Oldest Ranking in Golf Celebrates the Best of Golf Course Architecture; Only Six New Additions to Latest List
NEW YORK, NY—Pine Valley Golf Club in New Jersey remains the No.1 course in Golf Digest’s biennial survey of America’s 100 Greatest Golf Courses.
Established in 1966, America’s 100 Greatest Golf Courses is the oldest ranking in the game and is based on the extensive play and scrutiny of thousands of courses by Golf Digest’s course evaluation panel. The America’s 100 Greatest package, which also includes America’s 100 Greatest Public Courses and the Best Courses in Each State, appears in the May 2007 issue (on newsstands April 10).
America’s 100 Greatest Golf Courses—including all new rankings, supplemental stories, methodology, the newcomers and drop-offs to the list and a detailed account of how every course scored in all judging criteria—can be viewed now at www.golfdigest.com/100greatest.
Behind No.1 Pine Valley is Shinnecock Hills G.C. of Southampton, N.Y., which edged-out Augusta National (the No. 2 course in 2005). The famed Masters venue dropped to No. 3 on this year’s list. Rounding out the top ten are: No. 4 Cypress Point Club, No. 5 Oakmont C.C., No. 6 Pebble Beach Golf Links, No. 7 Merion G.C. (East), No. 8 Winged Foot G.C. (West), No. 9 Seminole G.C. and No. 10 Crystal Downs CC., its first appearance in the First 10. Augusta National, Cypress Point and Crystal Downs were all designed by Alister Mackenzie. It’s the first time since 1975 that one architect has landed three courses in the Top 10.
According to Ron Whitten, Golf Digest Senior Editor, Architecture, "No club is immune from the quest for perfection. Some are renovated to lure a major championship. Others are retro fitted with the latest irrigation and drainage. Some are restored to reclaim the luster of an original architect. Such efforts aren’t done primarily in search of a ranking. But an improved ranking on America’s 100 Greatest is often the result."
Because America’s 100 Greatest is dominated by private courses to which few readers have ready access, in 2003 Golf Digest established a ranking of America’s 100 Greatest Public Courses to showcase the top courses in the nation that are open to all golfers.
Pebble Beach Golf Links ranked No. 1 among America’s 100 Greatest Public in 2003 and 2005, and remains there again this year. The remainder of the Top 10 are: No. 2, Pacific Dunes in Oregon; No. 3, Pinehurst (N.C.) Resort & C.C.’s No. 2 Course; No. 4, the Straits Course at Whistling Straits G.C. in Wisconsin; No. 5, the Black Course at New York’s Bethpage State Park G.C.; No. 6, Shadow Creek in North Las Vegas, Nev.; No. 7, Bandon Dunes, sister course to Pacific Dunes in Oregon; No. 8, The Ocean Course in Kiawah Island, S.C.; No. 9, Prince Course on Kauai, Hawaii; and No. 10, Arcadia Bluffs G.C. in Michigan. The Ocean Course was recently recognized by Golf Digest as the nation’s toughest course in its February, 2007 ranking of America’s 50 Toughest Golf Courses, proving that the best public courses are not necessarily pushovers.
To determine America’s 100 Greatest, America’s 100 Greatest Public and the Best Courses in Each State, thousands of courses were played and evaluated by Golf Digest’s course evaluation panel of over 800 men and women golfers, which include club professionals, course superintendents and low-handicap amateurs. All panelists travel and play at their own expense and on their own timetables.
The courses were judged on various criteria: Shot Values, Resistance to Scoring, Design Variety, Memorability, Aesthetics, Conditioning and Ambience. After the panelists submitted their evaluations, Golf Digest averaged the scores of the categories and totaled the averages to determine the overall rankings. A course must be two years old to be considered for America’s 100 Greatest Golf Courses and at least a year old for any other ranking.
The Six Additions to America’s 100 Greatest Golf Courses for 2007-2008
No. 63 – Lost Dunes G.C., Bridgman, MI (Tom Doak, designer.)
No. 71 – Calusa Pines G.C.., Naples, FL (Michael Hurdzan/Dana Fry.)
No. 77 – Monterey Peninsula C.C., (Shore) Pebble Beach, CA (Bob Baldock/Mike Stranz.)
No. 83 – Tullymore G.C., Stanwood, MI (Jim Engh.)
No.92 – Sycamore Hills G.C., Fort Wayne, IN (Jack Nicklaus.)
No. 98 – Kiawah Island Club (Cassique), Kiawah Island, SC (Tom Watson)
Contact:
Andrew Katcher
212-630-2488, Andrew.Katcher@golfdigest.com
Bret Hopman
212-630-2490, Bret.Hopman@golfdigest.com
