Okay. Here's the list of holes I would never have picked.
I'm not saying many of these are "bad" holes, only that they are weak selections considering we only had to choose 27 holes for each number out of 30,000 golf courses around the world. And I recognize that some of them may have been chosen to fill a need ... i.e. I've got to have a par five for #8. But you guys didn't even have to deal with trying to figure out what you could fit onto a piece of land, so you shouldn't have been stuck with something you didn't want.
Some of you may even agree with Tom Simpson's famous line that every eclectic course needs one or one-and-a-half bad holes so that it is not too perfect and too much for people's brains; but since no one volunteered as much in advance, I have assumed that you actually thought these holes were worthy!
Without further ado,
#1 Pacific Dunes (Kalen). There were several other opening holes chosen which I didn't like much, either -- Bandon Trails is another, Augusta National is a brutal tee shot for most, and The Kingsley Club's opener is over the top in my book. But I think I've built four or five better opening holes than Pacific's, which you could have picked instead, so I'll start with my own.
#2 Oakmont (Wyatt). Why would you want to putt off the second green? I didn't like the 2nd at St. Louis CC that much, either; seemed like a very straightforward Biarritz to me, and too early in the round.
#3 Royal St. George's (Eric Smith). This bland long par 3 REPLACED the great Sahara which was such an inspiration to Macdonald. The original was still there when I visited the course in 1982, but there wasn't much open sand left to defend it. I was also very surprised to see the 3rd hole at Pebble Beach taken.
#4 Victoria (Robert Ball). Don't remember this hole as special at all. What about it do you like?
#5 Tobacco Road (Chip). All of the weird lay-up options were over the top for me.
#6 Winged Foot West (Carl). Only an interesting hole because of the difficulty if you drive it in the rough.
#7 Shinnecock Hills (Deucie). Did you watch the last Open? I have never thought this was a good version of the Redan ... because there is nowhere to play a shot short of the green to let it feed in. You just have to hit a fade and start yelling "Bite" as soon as it's airborne. The seventh at Maidstone was another odd choice.
#8 Holston Hills (Tim B). Very straightforward short par 3. I wouldn't have chosen my 8th at Rock Creek or the 8th at Cuscowilla, either.
#9 Turnberry (Matt B). Take away the lighthouse, and you've got a wicked long par 4 with a crowned fairway and a weird green. I could just as easily have gone with Jordan's choice of the 9th at Garden City GC, the only hole on the golf course that I think Travis got wrong; as it stands today it's either a boring lay-up tee shot or a bombs-away-don't-know-where-it's-going short 4. I was surprised to see the 9th at Ballyneal on this list, too.
#10 Bandon Dunes (Patrick). This has always been my least favorite hole on the course, because the feature which makes you play out to the left is a tiny hollow at the right front of the green that's hidden from view. If the dune had been up against the green, or the dune had been removed so you could see the hollow, it wouldn't bother me as much. Was surprised to see the 10th at Crystal Downs, too; and the 10th at The Brickyard was a really left-field (or infield) suggestion.
#11 Actually, I didn't single out any of the 11th hole choices as being holes I would never consider.
#12 St. Andrews Beach (Brad F). I always thought of this hole as a bit of a letdown after a great run from 6-11. I'm not surprised that there were many 12th holes I didn't like; it might be the weakest number out there, which is one reason the 12th at Augusta always makes these eclectic lists. I would never have chosen the 12th at Yale or the 12th at Pacific Dunes or the 12th at Kiawah or the 12th at Piping Rock or the 12th at Bethpage Black, either.
#13 I'll go with the 13th at Bethpage Black (Richard Choi). Just because Mickelson kept making a mess of it, does not mean it's a great hole. I'll hold my lips on the other 13th hole I find overrated.
#14 Coeur d'Alene (Mac P). Just sail it on out of here, or scuttle it on the rocks. Was shocked to see the 14th at Lost Dunes, too -- I assume Jud T. has played it?
#15 Leatherstocking (JNC Lyon). I actually do not even remember this hole. I can vividly remember 16, 17, 18, but not 15. Most of the other 15th holes were good, although the 15th at Bandon Dunes is not one of the great short holes in the world.
#16 Cape Kidnappers (George F). I'm picking this one because it all boils down to the tee shot ... if you hit the fairway, it's a pretty easy hole, if not, you are going to make a mess. Plus I hadn't dinged many par-5 holes. I thought the 16th at Carne was an awful choice, too. It's one of the only holes on that course where they did earthwork to try and make it work, and the earthwork is badly done, and it didn't even help much. I think Carne is a great place overall, but not that hole.
#17 St. Andrews Beach (Eric S). There were only four holes at St. Andrews Beach that I would never have considered, and two of them got picked, so I had to speak up! The Jockey Club was a weird pick, too -- I barely remember the hole -- nor do I think the 17th at Oakmont was what Bernard Darwin had in mind when he said it was the duty of every great course to have a cracking 17th.
#18 Augusta National (Alex M). Have you ever been there, man? Do you really want your 18th hole to be 70 feet uphill, with trees on the left, bunkers through the fairway, and a heavily uphill second shot to an awkwardly-rebuilt green you can't see? This hole is the proof that tournament play makes all courses overrated. I never would have gone with the 18th at The Jockey Club or the 18th at San Francisco, either.
There were only two posters [besides me] who failed to pick a hole that I thought was a clunker -- Sean Arble and John Mayhugh. Congrats to both. Sean picked three holes I haven't seen, but I like the rest of his choices so much that he just put Beau Desert near the top of my list of courses to see. And since neither of them stooped to picking a hole from one of my courses, I will have to call it a tie. Thus, both will receive an invitation to this year's Renaissance Cup, once we decide where it will be.