The Golf Pilgrim Top 100
This is the essential podcast for those planning to play the world's top golf courses.
We now have dozens of reviews from Top 100 courses in the UK, Ireland, France, Spain, Italy, Scandinavia, the USA and Australia…and the library is building every week. All the episodes are stand alone - you don't have to listen to them in any particular order.
In 2020 Neil White began a challenge to play all of the world's top courses. You can read his reviews at www.thegolfpilgrim.com. Now you can listen to his reviews, as he gives an honest account of the courses, the practice facilities, and the food available. Is it value for money? Will you be made to feel welcome as a visitor?
There are champagne and comedy moments to discuss, in the company of his fellow journalist and pal Ian Woods. Ian's a former Sky News and BBC Correspondent, who's now working for ITV. He's played a lot of great courses too, and is a former Captain of the Press Golfing Society.
Episodes
138 episodes
Tralee, County Kerry, Ireland
Legend has it that an Irish monk, St Brendan, set sail from Tralee and landed in America centuries before Columbus. Now thousands of Americans make the reverse journey on a pilgrimage to a golf course designed by Arnold Palmer. Mind...
West Lancs, Lancashire, England
Formed in 1873, this is one of the oldest clubs in England, but it is as relevant to the history of golf as it was when it was founded.Its close relationship with Royal Liverpool means that West Lancs will jointly stage the Amateur Champ...
Muirfield, East Lothian, Scotland
The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers can lay claim to being the founders of modern golf, having established the first set of competition rules soon after being founded in 1744.Muirfield has been their home since 1890, and the cour...
Gullane No.1, East Lothian, Scotland
They've been playing golf in this part of Scotland for hundreds of years, and for more than a century, they've had three 18-hole courses in Gullane to choose from. Gullane Number 1 is the highest rated and has twice hosted the Scottish Op...
The Els Club Vilamoura, Algarve, Portugal
We have a Golf Pilgrim Top 100 exclusive!The Els Club is the first private golf club in the Algarve, and its course was reimagined by Ernie Els from the Vilamoura Victoria, which previously hosted the Portugal Masters.The doors op...
Quinta Do Lago, Algarve, Portugal
Three courses and a former Ryder Cup Captain are squeezed into this episode from one of Europe's top golf resorts.Quinta Do Lago South, North, and Laranjal offer different challenges. Paul McGinley has an Academy at the resort and ...
Palmares, Algarve, Portugal
The first of three episodes from Portugal, which has long been a favourite destination for British and Irish golfers, but is now attracting worldwide acclaim The 27 holes at Palmares provide such a variety of challenges, that you m...
Cavendish, Derbyshire, England
Cavendish Golf Club styles itself as the inspiration for Augusta National, which is not as fanciful an idea as it may sound. It opened in 1925 and was the last English course that Dr Alister MacKenzie designed before heading overseas to p...
Te Arai (North and South), Northland, New Zealand
Our final New Zealand episode and arguably, we've saved the best for last. Both Te Arai courses have leapt into the top 100 in the world despite being less than 5 years old.And we are delighted to say that New Zealand's best golfer...
Blackmoor, Hampshire, England
An honours board at Blackmoor gives a hint of its pedigree. How many provincial members clubs can boast of having had a US Open champion win a tournament on their course?Matt Fitzpatrick is one of several future professional stars to win...
Paraparaumu Beach, Wellington, New Zealand
It's been called the spiritual home of New Zealand golf, having hosted many tournaments, and is still rated the country's second-best course. It's also the only NZ course that Tiger Woods has played competitively - as a favour to his then...
Cleeve Hill, Gloucestershire, England
Cleeve Hill has had a lot of publicity in recent years - largely because it almost went out of business until new owners took over - and it is now in England's Top 100. But this is so different from a lot of courses in the rankings ...
Titirangi, Auckland, New Zealand
Titirangi is the Maori word for "fringe of heaven", and is quite a contrast to many of the modern courses which have been opened in New Zealand in recent years.Dr Alister MacKenzie drew up his plans for the course a century ago, shortly ...
Cape Kidnappers, Hawke's Bay, New Zealand
If you watch some of the birds-eye view videos of Tom Doak's course, you might think you need a head for heights to play it.Fear not, some of the holes may look precariously placed on the edge of a precipice, but the wide fairways and su...
Arikikapakapa/Rotorua, Bay of Plenty, New Zealand
A visit to one of the world's more unusual courses, where, as well as bunkers, you'll find thermal mud springs as hazards.Arikikapakapa is Maori for "the gentle sound of plopping mud", and it's set in one of the country's most popular to...
Tara Iti, Northland, New Zealand
It's always a dilemma when we feature a golf course that's so exclusive that you can't play unless you know a member.But we make an exception when a course is so highly rated that anyone who aspires to play the World's Top 100 will try t...
The European/Brittas Bay Club, County Wicklow, Ireland
If you've ever played The European Club, or ever wanted to, then this is a must-listen episode! Because The European is dead - but in 2027 will be reborn as The Brittas Bay Club.Raymond and Nicky Conlan bought the club from its founder, ...
Martin Ebert Special
When the R&A feel that one of their Open Championship venues needs an update, Martin Ebert is the man they turn to. He's already working on changes to the Old Course at St Andrews ready for 2027, and supervised improvements to Royal B...
New Zealand GC, Surrey, England
Join us as we step back in time, to a club where the lockers still bear the names of long-dead members, and where a competitive round of golf often takes second place to a good lunch.The New Zealand Golf Club (listen to the podcast for a...
Top Of The Scots
What are the very best golf courses in Scotland? In 2025 Neil and Ian joined the ratings panel for National Club Golfer, and their new top 100 list has just been published.Dan Murphy, who sets the guidelines and edits the rankings ...
The Island, County Dublin, Ireland
Some golf days are just a bit more special than others, so this mid-winter visit to The Island, north of Dublin, will linger long in the memory.A chilly, but sunny day; a very warm welcome from the staff, and a challenging course in grea...
Sherwood Forest, Nottinghamshire, England
Even if you've never heard of the golf course, you all know Sherwood Forest thanks to dozens of depictions of Robin Hood in TV and cinema. Any course designed by Harry Colt and later by James Braid is always worth exploring, and th...
Best of the best of 2025 (Part 2)
In the second half of our review of the year, we explore golf in Scandinavia and the Baltic, as well as Ireland's Wild Atlantic coast. But nothing beats a visit to Fife when the Old Course at St Andrews is on the itinerary.Golf com...
Best of the best of 2025 (Part 1)
While we take a bit of a break for Christmas, join us for a look back on some of the best courses we played during 2025. In this first half we recall rounds in continental Europe as well as Great Britain…with Cruden Bay in Scotland among ...
Rosendaelsche, Gelderland, Netherlands
The club’s motto translates as “go straight and you will never fail”, which is sensible advice on most courses, but particularly so at Rosendalelsche with its huge number of trees One of continental Europe’s top ranked courses, on ...
