Why ranking Scotland’s top golf courses can never be definitive
Rank golf courses in Scotland on a public platform and you better have a hard hat at the ready, as I discovered during a mostly enjoyable spell editing a golf magazine in the sport’s cradle.
It was between 2003 and 2009 and, for this particular list, we let the readers decide how the country’s top courses should be rated in order, rather than a panel of experts, as is normally the case.
The result didn’t sit well with the traditionalists, as Loch Lomond, still a relative newcomer at the time, having only opened in 1993, came out on top ahead of the country’s plethora of outstanding established links courses.
The main reason, of course, was down to Loch Lomond being the home of the Scottish Open and almost a magical place where fans were allowed through the wrought iron gates for that week alone each year. The vast majority had never actually played the course and neverwill,hencewhyicanseenowwhy conducting such a poll in that way was flawed. Though there can be no denying that Tom Weiskopf created an absolute gem on those bonnie banks of Loch Lomond.
I was reminded about that wee stooshie last week amid the reaction to a list of Scotland’s top 100 courses being published by Golf World/today’s Golfer, with this one being collated on the strength of input from a 13-strong panel. Three of that group have apparently played every single one of the 560-plus courses in Scotland. But – and this should really come as no surprise – that list has also caused raise eyebrows around the country.
The top four are unchanged from 2019, with the Old Course at St Andrews still ranked No 1, followed by the Ailsa Course at Turnberry, Muirfield and Royal Dornoch. After a jump of three spots, North Berwick lies fifth, with Kingsbarns, Carnoustie, Cruden Bay, Trump International Golf Links outside Aberdeen, Royal Aberdeen and Royal Troon completing the top 10. North Berwick being in such a lofty position appears to have caused some murmurings of disagreement,
though the West Links is undoubtedly a fun test of golf and perhaps that was factored in by the panel against more demanding layouts.
That being said, Ardfin, on the southern tip of Jura, created by Australian architect Bob Harrison for the antipodean multi-millionaire, Greg Coffey, is reckoned to be darn difficult and has been handed the status of highest newcomer in 11th spot.
Other talking points include Nairn dropping 10 spots to 25th, the two courses at Blairgowrie Rosemount and Lansdowne - both slipping 20 places to 46th and 68th respectively and other newbies on the list including Dumbarnie Links (24th) and Dunaverty (48th). Loch Lomond, incidentally, dropped six spots to 15th, one above Castle Stuart, where the Scottish Open moved
initially after leaving its long-time home in the west of Scotland.
What has to be remembered here, of course, is these lists are subjective and, no matter how many experts are involved, you are never going to come up with one that is really definitive.
Taketheoldcourseatstandrews, for example. Many love it but others hate it. I’m with the former but, at the same time, I wouldn’t rank it as my personal No 1 in Scotland. Muirfield gets that vote, closely followed by Carnoustie, Royal Troon and the revamped Ailsa Course at Turnberry, while I’m also a huge fan of both the King’s and Queen’s Courses at Gleneagles, as well as Downfield in Dundee. I would also have to agree with the current European No 1, Lee Westwood, that Nairn deserves to be higher, and the same goes, incidentally, for the 71st-ranked
Torrance Course at Fairmont St Andrews.
In general, what the list does illustrate, of course, is that we are blessed with so many outstanding golf courses and here’s hoping the remaining partners involved in the Ladies Scottish Open can come up with somewhere to get the pulses racing for this year’s event.
Make no mistake, it’s a huge blow to have lost Aberdeen Standard Investments as the title sponsor after a 12-year run. But there really is no better showcase for women’s sport in Scotland than this event and it would be great to see another company with inclusivity at its heart jump at this chance to open an exciting new chapter. As for that venue, well, watch this space, as it could be very exciting indeed.
Zander Fagerson’s red card continues to dominate the rugby agenda, with the general consensus being that, while the dismissal was correct according to the letter of the law, the decision seemed harsh.
Ryan Wilson, a clubmate of Fagerson’s at Glasgow Warriors, believes such cases could be dealt with better and has suggested a 20-minute sinbin for the type of offence witnessed at Murrayfield in Saturday’s Six Nations game.
