The golf course ranking no one agrees with
When Golf Digest publishes its biennial ranking of America's 100 Greatest Golf Courses this week, it won't take long for golfers around the country to gripe about the results. But as Alex Myers explores, the definitive course ranking in the game has evolved dramatically from its early days of gathering golf insiders in a room to hammer out a list. The latest episode of Local Knowledge unpacks the massive undertaking that now goes into ranking courses; the elements that separate great golf courses from simply good ones; and how even a rudimentary understanding of golf course architecture might enhance your own enjoyment of the game.
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Show Notes
In 1962, Mapmaker C.S. Hammond & Co. asked Golf Digest for a list of the country’s best courses for its cartographers to chart, but editors thought such a list was too subjective. Instead, the magazine embarked on a four-year project using USGA course ratings along with its own research to determine the country’s most difficult tracks. The first such list, America’s 200 Toughest Courses, was published in 1966. In 1975, the list became America's 100 Greatest Golf Courses, and it's been the definitive ranking of golf courses since. In this episode of Local Knowledge, Alex Myers explores the process and criteria that go into constructing the list, how it's evolved over the last half-century, and why criticism from pundits and everyday golfers is still unavoidable.
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