GOLF Mag's Top 50 9-hole courses. What are your thoughts?

[CMP]

I have read everyone else's comments as to their frustrations with the list, and certainly respect most of the thoughts there.


Personally, I am likely to disregard lists such as this one that show a clear geographic bias.


As Tom mentioned earlier about the validity of criticism being weighed on the experience of the critic, I haven't played many of the UK ones.


I have, however, played the three (of the top four!) North American courses and find it difficult to believe that they are better than some of the aforementioned ones in the UK.

[ANTHONYPIOPPI]

Chris:


I agree with you about the majority of the greens at Bellows Falls, but 1 and 2 are fantastic. 2 is one of the all-time great punchbowls. I think the strength of the course is the quirk. The consecutive par-3s are vastly different and the string of par-4 holes are all challenging and require decisions on the tee. The blind tee shot on 9 with the wall of grass in front of you reminds me of the Machrie.


Anthony

[Jon Claydon]

No Fenwick? 


semi-surprising. 

[Chris_Blakely]

Chris:


I agree with you about the majority of the greens at Bellows Falls, but 1 and 2 are fantastic. 2 is one of the all-time great punchbowls. I think the strength of the course is the quirk. The consecutive par-3s are vastly different and the string of par-4 holes are all challenging and require decisions on the tee. The blind tee shot on 9 with the wall of grass in front of you reminds me of the Machrie.


Anthony

Anthony,


I have gone back and looked at my pictures several times and yes, I agree: the first two holes and greens are very good.  The punchbowl second is very good and could be great if they expanded their green pad (as I suspect the hole was originally).  The use of the ravines and natural hilly terrain is good; however, the rest of the greens beyond 1 & 2 are quite bland.  The completely blind tee shot up and over the hill on 9 is just that.  I am willing to say that the course might suffer from the order it was played; but, I still would put it last of the 9 hole courses played on that trip.


Thanks,


Chris

[Garland Bayley]

...
Leckford is not a links course, it's not in Scotland, and it doesn't advertise green fees in either Euros or Pounds!

Sloppy journalism...

If you thought that was bad, how about this snippet:


"Mike Keiser was a member here for years, before he ever developed anything golf related. "

That was from the brief description for The Dunes Club, which Mr. Keiser developed himself.

Yes, I thought that a bit weird too.

I mentioned Bushfoot on the other thread as one I don't think belongs. Being able to see the Giants Causeway hotel from the course doesn't make a course that is 1/2 fescueless, soggy parkland, Doak 2ish, and 1/2  sandy, fescue covered links, Doak 4ish anything more than an average (Doak 3) course.

I am assigning my estimate of Doak ratings, which may be generous since Tom gave one of my favorite economical links courses (Bude & NC) a 3.

[Paul Rudovsky]

Can we also stop referring to nine-hole courses as "little?",

Anthony--Totally agree with your note about not calling them "little".  BUT the first thing that has too happen is for owners, pros, members, etc of nine holers to stop saying their clubs are "---just nine holes" and thereby starting off by apologizing.  One of the things that makes Edgartown so good IMO is that it is proud of that it is and never apologizes (it also is a superb track w superb front nine/back nine variety).  Very refreshing!

[Jaeger Kovich]

Can we also stop referring to nine-hole courses as "little?",

Anthony--Totally agree with your note about not calling them "little".  BUT the first thing that has too happen is for owners, pros, members, etc of nine holers to stop saying their clubs are "---just nine holes" and thereby starting off by apologizing.  One of the things that makes Edgartown so good IMO is that it is proud of that it is and never apologizes (it also is a superb track w superb front nine/back nine variety).  Very refreshing!

Hi Paul, thanks for pointing that out re:Edgartown! And thanks for not disqualifying it now that it has 11 greens either It’s hard to even count the holes on it, but that’s what makes it so fun.

[Will Lozier]

Slightly disappointed that Wawenok didn't make this list. It has a great opener reminiscent of a Flynn short par-4, the 2nd is a cool dogleg, the two one shotters are very different, the 6th reminds me of Merion's 11th, and the sidehill reverse canting 9th is a fun finisher. Rustic and usually fairly firm....definitely worth a trip if you are on the Maine coast!


