Tom,
It's a big task
[size=78%]this is an hypothetical/imaginary exercise irrelevant of the site - imagine if this was virtual reality of a dream course and that you were able to and want to play it 'every day' as it's 'your own' course computers can create this easily these days[/size][size=78%]It's like the ideal dream day out [/size]It could be template holes, it could be holes that you have imagined in your head or a view of a landscape that could be a golf hole or course that will never be built
Clubhouse could be old and traditional or modern
Finding a great piece of land is a rarity these days and most new golf courses these days are 'manufactured' and 'artificial' mainly on flattish farm land
It's impossible to get the whole package in reality but you can achieve this in virtual reality or by imagination
My last few course designs the opening hole has been medium to tough par fours - one course that Adrian and I designed opened with a short par 4 which at the time I felt it wasn't right but now I do think is a nice opener
Some players don't like playing 4 or 5 consecutive long holes others don't like 2 short holes in a row
One wonders if the Carthage club will ever get built
Ben
We all have our ideal opening and closing holes plus where the par 3s should be during the round. It is almost like writing a musical symphony.
No, we don't all have things so pre-planned in our heads, thank goodness. If you do it will likely screw up your chance when you finally get a great site and your preconceived idea doesn't fit there!
For every rule or preference someone expresses re golf design, I can quickly think of several examples to the contrary among the many terrific courses I've seen. That's why I don't play favorites!
It's fine to have favorite opening holes etc. and I'm happy to weigh in if you break this up into individual topics. But trying to list the best in all of golf architecture in one post seems impossible.