Episode 106: Irish Rankings Updated

In this episode of Top 100 Clubhouse, James and Jasper sit down at Porthcawl to discuss changes to the Irish Rankings. 

Jasper's three month stint in Ireland has culminated in new appreciation for old favourites such as County Louth, and given everyone at Top 100 a glimpse into the evolution of some outstanding Irish courses.

This episode questions if bad weather can inadvertently impact perception of a course, whether subtle courses get overlooked in the age of social media, and touches on upcoming Top 100 Golf Courses events in Ireland. 

Top 100 Golf Courses Website 🛜:
https://www.top100golfcourses.com/

Top 100 Golf Courses Official Merch 🧢: 
https://shop.top100golfcourses.com/

Lockhart Travel Club ✈️: 
https://www.lockharttravelclub.com/membership/

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/officialtop100/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/thetop100golfcourses/

Chapters

00:30 - Intro
01:29 - Porthcawl Atmosphere
03:42 - Top 100 Golf Courses Irish Rankings
09:17 - American Perspectives on Parkland Golf
12:50 - Courses Rising in the Rankings
16:03 - Is Weather Impacting Course Rankings?
18:51 - Underrated Irish Courses
21:34 - Do Subtle Courses Get Overlooked?
25:30 - Upcoming Ireland Events

#golfpodcast #top100golfcourses #golfireland

Transcript

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I mean the game is an amateur game

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I mean the professional side of it

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you know

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there are idols and heroes and fun to watch them play

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but I mean if it weren't for amateur golf

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there would be no golf

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you have to remember when you play a golf course

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and you're out there for four hours or whatever

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you're only hitting the

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you're only hitting a ball for what

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15 minutes of that

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so there's a lot of time to look around

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hello and welcome to another episode of Top 100

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Clubhouse Podcast I'm your host

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James Henderson I'm joined by Jasper Minors

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the editor of the website

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how are you Jasper

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yeah doing really well

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we're in

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uh Royal Port Call

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yup probably

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one of the coolest clubs you can go to in the UK

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it is very rare that you get a

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golf course of this calibre

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that is matched by a club

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and clubhouse of a similar calibre

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but they've got it here very much so

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there's an atmosphere here that is very unique uh

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to the best clubs in the game of golf

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very much so yeah

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if you haven't been you have to come

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enjoy the golf course

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stay in the dormy accommodation

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and spend as much time as you can around the bar

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with the members they will make you feel like

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an old friend and yeah

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you could

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you could literally spend all day in the clubhouse

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which we've done today yup and uh

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I don't feel like going home yeah

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I I think we're forgetting it's lunchtime and it's like

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yeah we've got work to do yeah

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this is amazing

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but everywhere you turn

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they shake your hand and welcome you

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and it's not a us forcing them to say hello

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it's them curious ha ha ha

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I'm wondering up and saying hello

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and the staff as well is absolutely brilliant

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absolutely brilliant yeah

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it's Royal Port Call has delivered on every level

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I've been before but not to play

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and this will firmly become part of the

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the regular stops each year to come and see the course

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and see the clubhouse again

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one of the cool things I've noticed about the staff is

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um

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a lot of places of the standing

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and here hold up very high standards in terms of

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the quality of output that they want

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from all parts of the in the environment

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but they don't curtail the personality

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which is really cool and hard to do

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and it is very

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it's a very welcoming experience because of that

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I think

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what's really interesting about these types of clubs

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is that you can tell that this is the

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the fabric of the club has been woven over

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an extensive period of time

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and it's it's who the it's who and what the club is uh

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it's not been curated it's not been forced

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it's

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they've done a very good job of evolving to this point

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it's taken more than 130 years

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but uh

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it's been a worthy investment

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because it's an absolutely astonishing place

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well a great example of

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it is the fact that you're not even allowed a fork

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in here I love it

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and it's those little things uh

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if you have chips you can't have in the bar

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you've got to have it in the dining room

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but you're allowed a sandwich

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you can't have a sandwich yeah

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which is uh

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it's all those little details uh that make a

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a true club with personality um

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those little wrinkles those little details uh nuances

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idiosyncrasies and it's not something that puts you off

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it actually endears you to the club

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because you know that there's

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there's a story behind all of that

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yeah and there's a reason for it

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but it's a bad way to start a podcast

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about the Irish rankings that is true

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but we should get into that

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but

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we should probably move over into the Irish rankings

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and so Jasper what's changed

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what's happening

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how is it all going with Irish rankings

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usually although top 100 has never had a

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like an established rule of ranking updates

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the cadence has always been once every two years

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roughly

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um last year we had what we termed as a

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a reset uh

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across the well

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GBI and the the major countries within it

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so Northern Ireland Ireland Wales

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England Scotland

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um

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and Ireland probably had the

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the largest amount of change last year

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and what we realized was

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it was the first year that we did a

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island of Ireland ranking

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so combining Northern Ireland and Ireland

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the Republic and then we did the the four uh provinces

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if you will so similar to what they do in Rugby

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and we came out with the top 25

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so now this year we've extended that to 30

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the interesting thing about Ireland this year

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is that the European club has been sold

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it's been closed

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Kyle Phillips has been brought in to redo it

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and it will now be called British Bay

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British Bay

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British Bay and they've got a really good logo

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do they it's just a strong logo

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yeah strong logo

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it's a it's a modern logo

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it's a bird um

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so yeah if you haven't seen it

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head over to the website British Bay

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now the other new golf course

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the British Bay the area that it's in

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exactly yeah

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so just south of Dublin uh similar on that coastline

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so southeast Ireland

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there's another golf course that Fry

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Straka has been building

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and that's called Kuraklo Links

