Top 10 public 18th holes

[Matt_Cohn]

Another one of those cool Golf.com lists.

Link: http://tinyurl.com/ynnt8v

10. Carnoustie
9. Whistling Straits
8. Kapalua
7. Shadow Creek
6. Bay Hill

I'll leave the top 5 to you all.

The lowest peak green fee of the 10 courses is $215

[Bill Satterfield]

Pebble Beach I'm sure made the list; probably number 1.  I'm sure St. Andrews made the list as well.

I like Cascata's 18th, Red Sky Norman, Lakota Canyon, and Half Moon Bay among others.  

[John Moore II]

The article skips from the 5th best closer to the 3rd best closer, I don't think I'm going to be able to sleep at night until I know what the 3rd best finishing hole in the world is. I must say that I agree with the top 2, if not so much the rest of them.

[M. Shea Sweeney]

18 at Bethpage Red is a very solid finisher

The 18th hole at Mid Pines is my favorite hole in Pinehurst.

[Jim Nugent]

Without looking at the article, I bet Doral, Pebble and TOC are in the top 5.  

[John Moore II]

Doral might be the one missing. But if not, its not there

[Gerry B]

based upon my personal experiences on this side of the pond, a few to consider would be:

pebble  - a lock / sawgrass / kiawah ocean course
pacific dunes / doral - blue monster / pinehurst #2 / bethpage black / kapalua plantation course / pasatiempo - nice par 3 / glen abbey - it was the site of one of tiger's best shots

[Andy Troeger]

Whistling Straits is a fine golf course, but the 18th is horrendous IMO. Easily my least favorite hole on the course. The other three I've played on the list are all pretty worthy. Lakota Canyon, Sultan's Run, Tullymore are all good ones they did not mention. They were obviously going through just the big name facilities.

[Matt_Ward]

Frankly, I get annoyed when magazines take the easy way out and simply say "Public" when in reality the sheer costs for the Joe Sixpack and Mary Wineglass are beyond their reach.

It would be far better if they simply set a dollar ceiling and pick holes with that in mind. In that way you would create a financial egalitarian model for many people to really see personally what is being discussed.

In short ...

Best closing holes at under $100 courses

Best closing holes from $100 to $200 courses

And the anything above and beyond that

Repeating the same names (e.g. Doral 18th, Pebble's 18th, etc, etc) is really an empty exercise and one I often skip.

[J_ Crisham]

18th at Cog Hill is a pretty fair test as well.  Tiger always mentions it in his frequent victory speeches here.

[David Stamm]

The 18th at Harbortown should be in there somewhere. Probably TPC Sawgrass as well.

[Tim Leahy]

The 18th at Lake Chabot in the Oakland, Ca. hills is my favorite muni finishing hole, 667 yds, par 6, all downhill. Great Hole!

[Kyle Henderson]

The 18th at Lake Chabot in the Oakland, Ca. hills is my favorite muni finishing hole, 667 yds, par 6, all downhill. Great Hole!

Agreed. You never know when you're going to make a double eagle 3 (I had a two putt 4 on two separate occasions) or a double bogey 8. Talk about a great match play hole!

Those who dislike severely unlevel lies beware. With a little snow it would be an intermediate ski run!

[mike_malone]

 Glen Mills #18 has a good risk/reward diagonal hazard carry on the drive followed by an approach with a bunker 25-30 yards short of the green on the left and an opening on the right to a long and relatively narrow green.

  One for Racetrack George---Paxon Hollow #18. It's a par five that calls for a drive to avoid the creek on the left and a difficult layup into a severe left to right sloping fairway with a huge mound on the left and a tree on the right. The approach is to a huge two tiered green. I think there are some changes that would make this hole even more special.

   Scotland Run #18 is a contender. It is another par five with a hazardous driving area and a risk/reward second shot either over the water or bailout to the left. It leads to a blind approach.

 

[John Keenan]

The 18th at Harding was a great hole at the AMEX. Better as it turned out for Tiger than JD. Exciting for the fans

[Dan Herrmann]

Come on - Pacific Dunes 18 is wonderful!

[Jed Peters]

Come on - Pacific Dunes 18 is wonderful!

To be honest, I think it's one of the weaker holes on the course, and always have.

[Don Hyslop]

 Having played mainly in the Atlantic Provinces of Canada, my experience certainly is not what many of the posters on this website is but last year while in Prince Edward Island, had a chance to play a number of courses  and would say that #18 at Eagles Glenn ( Graham Cooke design) in Cavendish is certainly an interesting finishing hole. It has several tee locations that make this par 4 range anywhere from 380 to 450 yards. There is water on the left hand side practically from tee to green and thick woods on the right. The green is narrow and long and well guarded by the water, bunkers and mounds.
 You can check out a video of the hole at this link;

http://www.eaglesglenn.com/hole_descriptions/main_coursenon.html

 Equally interesting was number 18 called the Crows Nest at the Links At Crowbush Cove. (Thomas McBroom) This par 4 varies from 400 to 464 yds in length. A series of bunkers awaits anyone who pushes his tee shot to the right, while bunkers and mounds protect the right side of the green while grassy mounds protect this elevated green on the left. The green is bisected by a swale to make the finishing putts a real test as well.
You can view the hole here:

http://www.worldwidegolfguide.com/hgg_home/crowbush/pages/hole18.html

[Kalen Braley]

Come on - Pacific Dunes 18 is wonderful!

To be honest, I think it's one of the weaker holes on the course, and always have.

Jed,

I'm curious as to which holes you think are the stronger ones and why.  Additionally why is 18 one of the weaker ones?  Which features did you not like?