00:00Hello and welcome to this video on Hidden Gem Golf Courses. If you're looking for some golfing
00:04inspiration this year then this video is definitely for you. You're going to hear from Rob Smith and
00:10Jeremy Elwood who run our Top 100 Courses panel and Mike Harris the editor of Golf Monthly as
00:15well and I've asked them all to take a look at our Top 100 Courses in the UK and Ireland
00:21and pick
00:22two courses that don't feature maybe at the top end of that Top 100 but that are well worth the
00:28visit that you may, may not have already heard about before. We're here at the beautiful Warpleston
00:35Golf Club. Let's get started. Right so let's focus on some hidden gems. I think it's fair to say that
00:51when we talk about our Top 100 Courses there aren't that many hidden gems amongst them because a lot
00:56of them are very well known. So the challenge that I set these three was to take out the Top
01:0025. You're
01:01not allowed to pick anything that's in the Top 25 but I do want you to highlight some courses that
01:06people watching this video may not have already considered if they're thinking about playing
01:10somewhere that's a real wow golf course. So Jez, let's start with you. What's your, two each,
01:16what's your first nomination? Okay well I'm going to go with Dunebeg which is in County Clare west coast
01:22of Ireland now called Trump International Golf Links I believe, Ireland. I played it just after it
01:29opened in 2003 I think and I'd played quite a few classic old links by then but never anything
01:36quite like this in amongst the towering dunes and to be honest it just blew me away. It was just
01:40a
01:41fantastic golfing experience from start to finish, real wow factor and that sort of sparked my
01:47enthusiasm for modern links with the towering dunes like Trump Aberdeen and Rosser Penner Sandy Hills
01:53and some purists probably balk at the idea of a modern links whereas I actually really embrace them
02:00and enjoy them as much as possibly if not more so than some of the older links. Yeah I would
02:06throw
02:06Castle Stewart into the mix on that front because I think that's a fantastic golf course. Now Jez,
02:09what number is it on the list? It's 47th so just inside the top 50. And if those people who
02:16are
02:16maybe putting a trip together and they want to play somewhere else where else could they play in the
02:20area? Well the obvious one is Le Hinch which is higher in the rankings, much older traditional old
02:26links but actually when they built Le Hinch they looked at the plot of land where Dunebeg was subsequently
02:32built and decided to build it elsewhere but it was earmarked for potential golf course sort of 100
02:38years before it became a golf course. Okay okay so that's Dunebeg or Trump International Golf Links
02:43Ireland. Mike over to you. So my first one is Wallasey, it's a new entry in the list this time
02:51at number 89. It has been on the verge of getting in for a while I would say but the
02:59level of work
03:00that's been going on at Wallasey in the last few years under the stewardship of John McLaughlin is
03:07course manager there. Really I think it's fully deserving of its place and interesting I first
03:12played it I think on my stag weekend so talking about 20 odd years ago and I've been back and
03:18played it a number of times subsequently. I always felt like it's a really great golf course there's
03:23some very spectacular holes overlooking the sea but they've done a lot of work and they've bought
03:30I guess the standard of some of the weaker holes up and it's a great experience lovely very really
03:35really friendly club. It probably sits in the shadow of Royal Liverpool which is literally just up the
03:41road. Okay so Rob over to you then what's your first nomination? Well like the other two I've gone
03:46for a Lynx but sort of midway between the two so not totally modern but also not traditional. I've
03:51gone for Enniscrone in Ireland which is kind of midway-ish between County Sligo and Carn and it was
03:58built in mid-70s. Eddie Hackett was the designer. You start off on the most ridiculously open bit of
04:04land you think well what's going on here and then you turn immediately into the dunes you then come out
04:08of them and you play down some holes down by the river and then you go back for a cliche
04:12alert
04:12roller coaster ride for a few holes with some cracking par fives and some dog legs where you
04:18hit down into little valleys and then you go around the corner up to greens on shelves. It's
04:22just enormous fun from start to finish and it really is a lovely lovely golf course. I think it's quite
04:26an important point to make here about the courses on the top 100 that you want there to be an
04:32element
04:32of fun don't you and there'll be some courses perhaps that people think is that really a top 100
04:36course but as you just said there when you describe it I can see how animated you are with it
04:40Rob and
04:41you're like well it's such good fun to play. Yeah absolutely I think fun is an important factor
04:45we don't really figure it in to the rankings or in terms of the criteria the former criteria but you
04:50have to bear in mind everyone is looking at these courses and as they think about the categories that
04:55we do have you can't actually divorce that from fun because you can't think it's a great strategic
05:00test if you're not enjoying it so you know fun has to be a part of it. I think hidden
05:05gems is an
05:05interesting term because you know if you're in that area you'll know all about that course
