The World's Top 100 Golf Courses in 1939

We recently came across a post on Golf Club Atlas by Tom MacWood where he recently uncovered a golf magazine from 1939 where they asked a panel of leading writers and players to rate the top 100 courses in the world in 1939. It seems like rankings are not just a modern obsession. Below is the list as published and we have indicated the current world ranking next to it.

1. St.Andrews, Scotland...............currently ranked #6
2. Cypress Point, California........ ....currently ranked #2
3. Pine Valley, N.J..........................currently ranked #1
4. Pebble Beach, California.............currently ranked #7
5. Sandwich, England..................currently ranked #32
6. National Links, N.Y................currently ranked #20
7. Hirono, Japan............................currently ranked #35
8. Banff Springs, Canada.................not ranked
9. Royal Melbourne, Australia.........currently ranked #8
10. Foulpointe, Madagascar.............not ranked, course is gone
11. Augusta National, Georgia .........currently ranked #5
12. Timber Point, N.Y. ....................not ranked
13. Oakmont, Penn..........................currently ranked #15
14. Hoylake, England....................currently ranked #72
15. Newcastle, County Down..........currently ranked #10
16. Westward Ho!, England..............not ranked
17. Merion, Penn...........................currently ranked #14
18. Riviera, California...................currently ranked #36
19. Sunningdale, England............currently ranked #44
20. Bel-Air, California......................not ranked
21. Shinnecock Hills, N.Y............currently ranked #4
22. Portrush, Ireland....................currently ranked #12
23. Laksers, Illinois..........................not ranked, course is gone
24. CC of Havana, Cuba....................not ranked
25. Humewood, S.Africa..................not ranked
26. Seminole, Florida.......................currently ranked #22
27. Rye, England..............................not ranked
28. Knocke, Belgium.........................not ranked
29. Yale, Conn................................. not ranked

30. Gleneagles, Scotland...................not ranked
31. Le Touquet, France......................not ranked
32. Winged Foot, N.Y........................currently ranked #18
33. Pasatiempo, California.................not ranked
34. Muirfield, Scotland...................currently ranked #3
35. Walton Heath, England............currently ranked #82
36. Jasper Park, Canada....................not ranked
37. Portmarnock, Ireland..................currently ranked #40
38. Pinehurst No.2, N.C....................currently ranked #9
39. Prestwick, Scotland..................not ranked but should be
40. Birkdale, England.....................currently ranked #28
41. Lido, N.Y.....................................not ranked, course is gone
42. Ganton, England.......................currently ranked #62
43. Durban, S.Africa.........................currently ranked #70
44. Oyster Harbors, Mass..................not ranked
45. Ponte Vedra, Florida....................not ranked
46. North Berwick, Scotland..........not ranked, but should be
47. San Francisco, California.........currently ranked #27
48. St.Georges Hill, England..............not ranked
49. Garden City, N.Y.......................currently ranked #55
50. Deal, England..............................not ranked
51. Kawana, Japan............................currently ranked #80
52. Engineers, N.Y.............................not ranked
53. Swinley Forest, England...............not ranked
54. Brookline, Mass...........................currently ranked #33
55. Saunton, England........................not ranked
56. Bethpage, N.Y..............................currently ranked #30
57. Addington, England.....................not ranked
58. Lakeside, California.....................not ranked
59. Hollywood, N.J............................not ranked
60. Woking, England.........................not ranked
61. Wildhoeve, Holland......................not ranked
62. Royal York, Canada......................* currently ranked #95
63. Oakland Hills, Michigan...............currently ranked #25
64. Morfontaine, France.....................currently ranked #47
65. Brancaster, England.....................not ranked
66. Pulborough, England....................not ranked
67. Manor Richelieu, Canada..............not ranked
68. Royal Adelaide, Australia..............currently ranked #50
69. Hamburg-Falkenstein, Germany...not ranked
70. Olympia Fields #4, Illinois.............not ranked
71. Chiberta, France............................not ranked
72. Lawsonia, Wisconsin.....................not ranked
73. Los Angeles, California..............currently ranked #59
74. Maidstone, N.Y..........................currently ranked #60
75. East London, S.Africa....................not ranked
76. Carnoustie, Scotland.................currently ranked #26
77. Burnham, England........................not ranked
78. Scioto, Ohio..................................currently ranked #71
79. Capilano, Canada..........................not ranked
80. Hot Springs, Virginia.....................currently ranked #94
81. Nuwara Eliya, Ceylon.....................not ranked
82. Ballybunion, Ireland.................currently ranked #13
83. Porthcawl, Wales...........................not ranked
84. Liphook, England..........................not ranked
85. Knoll, N.J......................................not ranked
86. Tokyo-Asaka, Japan.......................not ranked, course destroyed in WWII
87. Maccauvlei, S.Africa......................not ranked
88. Kingston Heath, Australia..............currently ranked #21
89. Chicago, Illinois.............................currently ranked #31
90. Sea Island, Georgia........................not ranked
91. Alwoodley, England........................not ranked
92. Eastward Ho!, Mass.......................not ranked
93. Mid Ocean, Bermuda......................not ranked
94. Ville de Delat, Indo China...............not ranked
95. Zandvoort, Holland........................not ranked
96. Five Farms, Maryland....................currently ranked #91
97. Turnberry, Scotland...................currently ranked #17
98. Spa, Belgium.................................not ranked
99. Fishers Island, N.Y....................currently ranked #29
100a.Royal Worlington, England..........not ranked (9 hole course)
100b.Prairie Dunes, Kansas..............currently ranked #23

What Happened?