Cheers

[Chris_Blakely]

Slightly disappointed that Wawenok didn't make this list. It has a great opener reminiscent of a Flynn short par-4, the 2nd is a cool dogleg, the two one shotters are very different, the 6th reminds me of Merion's 11th, and the sidehill reverse canting 9th is a fun finisher. Rustic and usually fairly firm....definitely worth a trip if you are on the Maine coast!


Cheers


Wawenok is a great Stiles and Van Kleek Course.  It has tremendous greens. However, I will never forget the incessant biting gnats.


Chris

[Jim_Kennedy]

There has probably been more written about nine hole courses in the past 14 years than in the previous 6 decades. I think Tony's "To The Nines"('06), Ron Whitten's GD article "Small Wonders"('10), in which he listed his top 25 nine hole courses, and Tony's second effort "The Finest Nines"('18), have had a marked influence on the fortunes of the "Little Courses". I'd say it's about time as nine hole courses outnumbered their bigger siblings for the first 8 decades of golf in the USA, only taking a back seat after the huge boom of course construction that began in '58 (ca. 900 courses).

Paul Rudovsky's post (#37) only missed one point - the ranking of "Little Courses" seems to have generated as much discussion/dissension as those of the "Big Courses", for which I say 'well done'. 

 

[Tim Martin]

Chris:


I agree with you about the majority of the greens at Bellows Falls, but 1 and 2 are fantastic. 2 is one of the all-time great punchbowls. I think the strength of the course is the quirk. The consecutive par-3s are vastly different and the string of par-4 holes are all challenging and require decisions on the tee. The blind tee shot on 9 with the wall of grass in front of you reminds me of the Machrie.


Anthony

Anthony,


I have gone back and looked at my pictures several times and yes, I agree: the first two holes and greens are very good.  The punchbowl second is very good and could be great if they expanded their green pad (as I suspect the hole was originally).  The use of the ravines and natural hilly terrain is good; however, the rest of the greens beyond 1 & 2 are quite bland.  The completely blind tee shot up and over the hill on 9 is just that.  I am willing to say that the course might suffer from the order it was played; but, I still would put it last of the 9 hole courses played on that trip.


Thanks,


Chris

I enjoyed a recent round at Bellows Falls which with a more interesting set of greens would be as good as or best Hooper. As already mentioned the first two holes are terrific with a wild punchbowl green at the second. The alternate tee on 4 made sense for those not wanting to hit the forced carry over the ravine while the regular tee provides an exciting shot from 155 and adds twenty yards when replayed on 13 from 175. A minor nit would be the internal out of bounds on # 5 which runs parallel to 6 which I was told was for safety issues and when playing up 6 the out of bounds is not in effect. I loved the low key atmosphere and it was clear that the homers loved their course. Finally I was told that I should stop at The Vermont Country Store on my way out which delivered a completely sub standard chocolate soft serve cone with a rookie application of jimmies.

[Joel_Stewart]

I've never heard anyone talk about the architecture of Sunnylands and its ranked in the top 10. Considering it has on average 10-15 people playing it every year its hard to take it seriously.

[Daryl David]

I think there are a lot more than 10-15 that play Sunnylands. It’s not world class, but solid. Is it top 10? I doubt it, but it’s not a piece of crap for sure.

[Sean_A]

Maybe I missed it, but the omission of Covesea is odd.

I remain surprised at the disdain for Cruit. There are three questionable aspects of the course…the 8th and the bunkering on 3 and 4. This is good going for a wild and woolly 9 holer. In 9 holes you get brawny golf, finesse golf, beauty and surprises. I can’t point to many 9 holers I believe to be superior to Cruit.

I think Gatehouse and St Medan should be in for a shout if Bushfoot is included.

Ciao

[jeffwarne]

Maybe I missed it, but the omission of Covesea is odd.

I remain surprised at the disdain for Cruit. There are three questionable aspects of the course…the 8th and the bunkering on 3 and 4. This is good going for a wild and woolly 9 holer. In 9 holes you get brawny golf, finesse golf, beauty and surprises. I can’t point to many 9 holers I believe to be superior to Cruit.

I think Gatehouse and St Medan should be in for a shout if Bushfoot is included.