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I hope I'm saying that right

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Kuraklo and British Base so

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those are the two golf courses

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that we'll be intrigued to see

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uh

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first blush at Curaclo

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they have a very small bit of links land

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on the edge of the golf course

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and it looked like it was being called the links

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for the sake of maybe one or two holes on that

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but the story goes on their website again

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if you head over there and look is that in land

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they moved to what was farmland

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and after they scraped away the topsoil

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and a bit of clay they found a massive sandbank

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oh wow so the

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the golf course is very much a full sand site

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after a little bit of work um

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again I don't know how much that is marketing

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hype or storytelling or reality

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but I'm very curious to see now uh

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what that will come out like

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well it's a classic thing right

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so the amount of times

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you hear these things about a links golf course

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and it's all links but

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majority of Scottish golf courses

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do venture into farmland at points

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you know it's not all I've maybe the top stuff doesn't

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but majority of it does

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and even if they do find a lot maybe half the new holes

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the the non links holes have been found sand

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they can dig that sand out

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and find ways of using it in the other areas

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well I don't think

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Capital

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Petty is probably a really good example of that uh

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where there was sand on site uh

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but they had to stockpile that

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the hole that they dug to get the sand out of

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that's where all the clay went

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and then they covered that over and shifted it around

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so again we

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we come back to

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the point that the best golf courses are built on sand

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and Curacao

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looks like they've had enough to do it properly

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so what that means for the rankings though

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is that European club was quite highly ranked

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uh in GBI and in the Irish rankings as you'd expect

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uh now that that's been closed for an entire year

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it's not available to play

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that's come out of the rankings

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and it seems like Kyle Phillips

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will have a fairly major redo there

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so we will play it after we see it in 2027

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and then reintroduce it to the rankings

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along with Cura Clo

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what that means is that a lot of the golf courses

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that are slightly above it or below it have shifted

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yeah the other interesting thing is that we had a

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a very good panel in Ireland

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uh mostly around uh Dublin

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very well played uh both in Ireland

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but also in the rest of GBI and wider afield

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continental Europe and and the rest of the world

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and this is true for all the rankings

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that we'll put out over the next uh

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couple of weeks uh

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when it comes to England and Scotland especially

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is that we have a very extensive uh

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panel network around the world

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roughly about 200 people help us with our rankings

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and we had a massive amount of expats

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so individuals that were either born or bred in GBI

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or Ireland that had played extensively

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they come back and visit family members every year

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spend one two

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three months in Ireland

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play golf regularly at all the top clubs

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but they weren't on our panel

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because they were located in America

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and what we felt was

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that these individuals could contribute

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and really help us deepen our views

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so we've included now those individuals

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and we've listened to what they have to say

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uh

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not just in Ireland but in the other countries as well

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and I think that's helped us to

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not only go from 25 courses

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but to thirty and there might even be a couple of more

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we're just finalizing the last few

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but also establishing a contenders list

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so I think for for Ireland

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it's probably the best

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ranking that we've come out with

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there's definitely a leaning towards links

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uh with parklands uh moving down a little bit

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but that's just a reflection

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I think of the Americans weighing in

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on having a world standard

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rather than a local standard

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exactly and to your point

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I think that's the thing

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is that when you have the best parklands in the world

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in America and

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you have individuals that play those parklands

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regularly or are members of some of the best Parkland

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golf courses in the world

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uh upstate New York

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Pennsylvania etcetera

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etcetera

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when they come to England

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Scotland Ireland

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their perspective on what makes Parkland golf courses

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good if not great

263
00:10:22,500 --> 00:10:24,333
is very different than

264
00:10:24,400 --> 00:10:27,466
the novelty of finding a very good Parkland

265
00:10:27,533 --> 00:10:29,933
when we're used to playing links and heathland

266
00:10:29,966 --> 00:10:31,000
here in the UK

267
00:10:31,633 --> 00:10:33,633
I do find it interesting cause I do

268
00:10:33,700 --> 00:10:36,200
we do have an under appreciation in the UK

269
00:10:36,200 --> 00:10:39,633
of what we have the quality of the golf

270
00:10:40,100 --> 00:10:42,633
in terms of the links land that we have

271
00:10:42,800 --> 00:10:47,466
and the history we have with great golf designers

272
00:10:48,400 --> 00:10:50,700
is forgotten about

273
00:10:51,300 --> 00:10:51,933
whereas

274
00:10:51,933 --> 00:10:55,200
you speak to any of the great American architects

275
00:10:55,700 --> 00:10:59,133
they dream of having the sites that we're

276
00:10:59,166 --> 00:11:01,800
we're undermining by saying that this

277
00:11:01,800 --> 00:11:03,133
Parkland's better than it

278
00:11:03,133 --> 00:11:05,033
it's a really weird inflection point at the minute

279
00:11:05,033 --> 00:11:08,833
I think a lot of golfers in the UK look at America

280
00:11:08,833 --> 00:11:10,133
and they think

281
00:11:11,000 --> 00:11:13,166
isn't it really cool what they're doing over there

282
00:11:13,166 --> 00:11:15,666
maybe we can try and do more of that

283
00:11:15,800 --> 00:11:17,333
um and actually

284
00:11:17,333 --> 00:11:18,233
the Americans are kind of

285
00:11:18,233 --> 00:11:21,100
looking back at what we've always had here

286
00:11:21,100 --> 00:11:23,500
and saying maybe we should be more like them

287
00:11:23,500 --> 00:11:25,500
so you have these two sides of the Atlantic

288
00:11:25,500 --> 00:11:26,533
that are looking at each other

289
00:11:26,533 --> 00:11:27,900
trying to imitate one another

290
00:11:27,900 --> 00:11:31,733
and I think at the minute it seems like the really

