The Thin Wedge

The Majors, Ryder Cup, Sir Nick Faldo and more…

I guess most people have a few ideas of what courses they’d love to play, and given the time and resources we’d have a go at playing them all! Of course some of them are nigh-on impossible (Augusta, Monterey Peninsula) and of course many require the benevolence of knowing a member (Wentworth, Loch Lomond, most of the US).

So, ignoring those, I had a good think about what could actually be realistic, and came up with the following few categories:

• The Open
• Ryder Cup
• US Open
• PGA Championship
• The Players Championship
• Faldo Wins
• Faldo Design
• Other Top Courses

All the courses mentioned below are all pay-to-play, accessible to the general public, and most have never asked for proof of handicap (only St Andrews, I believe so far).

Some of them I have now played, and will bring/have already brought you a review of (look out for links below).
Hopefully I might even inspire you with a few ideas for your own list!

The Open

The Open is always a great place to start. A limited number of courses – fourteen – and they seem to cluster in groups, making it easy to play two or three at a time. The list is in order they were first played (* denotes it was also a Ryder Cup venue).

1. Prestwick
2. St Andrews
3. Musselburgh
4. Muirfield Royal
5. St Georges Royal
6. Liverpool (Hoylake)
7. Royal Cinque Ports
8. Royal Troon
9. Royal Lytham*
10. Carnoustie
11. Princes
12. Royal Portrush
13. Royal Birkdale*
14. Turnberry

Here’s how they sort of cluster together if you fancied it. At worst they’re about an hour and a half from one to the other, at best next-door:

• St Andrews - Carnoustie (E Scot)
• Prestwick - Troon - Turnberry (SW Scot)
• Musselburgh - Muirfield (SE Scot)
• Royal St Georges-Royal Cinque Ports - Princes (SE Eng)
• Royal Lytham - Royal Birkdale - Royal Liverpool (NW Eng)
• And Royal Portrush (Northern Ireland) on its own!

Ryder Cup

Follow in the footsteps of bi-annual, trans-Atlantic competitive greatness by tackling the Ryder Cup courses. Unfortunately many of the US courses are not open to the public, so this list is based on those that can be played. The list is in order they were first played (* = also an Major course).

1. Moortown Golf Club, Eng
2. Southport and Ainsdale Golf Club, Eng
3. Ganton Golf Club, Eng
4. Pinehurst Resort, USA
5. Lindrick Golf Club, Eng
6. Royal Lytham & St Annes*, Eng
7. Royal Birkdale Golf Club*, Eng
8. Greenbrier, USA
9. Walton Heath, Eng
10. PGA National, USA
11. Kiawah Island, USA
12. Belfry, Engl
13. Valderrama, Spain
14. K Club, Ireland
15. Celtic Manor, Wales
16. Gleneagles (Centenary), Scot
17. Le Golf National, France
18. Whistling Straits, USA*
19. Marco Simeone, Italy
20. Bethpage (Black), USA*
21. Adare Manor, Ire

Unfortunately much of the original Greenbrier course washed away during a flood when the river that runs through the course burst its banks, but they have salvaged some of it, and I believe there’s still a few of the original holes in play.


US Open

As mentioned before, you can’t play Augusta, but you can play a couple of the US Open and PGA Championship courses. Some of them have hosted both (*), and some have also hosted a Ryder Cup (^)

1. Chambers Bay
2. Erin Hills
3. Torrey Pines
4. Pebble Beach
5. Pinehurst (No. 2)*
6. Bethpage (Black)*^

PGA Championship

1. French Lick Resort
2. Keller GC
3. Tanglewood Park
4. Seaview (Bay/Pines)
5. Eisenhower Park (Red)
6. Hershey (West; with stay at the hotel)
7. Shawnee Inn
8. Cedar Crest
9. Belmont
10. Harding Park
11. Whistling Straits^
12. Pinehurst No. 2*
13. Bethpage*^

The Players Championship

The unofficial 5th Major. It deserves its own category, hands down.

