The Best 9 Hole Course in the World?
Recently, I was lucky enough to play two of the best 9-hole courses in the world: Royal Worlington & Newmarket, and Morfontaine (Valliere). I was blown away by both, and would consider myself lucky to play either course on a regular basis.
That said, I had heard a lot about Mildenhall being the best 9-holer in the world, and thought I would do a match-play between the two with the hope of establishing which is truly the best 9-hole course in the world! (Caveat: my opinion means nothing, I just thought this would be a fun exercise
). Hopefully this will stimulate good discussion.
While I like the classic head-to-head match play, a few on here recently pointed out that it can be an unfair way to judge courses. Therefore, I will go through each hole in order and assign a score of 1-10 on each hole, for a total of 90 points. I will then give a score from 1-10 for those elements that can’t be captured by looking at holes in isolation. This includes looking at the routing, flow of the round, conditioning and any other external factors.
I have intentionally not added photos here as I believe both courses should remain something to be discovered for those lucky enough to tee it up at each respective course. Also, I’m rubbish at taking photos
So, with that said, time to grab the clubs because away we go!!
Hole 1Sacred 9 - A gentle par-5 to start, there are a plethora of hungry bunkers throughout the hole that shape strategic decisions on each shot. There’s also a ditch and road that run hard down the entire right side of the hole. Interestingly, a member told us that if your ball ends up in the ditch, that you’re allowed a free drop!
Once near the green, the wild undulations on this back to front sloping green come into focus and the challenge becomes more perceptible. Because of the angle of the green, it is best to attack from the right side of the fairway, where said ditch and one bunker in particular come very much into play!
Overall a good, solid opener to the proceedings. 8
Morfontaine - The charm of the course is immediately recognised as players look down an alley of trees & heather shaping the tighest driving hole on the entire property! Once safely away on this dogleg right, players are left with a delicate uphill approach to a green protected on both sides by deep bunkers. The green itself, with it’s wild contours towards the left and back of the green, sets the pace for what is to come!
A charming, relatively straight-forward hole that is memorable because of the green. 7
Hole 2Morfontaine - Players step onto the tee to this short downhill par-3, and what awaits them is a beautiful little hole with a large sweeping green that tilts from back-to-front. Bunkers guard both sides of the green and the back portion.
Like the first, the green is an original inspiration that makes the player smile with joy. My host had been sad at the amount of four-putts that she had been accumulating over the last few weeks, but after seeing this green, I would gladly take a four-putt
A sky-high start for the Valliere. 9
Sacred 9 - Having not played Pinehurst No. 2, I can only read and imagine how those greens fall off on all sides. Well, I need not imagine any longer after playing the 2nd at Mildenhall. A 200+ par-3, the green is an upside-down bowl with only one bunker short of the putting surface. Hitting and holding the green with such a long club is likely to be too much for most average players. In fact, in our three-ball, on two plays, no one came even close to hitting the green in regulation.
But what awaits players on their second is a fun shot that can be played any number of ways to get the ball to run up the slope and stay at the top of the crowned green.
The first of the half-par holes and a gem at that. 8
Hole 3Sacred 9 - A very interesting and strategic medium-length par-4, this hole plays directly over the 2nd green, and two cross-bunkers. The hole features a left-to-right sloping green, which dictates that shots should come in from the right side of the fairway. Players must decide what club to choose off the tee as the fairway narrows considerably as it gets closer to the green.
The greensite is a spot of genius that uses the terrain in the most effective way. The table-top green is guarded on the front and back by ditches, and there is a bunker left that also guards the left-side of the 7th green.
Overall, this is a highly strategic hole with yet another great, and unique greensite. 9
Morfontaine - Move aside number 2, because the green at the 3rd is pure design genius. Players hit over a hill on this straight away par-4 that is littered with old boulders that Simpson never bothered to remove, and are left with a relatively short wedge to a green that sits precariously atop the high point of the course.
I can be guilty of hyperbole just like the next guy. But the green at the 3rd defies logic and can not be described in mere words. It is a rollercoaster of slopes and really puts the joy back into trying to get the ball into the hole. There was a back-left pin location that would likely yield a lot of four and five putts!
I’m big on originality, and that green alone is worth the price of admission. 10
Hole 4Morfontaine - Stepping off the green at the third, players are high on life, and high on the intoxicating originality of the greens that Simpson formed from this Parisian heathland. Then you look up to see one of the most beautiful par-3s in the land! This short-ish hole features a two-tiered green that puts all other two-tiered greens to shame. Beautiful bunkers and heather surround the entire green, which makes the task do or die!
