The 12 winners of the inaugural Golf Course Awards for Great Britain & Ireland for 2024 were announced at a sold-out ceremony held at The Shangri-La Hotel at The Shard in London last week.
The Golf Course Awards seek to recognise courses and organisations from right across the golfing ecosystem, challenging existing interpretations of excellence, by focusing on innovation, sustainability and accessibility, alongside design, conditioning and aesthetic beauty.
This year’s winners were chosen by an expert panel of judges which comprised Nick Dougherty, Eimear McManus, Dan Walker, David Jones, Emma Ballard, Scott Macpherson, Inci Mehmet and Andrew Cotter.
A total of 50 finalists across the 12 categories were identified following the submissions process, selected by the evaluations of a team of expert reviewers, the awards administrators, and with input from the judging panel.
Worplesdon Golf Club in Surrey were the only double winners on the night after being awarded England Course of the Year, as well as Great Britain & Ireland’s Golf Course of the Year.
Worplesdon secretary Chris Lomas, who collected the award, reflected on what it meant to the club: “I can’t tell you how much this means to everyone at Worplesdon. To have a credible awards programme, one that is independent and without agenda is exactly what the golf industry needs.”
Nick Dougherty reflected on the judging process: “As judges we looked for courses that met every criteria point – courses that have recently improved the playing experience, as well as the overall property, but also courses and clubs that sought a role in their local communities and ran programmes and initiatives to create a more inclusive environment.”
Luke Giles, co-founder of the Golf Course Awards and managing director of event organiser AGILE, said: “We’re delighted to have delivered an event that has been so well received by Great Britain and Ireland’s outstanding golf courses, clubs and facilities. We’re here to recognise and platform excellence from right across the industry, and we’re delighted to see such a breadth of inaugural winners, as chosen by our fantastically committed judging panel.
“AGILE have been running independent and inclusive awards programmes for more than 20 years, and are known for turning successful industry events into high-profile consumer campaigns. Our inaugural year has laid the foundations to deliver exponential growth over the coming years – the awards ambition is to secure national cut-through with golf consumers, as well as sustained cross-national media coverage, and to become known by all golf enthusiasts as a trusted tool for selecting their next course.”
The 2024 Golf Course Awards category winners
GB & Ireland Golf Course of the Year: Worplesdon Golf Club, Surrey
“Worplesdon is a course that has had an undoubtedly exceptional year, but also one whose success is built on a commitment to running a thriving golf club in every department. They met every criteria point, with a strategic vision focused firmly on the future – an outstanding course, a progressive club, and a fully deserving winner of Great Britain & Ireland’s Golf Course of the Year 2024.”
The Golf Course Awards Judging Panel
England: Golf Course of the Year: Worplesdon Golf Club, Surrey
“It’s inspiring to see a relatively small traditional club operating at such a high level across so many areas – clearly set on driving forward on and off the course, they are running outstanding junior and women’s programmes, and are a worthy winner of England Golf Course of the Year 2024.”
David Jones, Golf Course Awards Judge
Wales Golf Course of the Year: Pyle & Kenfig Golf Club, Bridgend
“Pyle & Kenfig is a club and a course on the rise – they have carried out some wonderful course improvements, and are doing a huge amount of work off the course, with sustainability and inclusion initiatives making a positive impact on the environment and within their community – a deserving winner of Wales Golf Course of the Year 2024.”
Nick Dougherty, Golf Course Awards Judge
Scotland Golf Course of the Year: The Old Course at St Andrews, Scotland
“As the home of golf, you wouldn’t be surprised if they occasionally got complacent, but the Old Course and St Andrews take their responsibilities to their community and to the sport of golf incredibly seriously, never more so than over the last 12 months.
The AIG Women’s Open felt like a seminal moment for women’s golf, with young girls truly embracing the opportunity to experience the Old Course with a twist, in what truly did feel like a festival of golf.”
Emma Ballard, Golf Course Awards Judge
Ireland: Golf Course of the Year: The Colt Championship Links at County Sligo Golf Club, Ireland
“County Sligo is a truly welcoming club, running great inclusivity and sustainability initiatives. Recent course improvements have bedded in brilliantly, and the academy is growing and excelling – a worthy winner of Ireland Golf Course of the Year 2024.”
Golf Course Awards Judging Panel
Emerging Course of the Year: Dumbarnie Links, Scotland
“A modern style links with one of the best clubhouses, it’s only been around for a few years, and it looks like it’s been bedded in over a hundred years. The veteran programme for the caddies is a stand-out initiative, and really does save lives – a worthy winner without a doubt.”
Inci Mehmet, Golf Course Awards Judge
Short Course of the Year: Sunningdale Heath Golf Club, Berkshire, England
“Sunningdale Heath are a truly inclusive club, led by an inspirational team with clear vision – one built on supporting the next generation, on engendering a real community spirit, and on providing a course that can be enjoyed by all. Intergenerational and mixed-ability golf works perfectly at this special course. Quite simply, we felt it embodied everything a short course should be, and was an incredibly deserving winner.”
Nick Dougherty, Golf Course Awards Judge
Sustainability Award: Carnoustie Golf Links, Scotland
“Carnoustie have built in sustainability considerations to literally everything they do, the scale and breadth of their initiatives are market leading across the board, and without doubt, deserve to be the inaugural champions of the The Sustainability Award.”
Scott Macpherson, Golf Course Awards Judge
Junior Golf Programme of the Year: Close House, Newcastle, England
“We all felt that juniors were absolutely central to the club, and given prominence in a way you rarely see at a course of this standard. Growing golf in the north east of England, especially for juniors, is at the core of everything Close House do. The instruction is first rate and juniors are encouraged to get out on the courses as early and as often as possible – they are worthy winners of Junior Golf Programme of the Year.”
Dan Walker, Golf Course Awards Judge
Golf Resort of the Year: Adare Manor, Limerick, Ireland
“Adare Manor is a bucket list destination for most people, but we just felt that with the benefits the 2027 Ryder Cup will bring to the local community, and recent improvements to the already world-beating experience offered to all guests, they deserved to win Resort Course of the Year 2024. If you only visit one golf resort in the world, Adare Manor should be that one resort.”
David Jones, Golf Course Awards Judge
Practice Facility of the Year: Sigmoid HQ, Dublin, Ireland
“World class coaching and tech set-up, as well as an incredible variety of programmes and initiatives. I loved finding out that Sigmoid HQ also focus on the nutritional, physio and mental side of golf practice, not just the technical side of the game.”
Nick Dougherty, Golf Course Awards Judge
Inclusivity Award: Golf It!, Glasgow, Scotland
“Golf It! Glasgow have made incredible strides in a short space of time. Inclusivity is in their DNA, and are a true trailblazer in every sense – we are delighted to recognise Golf It! Glasgow as our inaugural Inclusivity Award winner.”
The Golf Course Awards Judging Panel
HIGHLY COMMENDED
The judging panel were so impressed by the quality of the finalists that on four occasions they decided to also highly commend a course, where they felt the gap between first and second was sufficiently small. Sunningdale Heath (Junior Programme); The Grove (England Course); Mount Juliet (Resort) and The Repton Course at Rudding Park (Short Course) were all highly commended in their respective categories.
Submissions for the 2025 Golf Course Awards will open in March.
For more information, visit golfcourseawards.com