291
00:11:31,733 --> 00:11:33,766
really high end stuff in America

292
00:11:33,766 --> 00:11:37,700
not just private clubs but just great golf

293
00:11:38,166 --> 00:11:43,433
they're going back to less of a focus on

294
00:11:45,366 --> 00:11:47,933
manicured well presented

295
00:11:48,900 --> 00:11:50,900
just perfect golf courses

296
00:11:50,900 --> 00:11:53,500
and they're focusing on the things that actually matter

297
00:11:53,566 --> 00:11:55,833
so the right type of turf

298
00:11:55,833 --> 00:11:57,866
the right type of playing conditions

299
00:11:58,233 --> 00:11:59,766
involving the ground game

300
00:11:59,766 --> 00:12:00,566
um

301
00:12:01,166 --> 00:12:02,166
and and I mean that

302
00:12:02,166 --> 00:12:04,200
that can involve so many things

303
00:12:04,933 --> 00:12:07,233
approaches to greens greens that run away from you

304
00:12:07,233 --> 00:12:09,900
as opposed to tilt it towards you etcetera etcetera

305
00:12:09,900 --> 00:12:11,133
it goes on from there

306
00:12:11,400 --> 00:12:14,400
but I think what we've seen here in the rankings

307
00:12:14,600 --> 00:12:17,033
is that some courses move up

308
00:12:17,033 --> 00:12:20,600
some move down but it's really a reflection of

309
00:12:20,633 --> 00:12:23,233
having the input of well traveled

310
00:12:23,333 --> 00:12:24,433
well seasoned

311
00:12:24,733 --> 00:12:26,733
players that have a very broad perspective

312
00:12:26,833 --> 00:12:29,866
it's almost like we've gone from a situation where

313
00:12:30,333 --> 00:12:33,233
the two ends didn't meet you know

314
00:12:33,233 --> 00:12:37,233
it's like a there was no chat over the pond

315
00:12:37,600 --> 00:12:40,133
and now we've come to a situation

316
00:12:40,133 --> 00:12:42,900
where we feel like we've got to a point

317
00:12:43,566 --> 00:12:48,133
where we've balanced those situations very well

318
00:12:48,633 --> 00:12:49,400
yes so

319
00:12:49,400 --> 00:12:49,733
I mean

320
00:12:49,733 --> 00:12:53,233
some of the courses that see a little bit of a rise

321
00:12:54,333 --> 00:12:56,600
obviously there's new new

322
00:12:56,933 --> 00:12:57,966
a new course that's kind of

323
00:12:57,966 --> 00:12:59,333
come online in this past year

324
00:12:59,333 --> 00:13:00,633
at Royal Portrush

325
00:13:01,300 --> 00:13:04,566
the big course everybody loves uh

326
00:13:04,566 --> 00:13:06,833
it's one of the greatest golf courses in the world

327
00:13:06,833 --> 00:13:08,966
the Dunluce uh

328
00:13:08,966 --> 00:13:10,300
but then next door uh

329
00:13:10,300 --> 00:13:11,233
the Valley Course

330
00:13:11,833 --> 00:13:13,700
um they've got three new holes

331
00:13:13,733 --> 00:13:17,500
um that is a spectacular little golf course that

332
00:13:17,500 --> 00:13:18,633
I think most people played

333
00:13:18,633 --> 00:13:21,066
the Dunluce and then went on to the next big one

334
00:13:21,366 --> 00:13:23,633
uh the other one that's nearby

335
00:13:23,633 --> 00:13:27,433
that sometimes gets overshadowed is um

336
00:13:28,333 --> 00:13:30,833
the the strand at Portstewart

337
00:13:31,400 --> 00:13:33,200
that sees a little bit of a rise

338
00:13:33,233 --> 00:13:34,433
so I think Northern Ireland is

339
00:13:34,433 --> 00:13:36,900
is flexing its muscles a bit in this

340
00:13:38,033 --> 00:13:41,233
they've done a lot of work on that golf course

341
00:13:41,233 --> 00:13:45,000
and I do think that yes

342
00:13:45,000 --> 00:13:47,033
it's spectacular in that front

343
00:13:47,633 --> 00:13:50,566
eight holes through those dunes that the teacher built

344
00:13:50,566 --> 00:13:53,200
it's absolutely it's so much fun

345
00:13:53,500 --> 00:13:55,733
some of the funnest golf you'll ever have play

346
00:13:55,966 --> 00:14:00,200
but the section from 8 to 14

347
00:14:00,200 --> 00:14:04,866
now is arguably the best golf on the property

348
00:14:05,133 --> 00:14:07,900
and I know they're about to start work on 16

349
00:14:07,900 --> 00:14:09,133
17 18 there

350
00:14:09,133 --> 00:14:10,033
so um

351
00:14:10,033 --> 00:14:10,800
it's exciting

352
00:14:10,800 --> 00:14:15,200
because the amount of times I've walked off on 16

353
00:14:15,200 --> 00:14:18,500
cause you return to the clubhouse and let's be honest

