Original Golf Holes

[Michael George]

We all have our favorite courses.  These courses contain template holes that were designed after famous holes around the world and some holes that are or at least seem to be original designs.  While I realize that most holes have attributes of other holes and there are few 100% original holes (other than all 18 at TOC), I have always loved and tried to identify unique golf holes.

For example, I loved #7 at Old MacDonald because I had never played a hole like it. To me, it was unique.  

What are some of your favorite 'unique" golf holes?

[Dan Kelly]

No. 2 at Sutton Bay.

Short par-3. Downhill. Long, skinny green with hillside to right and steep falloff to left. (At least the) Front half of green blind. Short-grass area in front of green, for bounce-in shots.

I'm not sure I've ever played holes "like" No. 8 and No. 9 at Sutton Bay, either.

Or a green like No. 16 at Sutton Bay.

[Bill McKinley]

#16 at Merion East, the original quarry hole.

#1 & #15 at Oakmont

#4 at Canterbury

#18 at Seminole

#2 & #17 at Carnoustie

those are some of my favs just to name a few 

[Michael George]

Bill:

#1 at Oakmont has a similar hole on the same course -#10 - I don't know how to keep your ball on either green.
I think the most original hole on the course is #11.  It is short but that fairway is highly unique in my experiences.

One hole that I love and think is pretty unique is #8 at Pete Dye GC.  Pretty easy tee shot, but the decision to go or lay back has a ton of issues and is really unique shot.

[Scott Stearns]

Two shot Redan at Blue mound in Milwaukee

[Tim Martin]

#18 at Yale is my favorite unique golf hole. It used to be known as Odyssey on the card but was changed to Home. I think Odyssey describes it perfectly.

[Anthony Gray]

  14 at Cruden Bay. Never saw anything like it before or since.

  Anthony

[Mike Boehm]

15 at Ballyhack.  I think it takes 4 pages of the yardage book just to lay out all of the options available on that hole.  Love the short porch option there - never seen anything quite like it.

Also the site of my most recent (but likely not final) four putt.

[Bill McKinley]

Bill:

#1 at Oakmont has a similar hole on the same course -#10 - I don't know how to keep your ball on either green.
I think the most original hole on the course is #11.  It is short but that fairway is highly unique in my experiences.

One hole that I love and think is pretty unique is #8 at Pete Dye GC.  Pretty easy tee shot, but the decision to go or lay back has a ton of issues and is really unique shot.

Good point Michael, but if Fownes routed the course in order, then #1 would be the original, right? 

[Mark Chaplin]

3 at Deal is pretty unusual.

13 at Rye over the massive dune.

1, 3, 15 & 16 at Prestwick.

All are holes you be surprised to see being built today.

[Garland Bayley]

3 and 15 at Astoria CC
Like Anthony's example at Cruden Bay, I don't ever expect to run into such holes again.

[Michael George]

Bill, you are correct.  #1 at Oakmont is the first hole on the course.  So #1 is a fine unique hole.  #10 is a fine copycat hole.

Another unique hole is #8 at The Dunes Club.  The green complex is really unique.  There is a sharp rise to the green and then the green lies down in a shallow bowl - very cool hole.  Tee to green would be unique if not for the fact that it looks a whole lot like Pine Valley.

Also, thought #11 at Oakland Hills was a unique golf hole with the contours of the fairway, sharp dogleg right and the narrow raised green.  Felt like it was one of the few holes on that course that was a genuine Ross.
 

[jonathan_becker]

MG,

Good call on #11 at OH.  That's an original if I've ever seen one.

What about #11 at Brookside? I know that you're very familiar with the hole but for those that don't know you need to sling it down and to the left while carrying the bunkers on the inside of the dogleg.  Then being faced with the bunkerless approach over the "brook" with the saddle-style green that's benched into the bottom of the hill.  Plus, there's that bail out short and left of the green.  I've never seen another hole like it that I can remember.

[Tim Nugent]

It never ceases to amaze me that, although I don't often try to do template holes or the like, how many times I have done a hole that I believed to be rather original turn up at some other course.  With so many courses in existance, perhaps the only way to get a truely unique hole is to start with a truely unique landform.

[Michael George]

Jonathan:

You are right about #11 at Brookside.  Plus, the tall ornamental grass in the rough through the fairway causes you to hesitate if you want to try and cut off the corner on the drive.  Also, the second picture does not adequately show how far of a drop that shot is - has to be a good 60 foot drop. 

