[jonathan_becker]

Philadelphia Country Club.  As good as some of the holes are on the back including 15-17 (especially 17), the finish is lackluster.

[Matthew Petersen]

Vista Verde in Scottsdale has a lot to recommend it but the 18th there is probably the worst hole on the course. It's awkwardly short with a pond that's just really really out of place (you can say the same about most ponds on courses in Arizona, but this one is especially jarring).

[Tim Martin]

Yale

Couldn`t disagree more. I can`t imagine a more epic finish on more rugged terrain. The hole is full of options and I would be happy to have it be one of a handful of holes that I could play forever.  

To each his own.

It's marginally better now that they've opened up the right side alternate fairway. But it has always struck me as a lame attempt to get back to the clubhouse. But what makes it epic? The fact that you have to go over a huge hill? It doesn't come close to measuring up in the epic category to 18 at Pebble. I guess you could call it rugged in its previously unmaintained state. But now that it has been cleaned up and trees removed it isn't nearly as rugged as 18 at Tobacco Road.

I would say that of all the quality courses I've played, Yale has the worst par 5s by a landslide. I know ... not saying much because there are only two, but 16 is as boring as it gets and 18 I can't stand. And I would put Yale in my top 5 favorite courses, which says a lot as to the quality of the other holes.

Dan-I respect your opinion so we can agree to disagree. It has ruined the scorecard for many and brought delight as well. I think the 3rd shot from the upper fairway from a distance of between 165 and 200 is as good as any on the golf course.

[Craig Van Egmond]

I have played 7 or 8 Curley/Schmidt courses and all of them had disappointing 18th holes.   

[Bruce Katona]

I didn't get #18 @ Yale the 1st time I played it.  

On a replay, I found the hole fascinating.....the more options you give the golfer the more you confound him; which is why I love grass bunkers - easy for the high handicapper to get out of and onto the green; gives the single digits and plus handicappers fits.

[Dan_Callahan]

Dan-I respect your opinion so we can agree to disagree. It has ruined the scorecard for many and brought delight as well. I think the 3rd shot from the upper fairway from a distance of between 165 and 200 is as good as any on the golf course.

Absolutely, and I hope I didn't sound dismissive of your opinion. There are lots of holes out there that my friends think I'm stupid for loving. Sadly, Yale's 18th isn't one of them. But I haven't been back since the right side of 18 was 100% completed, so maybe that allows for more interesting options.

I first started playing there when the maintenance was abysmal. And I can honestly say I had at least 10 rounds under my belt before I realized there was an alternate fairway on 18. And the only reason I found out was because I flared my 2nd shot and was shocked to find it sitting on grass instead of rolling into the woods.

[Doug Wright]

Vista Verde in Scottsdale has a lot to recommend it but the 18th there is probably the worst hole on the course. It's awkwardly short with a pond that's just really really out of place (you can say the same about most ponds on courses in Arizona, but this one is especially jarring).

Agree--the 18th at Talking Stick South is similar. Too bad as I like TSS otherwise.

[Jason Topp]

White Bear Yacht Club - 350 or so over a huge hill to a green with a little pond next to it.  The tee shot is unique because of its blindness but the hole is a pretty simple affair compared to its predecessors.

Tee shot:



Approach


 
Pictures from this website that has some nice tours of Minnesota courses:

http://7minutemiles.com/v/golfing/minnesota-mz/wbyc

[Bill_McBride]

The Judge - RTJ Trail.  Ironic since they have one of the most memorable first holes.  The 18th is an awkward hole - tee off with an iron and then have a wedge uphill ?  I played it twice just to make sure 

Hey but what about that million dollar corkscrew wooden structure that gets you back up to the top?   

I really didn't like that course.

[Mark Saltzman]

Jason, that approach to 18 at WBYC looks like it could be a local muni... so different from other pictures I've seen of the course. 

[Matt Vandelac]

Jason-
You beat me to it on the Yacht Club.  Your first picture doesn't show the 'blue aiming rock', perhaps the most memorable thing about the hole.
The finisher at Minikahda is also not too inspiring, except for the view.

[Dan Kelly]

The finisher at Minikahda is also not too inspiring, except for the view.

Matt --

I think that can be a pretty exciting hole if you need birdie and the pin's in the back. No?

Dan

[Matthew Petersen]

Vista Verde in Scottsdale has a lot to recommend it but the 18th there is probably the worst hole on the course. It's awkwardly short with a pond that's just really really out of place (you can say the same about most ponds on courses in Arizona, but this one is especially jarring).

Agree--the 18th at Talking Stick North is similar. Too bad as I like TSN otherwise.

Are you think of 18 on Talking Stick South? 18 on the North has a prertty ugly view of the parking lot but is otherwise a fine hole and fitting with the course, I think.

