The Panel

Welcome to NCG Top 100s

Our NCG Top 100s chairman, Dan Murphy, is responsible for assembling our panels and indeed the lists themselves.

We use a different set of panellists for each NCG Top 100s list.

The one constant is Dan.

Although we refresh our panel for each and every ranking, many of our panellists have contributed to several of our lists over a long period.

What do we look for in a panellist?

Well, we insist that all our panellists are widely golfed and enthusiastic.

Panellists must also commit to visiting a minimum of eight courses from the shortlist in the year of an update.

We want our rankings to be contemporaneous. So our panellists must be active – and willing and able to get out there and see the courses in the year of a ranking update.

We like to use panellists who are strong in particular countries and we are always on the lookout for additional panellists who will strengthen our group.

Rest assured that all of our panellists have plenty of experience in the field.

So why does our panel change from one list to the next?

Well, there are several good (and practical) reasons:
• We assemble bespoke panels who are specialists in a particular region or country
• We regularly refresh our panels to avoid 'groupthink' or becoming stale
• We periodically meet new panellists who can make our lists better
• We insist on our panellists committing to going out and playing a proportion of the courses on our shortlist every time we begin a project to update a list. Not all previous panellists are able to commit

Now, let's meet the panel.

Meet the NCG Top 100s Panellists

You can check out all of our panellists here, to learn about their golfing passions and experiences.

Dan Murphy

Handicap: 1

Dan is the chairman of the NCG Top 100s Panels and has played every course on these lists multiple times.

Home Club

Alwoodley

A GB&I Course I Love

Royal St George’s - Slightly mysterious, always entertaining, sporty topography

A great course in four words?

Design, turf, consistency, options

Lists Contributed To:

GB&I, England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales

Sean Arble

Handicap: 14

Sean describes himself as “an American ex-pat who enjoys playing the back alley courses of GB&I”.

Home Club

Burnham & Berrow

A GB&I Course I Love

Kington - A certain admiration will emerge for those who give Kington due attention.

A great course in four words?

Routing, soil, turf, greens

Lists Contributed To:

GB&I, England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales

Jim Banting

Handicap: 0

Jim describes himself as “a nomadic golfer who believes few courses can rest on their laurels”.

Home Club

/golfcourse/west-sussex-pulborough

A GB&I Course I Love

Saunton East - tough but fair

A great course in four words?

Elegant, sophisticated, utterly unforgettable

Lists Contributed To:

GB&I, England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales

Ed Battye

Handicap: 3

Ed says he enjoys “visiting new courses and returning to the best ones which almost exclusively involve firm turf, natural movement in the land and lots of strategic options”.

Home Club

Woodsome Hall

A GB&I Course I Love

Royal North Devon - so many virtues

A great course in four words?

Options, firm turf, cadence

Lists Contributed To:

GB&I, England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales

Phil Bedford

Handicap: 4

Phil's interests include golf and beer... The perfect combination!

Home Club

Wharton Park

A GB&I Course I Love

Lofoten Links - in Norway and within the Arctic Circle – a spectacular location and a fantastic course

A great course in four words?

Somewhere near the sea

Lists Contributed To:

GB&I, Scotland, England

Steve Carroll

Handicap: 11

NCG's Club Golf Editor

Home Club

Close House

A GB&I Course I Love

Swinley Forest - my happy place

A great course in four words?

Fun, firm, variety, challenge

Lists Contributed To:

GB&I, England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales

David Eliott

Handicap: 8

Software Consultant

Home Club

TP Golf

A great course in four words?

Layout, Condition, Challenge, Enjoyment.

Lists Contributed To:

England, GB&I

Dan Gould

Handicap: 20

Accountant

Home Club

Wentworth

A great course in four words?

Diversity, reasonable forgiveness, beauty

Lists Contributed To:

England

Georgie Gould

Handicap: 22

Home Club

Wentworth

A great course in four words?

Natural beauty, impeccable maintenance

Lists Contributed To:

England

Neil Gray

Handicap: 7

Marketing Consultant

Home Club

Centurion Club

A great course in four words?