05:10yes but venture further afield and apart from the very top courses you'd be surprised how view golfers
05:15have really heard of some of these very fine courses that sit you know 50 to 100 or whatever
05:21some of them are quite anonymous outside their home areas. Particularly I think when they're off
05:24the beaten track is you know a lot of the courses I must say that's probably my blind spot in
05:29top 100
05:30is some of those sort of further flung Irish courses I've never been to Ennis Crone I would
05:36love to go particularly having seen some of the photography of it obviously hear your
05:40description of it. Yeah it's a good point actually wherever you are in the world there will be a
05:44hidden gem golf course somewhere near you that we probably haven't even heard of and we'd love to
05:48hear your description of it so please do leave some comments below. James back to you your second
05:54course. Well let's go for my home county West Sussex this is the only top 100 course
05:58in my home county and it's called West Sussex there is another course in East Sussex for I
06:04which is in the top 100 but West Sussex is just a beautiful Heathland golf course you arrive and
06:10it's got this old school clubhouse a big practice ground and then the first is the only par five on
06:16the course so there's always this kind of right I've got to make the most of this because there's
06:20nothing and invariably you don't of course and then the fourth and fifth are probably two of the
06:24prettiest back-to-back holes I've ever played there's a dogleg around to the left
06:28not long but testing enough and then the most beautiful par three in amongst the trees and
06:34you need to make the most of those because the hole after that is a quite ludicrous par three
06:38down the hill 230 240 yards to a green with banks either side and over water. So Mike you went
06:46for
06:46Wallasey first and Jim what's your second one? So my second one is Parkstone which is down in Dorset near
06:53Bournemouth part of
06:55three courses that are down there Ferndown Broadstone and Parkstone probably could have
07:00picked any of them really Parkstone what I really like about it is there's lots of variety there
07:05some really spectacular holes some nice changes in elevation feels like it's not overly long there's
07:13some really good sporty holes there always thought it's been in fantastic condition when I've been there
07:18love the clubhouse as well it's got amazing view over the 18th which is a par three to finish with
07:24so
07:25yeah Parkstone I think which we have ranked at 81 if I remember correctly is um would be my second
07:32choice for a hidden gem. Bonus prize is one of five in the top 100 that finish with a par
07:36three
07:36if you can name the other four leave a comment below. I was going to start trying but that wouldn't
07:41have made
07:41much uh viewing um okay very good um so uh Rob yeah what's your your last one? Well my second
07:47is uh
07:48my first one was less well known because it's kind of in the middle of nowhere my other is not
07:54so well
07:54known because it's surrounded by bigger names which is a kind of a feature which we mentioned really
07:58um I'm going for Western Gales which is at number 46 in the the new rankings um this is uh
08:07an old
08:07school length but delightfully play four holes inland heading north then you reach the coast and
08:13you just have a you just run for nine holes all the way down the beach um with some sunken
08:19greens
08:20some sort of punch bowl greens um it's just a delight if the wind is behaving in the right way
08:25too
08:25and then of course you turn for a potentially really tough 14 to 18 back up towards the lovely clubhouse
08:31I think it's got tons of charm um it's less well known because of Turnbury, Prestwick and Troon which
08:37are so close but it really is well worth visiting for anybody who doesn't yet know it. Yeah there's
08:43a few areas within our top 100 where you can put together a brilliant trip you could go up to
08:48the
08:48East Lothian coast or you could go to one of the spots in Ireland to put together it this is
08:52another
08:53one you just you just listed off however many top 100 courses there's a few others actually in that
08:57area too well Dundonald links has gone in there and we actually did that the three of us did that
09:02as a trip a few years ago we played um 72 holes in two days didn't we the two-day
09:07trip we went up
09:08and played Dundonald and uh Westingales on one day and then Troon and Prestwick on they say really
09:14quite tired when we flew we flew back. Airshire is the third most successful county joint third most
09:20successful county in our top 100 behind Surrey which excels and then then Merseyside which
09:27if you break it down is bits of Lancashire and Cheshire and what have you but that's the second
09:31most successful and then it's Ayrshire and I think Aberdeenshire on four. Wow good knowledge. Yeah
09:36I've just written about it so very good very good so there you have it hopefully that offers you some
09:42inspiration for if you're putting a golf trip together or just generally if you live in one
09:45of these areas and maybe haven't played one of these golf courses then they are well worth going out
09:50to see for yourself because I think all of us anyone who's in love with golf loves the chance of
09:56playing great golf courses and these are fantastic golf courses that are well worth a mention.
10:01So that's it for now thank you very much for watching but for now from Warpleston it's goodbye.
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