354
00:14:18,500 --> 00:14:20,100
it can be a wee bit exposed

355
00:14:20,300 --> 00:14:23,300
so when your underwear starts getting wet

356
00:14:24,233 --> 00:14:26,133
time to call it a day and head for the bar

357
00:14:27,900 --> 00:14:28,933
so I think uh

358
00:14:28,966 --> 00:14:31,000
I think those courses have have

359
00:14:31,000 --> 00:14:32,366
have risen um

360
00:14:32,366 --> 00:14:34,633
and there's good reason for them to do so

361
00:14:34,633 --> 00:14:36,466
some of the other courses fall uh

362
00:14:36,500 --> 00:14:38,500
it was interesting rossopena

363
00:14:38,700 --> 00:14:40,500
obviously they've got uh

364
00:14:40,500 --> 00:14:43,266
Saint Patrick's links as part of the

365
00:14:43,366 --> 00:14:45,800
the world top 100 that hasn't been affected

366
00:14:45,800 --> 00:14:49,533
so we've aligned Ireland GBI with the world uh

367
00:14:49,533 --> 00:14:50,033
it looks like

368
00:14:50,033 --> 00:14:52,333
there will be an update to the world ranking

369
00:14:53,100 --> 00:14:54,800
uh the end of uh

370
00:14:54,800 --> 00:14:59,266
2026 and so when that does come through

371
00:14:59,500 --> 00:15:02,133
whatever happens at the the top will filter down

372
00:15:02,133 --> 00:15:04,133
so there might be a little update to these rankings

373
00:15:04,133 --> 00:15:05,800
in due course if

374
00:15:06,166 --> 00:15:09,200
excuse me there are indeed changes at that level

375
00:15:09,733 --> 00:15:12,700
but one thing that we've seen was uh

376
00:15:13,166 --> 00:15:15,000
the old Tom Morris course uh

377
00:15:15,000 --> 00:15:16,633
getting a little bit more love

378
00:15:16,766 --> 00:15:21,633
I think Sandy Hills was adored

379
00:15:21,633 --> 00:15:23,366
a lot of people loved it uh

380
00:15:23,366 --> 00:15:25,766
it reminded me a little bit of the

381
00:15:25,766 --> 00:15:28,800
the cashing course at Bali Bunion

382
00:15:29,366 --> 00:15:30,533
uh the potential is

383
00:15:30,533 --> 00:15:31,900
is phenomenal but the

384
00:15:31,900 --> 00:15:33,866
the dunes and the land that it's on

385
00:15:33,900 --> 00:15:35,200
uh the nature of the land

386
00:15:35,200 --> 00:15:37,800
is that those playing quarters are very narrow

387
00:15:38,133 --> 00:15:40,900
and at some points it becomes

388
00:15:41,233 --> 00:15:42,933
well unless you're very

389
00:15:42,933 --> 00:15:45,366
very accurate it almost becomes unplayable

390
00:15:45,366 --> 00:15:46,666
it's a battle of attrition

391
00:15:47,033 --> 00:15:49,533
so it's not that we've gone cold on Sandy Links

392
00:15:49,533 --> 00:15:51,300
I think it's still a phenomenal golf course

393
00:15:51,300 --> 00:15:53,000
it's one of the best in Ireland

394
00:15:53,200 --> 00:15:54,966
but I think what we've seen is

395
00:15:54,966 --> 00:15:55,166
maybe

396
00:15:55,166 --> 00:15:58,233
a little bit more love for the two contrasting nines

397
00:15:58,500 --> 00:16:00,466
that make up the old Tom Morris course

398
00:16:00,466 --> 00:16:01,133
this episode

399
00:16:01,133 --> 00:16:03,233
is brought to you by the Lockhart Travel Club

400
00:16:03,533 --> 00:16:05,833
we believe golf is more than a game

401
00:16:05,933 --> 00:16:07,900
it's a journey a journey

402
00:16:07,900 --> 00:16:11,000
we've made across 34 of the world's top 100 courses

403
00:16:11,000 --> 00:16:14,000
last year and now it's your turn

404
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408
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so join us at Locker Travel club.com

409
00:16:24,533 --> 00:16:29,233
I've interest Jasper do you think that a place like the

410
00:16:29,233 --> 00:16:31,000
is it Sandy I've not been there

411
00:16:31,000 --> 00:16:32,400
Sandy Lane sandy hills

412
00:16:32,400 --> 00:16:33,166
sandy hills sandy hills

413
00:16:33,166 --> 00:16:35,700
sandy hills do you think a place like Sandy Hills

414
00:16:35,700 --> 00:16:38,366
where it does tighten a lot and get

415
00:16:38,366 --> 00:16:42,900
if it had no weather issues wouldn't have the

416
00:16:42,900 --> 00:16:45,133
would get more respect or do you reckon

417
00:16:45,133 --> 00:16:47,266
because the weather is very exposed

418
00:16:47,533 --> 00:16:49,066
part of the country

419
00:16:49,766 --> 00:16:52,333
it's probably windy majority of the time

420
00:16:52,533 --> 00:16:53,166
yeah and I

421
00:16:53,166 --> 00:16:55,700
I don't think it's necessarily down to

422
00:16:55,700 --> 00:16:57,566
the elements that make it difficult

423
00:16:57,566 --> 00:17:00,133
I think it is just it's it's a it

424
00:17:00,133 --> 00:17:02,400
it's on a ridge of dunes okay

425
00:17:02,433 --> 00:17:04,833
um that that make the corridors very

426
00:17:04,833 --> 00:17:06,166
very narrow um

427
00:17:06,166 --> 00:17:07,533
and and on a lot of them

428
00:17:07,533 --> 00:17:08,800
you play on top of the ridgelines

429
00:17:08,800 --> 00:17:10,100
as opposed to in the valleys

430
00:17:10,100 --> 00:17:11,000
if it's blowing it's a

431
00:17:11,000 --> 00:17:13,433
it's a it's a definite challenge

432
00:17:13,666 --> 00:17:17,033
but I think even for the average golfer sometimes it's

