[Jason Way]

Allllrighty, after a brief break for my day job, we are back with the 9th on our Classic Great 18 - Myopia Hunt Club #9, a par-3.

I had seen Jon's pictures of the 9th many times before playing it, and this hole still blew me away when I finally saw it in person.  Much of the rest of Myopia has a very simple and elegant style to it.  This one-shotter, with its wild bunkering, is an explosion of artistic flair. 

The green too is unique in my experience.  Oriented slightly on an angle to the tee and extremely narrow, it is one of those greens (like the 2nd at Kingsley and 17th at Sand Hills) that is easiest to hit the first time, when the player isn't fully aware of just how small the target is.







Our runners-up - Oakmont, Milwaukee CC, Yale, Maidstone, Shinnecock, Pebble Beach, Onwentsia, Fishers Island, Pinehurst #2

[Jason Way]

The 10th on our Classic Great 18 is Shoreacres #10, a Road Hole par-4.

With the tree clearing and fairway widening undertaken by Brian Palmer and crew, an argument can be made (and we would probably make it) that this is the best Road Hole template in America.

The depression down the right, with its beautiful contours, plays the role of the hotel.  Misjudged tee shots that find this low area of rough can recover, but have almost no chance of holding the green, which is elevated and kept firm.

The right must be challenged though in order to get an angle into the green that provides any hope of holding.  A long bunker playing the role of the road awaits unsuccessful attempts at the frontal assault.

The road hole bunker fronting the green is not as difficult as other MacRaynor versions, but it still dictates strategy, and provides ample challenge for those unfortunate enough to find it.  Like the original, a long left bailout option exists at SA #10 in the form of a closely mown runoff, but taking this route leaves the player with a testy bump, chip, or putt up to a green that is typically lightning quick. 

This hole at Shoreacres, perhaps more than any other, cannot be overpowered and rewards the player who combines strategic thinking with savvy execution.







Our runners-up - Shinnecock, Milwaukee CC, Prairie Dunes, Riviera, Winged Foot West, Chicago GC, Pine Valley, Pebble Beach, Yale, Kirtland CC

[Jason Way]

The 11th on our Classic Great 18 is The Country Club at Brookline #11, a par-5. 

Just like the TCC, our Great 18 does not reach its first three-shotter until the 11th, and this one is wonderful.

Snaking downhill between rock outcroppings, over a creek, and then back up to a green set above a series of staggered bunkers, the 11th encapsulates the timeless beauty and depth of character of The Country Club.  It also provides the player a chance to decide between conservative and aggressive plays on the tee, and on the second shot.  Thoughtful aggressiveness is rewarded with a legitimate chance at birdie.  Recklessness is punished - as it should be.







Our runners-up - Merion, Essex County Club, Kittansett, Camargo, Shinnecock, Plainfield CC, Fishers Island, Seminole, Mountain Lake, Olympia Fields CC South, Brookside Canton

[BCowan]

Very nice.  Oakland Hills South #11 should be on there. 

[Jon Cavalier]

Very nice.  Oakland Hills South #11 should be on there.

Good point. I agree.

[Jason Way]

The 12th on our Classic Great 18 is Old Town Club #12, a par-4. 

I haven't played OTC, but Peter and Jon have - Jon's comments:

"Options abound at Old Town.  At the twelfth, the player must decide whether to play up the high left side of the fairway, leaving a sidehill approach that is shorter but blind to the green, or to play right to a lower, flatter part of the fairway further back from which the green is visible. The variety of the landforms and terrain at Old Town is staggering, and they are on full display on this great hole."





Our runners-up - Oakmont, Essex County Club, Prairie Dunes, Wannamoisett, Shoreacres, Skokie CC

[Jason Way]

The 13th on our Classic Great 18 is Pine Valley #13, a par-4.

Peter is the only one of us who has played this beauty, and it is one of his all-time favorites.  Comments and pictures are his:

"Likely the purest hole at the Valley.  It is said Crump did not move any land to find the 13th – he simply took out a few trees, spread some seed, and put a tee in the ground.  Demands are plentiful from the choice of a strategic line off the tee, to the heart pounding approach, to the extreme caution necessary while on the dance floor.  When it comes to natural holes, few exceed the 13th."











Our runners-up - Orchard Lake, Essex County Club, Onwentsia, Kirtland CC, Seminole

[Peter Pallotta]

Thanks again, Jason.


