The Dubai Duty Free Irish Open stops at Lahinch this July. It will be the first time that a golf club within County Clare in the southwest of Ireland has been given the honour of hosting this prestigious national competition.

From here on The Addington is thrilling, challenging, and idiosyncratic in equal measure. Mercurial even. The rest of the round blew by in a variety rich maelstrom of pleasure ‘twixt with pain, until, out of breath, you reach the calm waters of the 18th.

Not just any Old Tom, Dick or Harry has made our collection of Top 100 Golf Course Architects. Instead, if you thought Old Tom Morris, Dick Wilson and Harry Colt might make an appearance then you won't be disappointed as they all make the cut.

Tom Doak’s Tara Iti holds on to the No.1 spot in our latest New Zealand rankings with his creation at Cape Kidnappers remaining in the runner-up position. The only significant move within the Top 10 is a four-place climb for Arrowtown Golf Club.

It’s a course that’s at one with its community and environment and the type of golf that people go on a pilgrimage to play at places like Askernish, so just maybe this is golf the way it’s meant to be? Personally I’m not there yet, but my inner eco-hipster wants to be.

We’ve been ranking courses within the Middle East for a decade now, having established a Top 10 for the UAE in 2009. All told, we now feature 26 courses across 13 countries which are situated between Egypt in North Africa and Afghanistan in Asia.