Guess Tommy's top 3 holes!

[George Pazin]

Found this comment on the Riviera preparations thread, about the famed 10th:

10-   Look-up the dictionary, the definition of a world class golf hole and the 10th will be there everytime. One of the 18 GREATEST GOLF HOLES IN THE WORLD. (Maybe even in the Top 3)

note - emphasis added

So what are Tommy's top 3 holes? I'm putting my guesses in a sealed envelope, so that you can all have a shot first.

 

[THuckaby2]

Good question.

OK, one if not all three is gonna be on The Old Course, and I'm gonna go with #14.

We'll assume one of the others is #10 Riv.

For the third, hmmmmm.... I'm tempted to pick a hole from Pine Valley, but Tommy tends to go with the more obscure.  It's likely gonna be one at Friar's Head, if not Rustic Canyon... I'm gonna say Friar's Head, and never having seen that, just guess #10.

TH

[Scott_Burroughs]

Tommy is also fond of #11 at LACC (N).

[THuckaby2]

Indeed.  That might be a worthy #3.  But two of the top three no more than 10 miles apart?  That might be too provincial even for Tommy... and too obvious... I'm betting at least one of these is gonna be more obscure.

[Adam_F_Collins]

Cypress #16

[THuckaby2]

No way.  WAY too obvious, WAY too much what the average joe would pick.  

It would be in my top 3 though, if I ever tried to formulate such.

Average Tom

[Mike Benham]

Good question.

OK, one if not all three is gonna be on The Old Course, and I'm gonna go with #14.

I agree that at least 1 will be from TOC, how about #11 ?

[THuckaby2]

Hmmm... 11 is a worthy candidate also, and damn straight one of the world's greatest par 3's.

But remember Tommy worships at the altar of options.  Not many options there except avoid the damn bunker!

I don't see ANY par 3 making his top 3, for just this reason.  If one does, it would be 16 Cypress, because options do exist there - for people who play it all the time, plus Dave Moriarty and golfers over 70 years old,  anyway.  

So I'm gonna stick with #14, the poster-hole for options.

But of course, when Tommy sees this he's likely to pick three from obscure munis only he has seen, just to screw us all.

 

[NAF]

I am on the phone right now with the Emperor himself and he declares the contest over!

[George Pazin]

Guess my envelope was wrong.

My guesses:

1) TOC - Long
2) TOC - Heathery In
3) The Riv #10

 

[Scott_Burroughs]

I have it on good authority the other two, and it wasn't my entry.  Head east, laddie.

[Tommy_Naccarato]

Huck nailed it immediately. #14 is without doubt one of the most strategic holes in the game. My favorite at least, and Dr. MacKenzie's too.

The other........ (Drum roll please....)

Mike nailed it too!

The Eden.

One of the greatest green complexes in the game and while C.B. Mac didn't like the fact that you could skull a shot into it, I have found it to be the best way to play the hole!

[Tommy_Naccarato]

I have always said that Dr. Klein's take on the Long Hole-In as one of the most accurate if not downright hilarious takes on the hole itself. He used it for a chapter in Rough Meditations.

[THuckaby2]

OK, so I got one, and that's good by me.

As for Eden, I would have said that one for sure if Tommy was to rank the world's best par threes... I just thought by definition such would be eliminated.  But one certainly cannot go wrong putting that at the very top of the world's golf holes.

Man... two of the world's top three holes played within a half hour of each other, maybe less... any wonder why TOC is so special to the Emperor?  And this doesn't even touch at the "soul" of the place...

TH

[Bob_Huntley]

One year, some statistician drew up the data and came to the conclusion that the Eden was probably the hardest hole for the average player to par than any other Open course.

[Bob_Huntley]

Should read "Than on any other Open course."

[THuckaby2]

Which of course just makes me feel that much better about the par and the birdie I made in my two tries last time I was there.

Interesting Tommy would love such a difficult golf hole though.  And here I thought he was a man of the people.

 

[Adam_F_Collins]

Can anyone point me to a good review of the 14th at TOC?

[Brian_Gracely]

So what are the rest of Tommy's Top 18?

[Adam_F_Collins]

Does Tommy HAVE a top 18?

[Brian_Gracely]

Can anyone point me to a good review of the 14th at TOC?

MacKenzie's "Spirit of St.Andrews" is a good place to start.

[George Pazin]

One year, some statistician drew up the data and came to the conclusion that the Eden was probably the hardest hole for the average player to par than any other Open course.

Along these same lines, I remember looking through an older copy of Golf Courses of the PGA Tour and there was a list of "hardest" holes on Tour, statistically speaking. Not only was Cypress' 16th on top in terms of strokes over par, it blew away all the other holes if one considered the percentage of score over par (sorry if that's worded poorly - what I mean is that I think it averaged a shade over 0.6 strokes over par, which is a little over 20%, as opposed to the second hole, I think a long par 4, which averaged 0.5something over par, or a little over 12%).

Too bad the Tour had to change its rules for hosting tourneys. Redanmand would definitely have another tournament to watch, anyway.

[NAF]

Huck-

Tommy is not the salt of the earth or just one of the peeps--

He's part of the Rat Pack..  

[Paul_Turner]

7th on The Eden?

[THuckaby2]

Huck-

Tommy is not the salt of the earth or just one of the peeps--

He's part of the Rat Pack..  

How silly of me.  He is after all one definitely cool cat.