1. TPC Sawgrass, Florida, USA

Faldo Wins

I had a bit of an argument with myself about where to put this list. Should it go before, or after the "Other Top Courses" section. As a bit of a fan of Sir Nick, it might seem biased of me to place it first, but just have a look at some of the courses he won on.

Gleneagles. Ganton. Crans Sur Sierre. Harbour Town. Woburn. Sun City. Doral.

These are incredible courses in their own right and deserve to be high on anyone's bucket list.

So what better way to walk in the footsteps of greatness than walking the same courses that Sir Nick won at?
One bonus is that many of these wins were in Europe – so therefore playable – and a few are in places you’d want to holiday, so why not kill two birdies with one stone?

Anyway, here’s the list. Obviously Augusta has been left out, as have a couple others, but this is a pretty exhaustive list. There’s also a few duplicates (*) with the previous lists so you can cross off a few at once.

1. Torquay, Eng
2. John O’Gaunt, Eng
3. Welwyn Garden City, Eng
4. Ashridge, Eng
5. Berkshire, Eng
6. Pannal, Eng
7. Royal Lytham*, Scot
8. Craigmillar Park, Scot
9. Gleneagles* (King’s Course), Scot
10. Royal Birkdale*, Eng
11. Royal Johannesberg and Kensington, South Africa
12. Royal St Georges*, Eng
13. Ganton*, Eng
14. Notts (Hollinwell), Eng
15. La Boulie, Paris, France
16. Wilmslow GC, Eng
17. Sand Moor, Eng
18. Bingley St Ives, En
19. Crans sur Sierre, Switzerland
20. Harbour Town, USA
21. Moortown*, Eng
22. Ferndown GC, Eng
23. Real Club de golf Las Brisas, Spain
24. Muirfield*, Scot
25. Chantilly, Paris, France
26. Valderrama*, Spain
27. Woburn, Eng
28. St Andrews*, Scot
29. Royal Hong Kong GC, Hong Kong
30. Kilarney, Ire
31. Tryall, Jamaica
32. Barseback, Sweden
33. Sunningdale, Eng
34. Mount Juliet, Ire
35. Royal Zoute, Belgium
36. Sun City, South Africa
37. Doral Blue Monster, USA
38. Gulf Harbour Country Club, New Zealand
39. Amata Spring, Thailand

Faldo Design

Sir Nick hasn't just won at some incredible courses, he's designed some pretty nifty ones as well, and some in some pretty cool locations - Angkor Wat anyone?!? Here's a list:

1. Laguna Lang Co, Vietnam: Faldo Signature Design weaves through three different natural settings - the jungle, the beach, and paddy fields, complete with resident water buffalo!

Other Top Courses

Some of these I recommend, some I’ve yet to play. Either way, I think they deserve a mention. Grouped by continent, and in no particular order:

Europe

1. Kingsbarns, Scotland – Part of the Dunhill Links trio. New, but an instant classic
2. Thracian Cliffs, Bulgaria: Gary Player design along the clifftop

N. America

1. Bandon Dunes, USA: Tom Doak’s jaw-dropping Pacific links
2. Payne’s Valley, USA: Modern masterpiece dedicated to Mr Stewart
3. Bay Hill, USA: Arnie’s place. Steeped in History
4. Quivira GC, Mexico: Golf on the very clifftop tips of Baja Peninsula
5. Teeth of the Dog, Dominican Rep: Luxurious seaside golf in the su

Africa

1. Carya, Turkey: Try night golf for the most fun!
2. Leopard Creek CC, South Africa: Another tour stop, and its own safari

Asia

Australasia

1. Cape Kidnapper’s, New Zealand: Golf played along the fingers of a clifftop

And there we have it. Hope you got some ideas, and keep your eyes posted for reviews of these courses!


All photos taken by, and copyright of, myself.