The Scotland prop was given his marching orders for charging into a ruck against Wales and making contact with the head of Wyn Jones. It was deemed dangerous play by referee Matthew Carley and Fagerson will face a disciplinary hearing via video link on Tuesday evening.
Such ruck clear-outs are commonplace and Wilson would like to see a degree of leniency applied.
Other nations, including New Zealand and Australia, have experimented with extended sin-bins and there is also a proposal for a 20-minute sin-bin in Major League Rugby in the United States.
“The way the law is, shoulder contacting the head with whatever force, I think you’re looking at a red every time,” said Wilson, who hopes to return to action on Friday when Glasgow host Ulster after a month-long hiatus for his club.
“I don’t think it should be a red, because I don’t think it was dangerous play in any way, but that’s the problem with the laws at the moment – they state if there’s shoulderto-head contact, it’s a red card. So we’ve got to look at a way to get round that, I suppose. Probably have a little bit more, dare I say, common sense coming into those decisions.
“I’ve heard that the MLR (in the US) are talking about maybe having a 20-minute red card, which seems quite interesting. So you get a red card and that player goes off for 20 minutes and I don’t think you can bring him back on.”
The American proposal downgrades the impact of a red card and would see the offending team go down to 14 players for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, the player who was sent off can be replaced with any other player on the bench and the team plays with 15 for the rest of the game.
The red-carded player cannot return to the field and will go through all subsequent disciplinary procedures.
The logic behind the plan is that the game will remain competitive and won’t be ruined by the red card. A similar system was trialed in the Super Rugby tournaments in New Zealand and Australia last summer.
Wilson believes there was no malice in Fagerson’s challenge and is keen to make the distinction between this type of “accidental” offence and a more overtly violent, deliberate act.
“If you think about the rules and how these red cards work, my idea is these ones that you might call accidental, like someone falling into tackle and hitting the shoulder of the oncoming player. That would be one of those red cards when you go off for 20 minutes and someone else can then come back on.
"Punching someone in the face doesn’t warrant that – it’s a straight-up red card because, otherwise, it would be chaos.
“I don’t think Zander was trying to do damage. He was clearing out the ruck and the player’s head has popped up at the last minute.
“The amount of times we see these red cards given to things that sometimes can’t be avoided, or they’re not cynical, you don’t mean to do it. It sometimes just destroys the game.
“Without that red card, Scotland go on and win.”
While acknowledging the player safety is paramount, Wilson would like to see the laws “tweaked”.
“As stupid as it sounds, we just steam into those rucks and you just try to clear bodies out the way,” said the backrow forward.
“If a head pops up at the last minute, what are you meant to do? It’s not a lack of clarity as I know, if that happens, it’s probably going to be a red card.
“I just think there needs to be a tweak of the laws somewhere around that. Obviously, you have to look after the safety of the players but you’re going to get hit in the head when you’re in a ruck.
“The 20-minute red-card thing could be a good solution to it. So, if a player does something silly that they didn’t mean then 20 minutes is going to be a big hit for them, but at least you are going to get a player back on the field and you can go again with 15 men.”
Wilson has not given up hope of rejoining Fagerson in the Scotland squad but knows he needs to get some matches under his belt if he is to have a chance of winning a recall.
Glasgow have not played since beating Edinburgh at Scotstoun on January 16 and it’s been a frustrating period for all at the club, with Covid and the freezing conditions conspiring to limit their gametime. Warriors had been due to play Benetton on Saturday but Scotstoun was ruled unplayable.
“I’m desperate to get back in there and play as much rugby as we can,” said the 31-year-old, who is stuck on 49 caps.
"I want to be playing for Scotland – but I’ve got to be playing matches for Glasgow first. It’s been so stop-start with Covid, and then for the pitch to freeze . . . we couldn’t have helped that.
"All over the country, you saw problems with pitches. It is frustrating, and you want to play rugby, but what can you do when it’s minus 11 at night? I’m lucky to have my heating going at the moment, let alone playing rugby.”