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
148 episodes
Royal Belfast, County Down, Northern Ireland
The city of Belfast is in County Antrim, but Royal Belfast Golf Club is north-east of Northern Ireland's capital, in County Down.It's celebrating the centenary of its Harry Colt-designed parkland course on the shore of Belfast Lough.&nbs...
County Louth GC (Baltray), Ireland
Shane Lowry helped bring Baltray, County Louth, to wider acclaim when he won the Irish Open here as an amateur. But connoisseurs of Irish courses have always known this was one of the country’s finest links.It’s also the home course of t...
Wallasey, Cheshire, England
Wallasey has not just one, but two great claims to fame, and is a course that attracts plaudits from those who play it.Bobby Jones, arguably the greatest amateur golfer in history, played in a qualifier at Wallasey and went on to win the...
Portmarnock, County Dublin, Ireland
A famous old golf course, which is in the running to stage an Open Championship in the coming years, and we have two former Ryder Cup players who tell us why it should. Paul McGinley and Andrew Coltart are big fans of Portmarnock, ...
Royal Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland
Royal Dublin may be unique among links courses - while many others suffer from coastal erosion, its land grows bit by bit every year. Find out why by listening to this episode…And to guide us round, we have a caddie who has helped his ma...
Royal Birkdale, Lancashire, England
The Open Championship returns to Royal Birkdale in 2026, but there have been significant changes to the course since it last hosted the championship.This episode tells you all you need to know, whether you're planning to watch the event ...
Royal County Down, County Down, Northern Ireland
A special episode celebrating what many believe is the greatest golf course in the world!Royal County Down regularly tops the list of the best courses outside America, and some rate it as high as Cypress Point and Pine Valley.So w...
St Mellion (Nicklaus), Cornwall, England
It's more than 30 years since St Mellion last hosted a top-level European Tour event, but that shouldn't reflect on the quality of a course which saw the likes of Seve Ballesteros, Bernhard Langer and Jose Maria Olazabal triumph.The top ...
Old Head, County Cork, Ireland
You know what you're getting if you book a round at Old Head - but even the photographs of the spectacular setting don't do justice to the experience of playing golf on fairways perched precariously next to clifftops, with the waves crashing ag...
Waterville, County Kerry, Ireland
Here's a top tip to take note of even before you play the wonderful Waterville Links. If you're driving a car from Killarney, take the scenic Ballyghisheen Pass through some of the most spectacular scenery in Ireland; coaches transporting...
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...
