December 1, 2018
Why Isn't My Course Ranked?
Throughout my travels the most 2 common questions without a close 3rd are;
1) How is my course not ranked?
2) My course is ranked but deserves to be higher on the list then it is!
How can that course be ranked but its only 6500 yards and I have a 7200 championship design here?
The course down the street is ranked and has half the greens budget we have, our course has way better conditions!
Our Club has a much better membership then some on the list, how can we not be on it?
Which list do you feel like your club belongs on?
Golf Digest Top 100
Golf Magazine Top 100
Golf Week Top 100 Classic
Golf Week Top 100 Modern
Golf Digest Top In State
The Golf Digest Top In State is a great place to start because there are around 700 total courses on this list any given year. Here is the methodology that puts courses on the list:
SHOT VALUES ~ How well do the holes pose a variety of risks and rewards and equally test length, accuracy and finesse?
RESISTANCE TO SCORING ~ How difficult, while still being fair, is the course for a scratch player from the back tees?
DESIGN VARIETY~ How varied are the holes in differing lengths, configurations, hazard placements, green shapes and green contours?
MEMORABILITY ~ How well do the design features provide individuality to each hole yet a collective continuity to the entire 18?
AESTHETICS ~ How well do the scenic values of the course add to the pleasure of a round?
CONDITIONING ~ How firm, fast and rolling were the fairways, how firm yet receptive were the greens and how true were the roll of putts on the day you played the course?
AMBIENCE ~ How well does the overall feel and atmosphere of the course reflect or uphold the traditional values of the game?
The criteria is measured on a scale of 1-10 and shot values are doubled. A course MUST have 45 evaluations in 8 years in order to get on this list.
Resistance to Scoring / Shot Values / Conditioning are what I define as "Black & White" categories. They are very straight forward and rely on statistics, real numbers. For example; Pine Valley, TPC Sawgrass, Muirfield Village, Oak Tree National, Castle Pines, and Pikewood National all are 155 slope courses from their championship tees. Golf gets no harder for the amateur so arguably these are the best courses there can be when it comes to the Resistance to Scoring category and all deserving of their spots in the Top 100. Shot Values may not be as straight forward but one could pose strong arguements to state what is good and what is not. Conditions are naturally compared to what we see on TV every Sunday. Does the course provide PGA Conditions comparable to what we see on TV? Super fast greens, plush rough, tight fairways, clean beautiful bunkers. Even though this could all be a matter of opinion, most agree what qualifies as good and bad.
Design Variety / Memorability / Aesthetics / Ambiance are what I define as "Grey Area" categories. Design Variety may be closer to black & white, however some raters prefer one designer over another, and when they really like a designer everything about the course is perfect and when they really dislike a designer everything is bad. Memorability is very gray, what may be memorable or attractive to one person could have no appeal to another. Aesthetics and how scenic a course is would be complete personal opinion. I have heard raters say "If it's not on a grand coast line it can't be considered the best" and I've also heard people rave about tee box views on tree lined holes with grand scale. Then there was Ambience, how well does the overall feel and atmosphere of the course reflect traditional values? Give me 100 raters and I'll give you 100 different answers when it comes to a courses Ambience.
How do these grey areas get certain clubs onto the list and keep others off?
Design Variety can be positively pushed by the designer himself. "It" designers who are extremely popular at the moment make a living off renovations / redesigns / restorations all in the name of exposure and notoriety. They are constantly doing interviews and always agree to be part of articles in all the major publications. The more exposure they get from publications the more pull they perceive to have with the ranking panels. Designers are considered experts and have exposure, the great ones also happen to be salesman... Naturally.
Memorability / Aesthetics / Ambiance are biased breeding grounds. If a rater is a member or wants to keep a club on the list that maybe shouldn't be there or even wants to get a club on the list that isn't on he will use these categories to get it there. Clubs also take advantage of these categories to get themselves where they are at on lists. Raters are chosen by publications primarily based on rounds played and access to great clubs they have on their own. This prevents the publication creating a nuisance for the clubs. Raters aren't supposed to flaunt status and use it for access. Raters naturally are die-hard, they travel and play 30 plus different courses per year. So when a rater takes a trip and plays a dozen courses on a trip then gets home and starts filling out ranking forms 3 weeks he has to think. Can you see how all the sudden food, beverage, amenities, lodging, and special treatment play a factor in Memorability / Aesthetics / Ambiance?
It's no coincidence the top 1% of Clubs are always raising the bar and constantly setting new trends. Is your club offering strong experiences that would elevate Memorability / Aesthetics / Ambiance?
If you have a strong golf course and follow all the latest trends offering a top 1% experience you could lack ballots. Golf Digest for example requires 45 evaluations in 8 years to be considered for any of their lists. Golf Week requires 15 evaluations to be considered in their lists. So there is the chance a course that deserves to be among st the greatest isn't there simply due to lack of exposure.
