If you could only play ONE HOLE for the rest of your life

[Doug Siebert]

Simple question.  Given a choice between hanging up the clubs forever or limiting yourself to a single hole anywhere in the world, what would you do and why?  We are of course ignoring where you live, access to the course, the length of the playable golf season where that course is, and so forth.

I'll toss in my vote for the Road Hole.  Both the tee shot and approach are demanding, there are a lot of ways to play it, conditions will create infinite variety over time and no one could ever figure it out well enough to average less than par even in benign conditions.  For bonus points you could walk into one of the shops in the city and pick up some hickory clubs and gutta percha balls if it did get a little stale after a couple decades.

I'm curious if anyone will select any a par 3...

[Tim_Weiman]

Doug:

#11 on Ballybunion Old.....as long as I could still walk the Cashen property whenever I felt like it....which is just about everyday.

[Matthew Mollica]

Of course someone will choose a par three Doug - #16 at CPC.

Matthew

[Patrick_Mucci]

Doug,

One of my first posts, years ago, posed this question, but in the context of a par 3, par 4 and a par 5, and they all had to be from the same golf course.

NGLA # 6, # 8 and # 18 got my vote for each.

If it were but one hole, probably # 8 or # 18, possibly # 7,
I don't think you could go too far wrong with that selection.

[Larry_Keltto]

16 at Sand Hills:

-- So many angles to choose from on each shot

-- Great variety of pin placements

-- A legit opportunity for eagle if you play it well, yet triple isn't out of the question if you make a mess of it

-- Ben's Porch is within view after putting out!

[Neil Regan]

Having played each maybe 500 times, I'm sure I'd be happy forever on Ballybunion Old #11 and #15

[CHrisB]

#14 (Long) at The Old Course, St. Andrews.

Maybe more options than any hole in the world. I'd play it a different way each time, and probably never tire of it.

[Wayne Freeman]

I've always been partial to the water, and courses like Pacific Dunes, Royal Dornoch, Whistling Straights, Cypress Point, and Casa de Campo all have incredible holes, but to me if I had only one hole to play over and over it would be the 18th at Pebble. From tee to green the experience is breathtaking- and it can be enjoyed by players of any age and caliber.

[Andrew Summerell]

14th (par 4) at NSW

The wind makes it play different everyday. Sometimes playing long & hard, sometimes you can almost drive it.

So many different angles can be taken off the tee, whether you feel like a hero or a whimp.

Multiple options on 2nd shot, allowing aerial & ground game with equal reward or risk.

A steeply sloping green, full of fun & challenge.

A view from both tee & green that is tough to beat.

[TEPaul]

Par 3=PVGC's #3
Par 4=Riviera's #10
Par 5=NGLA's #18

But if it had to be just one I'd take Riviera's #10--matter of fact I just might be able to figure out how to recreate it right here on my farm as the constant commute to LA is sort of excessive.

[SPDB]

#6 at The Creek

[bakerg]

Par 3: 11th at Shinney
Par 4: 4th at Bandon
Par 5: 18th at Plantation Course

[CHC1948]

Seminole #6- par 4
Seminole #17-par 3
Yeaman's #18-par 5

[THuckaby2]

#16 at CPC, no question.

And when I got to be oh, 85 years old, then I'd lay up.

 

TH

[ian]

I'd quit playing.

Sorry, but that's true. I enjoy golf for the variety of places you can play, more than I enjoy it for the sport.

[THuckaby2]

I'd quit playing.

Sorry, but that's true. I enjoy golf for the variety of places you can play, more than I enjoy it for the sport.

Of course I concur with Ian, for exactly the reasons he states, but my above smartass answer was irresistible and hopefully will be read by a certain former proponent of the "exhilirating layup."

 

TH

[Mike Benham]

I would pick a par-5, whether it is 14 at TOC, 18 at Pebble, 13 at Augusta ....

A par-5 gives you the most options, the more variety to pick different strategies ...

The topic just said only ONE Hole ... doesn't mean that you have to play it from one tee box

Any of these holes could have the variety of long, medium or short-par 4 (could you see 18 at Pebble as short par-4 Cape hole ... or 13 at ANGC as par-3 with a back right hole location).

