Top 25 played/best experiences: - not necessarily the best courses according to other peoples rankings.
1. Cypress Point - best course and best experience hands down.
2. Noordwijkse - my home course (and favorite club) where I play a majority of my golf, it's my favorite place in The Netherlands by a mile and I could easily spend everyday there. I even miss it when I'm abroad or haven't been there in a couple days. It's not perfect but it's really that good and getting better in the years to come. It's home what can I say!
3. Royal County Down - best links course on the planet
4. Kingston Heath - amazing course, fastest greens I've ever touched, most hospitable and honorable welcome I've ever and likely will ever receive plus the friendliest members of any club I've ever been.
5. Pacific Dunes (only course on my list I've played more than once, definitely something to be said for that)
6. Cruden Bay - enough fun, quirk and humor to wet yourself.
7. Kingsbarns - one of my best rounds ever, perfect day, great company and awesome caddy.
8. Pebble Beach - windforce 7 and US Open tees. Best $495 I've ever spent.
9. Ballybunion Old - got my but kicked by the most beautiful and best golfing woman I've ever been engaged to.
10. Lahinch - Same as BalleyBunion only a day earlier. Just a great time.
11. Royal Dornoch - Gorse in bloom, sunny and all to myself with a hilarious caddy.
12. Old Course St. Andrews - expect this to move up my list, rough go out the first time, waited for hours to get a slot, cold, stiff as hell and scariest first tee shot I'll ever have. Harshly humiliating first 9 culmination with a broken window in the Old Course Hotel on the Road Hole. One day revenge will be mine.
13. Royal Melbourne Composite (played during drought and course was very brown) or I think it would be higher.
14. Waterville - last day of my trip with that beautiful golfing lady. Great course.
15. Royal Portrush - rarely played so bad and found the cup and the pin so often.
16. European Club - just a great and unique links.
17. Muirfield - accept the persecution of having it so far down the list. Might need another go now that I've seen more in order to appreciate it the way some of you other do. I expect it to one day move up my list.
18. NSW - warm sun, wind and links, g'day mate! Plus one of the most beautiful holes on the planet.
19. Carnoustie - dare I say it was beautiful (not the town), gorse in bloom and very solid play.
20. Whistling Straits - Just a great day though a touch intimidated from the back tees at the start, 47 - 37 to win our match for charity.
21. Shoreacres (more due to my playing companions) - narrowest driving range I've ever seen, opposite of the fairways.
22. Old Head of Kinsale - tee box on the second hole, my pro am partner started to cry, I stood between her and the cliff for security. Windforce 6 left to right, I'll catch you when you get blown over.
23. Royal St. Georges - perfect, very windy day with 3 gentlemen with enough "I'm not worthy" golf knowledge for a lifetime.
24. De Pan - Utrecht - proving you just don't need the heathland courses of England, every bit as good if not better than the best.
25. Royal Aberdeen - perhaps the best maintained links course I've ever seen and for certain the fastest greens.
Opinions change sometimes: I expect this ranking to change considerably next year.
1. Cypress Point - best course and best experience hands down.
2. Noordwijkse - my home course (and favorite club) where I play a majority of my golf, it's my favorite place in The Netherlands by a mile and I could easily spend everyday there. I even miss it when I'm abroad or haven't been there in a couple days. It's not perfect but it's really that good and getting better in the years to come. It's home what can I say!
3. Royal County Down - best links course on the planet
4. Pine Valley - tough, tough course if it were in original form and not so grown in I think it would be higher.
4. Kingston Heath - amazing course, fastest greens I've ever touched, most hospitable and honorable welcome I've ever and likely will ever receive plus the friendliest members of any club I've ever been.
5. Pacific Dunes (only course on my list I've played more than once, definitely something to be said for that)
6. Cruden Bay - enough fun, quirk and humor to wet yourself.
7. Wolf Point - Maybe it should be higher.
7. Kingsbarns - one of my best rounds ever, perfect day, great company and awesome caddy.
8. Pebble Beach - windforce 7 and US Open tees. Best $495 I've ever spent.
9. Ballybunion Old - got my but kicked by the most beautiful and best golfing woman I've ever been engaged to.
10. Lahinch - Same as BalleyBunion only a day earlier. Just a great time.
11. Royal Dornoch - Gorse in bloom, sunny and all to myself with a hilarious caddy.
12. Old Course St. Andrews - expect this to move up my list, rough go out the first time, waited for hours to get a slot, cold, stiff as hell and scariest first tee shot I'll ever have. Harshly humiliating first 9 culmination with a broken window in the Old Course Hotel on the Road Hole. One day revenge will be mine.
13. Royal Melbourne Composite (played during drought and course was very brown) or I think it would be higher.
14. Waterville - last day of my trip with that beautiful golfing lady. Great course.
15. Royal Portrush - rarely played so bad and found the cup and the pin so often.
16 Sand Hills - my best round ever earns it a top 20.
16. European Club - just a great and unique links.
17. Muirfield - accept the persecution of having it so far down the list. Might need another go now that I've seen more in order to appreciate it the way some of you other do. I expect it to one day move up my list.
18. Oakmont - historical, industrial but good enough for my top 20 I guess.
18. NSW - warm sun, wind and links, g'day mate! Plus one of the most beautiful holes on the planet.
19. Carnoustie - dare I say it was beautiful (not the town), gorse in bloom and very solid play.
20. Whistling Straits - Just a great day though a touch intimidated from the back tees at the start, 47 - 37 to win our match for charity.
21. Shoreacres (more due to my playing companions) - narrowest driving range I've ever seen, opposite of the fairways.
22. Old Head of Kinsale - tee box on the second hole, my pro am partner started to cry, I stood between her and the cliff for security. Windforce 6 left to right, I'll catch you when you get blown over.
23. Royal St. Georges - perfect, very windy day with 3 gentlemen with enough "I'm not worthy" golf knowledge for a lifetime.
24. De Pan - Utrecht - proving you just don't need the heathland courses of England, every bit as good if not better than the best.
25. Royal Aberdeen - perhaps the best maintained links course I've ever seen and for certain the fastest greens.
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