I realize I'm late to the party but having seen a bunch of the courses this summer and over time I wanted to throw up my list both because I've seen a lot of them and I think that this list may differ a bit from the others that were listed.
1. Sheep Ranch: One of the most fascinating designs I've ever seen. You can find fascinating holes all over the place (My personal favorite being the Alps-like hole played out to the E green from the C green). The greens are worthy of study from every architect and fan. I've long held the theory that part of the genius of the Old Course comes with the fact that each green was designed to be played into from multiple angles. I think Sheep Ranch is an excellent example of the same phenomenon. It's hard to grade it on a list because of how unique it is, but I can't think of a reason to not put it on the top here.
2. Pacific Dunes: It certainly helps I've seen it several times, but it has everything. The routing goes through several environments, no two holes are alike, but they work cohesively together, and the place is chock-full of world class holes. If I could paraphrase Tom himself in an article I read, "I don't know if Pacific Dunes is a 10, but if it isn't, it's damn close." Well, I certainly think it's a 10.
3. Ballyneal: Ballyneal reaches this spot simply because it has the best greens I've ever seen. They may have been cut a bit fast for the conditions I saw the course in (50 mph winds, 40 degree weather, and the ball was moving all over the place on the greens), but they had some of the best contours I've ever seen. The place epitomizes ball placement. Being on the wrong part of these greens is practically a death sentence when it comes to your score. I was left dying to come back.
4. Cape Kidnappers The epitome of location, location, location. Cape Kidnappers taught me a lot about designing golf holes in perfect locations. Sometimes it's best to simplify the hole and let the land do the talk. We spend a lot of time criticizing "Wow" features because they take away from the golf course, but in the case of natural features, is there ever a case where the "wow" becomes any less incredible? Playing the 15th, the plank hole, is a fine example of that. The inland holes are tremendously interesting, but the holes that occupy the most spectacular parts of land are far more understated in my mind, and that's part of what's so special.
5. Barnbougle Dunes: It's been a while since I made my trip down there, but the place is really something, and much like Pac Dunes, there are plenty of great golf holes here. I can't wait to go back as I know there is so much more to be learned.
6. Dismal River It feels weird putting this so far down at 5, but I guess that's the consequence of building great golf courses. In its current turf conditions (at least what they were at the 5th major) it's really hard to grade. It could move as high as 3 on this list depending on how it plays, as it certainly has that kind of potential. The par 5s are all-world there and may be the best Doak has ever done, and I can't wait to see the place in ideal conditions.
7. The Punchbowl Because, if we're including the Sheep Ranch in this list, why not include it? Congrats Tom, I think this putting green even tops the great Himalayas at St. Andrews!!! In our preview round we played to a few of the cups which weren't used in the routing. There's all sorts of putts you can make and it requires incredible imagination to play. That I rate it above some of Tom's finer courses is a testament to the quality of it, not a knock on the courses themselves.
8. Stonewall Old: The routing isn't perfect, but theres such an understated brilliance to the place that made me a huge fan. It flows with the land as good as any of them and there are several holes that use the flow of the terrain very well. Better yet, the small greens fit the landscape perfectly. In feel, actually reminded me a bit of Crystal Downs in that sense.
9. St. Andrews Beach Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love the place and it's a tremendous golf course, but when we're comparing gems, you nitpick the details. The scale of the place is so huge that the small greens seem a bit out of place. It's worth checking out if you manage to make it to Melbourne after seeing the best the sandbelt has to offer.
10. Old MacDonald While it is the GCA darling, the land just wasn't ideal for a routing, and the bunker finishes, with its rough edges, don't really fit well in my mind with the structure of the templates. A similar issue to the last course I placed on the list.
11. Stonewall (North) A fine golf course with a great set of greens. However, those greens stick out like sore thumbs on that landscape, and I would prefer that the fescue grasses grew to the bunker edges, which would also make them look more natural. The course plays better than it looks, and it certainly accomplishes the task of giving members at Stonewall a different golf course, but when comparing it to the other greats I have a hard time justifying moving it up.