Scottsdale, Arizona, United States: Asian Golf Industry Federation Executive Member Troon has announced that 39 of its affiliated courses have been named to ‘Golfweek’s Best Courses’ rankings for 2015.
The accolades are comprised of the best resort and residential golf courses, along with the best courses located in the Caribbean and Mexico.
Eight Troon-managed golf courses were represented on the ‘Top 100 Resort Courses’ list, led by Kapalua – Plantation on Maui, which climbed three places to 16th in 2015.
Both courses at Troon North Golf Club in Scottsdale were once again included in this Top 100 ranking, as were the likes of Lake of Isles in Connecticut, Pronghorn (Nicklaus) in Oregon and Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club in Arizona.
Princeville Makai Golf Club on the Hawaiian island of Kauai made a large jump in the rankings moving up from 86th to 42nd for 2015.
Six Troon-managed facilities were included in the ‘Top 100 Residential Courses’, led by Pronghorn (Fazio Course) in Oregon, which finished 12th and the The Golf Club at Black Rock in Coeur d’Alene, which came in at 39 in the country.
Three international Troon facilities were ranked within the ‘Top 50 Courses of the Caribbean and Mexico’, including Bahia Beach Resort & Golf Club in Puerto Rico, advancing from 37th last year to 31st, Palmilla Golf Club in Los Cabos, Mexico and Ocean Club in the Bahamas.
Among the criteria used by Golfweek’s panel of course raters include:
Ease and intimacy of routing – the extent to which the sequence of holes follows natural contours and unfolds in an unforced manner.
Variety and memorability of par-threes, par-fours and par-fives – Different clubs hit; extent to which the angles of play create interesting and varied playing options; and extent to which holes offer variety of options from the tee and on the second shot.
Basic quality of conditioning – variety of playing textures; extent of turf coverage; consistency and quality of bunker sand.
‘Walk in the park’ test – degree to which the course ultimately is worth spending a half-day on.