The lower tier resembles a punchbowl while the step appears so natural and unforced, unlike most modern two-tiered greens, which resemble a step on a ladder.
Par 3s are rarely so much fun to play. 10
Sacred 9 - Did I say I value originality and strategy? Well on the 4th at Mildenhall, players step to the tee of a short par-5, and are met with a lovely down-hill three-shotter. The drive is easy enough to get away, with a generous landing area guarded by bunkers on the left and a forest on the right.
Like the 3rd, the green dictates the drive and approach, for it is angled from 4 O’Clock to 10 and slopes from front to back…away from players! Guarding the backside of the green is a small burn (or creek!), while the front left is guarded by a big bunker. I have a difficult time imagining anyone but a professional hitting and holding this green in two. It made me think that we don’t need more length on the PGA Tour, we need more severe front-to-back sloping greens!
The play is absolutely to lay-up far right, which opens up the angle of the green and allows players to bump a shot down the hill.
The green itself is a sort of tiered surface where it can be incredibly difficult to get line and speed correct.
A brilliant three-shotter and one I would love to see more often. 10
Hole 5Sacred 9 - Is this the best inland par-3 in the UK&I? It certainly passes the eye test. A short one-shotter that plays over the 4th green, to a green that sits perched on top of a small hill, with severe fall-offs on both sides. The green itself would be tough to putt even without the fall-offs, but should you miss the green, you’ll be praying you hold the green with your second.
The green pinches at the back, so any great players chasing a pin at the rear must be very careful. The penalty for any miss is quite something.
So simple. So wonderful. 10
Morfontaine - The first par-5 on the Valliere and what a golf hole it is. The drive is relatively straight-forward, and the bunker to the right is largely now obsolete because of technological advances. That said, challenging the right side is the best way into the hole, and players are left with a decision about whether to go for the green, or layback and mentally battle a plethora of cross-bunkers.
Once up near the putting surface, the greensite reveals itself and what players see is another wonderful putting surface that has a half-pipe-esq tongue at the front of the green that inspires creativity, while the rest of the green is a series of micro and macro undulations that make it one of the very best greens in the world of golf.
A par-5 that is as much fun for the scratch player as it is for the 20 handicap. 9
Hole 6Morfontaine - At this point, you might be thinking this could be the best golf course on the planet! 9 holes or not. But alas, the streak comes to an end momentarily at hole 6. A relatively flat and straight-forward dogleg right, the green doesn’t resemble the others that have been encountered to date, and one thinks that it must not be an original Simpson green.
It is a good breather hole of sound strategic merit, but it doesn’t hold a candle to the three proceeding holes. 6
Sacred 9 - Like Morfontaine, I found the 6th at Mildenhall to be strong, but maybe not quite in the same league as the other holes. That said, it requires two of your Sunday best shots, which is the first time players are asked to hit a long club into the green on a two-shorter. This par-4 has a wonderful back-to-front green though, and the bunkers, particularly near the green, are well positioned.
Overall, a good solid hole back up the hill. 7
Hole 7 Sacred 9 - The last of the par-3s, and it certainly doesn’t disappoint! Players have a mid-iron into a large green site that sits on the same plateau as the 3rd. To my mind, it had a sort of half-pipe slope from front to back, so it kicked short shots forward, and held long shots from going over the back.
There is a big bunker on the left that protects pins on that side, but didn’t trouble our group much on this day.
Because of the slope of the green, players must select their club wisely, and I imagine that pin position can have a significant impact on scores in the monthly medals.
A strong par-3 and different in both yardage and challenge to the 2nd & 5th. 8
Morfontaine - Slightly better than the 6th, but only just. This bunkerless par-4 plays in the opposite direction to the 6th. A dogleg left, it is tight off the tee, and ideally, players would be looking to land it on the left side of the fairway.
The green has a ridge that runs along the right side of the green, and can make putts very interesting. One thing that I loved is that the green staff at Morfontaine mowed the right side of the ridge. You could never pin anything over there in a million years, but it reminded me of something you would see at Shinnecock. The fall-off was real, and it was a combination of these small flourishes that made the Valliere so charming.
A pleasant two-shorter and the final place to catch your breath before the triumphant finish. 7
Hole 8Morfontaine - Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but another spectacular green is the feature here at the second, and last par-5 on the Valliere. Another short-ish three-shorter, there are no bunkers on the drive, but there is plenty of heather!
