One hole to call your own?

[rjsimper]

If you could have an exact replication of one hole in the world in your back yard to serve as your practice area/gambling haven with your golfer buddies, which hole would it be?  Which single golf hole presents the most distinct architectural and playing-characteristic virtues so as to make it something you would look forward to hitting the tee shot or approach shot or a long putt over and over again.

Caveat - scenery can NOT be reproduced - i.e. you cant just throw a sea-cliff into the equation and say Pebble #8.  You should, theoretically, be able to build said hole in your back yard if given the land.
 

[Brian_Sleeman]

Immediate thought in my mind is #13 at The Kingsley Club.

A great short par four ideal for the gambling part of the equation, with a multitude of options off the tee and a green that could never bore you.  The area surrounding the green would also give you all the short game practice you could want.  Check it out halfway down the page:

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/kingsleyclub000238.html

[Troy Alderson]

Ryan,

Simple, the redan.  A perfect copy of the North Berwick monster.  That is one hole that if ever mastered could win you big bucks.

Troy Alderson

[Sean Leary]

Foxy at Dornoch.  I would want a hole I could always hit driver on, and the options around the green there would be great to goof around with the boys...

[David Sneddon]

I'll second Foxy at Dornoch.

Could never tire of playing that hole.

[Steve Lapper]

10th at Royal Melbourne West

[Steve Lapper]

Runner's up:

#6 at RM West
#10 at Riviera
Road Hole
#11 Shinny
#11 Merion

Foxy

[Martin Gott]

Pebble #6
I own this hole....The 2 times I played Pebble I birded it both times.........but the one to call my own would be #8 Pebble.  The approach into #8 is pure.............

[JeffTodd]

#13 at PV would let me hit driver and hit a wonderfully heroic approach shot. But most important, it would allow for some terrific short game practice from the ample bailout area to the right.

[Don_Mahaffey]

I'd have a big back yard-14th @ TOC

[Jfaspen]

probably 10 at riveria..

1. it's long enough that i could hit driver and it would demand accuracy.
2. as a match play hole, it's world class
3. i could shorten it and make it into one helluva long or short par 3.

[Brad Tufts]

The 14th at TOC sounds pretty good to me.....but my first thought was the Himalayas putting green.

[Doug Siebert]

I'd go with #17 TOC also.  I could cut down on land acquisition costs by using my house in place of the Old Course Hotel, and maybe use a pool outbuilding or guest house as the "shed"!

Alternatively, #11 TOC would be pretty nice as well, and if I wanted to play a par 4 I'd just tee up across the street and a few houses down

[John Pflum]

I'd have to go with #5 at Crystal Downs.  

[Patrick_Mucci]

# 18 at NGLA.

One of the great holes in the world of golf.

In addition, it would increase the value of my house.

A par 3 is boring, a one shot hole, simply target golf, but an interesting par 5 with an abundance of options, risk-reward, is a joy forever.  And # 18 at NGLA has it all.

[rjsimper]

My first inclination, just as a local boy without the national exposure of many of y'all, was 13 at Rustic.  Tee shot you can play L to R, R to L, or straight...reachable in two if you really poke one, one of the most fun greens I know of (and with the two sides of the green, two completely different holes it makes) and tons of fun for chipping and putting.  Only downside I see to it is that being uphill, it wouldn't make for great mid and short iron practice because you can't see the ball once it is on the green.    But it's close.

I think no matter how I looked at it, I'd make it a par 5.  Though I do think if it was going to be a par 4, 10 at Riviera would be up there near the top for me too - I think if I was to have one hole, it would DEFINITELY require some element of gamble.

[Tom Huckaby]

You guys are missing a very key aspect of this - what the hell do you do after you putt out on your golf hole?  Walk all the way the hell back to the tee?

Nope - this only works if the hole can be played in reverse.

So give me #14 on The Old Course.  I'll play it up and back all day... of course 13 green will be built as part of the equation, so we can play from the side of 14 green back to that one, giving us a very nice up and back.  And if you consider that cheating, well then what the hell, we'll just expand the 14 tee box and make it puttable, play back to that.

TH

[Sean Leary]

You guys are missing a very key aspect of this - what the hell do you do after you putt out on your golf hole?  Walk all the way the hell back to the tee?

Why golf carts, of course

[Tom Huckaby]

Sean - touche!

But I'd still prefer a hole that can be played up and back.  We'll use the cart when fatigue sets in.

 

[Stan Dodd]

Cruden Bay #6. Solid par 5 in which you can hit every club in the bag.  Many different ways to play. Risk /Reward options,Potential for blind shots and heroic shots. Any number from 3 to ? possible. Elasticity, a good 5, or long 4, short 4, or 3. Fun!!

[Tommy Williamsen]

I'd go with nine at my home course:  Four Streams outside DC.

[Dan Boerger]

18th at Pine Valley. To some it may lack the nuance and complexity of other holes on that course, but the tee view, the demand for a long a precise tee shot, and the large green that can accept a less than perfect (but not short) approach make it incredibly appealing to me.

Honorable Mention: (I know, breaking rules here ..)

16th at Merion
3rd at National

[Jeff Fortson]

For this exercise...

10 Riviera


Jeff F.

[Pat Howard]

Probably #9 at CPC. I love the way the hole can change just by a shift in the wind!

[Ted Kramer]

#4 Bethpage Black

-Ted