The GolfLists Score Explained

The GolfLists Score Explained

The "GolfLists Score" is GolfLists method of scoring golf courses.

The scoring system is deliberately explicit so readers are crystal clear why we have given a score. (Although we are not expecting everyone to agree with it!)

Here's how it works.

• 90% of the score comes from rating the 18* holes 1 - 5
• 5% of the score comes from rating the condition of the course 1 - 5
• 5% of the score comes from rating the playability of the course 1 - 5

*If the course is less than 18 holes, the score is pro-rated up to 18 holes to keep the score out of 100.

Breakdown of the GolfLists Score

Course Layout Score

For scoring an individual hole, 0 - 5, the respective scores have the below meanings.

For all scores, the reviewer considers the entire landscape of golf courses in the UK and Ireland, not just the holes on an individual course. For examples, most courses will have no holes that are 5s.

1. Terrible Hole - This hole offends the golfer. It has several of the following characteristics: too penal relative to the length of the hole, boring in its layout, wastes the land it was laid out on, one-dimensional in the way it can be played, impossible for the weaker player (off their correct tees), excessive hill walking, next to a motorway, in danger of being hit by other balls, impossible to hold the green etc.

2. Poor Hole - This hole, is more boring than offensive. It has little set out in the layout to interest the golfer, with a few of the following characteristics: straightness, flatness, uninteresting / poorly conditioned bunkers, basic green site, overly penal etc.

3. Neutral Hole - This hole, the player passes by without feeling much at all.Characteristics may include a couple of those mentioned for the 'Poor Hole', but also, a couple of redeeming features that add some interest from the 'Good Hole' description.

4. Good Hole - This hole, the player stands on the tee and often says out loud, "This is a good hole!". Both the tee and approach shot are strong, it has several interesting characteristics including its routing, ground undulation, elevation change, incredible views, different routes to play the hole, strategic jeopardy with the tee shot, an interesting green site, strategic / attractive bunkering, beautiful views, man-made elements of interest (e.g. railway, towers, clubhouse etc.), requirement for a heroic shot plus a safe route, graduation of penalty etc.

5. Great Hole - This hole is world class, it is unique, it has the 'wow' factor and it is a strategic challenge to the golfer offering different routes to a nett par and risk / reward decisions for the advanced player. This hole may have several of the characteristics set out for a Good Hole, but crucially the combination of factors, creates a feeling of excitement for the golfer.

Condition Score

For scoring course condition, 0 - 5, the respective scores have the meanings below.

1. Terrible - the whole course is in terrible or poor condition ruining the golfer's experience.
2. Poor - most of the course is in poor condition, affecting stance on tees, approach shots on fairways, lies for chipping and trueness of putting. The course condition damaged the golfer's experience.
3. Good - good condition for most of the course, perhaps let down one of tees, fairways, bunkers or greens, but generally the golfer feels positive about the condition. Dryness underfoot not guaranteed outside summer.
4. Excellent - very good tees, fairways, bunkers and greens most of the time, but with patches of poor conditioning in places. Dryness underfoot expected for most of the year.
5. Immaculate - perfect tees, fairways, bunkers and greens most of the time. Dryness underfoot expected year round (bonus points for grass paths).

Note 1 - The reviewer should not punish a course for ongoing maintenance work, if the course has clearly just had work done on an area, the review will estimate the condition in normal times.

Playability Score

The Playability score evaluates whether golfers of handicaps +2 to 18 are challenged appropriately. This means that the course is neither "too hard", nor "too easy".

Considerations include width of fairways relative to length of hole, size of greens relative to length of approach shot, severity of hazard relative to likelihood of finding them, severity of greens relative to green speed and average course conditions, thickness of rough relative to width of fairway, likelihood of lost balls, forced carries with no safe routes, one shot shape / flight being always punished or rewarded etc.

The scale is 1-5, with 1 representing an excessively easy / difficult course and 5 representing a challenging, but fair test of golf for both the plus and bogey golfer.

Inspiration from "The Confidential Guide to Golf Courses"

The "GolfLists Score" is inspired by 'The Doak Scale' from Tom Doak's infamous series of books, the Confidential Guide to Golf Courses.

