A few comments...here we go!
As a player I don't really care how clever or inspired the architect's routing is. I care about the final result: the walk, and the eighteen holes presented in order. The walk is an essential part of the experience. How visually and viscerally stimulating is the environment, and how demanding is the journey, and how is the pacing of play? Corey Miller and I will have to disagree on the importance of the walk. I estimate its importance at about 30-50% of my overall golfing experience. At Friar's Head, you roll off a green a few yards and begin playing golf again. That is awesome to me; a committed foursome can play a relaxed three and a half hour round of golf there.
Analyzing other aspects of the walk, each nine hole loop essentially starts at the ocean side dune ridge, moves out into the "potato field" and comes back. The land in the field is not very interesting, with the exception of the 6th hole, in which a large sand or glacial ridge (depending on who you ask) is used to perfection. The 6th hole is a highlight of the front nine. You have four hours to play golf, but much of the time is spent walking, talking and sensing the environment. At Friar's Head, the best is save for last, when you walk into the dunes covered with rare dwarf beech trees. Another fine feature at Friar's Head is the shifting and considerable winds, which should be considered when evaluating a course.
Friar's Head does not have the most dramatic or interesting walk in golf. The environment is beautiful, private and secluded, but most golfers would rate the walk at Pacific Dunes or Cypress Point as a superior nature walk, with superior land forms for golf.
"From the first tee to the last green, you experience the very essence of what this land is about..."
-- Tommy
Sigh. Tommy Naccarato's emotional description of Friar's Head can be distilled to "Friar's Head is a 10 because it is brilliant and I love it so.". Sorry Tommy, but that phrase sounds like marketing clap-trap. I loved reading your heartwarming description, but I don't think it answers the question. Similarly, Mac Plumart's comments are vague and non-committal, suggesting "Friar's Head is great because it's great." Bart Bradley's opening statement asks whether Friar's Head is a 10. The fact that Bart made a one sentence opening post and then disappeared is unacceptable.
There are about 35,000 golf courses in the world, which means there are 350 in the top 1% of golf courses. That's not a fine enough distinction to separate the truly greatest courses, so let's say the 0.1% of courses are given a 10. That's 35 courses. Golf Magazine rates Friar's Head as the 32nd best course in the world. That is very high praise.
When it comes to the golf part of analyzing golf course, I tend to be more mechanical in my analysis, looking for a grand variety of golf holes and golf shots. Short and long, up and down, left and right, putting variety, bunker shot variety, uneven lies, awkward lies — the list of possible shots should be broad, with a pleasing percentage of possible outcomes. With that in mind, a couple of global observations about playing golf at Friar's Head:
1. There are very few downhill approach shots. The 9th hole offers the only significantly downhill approach.
2. There are a lot of false fronts at Friar's Head. Off the top of my head, you could come up short and roll back on 4, 5?, 8, 14, 15, 16 and 18. I think there are others. Stone Eagle is a course in my golf universe with a number of false fronts.
3. The majority of greens slope hard from back to front. As a result of items 2. and 3., I say Friar's Head has a tendency to yield a lot of long uphill putts, and long uphill chips from tight fairway lies.
4. There are great opportunities for "rare play" shots from unusual lies in unusual vegetation. The rare play is one to be savored.
A great way to honor a course's memorability is to create a list of personal anecdotes. Here's my favorite Friar's Head anecdote. About ten years ago, I made my first east coast swing for golf, and a friend graciously set up a game for me at Friar's Head. I arrived early and played by myself with a caddie. I played rather poorly, and did not communicate well with my caddie. I returned to the old clubhouse down by the 4th hole, where head professional Jim Kidd greeted me in the parking lot. I said hello, and then almost immediately begged him for a second chance at the course, which is very unusual for me. He was kind about it, and said that he, his assistant, and the caddie master were going out in a couple hours, and I could join them. After lunch, we played as a fivesome, four golfers plus Gus, the dog made famous in Dick Durrance's iconic photo at Sand Hills GC. As hard as I tried, Gus ignored me all day long, and trotted around the course with his own agenda, though staying clear of the golf being played. This time we played the back tees, and I played ten strokes better in the afternoon. On the 16th hole, a short dogleg right, I had about 145-150 yards left to the small sloped green perched high on another sand feature. Attempting to show off, I said "watch this", or something to that effect, and chipped a low 6-iron which bounced 5 or 6 times and scooted up the hill onto the green, where I two putted for par. Thank you, friend. I'll never forget that day.