Ciao

Glad you bumped this.
A cool list.And yes I'm also a fan of Cruit.
Since the list came out I've played Castine(excellent)Sweetens and Mahia(disappointing as the turf was long, soft and meadowy-despite 3 weeks of no rain when I was there in their summer
I've now played 15 off the list, which makes it hard to rank to 50 of them as Paul points out.
That said, I still think the text could've been proofed better(It's not like it's a secret who developed The Dunes or that Leckford Old isn't a links or in Scotland)But then GOLF recently sent a mistake laden instruction article of mine to press without having me proof/approve it so it does happen and is quite frustrating.


I would say Ireland's(Galway) Connemara Isles would not be out of place on this list.
Fantastic course in a surreal remote setting with a thatched roof clubhouse.

[Sean_A]

Maybe I missed it, but the omission of Covesea is odd.

I remain surprised at the disdain for Cruit. There are three questionable aspects of the course…the 8th and the bunkering on 3 and 4. This is good going for a wild and woolly 9 holer. In 9 holes you get brawny golf, finesse golf, beauty and surprises. I can’t point to many 9 holers I believe to be superior to Cruit.

I think Gatehouse and St Medan should be in for a shout if Bushfoot is included.

Ciao

Glad you bumped this.
A cool list.And yes I'm also a fan of Cruit.
Since the list came out I've played Castine(excellent)Sweetens and Mahia(disappointing as the turf was long, soft and meadowy-despite 3 weeks of no rain when I was there in their summer
I've now played 15 off the list, which makes it hard to rank to 50 of them as Paul points out.
That said, I still think the text could've been proofed better(It's not like it's a secret who developed The Dunes or that Leckford Old isn't a links or in Scotland)But then GOLF recently sent a mistake laden instruction article of mine to press without having me proof/approve it so it does happen and is quite frustrating.


I would say Ireland's(Galway) Connemara Isles would not be out of place on this list.
Fantastic course in a surreal remote setting with a thatched roof clubhouse.

Yes, to make excuses about the final print is silly when the piece could have been sent to several people for a twice over.

I have only played 13 of the list and there is a handful more I would to see. Although, there aren’t many I would commit an extra day to play, but I could see myself changing this opinion. I have grown fond of playing 9 holers. I have a strong suspicion that I played one recently which will comfortably make this list.

And….surely there must be space for Otway. What a place.

Ciao

[Ally Mcintosh]

Cruit is beautiful and fun and crazy. Mulranny is clearly the better golf course.

[Ronald Montesano]

The easiest way to begin to remedy things, is to crowd source via this Discussion Group.


Create an open Google Form and invite the DG members to submit their favorite, nine-hole courses. Invite them to alert other folks by passing along the link.

Google Forms creates a spreadsheet (Google Sheet) by default, and you then have all of your results, organized and calibrated. If you like, a version 2.0 can then be created to reduce from a large number to a manageable one.

We don't have any, nine-hole courses in Western New York, beyond Attica Golf Club. I would rank Attica inside my top 100 worldwide, as I think it offers that sort of intrigue. It has some faults, that regulars explain away as quirk or uniqueness. In my mind, the greens are not the equal of the routing. The land on which Attica lies is tumultuous, and perhaps this natural geography prevented the original architect from adding rolls and roil to the putting surfaces.

[Andrew Harvie]

Before it closed last year (I think), Elk Island was the best nine hole golf course I'd been to. Nine holes from Stanley Thompson about an hour east of Edmonton, with some of the most aggressive fairway contour anywhere---in parts, it makes Highlands Links' famous fairway movement look small!


The 7th, below, was one of the best drive-and-pitch holes around, with a Hog's Back fairway pushing balls from the middle. Anything left was blind and had to play over a severe false front-collection area short left, and anything right went over a mound that was just over 100 feet higher than where you're playing from.


I'd take Elk Island over Hooper, as an example of its quality, but it's close (and I haven't been back to see the recent work so I suspect that's probably changed).






