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

[John_Lovito]

Par 3 = #11 Shinney
Par 4 = #9 Maidstone
Par5 = #12 Plainfield

[Mike Hendren]

The 12th at The Old Course.  This hole owns me and in a lifetime I would certainly expect to achieve what has thus far eluded me - a par.

Mike

[Jim Franklin]

#2 @ Peachtree. So many different options to play the hole.

[Steve Lang]

 

You'd be in hell no matter what hole you choose.

[david beckham]

Great thread,  (the simplest thread's are sometimes the best).

My fave hole, you choose, as long as it's any hole on Pine Valley.   Regard's all, Stove..

[MarkT]

For pure enjoyment of life, I would say #3 at Spyglass, #7 at Pebble, or #16 Cypress.

For pure fun, #4 at Spyglass.

[tonyt]

I couldn't POSSIBLY choose a par 3, because it confirms forever that I may never again be allowed to take driver to try and position myself on atraditionally two shot or three shot hole (forgetting that my short arse can't go for it at CPC#16 anyway).

Looking ast some above posts, it must be stated for fairness that an existing teeing ground must be used, thereby preventing anyone from playing a par 5 as a 4 or 3 unless existing tees provide such options.

Having said that, it doesn't stop me playing from a correct tee in any manner I choose, and so giving myself the variety of shots and other holes within holes to amuse myself.

Imagine with a friend, playing an existing par 5 as a short par 4. The rules are that after two shots you must not be beyond a certain point, and if you are, must use your "tee shot" to return behind the starting line. One could play nine holes or more on one long hole.

Pebble #18, Augusta #13, TOC #14 or NGLA #18.

[larry_munger]

Would be my favorite short par 4 or reachable par 5, now I have to think about it.

[Gary_Smith]

If I could only play one hole for the rest of my life, I would build my own damn hole, on some ideal Southern sandy soil, with year round playing weather. It would be a par 5 or par 6 with a smallish green and huge chipping surrounds, with multiple tees to turn it into a par 3 or short part 4, or however I felt like playing it that particular day.

Absent that, I would pick Augusta's 13th. Something about those pines and Georgia on my mind.

[Tommy Williamsen]

Three at Royal County Down.  It might take me the rest of my life to par it!!

[ChipOat]

As #6 at The Creek is my favorite hole in all of golf, I'll join Sean Berry there.

However, #15 at Pine Valley is a very close 2nd choice as my favorite in the world AND you get to hit three full shots to a very testing green.

#8 at Pebble works if I can't get a tee time above.

[George Blunt]

Elle MacPherson when she was 18.

[Doug Siebert]

Enjoyed reading all the responses.  I think its a bit of a cop out to think you can take a par 5 and play it from wherever you want, but I guess I didn't specifically rule that option out so I deserve what I get!

Didn't see anything to sway me from my choice of #17 TOC.  I've never played it into a very strong wind, but I'll bet when it does it is still a par 5 for pretty much anyone, so it covers both the 4 and the 5.  With a strong enough wind it could be a driveable 4 with the Pro Vx4 in a few more years  I still can't understand people selecting a par 3, even a hole as breathtaking as #16 CPC, if I'm only playing one hole, I want to be able to use every club in my bag and play every type of shot.  #16 CPC would seem a bit much when you hit 80 years old, even the layup may get to be too much.

I like Gary's idea of building his own hole, but if I did it I wouldn't design it myself, I'd have to hire Doak or Coore to build me one on some sandy windswept coast.  I wonder what they could come up with if I had the best 20 acre strip along the coast you ever saw and an unlimited budget, with the charge of designing one hole that I'd play for the rest of my life.  Hell, if I ever hit one of those $200 mil Powerball jackpots maybe I'll go shopping for beachfront property, give 'em a call and find out.  Just don't tell them I'd be lying about the "its the only hole I'll ever play again for the rest of my life" thing when I'm trying to get them to sign up  

[Tom_Doak]

Doug,

Actually, the best I can come up with so far is to agree with your selection of the Road hole.  I would have to pick a hole with a great green complex and a wide variety of shots around it, and I can't think of anything more fun than practicing those shots which curl around the Road bunker on one side, and then practicing a variety of shots off the road and up the bank behind.

I totally concur with tonyt in that I would never pick a par three, because it would give me a lot fewer shots to hit.  And assuming the rules allow me to bring the weather from the hole along with me, I'd have to pick a linksy hole so I could play it in all the winds.

The only problem with the Road hole is that it's not inspiringly beautiful to look at.

If I limited it to one of my own holes, I think the 7th and 8th at Pacific Dunes would be the most fun to play over and over ... funny, since neither one is often picked as the best on the course.  There are holes at Lost Dunes that deserve a thought, too.

[cary lichtenstein]

My pick is the 17th hole at the old course called El Campeon at Mission Inn, in Florida in a town called Howey-in-the Hills.

A par 5, that twists and turns, with very mature Oak trees all over the place. It is a 3 shot hole, requiring accurary, old time shot shaping and the green sits on a sloping hill over a large pond with pretty severe breaks.

Beautiful, and bewitching

[hp@hc]

Hole #4 at Royal Portrush - all kinds of challenges for every skill level, and an ever-present cooler at the OB fence with some cold bevvies for the members, provided by one of the better members at the Club!  Beat that!

[Mike Hendren]

Tom & Doug,

I thought about The Road Hole and would have selected it but for the fact that I would forever be denied the opportunity to watch the full flight and roll of a ball off the driver - as feeble as mine is.   I suppose I could always play way left.  

I must say this is the most vivid hole in the world in my mind's eye.  While I am a poor ball striker, particularly with the driver, I striped drivers there this fall, leaving only an 8-iron and 6-iron from the fairway for seconds.  As all know, however, that is where the hole really begins.  At least I had the joy of pitching from the road and bumping a shot around the Road Hole Bunker (not in the same round!).  

Precious memories.  How they linger

Mike

[Tiger_Bernhardt]

I would say the 5/13th green at TOC for there are an endless number of holes you could play into it and every kind of short game shot you ever dreamed of. It is a great par 5 and 4 as it is and there a number of ways to approach the green as a 3. Use the 13th as your base hole.