New Entries Shake Up Golf Monthly's Top 100 UK And Ireland Courses

Jeremy Ellwood reveals the two new entries and one re-entry into Golf Monthly's Top 100 golf courses

Top 100 UK and Ireland courses

Jeremy Ellwood reveals the two new entries and one re-entry into Golf Monthly's Top 100 golf courses

New Entries Shake Up Golf Monthly's Top 100 UK And Ireland Courses

There’s no getting away from the fact that breaking into our Top 100 is becoming ever harder.

This is partly down to what we feel is their reliability after nearly two decades, and partly the increasing volume of improvement work at our top courses.

Video: Senior Panellists Rob Smith and Jezz Ellwood discuss the new entries with Digital Editor Neil Tappin...

That said, when a newcomer of the calibre of Dumbarnie Links in Fife appears on the scene, heads are definitely turned, especially with little else to report in the way of premier-league new-build courses.

The brainchild of former Ryder Cup player, Clive Clark, Dumbarnie is our highest new entry this time in 40th place.

Dumbarnie Links has received rave reviews since it was opened in May last year

Related: Dumbarnie Links Review

It serves up a truly exceptional golfing experience, playing from an elevated clubhouse right down to the shore at times via a series of remarkable holes, many of which stand out visually.

Among them are the simply gorgeous short par-3 8th and the attractively bunkered 9th that play down towards the Firth of Forth.

Our other new entry – Prince’s in 76th spot – has been knocking on the door for a while, but the scale of the upgrades under the watchful eye of Martin Ebert has resulted in a truly striking transformation.

Prince’s has improved almost beyond recognition in recent years

Parts of the course are barely recognisable from three or four years ago due to the vast sand scrapes that have appeared, sometimes for strategy, sometimes for aesthetics.

And the re-entry of Dorset’s Remedy Oak after 12 years follows a series of glowing panellist reviews, with very favourable comments about its conditioning, especially the greens.

Below is a summary of the new entries:

  • 40th - Dumbarnie Links, new entry
  • 76th - Prince's, Shore/Himalayas, new entry
  • 100th - Remedy Oak, re-entry

The full 2020/21 Golf Monthly UK and Ireland Top 100 rankings can be viewed in the brand new May issue of Golf Monthly magazine, on sale 1st April 2021

Jeremy Ellwood
Contributing Editor

Jeremy Ellwood has worked in the golf industry since 1993 and for Golf Monthly since 2002 when he started out as equipment editor. He is now a freelance journalist writing mainly for Golf Monthly. He is an expert on the Rules of Golf having qualified through an R&A course to become a golf referee. He is a senior panelist for Golf Monthly's Top 100 UK & Ireland Course Rankings and has played all of the Top 100 plus 91 of the Next 100, making him well-qualified when it comes to assessing and comparing our premier golf courses. He has now played 1,000 golf courses worldwide in 35 countries, from the humblest of nine-holers in the Scottish Highlands to the very grandest of international golf resorts. He reached the 1,000 mark on his 60th birthday in October 2023 on Vale do Lobo's Ocean course. Put him on a links course anywhere and he will be blissfully content.

Jezz can be contacted via Twitter - @JezzEllwoodGolf


Jeremy is currently playing...

Driver: Ping G425 LST 10.5˚ (draw setting), Mitsubishi Tensei AV Orange 55 S shaft

3 wood: Ping G425 Max 15˚ (set to flat +1), Mitsubishi Tensei AV Orange 65 S shaft

Hybrid: Ping G425 17˚, Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro Orange 80 S shaft

Irons 3-PW: Ping i525, True Temper Dynamic Gold 105 R300 shafts

Wedges: Ping Glide 4.0 50˚ and 54˚, 12˚ bounce, True Temper Dynamic Gold 105 R300 shafts

Putter: Ping Fetch 2021 model, 33in shaft (set flat 2)

Ball: Varies but mostly now TaylorMade Tour Response