9 feels about right to me too - though I would say that by this reckoning I doubt more than 10-15 courses at most are going to score 10. It may be that there are courses - think of celebrated Open championship courses, US Open courses - which have fewer obvious weaknesses, but do they have the magic, can they conjure up the same highs? The answer must be No. I think the first seven holes are a magical start, especially 1-4 (I think the 3rd and 4th are probably the two best back to back holes?) and the finishing three are wonderful. But even when you are at the weakest section of the course around 11-14, you are in such a memorable place - the church and the mound and the proximity of the sea - that the experience still fills magical. I would even go so far as to say that while the 10th is absolutely not the best hole on the course it is, challenging/infuriating in an interesting sort of a way.
The club could learn to be a little less stuffy around the whole topic of handicap certificates, but that is a quibble in the grand scheme.