Contact: TheScratchList@Outlook.com to find out!
Throughout my travels the most 2 common questions without a close 3rd are;
1) How is my course not ranked?
2) My course is ranked but deserves to be higher on the list then it is!
How can that course be ranked but its only 6500 yards and I have a 7200 championship design here?
The course down the street is ranked and has half the greens budget we have, our course has way better conditions!
Our Club has a much better membership then some on the list, how can we not be on it?
Which list do you feel like your club belongs on?
Golf Digest Top 100
Golf Magazine Top 100
Golf Week Top 100 Classic
Golf Week Top 100 Modern
Golf Digest Top In State
The Golf Digest Top In State is a great place to start because there are around 700 total courses on this list any given year. Here is the methodology that puts courses on the list:
SHOT VALUES ~ How well do the holes pose a variety of risks and rewards and equally test length, accuracy and finesse?
RESISTANCE TO SCORING ~ How difficult, while still being fair, is the course for a scratch player from the back tees?
DESIGN VARIETY~ How varied are the holes in differing lengths, configurations, hazard placements, green shapes and green contours?
MEMORABILITY ~ How well do the design features provide individuality to each hole yet a collective continuity to the entire 18?
AESTHETICS ~ How well do the scenic values of the course add to the pleasure of a round?
CONDITIONING ~ How firm, fast and rolling were the fairways, how firm yet receptive were the greens and how true were the roll of putts on the day you played the course?
AMBIENCE ~ How well does the overall feel and atmosphere of the course reflect or uphold the traditional values of the game?
The criteria is measured on a scale of 1-10 and shot values are doubled. A course MUST have 45 evaluations in 8 years in order to get on this list.
Resistance to Scoring / Shot Values / Conditioning are what I define as "Black & White" categories. They are very straight forward and rely on statistics, real numbers. For example; Pine Valley, TPC Sawgrass, Muirfield Village, Oak Tree National, Castle Pines, and Pikewood National all are 155 slope courses from their championship tees. Golf gets no harder for the amateur so arguably these are the best courses there can be when it comes to the Resistance to Scoring category and all deserving of their spots in the Top 100. Shot Values may not be as straight forward but one could pose strong arguements to state what is good and what is not. Conditions are naturally compared to what we see on TV every Sunday. Does the course provide PGA Conditions comparable to what we see on TV? Super fast greens, plush rough, tight fairways, clean beautiful bunkers. Even though this could all be a matter of opinion, most agree what qualifies as good and bad.
Design Variety / Memorability / Aesthetics / Ambiance are what I define as "Grey Area" categories. Design Variety may be closer to black & white, however some raters prefer one designer over another, and when they really like a designer everything about the course is perfect and when they really dislike a designer everything is bad. Memorability is very gray, what may be memorable or attractive to one person could have no appeal to another. Aesthetics and how scenic a course is would be complete personal opinion. I have heard raters say "If it's not on a grand coast line it can't be considered the best" and I've also heard people rave about tee box views on tree lined holes with grand scale. Then there was Ambience, how well does the overall feel and atmosphere of the course reflect traditional values? Give me 100 raters and I'll give you 100 different answers when it comes to a courses Ambience.
How do these grey areas get certain clubs onto the list and keep others off?
Design Variety can be positively pushed by the designer himself. "It" designers who are extremely popular at the moment make a living off renovations / redesigns / restorations all in the name of exposure and notoriety. They are constantly doing interviews and always agree to be part of articles in all the major publications. The more exposure they get from publications the more pull they perceive to have with the ranking panels. Designers are considered experts and have exposure, the great ones also happen to be salesman... Naturally.
Memorability / Aesthetics / Ambiance are biased breeding grounds. If a rater is a member or wants to keep a club on the list that maybe shouldn't be there or even wants to get a club on the list that isn't on he will use these categories to get it there. Clubs also take advantage of these categories to get themselves where they are at on lists. Raters are chosen by publications primarily based on rounds played and access to great clubs they have on their own. This prevents the publication creating a nuisance for the clubs. Raters aren't supposed to flaunt status and use it for access. Raters naturally are die-hard, they travel and play 30 plus different courses per year. So when a rater takes a trip and plays a dozen courses on a trip then gets home and starts filling out ranking forms 3 weeks he has to think. Can you see how all the sudden food, beverage, amenities, lodging, and special treatment play a factor in Memorability / Aesthetics / Ambiance?
It's no coincidence the top 1% of Clubs are always raising the bar and constantly setting new trends. Is your club offering strong experiences that would elevate Memorability / Aesthetics / Ambiance?
If you have a strong golf course and follow all the latest trends offering a top 1% experience you could lack ballots. Golf Digest for example requires 45 evaluations in 8 years to be considered for any of their lists. Golf Week requires 15 evaluations to be considered in their lists. So there is the chance a course that deserves to be among st the greatest isn't there simply due to lack of exposure.
Contact: TheScratchList@Outlook.com to find out!