433
00:17:17,033 --> 00:17:19,133
uh it can be quite attritional

434
00:17:19,133 --> 00:17:22,633
it's uh you try to survive there as opposed to

435
00:17:22,633 --> 00:17:23,833
to to take it on or

436
00:17:23,833 --> 00:17:25,700
or challenge it or be a bit aggressive

437
00:17:25,700 --> 00:17:26,800
I think the two courses there

438
00:17:26,800 --> 00:17:30,633
Sandy Hills and Old Tom Morris um

439
00:17:30,966 --> 00:17:32,366
Sandy Hills definitely has

440
00:17:32,366 --> 00:17:35,800
masses of potential to be a really cool golf course

441
00:17:35,966 --> 00:17:37,966
and then the knock against the old Tom Morris

442
00:17:37,966 --> 00:17:40,833
is that the nines contrast

443
00:17:41,033 --> 00:17:42,100
and that's what came back

444
00:17:42,100 --> 00:17:44,633
in some of the rankings that we were fed back uh

445
00:17:44,700 --> 00:17:45,833
me personally

446
00:17:47,300 --> 00:17:49,000
if two nines contrast

447
00:17:49,000 --> 00:17:52,700
I don't necessarily see that as a yeah

448
00:17:52,700 --> 00:17:54,533
a massive difference um

449
00:17:54,533 --> 00:17:56,700
there are some golf courses that play like

450
00:17:56,700 --> 00:17:59,400
on links land and then they kind of go into heathland

451
00:17:59,400 --> 00:18:00,833
and then back out again yep

452
00:18:00,833 --> 00:18:04,933
very much so and that necessarily doesn't affect

453
00:18:04,933 --> 00:18:06,700
how we feel about them um

454
00:18:06,700 --> 00:18:08,633
but there is very much a contrast

455
00:18:08,633 --> 00:18:10,033
between the front line and back line at

456
00:18:10,033 --> 00:18:12,133
at Old Town Mosque so again

457
00:18:12,133 --> 00:18:14,400
we we have to listen to the panelists uh

458
00:18:14,400 --> 00:18:15,400
they've spoken

459
00:18:16,000 --> 00:18:18,933
we've we've taken their views on board uh

460
00:18:18,933 --> 00:18:21,033
one of the things that was surprising um

461
00:18:21,033 --> 00:18:23,166
and maybe this is one that will cause

462
00:18:23,166 --> 00:18:25,433
a bit of consternation is old head

463
00:18:26,133 --> 00:18:28,600
so Old Head is one of those golf courses that

464
00:18:28,600 --> 00:18:30,900
it's a spectacular place to play golf

465
00:18:31,566 --> 00:18:36,500
um but it doesn't necessarily equate to great golf

466
00:18:37,600 --> 00:18:40,133
so it's a little bit like uh

467
00:18:40,700 --> 00:18:42,333
is it nothing here in Wales

468
00:18:43,100 --> 00:18:45,300
where you have those coal holes out on

469
00:18:45,300 --> 00:18:47,266
like almost a Headland uh

470
00:18:47,333 --> 00:18:49,133
it's an amazing place to play golf

471
00:18:49,133 --> 00:18:50,700
it's incredible sea holes

472
00:18:50,700 --> 00:18:53,333
etcetera etcetera but um

473
00:18:54,366 --> 00:18:58,300
whilst the experience is amazing to play golf there

474
00:18:58,300 --> 00:19:00,933
it doesn't necessarily equate to being one of the

475
00:19:00,933 --> 00:19:02,566
great golf courses of Ireland

476
00:19:02,566 --> 00:19:04,533
in our our latest rankings

477
00:19:05,033 --> 00:19:08,966
and so is there any other changes of happened

478
00:19:08,966 --> 00:19:11,633
or is that so uh

479
00:19:11,633 --> 00:19:12,900
you look at the uh

480
00:19:12,900 --> 00:19:15,333
the top six golf courses uh

481
00:19:15,333 --> 00:19:16,533
the ones that are in the world ranking

482
00:19:16,533 --> 00:19:18,200
they've remained as they are

483
00:19:18,200 --> 00:19:20,333
once we get past that uh

484
00:19:20,333 --> 00:19:22,233
there is a bit of movement from

485
00:19:22,233 --> 00:19:24,833
let's say seven through to 15

486
00:19:25,200 --> 00:19:26,800
there's a lot of movement uh

487
00:19:26,800 --> 00:19:28,733
some of them are small changes uh

488
00:19:28,733 --> 00:19:30,000
one or two spots

489
00:19:30,166 --> 00:19:35,033
but I think we've seen courses like Sligo and Louth

490
00:19:35,900 --> 00:19:39,500
that perhaps maybe haven't been on everybody's radar

491
00:19:40,133 --> 00:19:42,733
I think Louth because it's usually the second course

492
00:19:42,733 --> 00:19:45,300
that most people play after they play Portmarnock

493
00:19:46,633 --> 00:19:50,633
and Portmarnock has like this level of prestige uh

494
00:19:50,700 --> 00:19:54,533
because it's an elite club it's difficult to get to uh

495
00:19:54,533 --> 00:19:56,866
or play on um

496
00:19:57,900 --> 00:20:00,733
that there's an expectation that it's just better

497
00:20:01,200 --> 00:20:03,733
but I think if you if you were blindfolded

498
00:20:03,733 --> 00:20:05,100
and you were brought to the front gates

499
00:20:05,100 --> 00:20:07,000
and just allowed to play the golf courses

500
00:20:07,333 --> 00:20:07,733
I think

501
00:20:07,733 --> 00:20:09,766
what we've heard back from a lot of our panelists

502
00:20:09,766 --> 00:20:12,933
is that the gap between those two golf courses

503
00:20:12,933 --> 00:20:13,633
is much more

504
00:20:13,633 --> 00:20:17,600
narrower than what many people would be LED to believe

