[Tom_Doak]

It was a good question on golf.com, so I thought I would pose it here.


My nomination:  the par-3 5th hole at Frederick Peak GC in Valentine, NE, by Tom Lehman and Josh Chris Brands.


The green sits in a dell, with a dune about 15 feet high in front of it, and a ragged, broken bunker in the face of the dune.  Behind the green is a steep bank going back up.  But the hole is not blind, because the tee is about 40 feet above the green . . . so you are paratrooping down into the dell over the dune in front.  What a terrific green setting!




*Note, however, that I had to disclude a couple of holes that I saw for the first time on raw land.  Hopefully in a few years those will start making other people's lists!

[M. Shea Sweeney]

Par-4 8th hole at Glens Falls- see description in Courses by Country. My kind of golf course, so tough pick, perhaps there are better holes (#2?).


Honorable mention par 3 10th at Top of the World (must see if in Adirondacks/Saratoga/Lake George)


Glens Falls and Top of the World were my only new play's this season -- I've been going to ADK my entire life and never got to either. Played my golf as a kid at Bend of the River in Lake Luzerne.  Thanks to Glens Falls wonderful golf professional Tom Haggerty for having me as his guest.

[Duncan Cheslett]

Any one of half a dozen holes at JCB.


Or maybe the 18th at Kington...

[Andrew Harvie]

The 5th at Pinehurst No. 2 was a good one. Same with the 11th, which I liked the angle the green sat at. Anything else I saw that was great, like Lookout Point or Jasper, I had seen before.


Oh, I really liked the 2nd at Rolling Green, too.

[Marty Bonnar]

Don’t know how I managed to Post that twice!

[Marty Bonnar]

Having done the ‘first play’ thing, where I’m usually a bit overwhelmed by my brain’s desire to delve into design and then the ‘second play’ where I’m a bit more at ease and better able to make a more considered judgement, I have to say there’s at least four or five brilliant holes to be encountered at Dumbarnie. I’m struggling to divide the cracking set of par-3s and the tempting, strategic par-4s.
Very much looking forward to the coming years and of visits and reports/opinions by fellow GCAers.
I think it’s a very welcome addition to the Scottish Golf Pantheon!
F.

[David Jones]

This year was the first time I got to Prestwick and saw the 17th, Alps. That did it for me!

[Tom_Doak]

This year was the first time I got to Prestwick and saw the 17th, Alps. That did it for me!

One of the cool holes I found in a routing this year is a hole that reminded me of the Alps.  The hill isn't quite so high, but the valley of the fairway reminded me of Prestwick more than anything I've ever built, which has to be a good thing.  I hope I get to build it !!

[Marty Bonnar]

Right, I made a decision.
This is 17 at Dumbarnie. The best golf hole I saw in 2020!

At least three, if not four, options from the tee. The fairway must be 200 yards wide! (Guessing!). Also, wind direction very important in shot choice. It’s all seriously uphill too!
Could be played five-iron to the left fairway, five-iron to the green. Just don’t hit too far towards that aiming bunker.
Could be played over the two middle bunkers to where the guys with the trolleys are. Long iron or fairway wood to there with a shorter iron approach.
Third choice is to lump driver towards green (and assortment of bunkers!).
There’s also LOTS of rough stuff to get over going that way.
My First play was into a STRONG northerly wind (coming roughly over those dark trees on the near horizon), so I hit fairway wood towards distant left bunker, left safely in the fairway but needing a six-iron to the green. Chip and two-putt bogey.
Second play was with a helping westerly (from the left side) so I thought I’d give driver a swing and made it to just above that big central bunker just short of the green, chipped and two-putted for par.
Strategy, baby!
F.

[Cal Seifert]

The 5th at Cape Arundel for me.  Loved the knob in the front center of the green to add interest to the relatively short approach. 

[Ally Mcintosh]

Maybe not the best year to pose the question:


I played precisely two golf courses this year and one was a nine holer.


The only other ones I saw I was working on.

[Criss Titschinger]

I have to divide this into the Camargo par 3 division and non-Camargo par 3 division.