I'd contest that Norfolk in southern Ontario and Kenogamisis (another Thompson) in Northern Ontario should be here -- Musselburgh is a cool golf course and experience, and Winter Park is a fantastic set of greens without much interest off the tee, but I'd take Norfolk and Kenogamisis over both. I'd likely have Kenogamisis over Northwood (30), and then Norfolk behind Northwood


Likewise, Toronto Hunt is a very charming nine hole golf course and a blast to play, but I'm not sure it's top 5 in Canada, let alone deserving of being the only one on the list. That said, it's better than Musselburgh.


Lots I need to see and explore on this list though!

[Mike Worth]

I‘ve only played three, including Cruit.


The thing that strikes me is how hard it is to get to some of these places – – for example, I know some people who strive to play the top 100 courses in the world and they can do it


I think it would take a greater effort to play these fifty 9 holers due to location and remoteness.


I like these lists because it gives me an idea of where to play.  Given that I’m mostly retired and can travel freely. I can reasonably get to 20 or so in the next couple of years.


I guess the one that makes me most upset that I haven’t played is Worlington given that I occasionally fly into RAF Mildenhall and the course is literally right outside the base and I never thought to play it.


All that said, of the three courses from
the list I played, I could nitpick the architecture all day.  Each course has weak or weaker holes. But I enjoyed all 3 tremendously because of the overall experience and the setting.


I don’t think the list is primarily an architecture list. It’s an overall experience list.


For my money, Cruit is the best nine hole course in the world – – that is until I play something (most likely from this list) that’s better lol.

[Alex_Hunter]

Before it closed last year (I think), Elk Island was the best nine hole golf course I'd been to. Nine holes from Stanley Thompson about an hour east of Edmonton, with some of the most aggressive fairway contour anywhere---in parts, it makes Highlands Links' famous fairway movement look small!


The 7th, below, was one of the best drive-and-pitch holes around, with a Hog's Back fairway pushing balls from the middle. Anything left was blind and had to play over a severe false front-collection area short left, and anything right went over a mound that was just over 100 feet higher than where you're playing from.


I'd take Elk Island over Hooper, as an example of its quality, but it's close (and I haven't been back to see the recent work so I suspect that's probably changed).

Real shame what has happened to Elk Island. All boarded up since the end of the 2022 season.
Here is a look at that 7th hole as of last July and the second photo is of the 6th from the green site. Grass is over a foot tall and most of the features you see in Andrew's photos are hard to interpret now 

[Steven Wade]

I'd be interested to see if this list was compiled 4.5 years later if Sweetens Cove would be as highly rated? It was definitely having its moment in the pre-pandemic era, but I feel like it might not find itself as high on the list today. I think it's a fun place to play with your buddies, drink a few cocktails, play some music... but the recency bias and Instagram hype might have carried it up the list a little.

[John Foley]

There has been a lot of great developments in the south over the last few years and I wonder how much Sweetens has "suffered" from it? I know it still gets much love but my last time the two flags per green set up was a big head scratcher. Do we really need that?

[Kalen Braley]

I'd be interested to see if this list was compiled 4.5 years later if Sweetens Cove would be as highly rated? It was definitely having its moment in the pre-pandemic era, but I feel like it might not find itself as high on the list today. I think it's a fun place to play with your buddies, drink a few cocktails, play some music... but the recency bias and Instagram hype might have carried it up the list a little.

While this is probably true, what course in the last 10-15 years hasn't had the social media benefit/buzz, whether it be 9, 18, brand new, or renostoration?  Its the new rating paradigm that all seem to gain from.

[Steven Wade]

While this is probably true, what course in the last 10-15 years hasn't had the social media benefit/buzz, whether it be 9, 18, brand new, or renostoration?  It’s the new rating paradigm that all seem to gain from.

I am far too old to be able to authoritatively opine on anything social media related. I perhaps misspoke when I threw out the blanket ‘Instagram’ statement, there’s more to it than that. I think the real answer is that the rise in Sweetens coincided with the emergence of alternative golf media outlets like The Fried Egg and/or No Laying Up. These outlets through their various podcasts, videos, writings, and social media platforms gained greater footholds and began to reach more eyes at what feels like the same moment that Sweetens Cove became more widely known. To me, and again, I could be working under revisionist history here, Sweetens kind of felt like the first golf course to get the social media treatment that the new builds and restorations commonly get now.