505
00:20:17,766 --> 00:20:19,966
and maybe that's a top tip for a lot of people

506
00:20:19,966 --> 00:20:21,966
if you can't get to Portmarnock

507
00:20:21,966 --> 00:20:23,600
when you're visiting Ireland

508
00:20:24,166 --> 00:20:27,100
uh County Louth is

509
00:20:27,800 --> 00:20:30,933
if what people don't know is Jasper's just spent

510
00:20:30,933 --> 00:20:32,800
how long were you in Ireland this last year

511
00:20:32,800 --> 00:20:37,333
so this this last year I spent 11 weeks all said 11

512
00:20:37,333 --> 00:20:38,733
so I was about to say three months

513
00:20:38,733 --> 00:20:41,700
but not far off roughly three months so um

514
00:20:41,700 --> 00:20:46,000
and you can imagine a nerd of his standards would be

515
00:20:46,000 --> 00:20:48,133
playing and seeing everything he can

516
00:20:48,133 --> 00:20:51,700
and the one course you came back going

517
00:20:51,700 --> 00:20:52,566
okay this one

518
00:20:52,566 --> 00:20:55,900
this is serious was county life and again

519
00:20:55,900 --> 00:20:58,166
I don't sit on the Irish panel uh

520
00:20:58,166 --> 00:20:59,733
my job in all of this

521
00:20:59,733 --> 00:21:02,000
is to do a lot of the coordinating

522
00:21:02,000 --> 00:21:05,033
so we have to send out all of the spreadsheets

523
00:21:05,033 --> 00:21:06,600
someone has to get those back

524
00:21:06,600 --> 00:21:09,533
then we have to collate all the results

525
00:21:09,600 --> 00:21:10,700
put them into a standard

526
00:21:10,700 --> 00:21:12,066
so that we understand everything

527
00:21:12,366 --> 00:21:13,833
and then when we share it with the panel

528
00:21:13,833 --> 00:21:16,033
for their feedback and a bit of moderation

529
00:21:16,033 --> 00:21:18,366
we can look at what the general consensus is

530
00:21:18,366 --> 00:21:20,766
and without doubt um

531
00:21:20,766 --> 00:21:23,100
County Louth was one of those courses that

532
00:21:23,333 --> 00:21:26,000
everyone on the panel felt uh

533
00:21:26,133 --> 00:21:28,200
we had been sleeping on for quite a while

534
00:21:28,566 --> 00:21:30,900
uh so it's an interesting one to get that

535
00:21:30,900 --> 00:21:32,266
I mean it's been there forever

536
00:21:32,700 --> 00:21:33,500
um

537
00:21:33,700 --> 00:21:35,333
it's not like it's a new golf course

538
00:21:35,566 --> 00:21:39,733
but I think we've seen a a shift towards appreciating

539
00:21:40,133 --> 00:21:43,000
uh those subtle golf courses again

540
00:21:43,100 --> 00:21:44,233
um it

541
00:21:44,233 --> 00:21:45,600
it's a phenomenal golf course

542
00:21:45,600 --> 00:21:46,533
and I think

543
00:21:47,100 --> 00:21:49,633
the difference between Portmarnock and County Louth

544
00:21:49,633 --> 00:21:51,233
74th in the world

545
00:21:51,233 --> 00:21:53,933
and then a non ranked World Golf Course

546
00:21:53,933 --> 00:21:55,533
World ranked Golf golf course

547
00:21:56,166 --> 00:21:57,300
there's not much in it

548
00:21:57,300 --> 00:21:59,033
do you think it's really difficult

549
00:21:59,033 --> 00:22:01,000
and Portmarnock has the standing

550
00:22:01,000 --> 00:22:02,733
so it's very different but

551
00:22:02,733 --> 00:22:04,433
do you think it's very difficult for a subtle

552
00:22:04,433 --> 00:22:07,433
golf course to excel in a

553
00:22:07,433 --> 00:22:09,533
in a country known for massive dunes

554
00:22:09,533 --> 00:22:11,100
well I think that's exactly it

555
00:22:11,100 --> 00:22:13,333
I think you get a golf course like uh

556
00:22:13,333 --> 00:22:14,600
County Louth which is

557
00:22:14,600 --> 00:22:16,733
is very elegant it's very subtle

558
00:22:16,766 --> 00:22:17,766
the it doesn't play

559
00:22:17,766 --> 00:22:20,600
it's not like it's the antithesis to Karn

560
00:22:21,400 --> 00:22:22,533
uh or even Rossi Pena

561
00:22:22,533 --> 00:22:23,733
like there's just there's

562
00:22:23,800 --> 00:22:27,200
there's nothing that that makes you

563
00:22:27,600 --> 00:22:29,700
makes you think of the uh

564
00:22:29,966 --> 00:22:31,400
to compare the two yeah

565
00:22:31,400 --> 00:22:34,100
so to to answer your question about the

566
00:22:34,100 --> 00:22:35,700
a subtle golf course in Ireland

567
00:22:35,700 --> 00:22:38,566
I think will be a little bit it

568
00:22:38,566 --> 00:22:40,166
it it will have more difficulty

569
00:22:40,166 --> 00:22:42,233
and I think the the reason for that is that

570
00:22:42,566 --> 00:22:44,800
unless you've played a golf course like Portmarnock

571
00:22:44,800 --> 00:22:46,166
or County Louth multiple times

572
00:22:46,166 --> 00:22:48,600
it's hard to truly appreciate how great it is

573
00:22:48,900 --> 00:22:52,733
where I think when you go to somewhere like Karn or

