Golf magazines make a great deal of their biennial rankings of golf courses and, at the beginning of the year, our two major magazines - Golf Digest and Golf Australia - came out with their most recent lists.

Golf Digest rank 100 courses and Golf Australia limit their list to 50 - a much better number because once you get that far down a list of 100, there is so little to distinguish a group of average golf courses if the quality of the architecture is the measure. The 80th best course in Australia would be lucky to make the top 200 in Britain.

The Golf Digest list generated more publicity, possibly because it ranked Kingston Heath as the best course in the country when that position had always been held by Royal Melbourne. Clearly that was a vote influenced by the conditioning problems at Royal Melbourne but having walked the course this week, the regrassing program has certainly put the course far along the road to recovery. By the time of next summer's Presidents Cup, it will be back to its best and if the rankings are about architectural merits then Royal Melbourne will again be at the top of both lists.

There are lots of problems with lists of this nature:

Architects - practicing architects make up at least half of the GA panellists - rate their own courses and there are the inevitable accusations of bias and conflict of interest. (I have been involved in the renovation or building of some of the courses I have listed below, including Barnbougle, Victoria, The Lakes and Peninsula, so am happy to make that disclaimer at the outset.)

Golf Digest has a large panel and that makes it difficult for all the members to have seen a decent number of the courses - one panellist had not seen Yarra Yarra since 1969 - and there are some on that panel with limited credentials when it comes to judging the architectural merits of a golf course.

The criteria asks for judges to consider more than just the architecture and that includes things like conditioning, memorability, wow factor (whatever than means) and playability.

They are somewhat important - but in my opinion they should be about 10 per cent of the mark, leaving 90 per cent for the architecture.

The hardest thing is finding a credible panel.

The most worthwhile opinions come from those who satisfy the following criteria.

1. You must see courses with some regularity and keep up with the new and the redesigned - ruling out players like Geoff Ogilvy and Steve Allan who would be terrific panellists. They study architecture, they know what they are talking about and they are without conflict.

2. People know what they are looking at - ruling out many golf pros who you may assume know what they are looking at but in reality only see the game through the small and irrelevant prism of their own games. This includes those who think Royal Melbourne is over-rated because ‘the par fives are too short' or ‘the fairways are too wide.'

3. Readers have heard of them - the criticism of GA panellist Matt Mollica who understands the basics of golf architecture as well as anybody in the country.

4. They are without conflict - bearing in mind former USGA Executive Director Frank Hannigan's comment that if you are in golf and you don't have at least three conflicts you are not even a player.

Rather than ordering the courses purely in order of their architectural merit, the courses I have listed here for BackPageLead are in the order, from 36th to first, I would take a friend from overseas to see what Australian golf is about.

The most encouraging thing about this list is how many new or significantly rebuilt courses are included and how much those courses have contributed to the game here. Thirty years ago this list would have looked a lot different and the game is all the better for the progress it has made.

THE 36 AUSTRALIAN COURSES I WOULD SHOW OFF TO AN OVERSEAS VISITOR
(Part 1 of The Countdown - Nos 36 to 19)

36. Ellerston (NSW): The private course of the late Kerry Packer. Situated on his estate near Scone, this would be in the top few must-visit courses - certainly if a uniquely Australian experience is a priority - but I can't take anybody to see it so perhaps it's a bit pointless even mentioning it. That's a pity because it is an extraordinary experience (and if I could take someone there, I would.)

35. Ranfurlie* (Vic): The first course built by the design company which bears my name, and I mention it because architects' first courses are often interesting. They get to try out all their theories about the way the game should be arranged and, at Ranfurlie, we tried to give the observant golfer a good idea of what the original sandbelt courses looked like before the trees grew.

34. Hope Island (Qld): One of the best Queensland resort courses - and Peter Thomson's design makes for really interesting choices all the way around.

33. The Australian (NSW): The old course was completely redone in 1977 by Jack Nicklaus in preparation for the Australian Open. Not surprisingly it bears a remarkable resemblance to golf in America.

32. Port Fairy* (Vic): The holes along the sea - 12, 13, 14, 15 and 16 - make the drive from Melbourne worth the effort. At less than $30 a round or $500 for a membership this is some of the best value golf in the world.

31. Yarra Yarra (Vic): The 5th and 11th holes are two of the best in the country - both probably in the top 30 in Australia.

30. Royal Sydney (NSW): Under-rated by those who under-rate it and over-rated by the magazine who placed it as the 13th best in the country. A magnificent clubhouse (pictured, above) overlooks the 18th green.

29. Joondalup (WA): See National Old - but without the views of the sea. Both courses are by Robert Trent-Jones Jnr.

28. The National - Old Course (Vic): Controversial and dramatic with views of the sea that entrance the visitor.

27. Legends Course - Moonah Links (Vic): Not as hard as The Open course on the other side of the hotel but more popular and more fun.

26. Barwon Heads (Vic): A beautiful place to play and stay. There is not a hole that would get a second look on the best of the British links but a lot of really solid golf.

25. Commonwealth (Vic): Some of the best greens complexes in the country and three particularly brilliant holes - 9, 15 and 16 - that show of some of the best sandbelt architecture.

24. Kooyonga (SA): The finish lets it down a little but there are some fine holes through the middle of the course - and the 8th could be one of the best par fours in the country with a little tree clearing on the left.

23. Grange West* (SA): On sandy land that is more undulating than most of the sandbelt, The West Course would be better known - and rated - if it was in Melbourne or Sydney and not seen as the third best course in Adelaide.

22. Portsea* (Vic): See The Dunes. The short par four 13th hole is one of the better short fours.

21. The Dunes (Vic): Great land and great fun.

20. Royal Queensland* (Qld): A new course designed by the writer's design business. The land is flat but the course is unique in this country for its massively wide fairways, randomly placed fairway bunkers and greens demanding approach shots from the correct third of the fairways.

19. Peninsula South Course* (Vic): The bigger of the two courses at Peninsula - not as quirky as the North but demanding of stronger golf and the 18th may be one of the best three or four finishing holes in the country.

(* denotes courses that Mike Clayton, of Michael Clayton Golf Design, has done work for or had involvement with.)

TOMORROW: The final countdown - Nos. 18 to 1.