In Top 100 course rankings, tiny margins separate best from rest

There are no dangling chads, no contested recounts. But the vote for GOLF’s Top 100 Courses in the World produces agonizingly close results. For each new ranking, our magazine’s 120 panelists cast ballots in buckets: 1-3, 4 -10, 11–25, 26–50, and so on. Each bucket carries a corresponding point value. When all the ballots are in, those point values are averaged to create the final roster.

It sounds tidy. But that tidy system gives way to tiny margins with hefty consequences. Courses that appear a world apart in public perception can, in truth, be separated by mere decimal points. In the most recent vote, for instance, the course that finished 101st, the Golf Club, a Pete Dye-design in Ohio — just missing a coveted Top 100 slot — trailed the course ahead of it by only 0.3 points.

That’s less than the difference a single panelist’s shifted opinion can make. Maybe that rater didn’t see the course this cycle, their plans scuttled by a flight cancellation or a spell of nasty weather. Any number of factors can come into play.

To break ties, GOLF gives the edge to the course that appears on more total ballots, a reflection of broader consensus. Still, the margins remain paper-thin. For the architects, owners, and superfans who track these results like stock prices, it’s worth remembering: every ranking is a snapshot, not a verdict.

When the difference between No. 100 and No. 101 comes down to tenths of a point, you start to appreciate the obvious truth — there are far more than 100 courses in the world worthy of a Top 100 list.

In a recent episode of the Destination Golf podcast, Simon Holt, who heads GOLF’s course-rating panel, discussed the nitty-gritty of the ballot and the statistical nuances behind the rankings. It was part of a conversation devoted to this year’s close contenders—the courses that finished 101-150 in GOLF’s new World Top 100, which will be published Nov. 19. You can listen to the entire episode here, and watch a snippet devoted to the vote count in the video above.

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