The green on that hole is fun too.  Play it long and left and the ball rolls right back to the pin.  However, go 5 feet too far left and who have a chip that you cannot stop and an automatic bogey.

For those that have not made the trip, you will love Brookside.  Greens are as good as Oakland Hills.   

[Joey Chase]

  14 at Cruden Bay. Never saw anything like it before or since.

  Anthony

Definitely Unique
Also for me, the 15th at Fenway (what a tough little green complex!)
and the 4th at Rye playing along the ridge of the dune.

[Mac Plumart]

C'mon dudes...we need some original and unique holes.  How 'bout these bad boys?



6 at Dismal...par 4 across a gulch to a small-ish landing area...then uphill to a bowl/saddle green.




10 at Dismal...wildly undulating green with a bunker right in the middle.  BABY!!




6 at Pac Dunes...knoll type skinny green at the end of a short par 4 with a nasty bunker on the left of green.


16 at North Berwick...WOW!!!




13 at Harbour Town...come 'round the corner to a teeny-tiny green surrounded by a massive bunker





12 at Askernish...dual fairway par 5...one blind...one not...one with blind approach...one not...green slopes away!

16 at Askernish...Old Tom' Pulpit




Black Diamond Ranch all Quarry holes




Olde Stone 6...hidden, but massive, centerline bunker


Southshore 16?...mountain peak to mountain peak par 3


Longaberger peninsula green playing from a severely sloped fairway




GCofGA Creekside 5?...unplayable double forced carry par 5.  


And some I haven't played...

[Morgan Clawson]

Great stuff Mac!

[Wade Whitehead]

15 at Ballyhack.  There is no other hole, anywhere in the world, like it.

WW

[Terry Lavin]

It never ceases to amaze me that, although I don't often try to do template holes or the like, how many times I have done a hole that I believed to be rather original turn up at some other course.  With so many courses in existance, perhaps the only way to get a truely unique hole is to start with a truely unique landform.

This strikes me as being spot-on.

[Mac Plumart]

Great stuff Mac!

Morgan...thanks.  But really half of it was to be funny, but the other half was dead serious.  There are so many unique holes out there and no one seems to be bringing them up.  More than half the time we always try to answer these types of questions with holes from famous and/or elite courses.  I know that there are "unique" holes at non-Top 100 type of courses.

Isn't Shiskine a unique course with unique holes?

Strantz anyone?

Remember the Cader hole, I think from Aberdovey?

Painswick?

Clashing Stones...what was the name of that course...Stone Harbour maybe?

If all we do is talk about template holes and the same old holes, we will get the same old golf.  Joshua Crane, Fox News, fair and balanced, boring golf.

Where is the spice?!?!?

[David Stewart]

As the 6th at Riviera is currently in discussion on another thread, it can definitely be included.

Mac, your Strantz question made me think of Tobacco Road which has a ton of original holes. 1,5,6,9,11,13,15,16 come to mind but you could probably include pieces of all of them that are original. Is there a more original course than Tobacco Road?

[Tim Gavrich]

David--

If there is, Tot Hill Farm may be it.  1, 3, 5, 6, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14 (with the sign that says "3-putt maximum"), and 15 are all holes largely unlike any I've seen elsewhere.

Strantz goes straight to top-of-mind when I think of this idea.  I have to believe that he has a higher volume of utterly unique holes than just about any other architect.

In terms of the hugely famous courses, I have to think #10 at ANGC is essentially world-unique (its copies on replica courses don't count to me).  Same with #s 6 and 10 at Riviera.  #s 1 and 10 at TOC (I suppose they're "original" in the most literal sense).

[Garland Bayley]

As far as holes with a bunker in the middle of the green are concerned, there are a large number of them. The one at Dismal is a very Johnny-come-lately to that game. There was a thread collecting them here one time. Don't remember which was the first. Maybe Riviera, maybe not.

[Michael George]

The discussion of unique holes at Augusta is interesting.  I certainly would agree on #10. 

How about #8.  That green is pretty unique in America, but don't know if it was modeled after something in the UK.

I think #14 at one time was unique as a bunkerless hole, but it seems that this concept has been incorporated into other courses.

While I am sure there are driving shutes throughout the US, I also think the drive on #18 is pretty unique.