As for the South ... I tend to give it a pass. That's intended to be a "parkland" style layout and there are several holes out there with water. It is an awkwardly short hole and doesn't really seem a fiiting 18th, however.

Obviously, there are a ton of courses in Arizona that finish with the 18th next to a pond, and it's almost always especially out of place. Off the top of my head, the list would include: both Grayhawk courses, Eagle Mountain, Raven SM, Raven Verrado, both Boulders courses, WeKoPa Cholla, and many many others. I know the "pond on 18" is a cliche everywhere, but it's always especially jarring on a desert course, and all the more so if the previous holes haven't featured water.

One other is Southern Dunes. I think the pond is totally out of place on that course (though it creates interesting driving options on 10), and yet I still think that 18th hole is OK. It still feels like the rest of the holes out there, overall. It would just be better without the water.

[Matt Vandelac]

Dan-
I suppose, but such an easy par compered to the rest of the golf course.  It's still hybrid/wedge.

[Geoffrey_Walsh]

I'm not thrilled with the 18th at Cobb's Creek but we have determined that it was not the design team's original intent to have that hole.  Hopefully we can do something about that...

[Geoffrey_Walsh]

Closer to home, I can't stand the closing hole at Makefield Highlands.  The tee shot is straight down hill, followed by soggy rough and then a creek at the upper end of your driving distance.  With very little chance of crossing the hazard, it leads to a long iron off the tee followed by a mid/long iron up the hill off a downhill stance.

[JNC Lyon]

Yale

Couldn`t disagree more. I can`t imagine a more epic finish on more rugged terrain. The hole is full of options and I would be happy to have it be one of a handful of holes that I could play forever.  

Right there with you Tim.  It's rugged, it's adventuresome, it's original, and it's filled with options.  The name "Odyssey" is a perfect description of the hole.  You don't like the mountain on the second shot (which, by the way, is helpful for those who know how to use it)?  So what?  Go to the right.  It's the perfect, epic finishing hole to an epic golf course.  It's one of the least disappointing finishing holes I've played in awhile.

[Michael Whitaker]

18 at Muirfeild Village
18 at May River
18 at World Woods Pine Barrens
18 at Long Cove
18 at Old White

I have another that I just discussed at length with GCA favorite former contributor but I will wait for another to offer it up first.

Greg - I don't see 18 at May River as disappointing. It's a par five finisher with options. What gives?

[hhuffines]

My vote goes to CCNC Dogwood in Pinehurst.

[Alex Miller]

Wolf Creek in Mesquite.

10-17 are all above average holes, with 12-17 as very good IMO. 18 is definitely a let down.

[Mark Saltzman]

Wolf Creek in Mesquite.

10-17 are all above average holes, with 12-17 as very good IMO. 18 is definitely a let down.

Alex, agreed. Good call.

[Mike_Trenham]

Count me in the minority here I like 18 at BD better than PD, I just find the hole too narrow and very different from the rest of the course at PD.  I really like PD but #18 does not fit my eye nor can I hit my drive far enough into a winter wind.

[Sam Morrow]

Whispering Pines, super long par 4 with no place to miss and a tiny green.
Pine Dunes, okay par 5, everybody hates it, even Morrish.
Crown Colony, really crappy par 5 that looks like nothing else on the course.
Glen Mills, 17 holes of quirk and then a letdown.

[Kevin Pallier]

I'd say NSW GC for mine is right up there. it's so out of charcter with the rest of the course.

[Scott Macpherson]

I always prefer to contribute to positive threads, but this question came into my mind when I played golf last weekend at a really nice new resort course in Christchurch called Pegasus Resort – which had just finished hosting the NZ Women's Open.

The 18th hole was, by some considerable distance, the worst hole on the course. The visuals from the tee were poor, the second shot had little interest and the approach shot to a green that sloped away from the line of play was only made worse by the lake that backed onto it. It was a very poor finish to a round that was otherwise full of interest.

So a few contenders are;

Pegasus, Christchurch, NZ
Cape Kidnappers, NZ (would be a much better hole if the green was up on the left, and the punchbowl was the catchment area IMHO)
Jack's Point, NZ (Bunkers along the lake push you to where you want to be to attached the green anyway. Confused strategy IMHO)
Kingsbarns, Scotland (No where to lay-up, and into certain winds players can't hit it over the crest to see the green. Poor finish to a great course)

I was interested to read somewhere a while ago that Pete Dye thought the idea finish to a tournament was short par 5, difficult par 3, long hazardous par 4 for the 16th, 17th, and 18th holes. Perhaps he perfected this formula at TPC Sawgrass and generally kept to from there forth.

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