Hello again,
For me, it's interesting to read these comments; thank you for engaging. Though there's only a dozen or so entries besides my own, and nowhere near the full range of voices to constitute a broad consensus, I do see a few principles creep up:
1. That it is somewhat more desirable to have the 18th hole be, as TD said it, "a tiebreaker rather than a back-breaker." I like that characterization much more than my own "last opportunity/last obstacle" - it says what I meant and says it better.
2. That for the true architect (not the phony Walter Mitty-type like me, who do it in their imagination on fictitious ground) the character of 18th is not a special priority. It seems like the only requirements for the 18th from a practical design standpoint, is that it:
a. get back to the clubhouse
b. maintain the character/continuity of the course before it; not to alter, or to far exceed that character with any uncommon attention.
3. That, in tangent to #1, the hazard/lost ball/steeplechase-y/gimmick aspects of an 18th hole are best muted - because such elements tend to be those that cause an X or a similarly "sour" end to the day. Such an end is bad for the golfer, for clubhouse "business" and perhaps, the lingering reputation of the course.
4. That, summarizing much of this, an 18th hole is best realized as simple fun, rather than a complex challenge
As I said, interesting...
Further inquiries...
1. Is it the finish at Pebble Beach that has inspired so many of these 18th holes we see on (admittedly) tournament courses, with water down one side of the hole? Is this an effort to adapt "Cape Hole" values to these finishers?
2. While a handful of 18th holes on well-regarded, well-studied courses are indeed disseminated here, I rarely, if ever, have encountered discussions about the 18th hole(s) at NGLA, Oakmont, TCC, Cypress, Fishers here in the States, and near-complete silence of similarly reputed courses in GB&I or Europe...or Austral-Asia for that matter...why is this, do you think?
cheers
vk