All eyes will be on Royal St. George’s Golf Club in Sandwich, England, for this week’s British Open. But how does the links layout southeast of London stack up in a ranking of all 10 of the courses on the modern rota for the British Open?
Golfweek’s Best utilizes a national group of some 800 raters who judge courses around the world, rating each on a points basis of 1 to 10. Any course with an average rating over 7 is a great course, and anything over 8 is in truly rarefied air. Half the courses on the rota, which now includes Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland, rate above an 8.
The following list of the 10 British Open rota courses is ordered based on those ratings. Also included is where each course ranks in Golfweek’s Best Modern Courses list for Great Britain and Ireland.
Royal Liverpool (David Cannon/Getty Images)
Where: Hoylake, England
Designer and renovators: Robert Chambers, George Morris, Harry S. Colt
Year opened: 1869
British Opens hosted: 12
Next year to host: 2023
Golfweek’s Best rating: 7.17
Golfweek’s Best ranking: No. 32 on Golfweek’s Best ranking of courses opened before 1960 in Great Britain and Ireland
Royal Troon (David Cannon/Getty Images)
Where: Troon, Scotland
Designer and renovators: Willie Fernie
Year opened: 1878
British Opens hosted: 9
Next year to host: 2024
Golfweek’s Best rating: 7.58
Golfweek’s Best ranking: No. 23 on Golfweek’s Best ranking of courses opened before 1960 in Great Britain and Ireland
Royal Lytham and St. Annes (Golfweek files)
Where: Lytham, England
Designer and renovators: George Lowe, Harry S. Colt, Herbert Fowler
Year opened: 1897
British Opens hosted: 11
Golfweek’s Best rating: 7.66
Golfweek’s Best ranking: No. 19 on Golfweek’s Best ranking of courses opened before 1960 in Great Britain and Ireland
Carnoustie’s Championship Course (David Cannon/Getty Images)
Where: Carnoustie, Scotland
Designer and renovators: Allan Robertson, Old Tom Morris, James Baird
Year opened: 1842
British Opens hosted: 8
Golfweek’s Best rating: 7.86
Golfweek’s Best ranking: No. 14 on Golfweek’s Best ranking of courses opened before 1960 in Great Britain and Ireland
Royal Birkdale (Richard Heathcote/R&A via Getty Images)
Where: Southport, England
Designer and renovators: George Lowe, F.G. Hawtree, J.H. Taylor
Year opened: 1897
British Opens hosted: 10
Golfweek’s Best rating: 7.93
Golfweek’s Best ranking: No. 11 on Golfweek’s Best ranking of courses opened before 1960 in Great Britain and Ireland
Royal St. George’s (David Cannon/Getty Images)
Where: Sandwich, England
Designer and renovators: Laidlaw Purves, Martin Ebert
Year opened: 1887
British Opens hosted: 15*
Golfweek’s Best rating: 8.17
Golfweek’s Best ranking: No. 9 on Golfweek’s Best ranking of courses opened before 1960 in Great Britain and Ireland
* Includes the 2021 Open
Trump Turnberry (David Cannon/Getty Images)
Where: Turnberry, Scotland
Designer and renovators: Willie Fernie, Mackenzie Ross, Martin Ebert, Tom MacKenzie
Year opened: 1902
British Opens hosted: 4
Golfweek’s Best rating: 8.27
Golfweek’s Best ranking: No. 8 on Golfweek’s Best ranking of courses opened before 1960 in Great Britain and Ireland
Royal Portrush (Golfweek files)
Where: Portrush, Northern Ireland
Designer and renovators: Harry S. Colt, Martin Ebert
Year opened: 1929
British Opens hosted: 2
Golfweek’s Best rating: 8.52
Golfweek’s Best ranking: No. 5 on Golfweek’s Best ranking of courses opened before 1960 in Great Britain and Ireland
Muirfield (Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images)
Where: East Lothian, Scotland
Designer and renovators: Old Tom Morris
Year opened: 1892
British Opens hosted: 16
Golfweek’s Best rating: 8.67
Golfweek’s Best ranking: No. 3 on Golfweek’s Best ranking of courses opened before 1960 in Great Britain and Ireland
St. Andrews’ Old Course (Getty Images/David Cannon)
Where: St. Andrews, Scotland
Designer and renovators: Unknown
Year opened: Unknown, but a version of golf was played on the site dating back to the 15th century
British Opens hosted: 29
Next year to host: 2022
Golfweek’s Best rating: 8.8
Golfweek’s Best ranking: No. 2 on Golfweek’s Best ranking of courses opened before 1960 in Great Britain and Ireland
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