THE MOST AUTHORITATIVE RANKINGS IN THE GAME
The very best of Lancashire, Berkshire, Staffordshire, Somerset, Oxfordshire, Cheshire, Shropshire, Leicestershire, Sussex, Northants and Essex
205 COURSES Reviewed and rated
WELCOME
This is our second batch of English county rankings and it is again packed with insight and knowledge from golfers who have incredible breadth of experience in each one. These lists please me enormously because we are shining a light on literally hundreds of very, very good courses that don’t often find themselves in the spotlight.
The focus is thus on the entries that don’t feature in our other rankings, namely the GB&I and England lists. The start of each ranking is taken from the way they fall in the GB&I/England lists but, be assured, the quality remains incredibly high as we move through each county.
Numerous golfers – ostensibly our GB&I and England panellists – fed into the county lists but I was also reliant on county experts, who headed up the ‘local’ input. I am indebted to them and proud of what we have produced. They were: Lancashire – James Reader, Michael Barlow, Dave Truman, Peter Scrivener; Staffordshire – Dave Parker; Cheshire – Jon Lightfoot, Peter Scrivener; Berkshire –
Stephen Vincent; Oxfordshire – Adam Lawrence, Marcus Lovelock; Leicestershire – Nick Dungay; Sussex – Ian Poysden; Northamptonshire – Peter Bosworth, Joe Kingston; Somerset – Jaime Acton; Shropshire – Dave Parker; Essex – Daniel Godding. In 2024 we will complete our English county listings by ranking Dorset, Suffolk, Durham and Northumberland, Derbyshire, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire, Lincolnshire, Wiltshire, Worcestershire and Hereford.
Work is already well under way on these but if you are well-versed in the courses of any of these counties, do please get in touch.
For now, enjoy learning about those featured in this month’s list.
Lancashire
Along with Surrey, Lancashire is England’s most star-studded county. Its two Open hosts are part of a six-strong contingent that are established in the Great Britain and Ireland Top 100, in order: Royal Birkdale, Royal Lytham & St Annes, Formby, Hillside, West Lancashire and Southport & Ainsdale. Add in England top 100 entries Formby Ladies (No.7) and St Annes Old Links (No.8) and this is clearly one of England’s strongest areas for golf, and its strongest area for the links game.
Fairhaven sits at No.9 in Lancashire.
As a near-neighbour Lytham, there may be no sight of the sea but there’s still a strong links feel. Play there and you’d forgiven for thinking there must be more than the actual 118 bunkers, because there are occasions when they seem to be everywhere.
Next is Manchester (No.10), and in a county renowned for its links, Lan
