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Top 100 Golf Courses "BiteSize" – January 2017

Our first 2017 BiteSize update continues to focus on Asia, where we’ve released our latest rankings for Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines, Cambodia and Laos. We’re on target to complete all Asian country updates by the end of February and we’ll conclude the process by publishing our first ranking for the Top 100 Golf Courses of Asia.

However, a recent Chinese announcement has sent shockwaves through the golf industry. 111 illegally constructed courses have closed following a long-running government campaign to protect land and water resources. Additionally, 18 courses were forced to relinquish ground and 47 golf facilities were told to halt construction. These closures have particularly affected designs by Schmidt-Curley, which prompted Brian Curley to lament: “We are sad to see some of our best work disappear.” The most significant closure is the dramatic Leaders Peak layout at Stone Forest which was routed through an astonishing UNESCO world heritage site in the South China Karst region.

Also in this month’s edition, we celebrate the links courses of Great Britain & Ireland by publishing the first Top 100 list dedicated to the region’s premier links courses. On the opposing side of the world, Fergal O’Leary returned to the land down under, where our self-confessed golf course addict revisited some old favourites and sampled new delights.

Careful observers may have noticed that earlier this month we switched to a new domain name. After thirteen years online, we’ve waved goodbye to www.top100golfcourses.co.uk and said hello to www.top100golfcourses.com.

Top 100 Links Courses of Britain and Ireland 2017

There’s no denying it – we’re obsessed with golf courses, especially links courses. So, for the first time, we are delighted to present the inaugural rankings of the Top 100 Links Courses of Britain and Ireland. Initially we thought it would be an easy job to produce such a list, but it quickly became apparent that first we had to define exactly what is a links course.

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Top 50 Golf Courses of Thailand 2017

Our latest national rankings for Thailand are headed by the impressive Ayodhya Links in Bangkok, a Thomson & Perrett design that debuted almost exactly a decade ago. Described by one reviewer as “nothing short of a miracle… extremely challenging… full of subtlety and wonderful bunkering,” it’s a very private facility that doesn’t see much traffic during the year.

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Top 40 Golf Courses of Malaysia 2017

This is the fourth revision of the Malaysian national listings that we first established in 2009. Back then, we began with a rather limited Top 10, which was expanded to a Top 30 when we last re-ranked two years ago. Largely due to valuable input from a few reputable regional correspondents, we’re now able to confidently extend the standings to a Top 40.

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Top 30 Golf Courses of the Philippines 2017

This is the fourth revision of the national rankings that we established with only a dozen courses eight years ago. Last time there was something of a surprise when we announced the course at The Country Club Philippines as our new No.1. The Country Club has now slipped one position to No.2, replaced at the summit once more by Sta. Elena Golf & Country Club.

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Top 5 Golf Courses of Cambodia and Laos

Our Southeast Asian golf course rankings in the neighbouring countries of Cambodia and Laos have been extended, where we've created a new Top 5 for each nation. Both are still very much emerging destinations, but those wishing to sample golf off the beaten Asian track should consider teeing it up in either or both of these exotic regions.

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Fergal O'Leary returns to the land down under

Our self-confessed golf course addict revisits Australia and New Zealand to play some old favourites and to sample new delights from a ten course menu which included dinner at the appropriately named Fergburger restaurant. With the rise of golf in Tasmania and on King Island, Australia is arguably the hottest golfing destination on the planet these days.

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Have you downloaded our Scottish publication yet?

Top 100 Golf Courses of Scotland 2016-2017 was published in Kindle format, which can be enjoyed on any device with Kindle’s free App. This latest title in the Top 100 series is jam-packed full of previously unreleased material and it includes an insight from our Editor and Scottish Correspondent, Jim McCann, who has played every layout in the Scottish hundred.

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Recent Player Reviews

Have you played and Top Golf Courses recently?

If so, we'd love to hear from you, so why not post a review and share your experience? If you took a great photo during your visit, email it to info@top100golfcourses.co.uk and we'll include it within your review. Don't forget you can now have your own personalised Reviewers page on the Top 100 website.