Walking up to the 4th green at Camargo and getting that first in-person glimpse of the par 3 5th (Eden) was something that's hard to describe. It's so bold and dramatic, and it was all I could do to keep my focus on my putt on the 4th green. Almost chipped in from about 50 feet away for the mega 4.

In the non-Camargo par 3 division, I think of holes like:

3rd at Columbus Country Club (par 4) Columbus, OH. A relatively straight drive, but a fairway bunker lurks if you take on too much. The fairway then elevates up the ridge with the greensite on top of the ridge, attractively protected by 3 bunkers. Should be an easy hole, but one that can quickly get away from you.

7th at West Bend Country Club (par 4) West Bend, WI. A hole that rises dramatically from tee to green, with lots of humps and bumps in between. A great example of a bunkerless hole that uses the land perfectly and doesn't need anything more.

9th at Pine Hills Country Club (par 4) Sheboygan, WI. It's a tough choice between the 4th and the 9th, but I think I'm going with the 9th. A hole that barely played a wedge for our group, but saw us make total carnage of it. A heavily sloped green demanded nothing but perfection on the tee shot. A hole that really revealed itself the closer I got to the green.

[Stewart Abramson]

The best golf holes I saw for the first time in 2020 were at Tobacco Road and Streamsong Black, which were my favorite new courses played this year. There are several very strong nominees on those courses, but strangely, my two finalists are both par 5's that I did not play well for being too aggressive. #11 at Tobacco Road and # 4 at Streamsong Black, although #9 was perhaps my favorite hole at SS Black.



Tobacco Road #11



Streamsong Black #4 from tee par 5 split fairway

[Mike_Clayton]

Given no travel and only two 'new' courses played, the hole has to come from the Doak/Schneider redo of Gunnamatta course at the National.
The best?
The 2nd maybe - a short par 4 with the green up against the boundary fence. The 7th is a variation on the original 5th and a big improvement given the big advantage given to a drive up the left.
11 - formerly a decent 170 yard hole now stretched to 220 and played to a much different green site.
15,16,and 17 are in the conversation also.


The other course I'd never played was Lang Lang, an hour east of the sandbelt. One hole there - the 8th - could be the closest hole to Royal Melbourne's 6th (one of a few candidates for the best hole in Australia) in the game.
All it would take is a properly positioned tee and a chainsaw.

[Steve Lang]

  totally changed par 3 15th at Memorial Park, Houston... 

seeing it in walk around with TomD and MikeN one winter day and listening to some DonM debate about fronting slopes above creek with crew, made it clear that one wants no part of being short, front, left or right..  first play pin was back left, played to slightly beyond center, lucky to run in 10 ft curvy putt for birdie...  second play... not so lucky   never liked the old 15th with fronting lake

[Matthew Rose]

The par 3s at Yarra Yarra

[mike_beene]

Mike: When you reference Royal Melbourne number 6 is that West, East or one of the composite routings?

[Mike_Clayton]

Mike: When you reference Royal Melbourne number 6 is that West, East or one of the composite routings?

Mike,


Apologies for making assumptions.


6 west - which was the 4th on the Presidents Cup routing.
It's another topic, but I assume the next tournament at Royal Melbourne will revert to the original Composite Routing - it's been a more than 20 year experiment no one has really enjoyed or embraced.
On that course 6 West is 6 Composite

[mike_beene]

No apology needed. As I have become fascinated with the sand belt, having never been, I am left with TV and maps. I see the QANTAS 380 sitting at DFW, but that flight on my body seems overwhelming. The last Presidents cup really showed the course well. Crenshaw had RM influences when they redid our place making me even more interested.

[Mike_Clayton]

No apology needed. As I have become fascinated with the sand belt, having never been, I am left with TV and maps. I see the QANTAS 380 sitting at DFW, but that flight on my body seems overwhelming. The last Presidents cup really showed the course well. Crenshaw had RM influences when they redid our place making me even more interested.