574
00:22:54,366 --> 00:22:56,033
Waterville for example

575
00:22:56,033 --> 00:22:58,000
it's in your face you can absorb it

576
00:22:58,000 --> 00:23:00,300
it doesn't take much to look at a massive Dune

577
00:23:00,300 --> 00:23:02,600
either have to play over or around

578
00:23:02,600 --> 00:23:06,200
or manufacture shots to to

579
00:23:06,200 --> 00:23:07,666
to progress your ball around

580
00:23:08,166 --> 00:23:08,600
you know that

581
00:23:08,600 --> 00:23:10,200
that's quite an easy thing to capture

582
00:23:10,200 --> 00:23:12,000
and understand what's going on

583
00:23:12,366 --> 00:23:13,333
so

584
00:23:14,400 --> 00:23:15,700
I think that test

585
00:23:15,700 --> 00:23:20,133
of being able to get a connoisseur's opinion

586
00:23:20,233 --> 00:23:22,133
on those types of golf courses

587
00:23:22,233 --> 00:23:24,566
I think that's why we've seen changes in the ranking

588
00:23:24,566 --> 00:23:25,000
is because

589
00:23:25,000 --> 00:23:27,833
we've had people that were Irish born and bred

590
00:23:27,833 --> 00:23:29,300
who played a lot of golf there

591
00:23:29,300 --> 00:23:32,833
played the width and breadth of the entire country

592
00:23:33,300 --> 00:23:37,000
and they've got an amazing plain portfolio uh

593
00:23:37,166 --> 00:23:40,133
on both sides of the pond and in Australia

594
00:23:40,133 --> 00:23:42,233
New Zealand where they've been able to say

595
00:23:42,233 --> 00:23:44,633
actually here's a golf course

596
00:23:44,633 --> 00:23:45,433
that's

597
00:23:45,933 --> 00:23:46,633
so much better

598
00:23:46,633 --> 00:23:48,233
than what most people give it credit for

599
00:23:48,233 --> 00:23:50,600
do you think it's also runs in a trend

600
00:23:50,600 --> 00:23:55,433
so spectacular is very much been the word of the

601
00:23:55,433 --> 00:23:56,800
last 10 years

602
00:23:56,800 --> 00:23:58,900
I think it's very true in the social media age

603
00:23:58,900 --> 00:24:00,000
like what does everybody want

604
00:24:00,000 --> 00:24:01,366
they would they want the money shot right

605
00:24:01,366 --> 00:24:03,133
they would they want a cape kidnappers

606
00:24:03,133 --> 00:24:05,600
they want a carn they want an old head

607
00:24:06,300 --> 00:24:08,200
like where you just have this amazing golf course

608
00:24:08,200 --> 00:24:09,566
on this amazing piece of land

609
00:24:09,566 --> 00:24:11,800
it looks great it gets amazing interaction

610
00:24:11,800 --> 00:24:12,766
everybody likes it

611
00:24:12,766 --> 00:24:16,766
and does that necessarily mean that that's great golf

612
00:24:16,766 --> 00:24:19,766
well it's great for social media um

613
00:24:19,766 --> 00:24:22,766
but you get a golf course like Portmarnock

614
00:24:22,766 --> 00:24:23,733
Merfield uh

615
00:24:23,733 --> 00:24:26,733
the Old Course where you you know

616
00:24:26,733 --> 00:24:28,766
you you get a lot of individuals go to the Old Course

617
00:24:28,766 --> 00:24:30,433
and they sit on the first tee and they think what

618
00:24:30,433 --> 00:24:32,533
what is this they walk off 18 and they say well

619
00:24:32,533 --> 00:24:33,533
it's completely overrated

620
00:24:33,533 --> 00:24:35,533
it's the most overrated golf course in the world

621
00:24:36,700 --> 00:24:38,433
and then you get the greatest players

622
00:24:38,433 --> 00:24:39,733
and golf course architects

623
00:24:39,733 --> 00:24:42,033
and it's the one course where you get like

624
00:24:42,033 --> 00:24:43,366
Jack Nicklaus Bobby Jones

625
00:24:43,366 --> 00:24:48,533
Tiger Woods and then also Tom Doak and Gil Hanson

626
00:24:48,633 --> 00:24:50,733
whoever and the more they know about it

627
00:24:50,733 --> 00:24:52,700
the more they play it the more they understand it

628
00:24:52,700 --> 00:24:55,200
eventually they all get to the point where they say

629
00:24:55,200 --> 00:24:58,533
this is the greatest golf course in the world and it's

630
00:24:58,533 --> 00:24:59,933
there's very few golf courses

631
00:24:59,933 --> 00:25:01,333
where architects and players

632
00:25:01,333 --> 00:25:03,300
eventually get to the same point

633
00:25:03,800 --> 00:25:04,400
and

634
00:25:04,400 --> 00:25:06,500
that's testament to how great these golf courses are

635
00:25:06,500 --> 00:25:07,533
but what do all these ones

636
00:25:07,533 --> 00:25:09,966
have in common is that they're nuanced

637
00:25:09,966 --> 00:25:11,900
they're subtle um

638
00:25:11,900 --> 00:25:14,333
they're they're constantly evolving

639
00:25:14,533 --> 00:25:16,433
the way that you play them changes

640
00:25:17,000 --> 00:25:18,433
every day is different

641
00:25:19,566 --> 00:25:20,600
the those are the things

642
00:25:20,600 --> 00:25:22,400
and I think that's reflected in

643
00:25:22,400 --> 00:25:24,700
some of the changes that have taken place in Ireland

644
00:25:24,833 --> 00:25:25,733
where

645
00:25:25,733 --> 00:25:28,633
having depth of play through all of those courses