And with the approach lies the very answer for why the Valliere is so darn captivating and good. Players, especially good players, easily have the distance to reach the green in two, but a miss on the wrong side, even closer to the putting surface, is worse than laying back 100 yards in the correct part of the hole.
Like Augusta, because of the green undulations, I can imagine putts where it is physically impossible to stop it close to the hole, whereas coming from the correct side can make this an easy birdie hole.
The green needs to be seen to be believed, and I can’t (and won’t) try to describe just how wild the undulations truly are. 10
Sacred 9 - Of all the holes at Mildenhall, this was the hole that split the group the most. A brutally long par-4, this hole features treacherous bunkers in the driving zone alla Ganton. It also has cross-bunkers at exactly the place where one wants to land his or her hybrid to get it to run up to the green.
What made this hole interesting was that the grade of the hole is slightly downhill after the cross bunkers, and the green is absolutely at grade, which is so difficult to do. More than any other hole i’ve played, it reminded me of the 4th at Pine Valley. It’s so difficult to not have a small rise or hollow just before the green, and it makes gauging depth quite tricky.
Overall another strong hole, and one that likely reveals itself more and more on subsequent plays. 8
Hole 9 Sacred 9 - We’ve come to the end of our our at Mildenhall and are now faced with a short par-4 that plays to a fairway set at a diagonal, with a burn running down the entire right side of the fairway. Understanding how much to bite off is critical and will shorten in the approach.
Ideally, players want to hug the right as there is a backboard on the left side of the green that can act as a backstop. The approach itself is played over a road, and I can only imagine the amount of cars that have been hit!
The green itself is lovely and one of the more undulating greens, along with the 1st and 4th. A classy closer that would be a fitting way to end a close match. 8
Morfontaine - Walking off the 8th green, we arrive at a most wonderful little par-3 that plays slightly uphill back to the clubhouse. It is so darn charming, but menacing at the same time. There are bunkers behind the green, and a big bunker on the right that collects its fair share of golf balls each year from members and guests alike!
My host told me how as little children playing the course they used to cry when they hit their shots in this bunker as it was so difficult to then get it out!
The green is relatively flat, but has some interesting micro undulations that are in contrast to the other par-3s on the course.
A hole that most any course in the world would love to call its own. 8
Point Totals:
For those following at home, the score currently stands as follows:
RW&N - 76
Morfontaine: 76
That’s right - all tied up with the bonus points still to play for.
This is where it gets interesting. Tom Doak rightly praised the routing at Mildenhall in his Confidential Guide book, and who am I to argue? The only spots I will point out is that the routing isn’t practical in any way. If the course was in a crowded city in the States, with balls wizzing all over the place, it would result in lawsuits and fisticuffs. Also, how can we excuse the walk from 8 green to 9 tee? A hike up the hill that we criticise so many new builds for, surely the Sacred 9 can’t get a free pass?
By contrast, Morfontaine’s routing is wonderful. The tees are all right off the greens and there is more land movement utilised throughout the Valliere.
In terms of beauty - there can’t really be much of a comparison. One is relatively banal (I use the term affectionately), while the other plays among the most wonderful heathland on the planet.
That said, the Sacred 9 is more consistent throughout the round and has a wonderful flow that gives and takes - it provides scoring opportunities and stern challenges. The Valliere does drop on holes 6&7, and isn’t nearly the same challenge throughout the round. Take away the putting challenge, and I doubt whether good players would have more than a 9i into most greens.
So where do I sit? Surely I couldn’t write all this and come to a tie, right? Right!
I award the Sacred 9 an additional 8 points for a grand total of 84 out of 100!
And I award the Valliere…an additional 9 points for a grand total of 85 out of 100!
I would be more than happy to play either course on a daily basis. The difference in my mind is that the Sacred 9 may be the more strategic and challenging course. It may even be more stimulating in the mental and physical questions it asks. But the Valliere is one of those rare courses that reinvigorates the soul and hits at the heart of what golf for me is all about: mainly getting outside, playing a game that is suppose to bring joy; a game that demands creativity. And by this measure, the Valliere is a course I would grow old on - enjoying the putting of those greens long after I stopped making full swings. Walking off the 9th green and heading into the clubhouse, I can see a member playing an old tune on the piano as the barman slides me a freshly made espresso to warm up from the chill of the autumn air. I then sit and watch out the window at those players coming up the 8th of the Valliere, and fall asleep, dreaming of the next time I can head back out.
So there you have it! Those who have played one, both or neither - what say you? Agree? Disagree? Any architectural features you want to hear more about? Looking forward to the debate!