 100, or those that sit just outside, is harder than ever. Most new entries or re-entries, whether a new course or a significant upgrade, understandably come into the list somewhere in the 90s.
There are, of course, a few exceptions. In ascending sequence, our leading six Top 100 new entries of all time are as follows:
Prince’s – Shore/Himalayas – 2021
Looking down over the lovely new par-3 fifth hole on the Shore nine at Prince’s
(Image credit: Gary Lisbon)
Prince’s (Shore/Himalayas) – Position 76 (2021/2)
After hosting The Open in 1932, Prince’s Golf Club lived somewhat in the shadows of its neighbours. This was understandable with Royal St. George’s immediately next door and Royal Cinque Ports just down the coast. In the last 12 years, this accessible and friendly club has been transformed both on and off the course.
The Lodge is now an excellent place to stay and socialise, while Martin Ebert has revitalised the golf with his thoughtful revisions and a couple of excellent new par 3s. Everything about Prince’s has stepped up a gear.
Rosapenna (St Patrick’s Links) – 2023
The second hole on Tom Doak’s new design at Rosapenna
(Image credit: Clyde Johnson)
Rosapenna (St Patrick’s Links) – Position 61 (2023/4)
Rosapenna has long been a consummate golfing destination with the Sandy Hills Links an ever-present in the Top 100 and the Old Tom Morris Links a very enjoyable and interesting accompaniment.
The land immediately to the south in Sheephaven Bay had been developed as a 36-hole complex getting on for 30 years ago, was then lost, but has now been transformed by Tom Doak into…
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