Looking towards the 2028–2029 Top 100 Courses ranking.
With so many returning courses and a compelling new entrant pushing towards the top, the race to break into the Top 100 Courses ranking is only getting tighter. This is a ranking cycle defined by movement, and there’s little to suggest that volatility will settle any time soon. If anything, the 2028 list is shaping as another shake-up.
Most anticipated is Darius Oliver’s The Cliffs, Kangaroo Island [pictured], which is due to open this spring on a dramatic stretch of the South Australian island’s rugged coastline. Early reports have already stirred quiet excitement among those fortunate enough to walk the amazing piece of land. As leading golf photographer Gary Lisbon puts it: “From the opening tee shot, it does not disappoint. The cliff and ocean backdrop immediately present: next stop, Antarctica.”
Lisbon was struck not only by the visuals, but by the substance. Despite the course not opening until October, “the firmness of the turf and putting surfaces stood out, along with the natural vegetation framing so many holes”, he says. “It fools you visually, there’s more width there than you first think.”
Tasmania’s 7 Mile Beach North course remains one to watch as it develops, though its likely impact may fall closer to the 2030 ranking.
Elsewhere, a wave of redesigns adds further intrigue. The National’s Long Island (OCM) is already turning heads among members, while new holes at Newcastle, the redevelopment of Pennant Hills and the reimagining of Country Club Tasmania ensure the list will continue to evolve.
For Lisbon, The Cliffs on Kangaroo Island may prove the headline act. “The setting is sublime,” he says. “It’s not just a golf trip, people will stay four or five days. That’s when you know a place has real pull.”
Photo by gary lisbon