[THuckaby2]

Tom, I have an even more smartass answer for our esteemed east coast former counselor and the learned west coast counselor:

13 at ANGC.  To hear them tell it, I just might need an entire lifetime to get a drive into the mid iron "go" zone.  

I stand in reverence and awe.
 

TH

[TEPaul]

Shivas said;

"13 at ANGC.  To hear them tell it, I just might need an entire lifetime to get a drive into the mid iron "go" zone."

Shiv:

Right, and if and when you did get that drive into the "go zone" for a mid iron approach you better not hit it fat into Rae's Creek Pal!! Think you'd be feeling some pressure?  And I hope it's a right pin---remember the left side is the short way home but somehow I think you might be firing at the far end of the green's diagonal along the Creek!    

If you happened to make eagle or better, then you'd pretty much have to hang up the clubs for good and end it all on that note because I'd come out there and take you out with the proverbial bread truck anyway!

[Jeff_Lewis]

It would have to be a hole that is exposed to wind, has a difficult green and has a variety of options available as far as angles of approach and types of shots one can play around the green. That way, one could still play a variety of clubs and an array of types of shots.  A little natural beauty wouldn't hurt either.  So, I would pick 13 at Friar's Head. It's a par 4 downwind, a par 5 into the wind (at least for me). You can fly it in, you can run it in. You can play flops, pitches, bunker shots. You could hit every club in the bag as a reasonable approach at some point.

[Lou_Duran]

#16 at CPC, though it might lead to a very short life.

[Brian_Gracely]

Being laid-up, I've had some time to think about this and it's tougher than I originally thought.  My thought process went something like this,

#13 or #15 at Pine Valley - tons of shot options, but the weather year-round is not that good and at some point I wouldn't be able to carry the lake on #15.  #13 is still in the picture.

Road Hole at The Old Course - weather is still somewhat of a concern, but after reading "Final Rounds", I can appreciate the dad's perspective for later in life.  This is still an option.

#16 at CPC - Weather is great (except during Crosby week) and the view is breath-taking (so I hear).  But the thought of hitting so many balls into the water could drive me to an early grave.

#8 or #18 at Pebble Beach.  I'm not sure that I'd ever tire of the approach at #8, but at some point I'd want to revel in seeing the flight of the ball off the tee and that blind tee-shot might lose the appeal.  #18 has everything.  Weather is great, views are spectacular and it could be played for a life-time without the chance of losing balls everyday.  

#13 at ANGC - the weather is playable year-round, albeit the club is closed for six months, but I'd make sure to have a key to the front gate.  the prospect of trying to perfectly draw a tee-shot around the corner is encouraging and the options with the second and third shot are varied.  Throw in the azaleas blooming and this is definitely an option.

So far it's #17 at TOC or #13 at ANGC or #18 at Pebble.  

But then it occurred to me...what about #9 at Royal County Down.  The aura at RCD is enough to want to play there for the rest of your life, but is there a more awe-inspiring view that the top of the hill at #9?  To not only experience that on a daily basis, as well as watching first-timers faces when they climbed the hill and saw the sweep of the land below them, gorse in full bloom, and the way the mountains meet the city and sea below.  Yep, that's the ONE hole I'd be willing to play for the rest of my life.  And when my days are done, spread my ashes at the top of the hill so I can contine to take in the scenery.

[Dan Kelly]

If I'm going to play it for the Rest of My Life, and if there will be quite a few years in that Rest of My Life, then it'll have to be a hole that will be pleasurable for an old codger like me.

Which means:

-- No need for a heroic drive.

-- No long forced carries, from tee to green.

-- An approach shot interesting from any distance, and which CAN be played on the ground.

-- A green with lots of pin positions.

-- A green that produces lots of interesting chips and putts.

Tom Paul's beloved Riviera 10 would seem to fit the bill. I'm sure there are many, many others around the world -- though probably not enough.

One that comes to mind is The Old Course No. 18. Bonus: You can smell the whisky from there!

[JohnV]

#7 at Pebble.  Given the various weather conditions I'd get to hit just about every club in my bag and maybe one day I'd finally get a hole in one.

[Nick_Ficorelli]

QUIT THE GAME AND TAKE UP CURLING