There are so many, and so many kinds, of wonderful looking and strategically engaging/challenging golf holes in the world, but from the perspective of craftsmanship alone nothing impresses me more than an architect who manages, on a flattish site and with obviously man-made features/contours, to create a golf hole that is as appealing to the eye and as appropriate to the game as is a natural/found golf hole on a undulating and much more dramatic site. Which is to say: to me, Shoreacres' 10th and Myopia's 9th are marvelous examples of the great magic trick that some (rare) architects are able to pull off i.e. the trick of making the wholly man-made look as 'right' and fitting as a C&C hole at Sand Hills.


Peter

[Tom_Doak]

A note to your description of the 13th at Pine Valley - technically correct, but the technicality of it was that George Crump had killed himself before his planned 13th hole was built.  Holes 12-15 were completed by the committee of his friends tasked with finishing the project.


I've always believed this is the best hole at Pine Valley, but it usually gets left out of these Eclectics because of 13 at Augusta, and because Pine Valley has so many other capable candidates.  It's a great driving hole that plays different from the two angles, and a sublime falling-away approach.

[Eric LeFante]

I am lucky enough to say I know from personal experience how great 13 at Pine Valley is. I played it twice, hit the green in regulation twice, and three-putted twice. It's a massive green with a lot of undulation. I was so happy I hit the green in regulation that I blew my chances for par.


In my opinion, there is only one line you really can play off the tee. The fairway falls off on the left side and you will be blocked out form the trees if you miss the fairway left. If you look at the first picture, you really need to hit it over the path. If you pull it a little left over those shrubs, your ball will kick left and you will be blocked out. The left side of the fairway runs out faster than you think. There is a lot of room right so if you get a little too cautious, you will likely still be in the fairway but have a very long shot in.


The second shot and the green are everything you hoped they would be.

[Eric LeFante]

Since 13 at Pine Valley was picked instead of 13 at Augusta, I'm surprised the 12th at Augusta didn't get the nod.

[Jon Cavalier]

Since 13 at Pine Valley was picked instead of 13 at Augusta, I'm surprised the 12th at Augusta didn't get the nod.

Courses we've played....

[Tom_Doak]

Since 13 at Pine Valley was picked instead of 13 at Augusta, I'm surprised the 12th at Augusta didn't get the nod.

Courses we've played....

Is Augusta the only obvious candidate that wasn't cons under this rule?

[Jason Way]

Courses we've played....

Is Augusta the only obvious candidate that wasn't cons under this rule?

I can't think of any other biggies that one of haven't hit, although there were many many holes and courses we forgot in the process. 

Cypress Point wasn't originally in the discussion, but Jon played it between when we made the list and publicized the Classic 18, so we snuck one surprise into the mix.

[Jason Way]

The 14th on our Classic Great 18 is Crystal Downs #14, a par-3.

What makes this one-shotter great is the green.  It is packed with subtle contour and canted, a combination that can provide just as much misery as its more overtly severe back-nine sibling, the 11th.

What makes this hole one of our all-time favorite short threes is the much improved setting.  The green sits on a perch behind and among wonderful MacKenzie/Maxwell bunkers, and appears slightly crowned from the tee.  Tree clearing on the ridge behind the green has created an infinity effect, and a gorgeous view from this back corner of the property.  Put it all together, and it is as once breathtakingly beautiful, and terrifying.











Our-runners up - Maidstone, Seminole, Olympia Fields CC North, Brookside Canton, Skokie CC

[John Kirk]

An unusual choice, and one that I enjoyed.  A nice little par 3 on a course where the front nine gets most of the attention.  The view of the Sleeping Bear Dunes in the distance is great.

On the west coast, Pasatiempo has an excellent 14th hole, with a large swale on the left side and then crossing the fairway at a strategic distance off the tee.  The green is very gentle, and rests comfortably on flattish land.  A very nice mid-length par 4 of 400-430 yards or so.

Of course, Pebble Beach has a famous 14th hole, with a very small green and a steeply uphill approach.  Apparently, the renovation of the green made it possible to use the right half for hole locations.  I'm not sure I regard this as a great hole.

 

[Jason Way]

Thanks for chiming in John. Pasatiempo #14 definitely makes the cut for me. Just plain forgot that one.  It starts one of the better stretches of holes on the planet too.

[Joe Hancock]

Ah, the 14th at CD...I have bithered that hole nearly every time I've played it.


I have, however, made one of the most surprising agronomic discoveries in my career here; I was walking to the green with my head down(as always), looking at the ground beneath my feet. As I neared the end of the walk path to the green, I noticed something unusual, so I stopped and turned back...still looking at the ground. The grass was not a normal type for the area, and I was sure of what it was, but didn't say much because it would have sounded wrong. So I plucked a runner of the grass and put it in my bag, and gave it to Mike Morris, the superintendent, and asked him to indentfy it. He sent it to the lab, and confirmed my suspicion.....common bermudagrass! In Northern Michigan.....I'd seen it down at Lost Dunes so I know it can survive here, but this far north, it took me by surprise.