Setting, turf, design, greens

Lists Contributed To:

England, Scotland

Chris Griffiths

Handicap: 9

Marketing Manager

Home Club

East Berkshire

A great course in four words?

Challenge, Variety, Excellence, Beauty

Lists Contributed To:

Scotland, England

Chris Healy

Handicap: 0

Owner of Precision Pressure Washing

Home Club

Rockliffe Hall

A great course in four words?

Challenging, Scenic, Condition, Memorable

Lists Contributed To:

England

Dove Jones

Handicap: 12

Dove describes herself as: “An American that adores golf in GB&I and until I figure out being an ex-pat I’ll keep being over here every chance I get”.

Home Club

Royal Liverpool

A great course in four words?

Strategy, fairness, condition, variety

Lists Contributed To:

England, GB&I, Ireland, Scotland, Wales

Lewis Marr

Handicap: 0

Managing Director, Education Enterprise

Home Club

Seaton Carew

A great course in four words?

Challenge, variety, aesthetics, agronomy

Lists Contributed To:

England

Craig Morrison

Handicap: 8

Author

Home Club

Mendip

A great course in four words?

Meaning, unity, rhythm, balance

Lists Contributed To:

England, Scotland

Chris Myatt

Handicap: 9.8

Tournament Controller, The PGA

Home Club

Knole Park

A great course in four words?

Strategy, routing, personality, condition

Lists Contributed To:

GB&I, England, Scotland

Pat O'Connor

Handicap: 7.1

Retired Company Director (Owner)

Home Club

Pat O'Connor

A great course in four words?

Conditioning; Variety; Playability; Design

Lists Contributed To:

Scotland, England, GB&I

Joss Powick

Handicap: 8

Water Industry Consultant

Home Club

Hindhead

A great course in four words?

Heather, Sand, Challenge & Variation

Lists Contributed To:

GB&I, England

Craig Redston

Handicap: 8

Engineer

Home Club

Knole Park

A great course in four words?

Architecture, strategy, undulation, agronomy

Lists Contributed To:

England, GB&I

Mike Robertson

Handicap: 3

Account Manager, 18Players

A great course in four words?

Location, variation, firm turf

Lists Contributed To:

GB&I, England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales

Peter Rudd

Handicap: 6

Telecom company owner

Home Club

Woodbridge

A great course in four words?

Setting, design, fairness, turf

Lists Contributed To:

GB&I, England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales

David Trimmer

Handicap: 12

Interior Designer

Home Club

Old Fold Manor

A great course in four words?

Conditioning, cohesion, interesting, beauty

Lists Contributed To:

England

Michael Verity

Handicap: 0

Online Sports Betting

Home Club

Burnham Beeches

A great course in four words?

Choices, Challenge, Variety, Adventure

Lists Contributed To:

England

David Walker

Handicap: 1

Business Operations Manager

Home Club

Royal St David’s

A great course in four words?

Design, setting, challenge, fun

Lists Contributed To:

GB&I, England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales

Steve Watton

Handicap: 0

Company Director

Home Club

Churchill & Blakedown

A great course in four words?

Beautiful, natural & thought-provoking

Lists Contributed To:

GB&I, England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales

Greg Webber

Handicap: 6

Pharmacist

Home Club

Muswell Hill

A great course in four words?

Interesting, fair, memorable, accessible

Lists Contributed To:

GB&I, England, Scotland, Wales

Andi White

Handicap: 18

Retired

Home Club

Chilwell Manor

A great course in four words?

Condition, Fairways, Variety, Greens

Lists Contributed To:

GB&I, England, Scotland

Neil White

Handicap: 10.5

Retired Journalist

Home Club

Chilwell Manor

A great course in four words?

Layout, uniqueness, conditioning, land

Lists Contributed To:

Scotland, GB&I, England

Neil White

Handicap: 8

Course Architect

Home Club

Enville

A great course in four words?

Turf, engaging, environment, options

Lists Contributed To:

England, GB&I