Tom Irwin elbows his way back into the host’s chair alongside Dan Murphy for a wide-ranging conversation about what makes a golf course worth travelling for and how our latest rankings updates (Wales and Ireland) are taking shape.
The episode begins on the Isle of Man at Castletown Golf Links, a wild Old Tom Morris course that has also had input – by post! – from Alister MacKenzie. It has a curious place in the Top 100s landscape as it is not part of England, Ireland, Scotland or Wales, which is confusing. It is perversely on an island yet also easy to reach and Dan proposes a theory that it might be the least-played course in the whole of our NCG Top 100s GB&I list. Well, except for Ardfin. And Adare Manor perhaps.
From there, Tom and Dan lift the lid on the latest NCG Top 100s updates for Ireland and Wales. They discuss how panellists form independent opinions, why groupthink can distort a ranking and what their latest research is revealing.
Ireland is changing quickly ahead of the Ryder Cup at Adare Manor, with investment and renovation reshaping several destinations.
Wales, meanwhile, continues to offer exceptional value and may produce the greatest movement further down the list.
There is also a spirited debate about nine-hole golf, the compromises created by chasing a conventional 18-hole layout and why discovering a brilliant course at number 75 can be more rewarding than confirming the obvious number one.
Join us for rankings, road trips, hidden gems and plenty of good-natured but explosive disagreement.
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