646
00:25:29,366 --> 00:25:31,433
we can now reflect that in our rankings

647
00:25:31,433 --> 00:25:33,433
that the appreciation for these things

648
00:25:33,800 --> 00:25:34,733
it's not just one or two

649
00:25:34,733 --> 00:25:36,000
guys that have played it once or twice

650
00:25:36,000 --> 00:25:37,166
and walked away and said yes

651
00:25:37,166 --> 00:25:41,033
this should be here multiple plays over multiple years

652
00:25:41,366 --> 00:25:43,733
a long history of playing golf in Ireland

653
00:25:43,833 --> 00:25:44,833
they've been able to

654
00:25:44,833 --> 00:25:47,333
to help us see that some of these courses

655
00:25:47,333 --> 00:25:50,233
we've maybe perhaps underappreciated in the past

656
00:25:51,100 --> 00:25:53,033
the last thing I would like to go on to

657
00:25:53,033 --> 00:25:55,833
about the Irish rankings is um

658
00:25:55,833 --> 00:25:59,000
I know that we've got at least one event planned

659
00:25:59,000 --> 00:26:01,333
next year within Ireland

660
00:26:01,500 --> 00:26:04,233
and maybe more coming

661
00:26:04,533 --> 00:26:07,633
where we'll try and gather and gain

662
00:26:07,633 --> 00:26:11,366
and introduce ourselves to get more panelists

663
00:26:11,366 --> 00:26:13,566
because we're happy where our panel is now

664
00:26:13,566 --> 00:26:15,666
but we'd always like to hear more opinions

665
00:26:16,133 --> 00:26:18,800
and I just wanted to touch on that

666
00:26:18,800 --> 00:26:19,233
yeah yeah

667
00:26:19,233 --> 00:26:20,433
so there will be some uh

668
00:26:20,433 --> 00:26:22,300
some more details about that forthcoming

669
00:26:22,300 --> 00:26:23,433
by the time this airs

670
00:26:23,433 --> 00:26:26,233
it might well be that that's become public so uh

671
00:26:26,233 --> 00:26:28,466
keep your eyes on socials

672
00:26:28,766 --> 00:26:30,800
um sign up to our newsletter

673
00:26:30,900 --> 00:26:32,833
and all the details will come out there

674
00:26:33,033 --> 00:26:33,400
uh but it

675
00:26:33,400 --> 00:26:34,766
looks like we've got some partners

676
00:26:34,766 --> 00:26:38,200
in and around Dublin and potentially Donegal uh

677
00:26:38,200 --> 00:26:39,166
that we can uh

678
00:26:39,166 --> 00:26:41,466
put these events on so it'll be spectacular golf

679
00:26:41,733 --> 00:26:43,500
uh can't say much about uh

680
00:26:43,700 --> 00:26:45,100
the company that you might be keeping

681
00:26:45,100 --> 00:26:46,200
if James and I are there

682
00:26:46,200 --> 00:26:49,433
but we'll try our best to behave ourselves with uh

683
00:26:49,433 --> 00:26:50,366
the Guinness and the

684
00:26:50,366 --> 00:26:52,366
No Doubt Kilkenny that will be running

685
00:26:52,366 --> 00:26:53,000
do you like uh

686
00:26:53,000 --> 00:26:54,966
Irish whiskey I do

687
00:26:54,966 --> 00:26:55,600
oh love God

688
00:26:55,600 --> 00:26:58,466
Irish whiskey damn'cause so do I hahaha

689
00:26:58,600 --> 00:26:59,833
it's dangerous hahaha

690
00:26:59,833 --> 00:27:02,833
so if any Irish whiskey brands would like to sponsor

691
00:27:02,833 --> 00:27:05,833
hahaha either the podcast or the event

692
00:27:05,966 --> 00:27:09,033
I promise we won't drink too much hahaha

693
00:27:09,333 --> 00:27:09,800
so yeah no

694
00:27:09,800 --> 00:27:10,900
we're looking forward to Ireland

695
00:27:10,900 --> 00:27:13,233
it's always great the golf there is spectacular

696
00:27:13,533 --> 00:27:15,300
uh we've got 30 or 35

697
00:27:15,300 --> 00:27:17,300
there might even be more um

698
00:27:17,433 --> 00:27:19,500
there's a little bit of uh

699
00:27:19,933 --> 00:27:21,400
feedback that we're still awaiting

700
00:27:21,500 --> 00:27:23,633
we're we're just coming into the planting season

701
00:27:23,800 --> 00:27:26,700
so we're waiting for a few people to take a few trips

702
00:27:26,700 --> 00:27:28,400
and then give us their final results

703
00:27:28,400 --> 00:27:30,400
and that might just adjust

704
00:27:30,400 --> 00:27:32,966
or tweak or settle some of the questions

705
00:27:32,966 --> 00:27:33,766
we have outstanding

706
00:27:33,766 --> 00:27:35,533
so more or less we're there

707
00:27:35,533 --> 00:27:37,766
but I think it gives a good synopsis of

708
00:27:37,766 --> 00:27:39,966
of where we're at with Ireland at the minute superb

709
00:27:39,966 --> 00:27:41,400
well thank you very much Jasper

710
00:27:41,400 --> 00:27:43,333
I I know that uh

711
00:27:43,333 --> 00:27:45,200
there's a Guinness sitting in the bar waiting for you

712
00:27:45,200 --> 00:27:46,366
so uh

713
00:27:46,366 --> 00:27:47,533
speaking about Irish rankings

714
00:27:47,533 --> 00:27:48,700
should we go get stuck in

715
00:27:48,700 --> 00:27:50,033
I think so cheers

716
00:27:50,600 --> 00:27:52,166
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