Dallas - Sydney is an easy flight -well, easy compared with the 24 hours from here to Europe.  14 hours and then an hour down to Melbourne. It's all worth seeing once in your life.
Crenshaw and Seve both loved Royal Melbourne - a bit of space off the tee was nice for them both and the greens were made for them.

[Clyde Johnson]

I'll go with the 13th at Cleeve - that's some green site! (I don't think we walked that far when we stopped by a few years ago.)


Others I were fond of/surprised by at lesser known courses (in order of seeing):

 - 5th at Spean Bridge; with Ben Nevis as the aim point, a short-four which climbs onto an angled ridge, with the green just over the top and running away.

 - 8th at Fort Augustus; a shorter-reverse of the 6th at Sunningdale New (both by Colt.)

 - 4th at Strathpeffer Spa; there's good variety to the par-threes that work their way back up the hill from the 1st green, my favourite: a long, bunker less three that plays from shoulder to crowned shoulder.

 - 7th at Flempton; old-school english golf down the road from Mildenhall, the heavily-bunkered flat gives way to a skinny, hidden dell surrounded by funky pits.

 - 2nd at Berkhampsted; a bunker-less course full of wacky above-ground features - a deep, gorse-y dyke stretches across the approach of this par-five.

 - 2nd at Carrbridge; a mid-four which narrows between heathery shoulders to a high punchbowl tucked behind a track/road.

 - 6th at Dunkeld and Birnham; a blind parachuting drive, with a likely blind pitch steeply back onto a ridge. (The original 9 holes are well worth a look.)

- 8th at Denham; a fine set of short-holes by Colt, I admired this one for the severity of it's front-left to back-right pitch.

- 3rd at Church Stretton; high in the Shropshire hills, a blind three along a treacherous ridge into a saddle.


(There were lots of compelling holes/shots at National (Gunamatta), but I'd seen those before. Mike didn't mention this one, but I loved pitching into the 8th green, especially with a pin close to the left/central bunker.)

[Adrian_Stiff]

I made it to Northern Ireland so saw Royal County Down...not sure which hole was best though, lots of choice.

[Matthew Rose]

US-Oz flights are a lot better than they were 20 years ago... the newer planes are a little more comfortable, a little quieter, a little more humid and generally have better entertainment.

Of course right now there aren't any :/

[Jonathan Cummings]

Easy answer.


The 9th at Gunnamatta.  214yd par 4 from the pro tee!!  Bitch of a green to hit and hold, even on your second shot. 


There are several other world class holes including the monstrous par 3 11th (same length as the 9th) and the killer 480 yd par 4 finisher.

[Cory Lewis]

I will take a little artistic license and tell the story of the most interesting hole I saw in 2020.  I will start by saying that I've seen roughly 30,000 golf holes so far in my life so it's rare when I see something that makes me go "wow".  The hole in question is at Stonewall Golf Course in Germanton, North Carolina.  It's a course nobody with any interest in architecture would seek out but it's one of those rare places that can be a ton of fun if you just embrace the quirkiness.  The 8th hole is the ultimate example of this:
IMG_4422 by cory lewis, on Flickr
So you see this sign and you're thinking, this shouldn't be too hard.  The shot might not be hard but getting yourself to the green will be.
IMG_4423 by cory lewis, on Flickr
Only 85 yards and a beautiful drop shot at that.  This hole should be a piece of cake.  Only problem is:
IMG_4431 by cory lewis, on Flickr
This is your view from the tee.  That's right, it's a BLIND drop shot, 85 yard par three!
IMG_4433 by cory lewis, on Flickr
Once you hit your short wedge shot down the hill, the fun really begins, because you might end up lying face down in the forest if you’re not careful.  The cart path down is so steep and slippery that the owner specifically tells you about it when you check in.  He warns you very clearly to not lock up your brakes as you will skid and likely fall out of the cart and into the gorge.  I saw him during my round and while discussing the 8th hole he said they've had to call the ambulance "a couple" times!!!
IMG_4434 by cory lewis, on Flickr
You can see the path down on the far right side of this picture.  An amazing hole that you almost have to risk your life to play!

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