If you could only play one hole at NGLA ...

[Tom Huckaby]

Loved it, Robertus.

And not to digress too far from the very cool point of this thread, but doesn't it piss you off when someone calls himself an ALUMNI of a school?

Happens all the time.  I want to whack them with a white rose and charge them 100 denarii for the correction.

All this reminds me also of a great restaurant name I once heard:  Caesar's Garlic Wars.

 

OK, humble apologies.  I just do love Latin so.  Now back to the hell of being forced to play only one hole at NGLA....

TH

[Dan Boerger]

One hole at The National ...

I really like 3.

Then I dart to the halfway house for some peanut butter.

[George_Bahto]

17:

One of the most interesting thing about 17 is that the berm fronting the green has been cut off at some point so the poor golfer could see more than the top of the flag, that's why the berm looks so silly.

Rumor's have it the height of the berm may be restored in the not so distant future. The information is being garnered from old pictures.

[George_Bahto]

Gib: I would have guessed you would say the Alps was your fav.

There is just so much happening on 16: the great teeshot; the two deep bowls in the fairway if you're off the line of play; the most interesting look of the blind approach, not to speak of the downhill slope beyond the fairway bunkers and the green itself.

[Kenny Lee Puckett]

#1

Options, Options, Options.

Go for it or lay up (Lay-ups are good in basketball...)
Challenge the stick or play it to the center
How hard to charge your 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th putt.

So much to look forward to.  And it is a great tone-setter...

Also, no chance of being written out of the will if you do drive the green.

JWK

p.s. - George Bahto - Got your book "The Evangelist..." for Christmas as a gift from my mother - Thanks for all of your hard work!

[George_Bahto]

JWK: thanx

[Gib_Papazian]

Uncel George,

Riding the saddle with the tee shot is a thrill - but it is even more fun when you miss. A 5-iron blast where all you can see is a wall of grass and sky, over defiant bunkers to a wonderfully intimate Punchbowl beneath the windmill.

Well . . . . . maybe the Alps. I began to appreciate the genius of #7 again last time.

The Redan is too obvious and then I begin to agree with the evil Leprechaun about #2.

No, maybe there is a part of me that still loves #1 the best.  I hope to par that hole some day.    

[JNC Lyon]

Once I get to play the course (and that could be a while!!) I think would like number 1 the most.  I have a soft spot for short par fours, and this one, from all the discussion on here, seems like it is one of the most fascinating, at NGLA or anywhere else.

[George_Bahto]

I heard this story about Greg Norman's thoughts about playing #1:

He thought the best play (for scoring) is to play your drive (hopefully) into the left front bunker - from there a relatively easy sand-shot up-and -down

interesting .....

too dangerous a play to play to that insane green -too many things can happen

[ChipOat]

#18 for sure.

It's my favorite hole at National, anyway.

Iit gets even better if it's my only choice.

As Patrick noted, I'd get THREE full swings and they'd all be really interesting.

Great chipping from the front to a back pin (especially downwind) and tough pitching to anywhere if I miss the green left.

I might even challenge a back pin occasionally and get my first-ever chance from the back bunker.

[Patrick_Mucci]

George,

I would agree with that, but, that's an awfully tiny target.

With Norman's great driving accuracy my guess is that he took dead aim at the green and didn't mind a miss into the left front bunker.

Any further left of that can be disastrous.

[Gene Greco]

  With so much disagreement as to which hole at The National to pick to play forever it perplexes me why anyone would not like NGLA which, of course, is a question posed in another thread.

The number of unique, challenging and FUN holes to play at NGLA is staggering. However, over the course of a lifetime of play I believe, as in marriage, the beauty of 17 would fade and the compelling myriad of challenges presented by 18 would always remain.

[ForkaB]

I'll agree with #1, for James Keever's reasons--options, variety, challenge, etc..  Also, you are damn near the clubhouse, so you get to the bar quicker than if you could only play #8, say.

PS--I also agree with Greg Norman, as that is the way I played the hole (1-iron into far left hand bunker) and it was an easy par from there....

[Dave Bourgeois]

I've been thinking about this for a while.  I think I'd go with 1 or 18.  18 because of I'd get 3 swings, and 1 because of the variety.

No... That's a bunch of crap. I'd pick those holes so I could easily sneak back to the clubhouse and maybe catch a group that needs a fourth.  Then I'd use my charm to get invited back so I could see the entire of the course again.  

I love it when a plan comes together!!

[RDecker]

This is like that movie "Sophie's Choice"  but if I had to pick it's probably #3.