To me, The Old Course leads the way with nearly half its holes falling somewhere in - or very close - to the great basket (2nd, 5th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 16th, and 17th). I easily term the 1st and 18th as great too (or at least ideal as opening and closing holes) but their help isn’t required so I didn’t include them.
Royal St. George’s likely comes next led by such holes as the 4th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 13th, 14th, and 15th. Lytham, despite its surrounds, is chock full too of holes with great character.
Hoylake might be one off that pace. Carnoustie’s 6th, 14th, 15th and 17th put it in good standing.
Troon, which some people (not me) love to hate, has at least the 7th and 8th. Based on their crumpled fairways and interesting greens I would term the 13th and 15th at Troon as great links holes as well.
Muirfield, though far from being a favorite, has several, most notably the 13th and 17th in my book. As we all know, North Berwick down the road has many more
but that’s not the point!
Maybe it’s Turnberry? Its glamorous setting makes it hard to focus solely on the merits of its holes, but I find them to be wanting. The 4th and 10th yes, but what else? Maybe the 8th? The 9th is dramatic but is that domed fairway really good golf?
Maybe, maybe not. Do the 15th and/or 16th count?
Then there is Birkdale – which exactly are its great holes? I haven’t been there since 1991 and they have done a lot of work there since. Ben Crenshaw told me he is a great fan of the character that they have built into some of the greens and their surrounds. Unable to comment, all I know is what I see on television. I don’t call the 11th at Troon great so I don’t term the 6th at Birkdale as great – both are super hard but so what? Neither has the width to fully capitalize on much playing strategy. The hit-it-or-else 12th seems to be the one standout hole and reminds me of the nervousness that the 13th at Muirfield promotes. The 11th at Birkdale is pretty but is there much strategy there? Other candidates include the 1st, 2nd, 13th, 15th and 16th but their flat fairways diminish their cause.
My conclusion is that Birkdale probably has the fewest - what’s your own tally look like?
Cheers,