Aswonderful asthey are, dramatic 1st holes tend to be difficult to pull off due to the desire to want to ease the golfer into the round. That said, the penchant for locating the clubhouse on the highest ground often affords one of the best opportunities for a dramatic hole.
Take the 1st hole at Desert Highlands for instance. As you come up to the tee, the whole valley lays out in front of you with Pinnicle Peak towering above on the tight, affording a sense of containment. I remember during construction, hitting ball after ball just to watch that little white sphere floating off into space and thinking that it would never even reach that fairway - way down there - only to see it plop down right in the middle of that oasisof green. Being my 1st experience with Desert Golf, having so much "non-grass" inplay only added to the unsettling but still majestic vista.
Spyglass's 1st also provides anOMG response. I also like Pasatiempo's and Crystal Downs' elevated#1's as they give a quick discription of the flavor of the course. We had what I thought was a great #1 at Greenbay Country Club until the clubhouse architect liked the vista so much he put the pro shop on the other side of the building and it became #10 (not that the new #1 isn't dramatic with it's flanking ponds and green benched into the hillside above the creek, across the valley floor.
#1 at Ko'Olau is a huge par 5 that plays over 100' down to the green and affords vistas overlooking the Windward side of Oahu. The 1st at Makelei Hawaii was supposed to do the same (looking out to Maui) but the clubhouse I don't think was ever built in the planned location and #3 became #1. But it makes for a nice #17.
About as far as I've gone would probably be the 1st at del Lago, outside of Tucson. The tees are benched into a downslope that ends in a deep cannyon-like wash and the fairway begins on the otherside. I felt that people would come out and walk over to the 1t tee to get a feeling of what the course was all about. I also felt that the carry would discourage people from playing more golf course than their game could support, Kinda like a gut check for those who "want to play the whole course to get my money's worth"/
Unfortunately, with the exception of maybe #1 at North Berwick and Prestwick, there is nothing that jumps out of my memory ofrom England/Scotland. Hopefully some of friends from over the pond can come up with some for us.