More than half the courses, 56, are not on the current list. Non U.S. courses took a big hit with 32 lost (Belgium lost 2, South Africa 3, Madagascar 1, Cuba 1, Canada 5, England 14, Scotland 2, Holland 2, Germany 1, Ceylon 1, Japan 1). What comes through is that technology has runied a lot of previously great courses. This is particularly true of the great courses of England and Scotland. Canadian courses also took a big hit which is a shame since they have some truly world class courses, but American courses have come to dominate.

1. The world's truly great courses stayed where they belonged:

St. Andrews (Old Course), Cypress Point, Pine Valley, Pebble Beach, The National Golf Links , Royal Melbourne , Augusta, Oakmont, Merion, Riviera, Sunningdale, Shinnecock, Royal Portrush, Seminole, Walton Heath, Portmarnock, Royal Birkdale, Ganton, Durban, Garden City, Bethpage, Kawana, Brookline, Morfontaine, Royal Adelaide, Los Angeles, Maidstone, Scioto, Baltimore (Five Farms)

2. Courses that are still great but new equipment has hurt them

Westward Ho!, England (ranked #16)
Rye, England (ranked #27)
Prestwick, Scotland (ranked #39)
North Berwick, Scotland (ranked #46)
St. George's Hill, England (ranked #48)
Deal, England (ranked #50)
Swinley Forest, England (ranked #53)
Addington, England (ranked #57)
Woking, England (ranked #60)
Burnham, England (ranked #77)
Liphook, England (ranked #84)
Alwoodley, England (ranked #91)
Royal Worlington, England (ranked #100)


3. Fell from greatness but still ranked

Hirono, Japan (fell from #7 to #35)
Sandwich, England (fell from #5 to #32) - also called Royal St. Georges
Hoylake, England (fell from #14 to #72) - also called Royal Liverpool

4. Fallen Angels - no longer on the list but many still worth playing

Banff Springs, Canada (ranked #8) - redesigned and remodelled
Bel-Air, California (ranked #20) - redesigned but still exclusive
Country Club of Havana (ranked #24)
Humewood, S. Africa (ranked #25)
Knocke, Belgium (ranked #28)
Yale, Conn (ranked #29) - a C.B. Macdonald design
Gleneagles, Kings (ranked #30) - designed by James Braid
La Touquet (ranked #31)
Pasatiempto, California (ranked #33) - A MacKenzie gem

Japser Park, Canada (ranked #36)
Oysters Harbor, Mass (ranked #44)
Ponte Vedra, Florida (ranked #45)
Engineers, New York (ranked #52)
Sauton, England (ranked #55)
Lakeside, California (ranked #58)
Hollywood, New Jersey (ranked #59)
Wildhoeve, Holland (ranked #61)

Manor Richelieu (ranked #67)
Olympia Fields, Illinois (ranked #70)
Chiberta, France (ranked #71)
Lawsonia, Wisconsin (ranked #72) - the Whistling Straits of the 1930s

East London, S. Africa (ranked #75)
Capilano, Canada (ranked #79)
Royal Portcawl, Wales (ranked #83)
Maccauvlei, S. Africa (ranked #87)
Sea Island (Seaside, ranked #90) - a Colt and Alison design
Eastward Ho, Mass (ranked #92) - still a gem today
Mid Ocean, Bermuda (ranked #93) - cape hole #5 is still one of golf's best

5. Sayonara - no longer in existence

Foulpointe, Madagascar (ranked #10)
Laksers, Illinois (ranked #23)
Lido, Long Island (ranked #41)- a C.B. MacDonald design
Tokyo-Asaka (ranked #86) - destroyed in 1941
Ville de Delat, Indo China (ranked #94)

6. Improved with Age

Shinnecock (rose from #21 to #4)
Royal Portrush (rose from #22 to #12) - redesigned by H.S. Colt in 50s
Winged Foot, West (rose from #32 to #18)
Muirfield, Scotland (rose from #34 to #3)
Pinehurst #2 (rose from #38 to #9)
San Francisco (rose from #47 to #27) - a fantastic Tillinghast course
Bethpage, New York (rose from #56 to #30)
Oakland Hills, Michigan (rose from #63 to #25) - partially redesigned
Carnoustie (rose #76 to #26) - and should go higher in my view!
Ballybunion (rose from #82 to #13) - hallelujah!
Kingston Heath (rose from #88 to #21)
Chicago (rose from #89 to #31) - another C.B. MacDonald gem
Turnberry, Scotland (rose from #97 to #17) - redesigned after WWII
Fishers Island, New York (rose from #99 to #29) - the first list got it right!
Prarie Dunes (rose from #100 to #23) - was still only a 9 hole course in 1939

* Name changed from Royal York to St. Georges's in 1946