The book is considered a seminal work in the field of golf course ranking. The early editions, only intended for Doak's friends and mentors, were highly controversial.

Doak gave his honest, arguably harsh, opinions on many much loved golf courses. The latest, 2014 version remains somewhat divisive; for example, Doak scored the 'Marmite' Castle Course at St Andrews Links with a big, fat zero.

Golf Lists is a big fan of the 2014 series of 5 books, which cover most of the world's top courses. We may disagree robustly with many of the ratings, but it is undeniably a fascinating, sometimes scandalous read. One aspect of the book I like, is the Doak Scale included at the bottom of this blog.

The scale is instructive, so a reader knows how to interpret what each number means. Anything 6 and above is definitely worth playing for the golf travel enthusiast.

The negative aspect of the scale is that the majority of courses in the world are likely to score 4 and below. When I hear a 4 without reading the scale, I think of '40%' below which I would have failed my exams and been kicked out of university. That is a traumatic number, which doesn't align with the 4s description; which is not so bad.

Another thing Doak does is rate individual holes with a !, !!, !!! system to note the best holes on a course, and you see this breakdown for the authors' "Gourmet Choice" courses.

Building on the Doak Scale in the GolfLists Score

In the GolfLists Score we have used the scale below as inspiration and taken the hole scoring method further so it make up 90% of the score.

We do this because it helps bring a traceability to the score for the reader. Being scored out of 100, rather than 10, also gives more scope for separation between courses of similar quality.

Finally, forcing yourself to score each hole individually, improves objectivity and makes the score more of a course rating, rather than "an experience rating" which is not our goal.

The addition of 'Course Condition' and 'Playability' not only bump the score up to a nice round 100, but also bring in the two other holistic factors we consider to be most important when scoring a course.

The Doak Scale

Extracted from "The Confidential Guide to Golf Courses" (Volume 1 - Great Britain & Ireland, 2014) by Tom Doak, Ran Morrissett, Masa Nishijima and Darius Oliver.

0. A course so contrived and unnatural that it may poison your mind, one I cannot recommend under any circumstances. Reserved for courses that waste ridiculous sums of money in their construction, and probably shouldn't have been built in the first place.

1. A very basic golf course, with clear architectural malpractice and/or poor maintenance. Avoid even if you're desperate for a game.

2. A mediocre golf course with little or no architectural interest, but nothing really horrible. As my friend Dave Richards summed up: "Play it in a scramble, and drink a lot of beer."

3. About the level of the average golf course in the world. [Since we don't go out of our way to see average courses, the Doak scale is deliberately skewed to split hairs among the good, the better and the best.]

4. A modestly interesting course, with a couple of distinctive holes among the 18, or at least some scenic interest on top of decent golf. We would enjoy playing here.

5. Well above the average golf course, but probably about the average among courses covered by this book. A good course to play if you're in the vicinity and looking for a game, but we wouldn't spend another day away from home for it.

6. A very good course, definitely worth a game if you're in town, but not necessarily worth a special trip to see. It wont's disappoint you, because we haven't over-promised. [Some 6's are courses we love, but we're not sure you would like, others are courses you may love, but won't appeal to others.]

7. An excellent course, worth checking out if you get anywhere within 100 miles. You can expect to find soundly designed, interesting holes, good course conditioning and a pretty setting, if not necessarily anything unique to the world of golf.

8. One of the very best courses in its region (although there are more 8s in some places and none in others), and worth a special trip to see.

9. An outstanding course, certainly one of the best in the world, with no weaknesses. You should see this course sometime in your life.

10. Nearly perfect; if you skipped even one hole, you would miss something worth seeing. If you haven't seen all the courses in this category, you don't know how good golf architecture can get. Call your travel agent, immediately.

How to buy "The Confidential Guide to Golf Courses"

Even the 2014 editions of the book are no longer in print, so your best bet is to brave Amazon or Ebay and pick up a used copy.

Although the prices typically go from £100 upwards, its fairly safe to say the book will hold its value, so in our opinion it is a worthwhile investment and a fantastic addition to any golfer's coffee table.

Copyright Note

The Doak Scale is copyright 2014 of Renaissance Golf Publishing, LLC; it is reproduced here under their guidance that "brief excerpts in critical reviews and articles" are permitted.