[Peter Pallotta]

Thank you, Jason, for picking a Par 3 (and that one in particular) from Crystal Downs.
I've only played the course once; and I think that when I've mentioned this before on here most have probably chalked me up as a country bumpkin -- but aside for the Par 5 8th, the day after I played the golf holes that I most remembered were the Par 3s. JK has a ton more experience and insight than I have, so maybe he's right that it's a "nice little Par 3'; but for me, the 14th is everything a Par 3 should be; no less, but also -- and this I think is the key to its wonderfulness -- no more, either.
Peter   

[Jim Nugent]

Without the rule limiting every course to one hole, I wonder how different both the modern and classic 18s would look? 

[Jason Way]

Without the rule limiting every course to one hole, I wonder how different both the modern and classic 18s would look?

Without that rule, I am not sure that we would have ever finished the course Jim.  Especially on the Classic side, we each have some pretty strong attachments to a short list of courses, and we might have gotten into a fist fight. 


That being said, I am interested to see any Great 18s that y'all want to put together that break that rule.  The question that sticks in my head from this exercise is, is it possible to make an eclectic that is greater than a single architect's greatest hits, or the greatest course by a single architect?

[Jason Way]

The 15th on our Classic Great 18 is Sleepy Hollow #15, a par-4.

Jon is the only one of us who has played SH and it is one of his favorite courses.  His comments:

"An Alps/Punchbowl amalgamation, the combination of features found on this hole are unique.  The fairway is generous but canted rather substantially from high left to low right, and the long approach shot is entirely blind with the green sitting some 20-30 feet below.  As the player crests the fairway, he is rewarded with the breathtaking view of the punchbowl green, with the sixteenth green behind and the Hudson river valley far below."

In retrospect, perhaps I should have edited out either this hole or the 4th at Fisher's Island in favor of more variety, but both holes are so cool and I didn't want to make Jon's little heart sad.









Our Runners-up - NGLA, Canterbury, Brookside Canton, Skokie CC, Roaring Gap Club

[Jon Cavalier]

I will fight you if you try to take away the 4th at Fishers or the 15th at Sleepy. You can never have too many Alps/Punchbowls.

[Jason Way]

I will fight you if you try to take away the 4th at Fishers or the 15th at Sleepy. You can never have too many Alps/Punchbowls.

Kind of like the cowbell. Always gotta have more...

[Jason Way]

This is where our Classic Great 18 got a little interesting.  We made a selection and put the content together, and then Jon played Cypress Point. 

Soooo, let's start with CPC's par-3 #16, and then circle back to our original choice.  Jon's comments:

“It is the most spectacular hole in the world and the most thrilling … 200 yards of wild sea and rocky coast.” – Robert Hunter

The most famous Par-3 in the world, the 16th hole at Cypress Point Club is so captivating, that upon seeing it for the first time, a golfer reimagines what is possible, as fantasy becomes reality before his very eyes. In fact, this hole is so staggeringly gorgeous that its considerable strategic merits are often overlooked.

The hole offers not one, not two, but three valid lines of play from the tee – a 200+ yard carry straight at the green, a 100 yard carry on a line up the fairway between a grove of cypress trees and the green, and farther left still, to the left of those trees, an even shorter carry. In match play, the significance of these options cannot be overstated.  The green itself is huge and receptive to well-struck shots, and the fairway will direct good shots on a more conservative line closer to the green.

Alister Mackenzie rightfully gets credit for the gem that is Cypress Point, but the 16th also owes its brilliance to Seth Raynor, who originally routed the hole, and visionary Marion Hollins, who insisted over Mackenzie’s objections that the hole remain a par-3.













Our Runners-Up - Old Elm, Shinnecock, Myopia, NGLA, Sleepy Hollow, Merion, Canterbury, Kirtland CC, Skokie CC, Roaring Gap Club, Philadelphia Cricket Club, Pasatiempo

And our original selection, Pasatiempo #16, a par-4.  Dr. Mackenzie will forgive us for swapping out one of his holes for another.  Our original comments:

It is said that Pasatiempo’s sixth is one of the good Doctor’s all-time favorite holes.  It’s hard to argue with the creator.  Cresting the hill to discover where one’s tee shot came to rest, the player is met with a view of this all-world tiered green that seems to be melting into the recently restored barranca.  It is obvious from the fairway that the approach must be placed both on the correct tier and below the hole – exhilarating and terrifying!

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