Best Easy Holes

[Doug Siebert]

#10 TOC - even short hitters can drive it from the tourist tees and its easier to two putt from the 10th green for birdie than it is to get up and down for birdie chipping from the left side along the top ridge of the Valley of Sin if you take your caddie's advice and aim for the monument off the tee...grrr....

the Cardinal at Prestwick - with the right four club wind, this one is even easier, which isn't usually true for a non-straightaway hole with a blind second.

#7 at my home course - 386 yard par 4 I once birdied 7 times in a row, not bad for a mid single digit handicap!

[Mike_Cirba]

The 5th at Friar's Head is the best "easy" hole I've played lately, simply because the horseshoe green and the knob in front dictate play and turn a birdie into a bogey faster than you can blink.  

[Gene Greco]

Amazing how everyone pierces through a million golf holes and so many opinions cross over.

Of the three which immediately came to mind two were already spoken for:

18 at TOC
5th at Friars which I have documented countless # of times as being my favorite at FH

The other is the 8th at Sand Hills which is as fun and easy to play as any hole in this world.

[Jeff Goldman]

Let me a really fun "easy" hole that probably doesn't match up those listed here, but is terrific - number 11 on the South course at Olympia Fields.  About 315, slight dogleg right, with Butterfield Creek about 30-40 yards from the green.  Has a bunker left near the creek and a decent sized tree in the right center about 30-40 yards short of the creek.  Shot options are:  lay back with an iron, try to feed a wood between the bunker and the tree, or have a go at the green (the Shivas shot).  The green has a false front and big slopes - If you get in a short side bunker or the wrong part of the green it's a fun two putt.  A seemingly easy, strategic hole that good players expect to birdie, and the rest of us expect to par.  There's talk of moving the tee farther back right to make it a 400 yd regular hole.

Jeff Goldman

[ACR]

How about #1 at Prestwick?  That may fall into the category of "should be easy but isn't", but it can be reached with 5i-PW on most days.  Just don't go right.  In fact, I think Prestwick has a lot of great "easy" holes.

[Scott_Burroughs]

#4 at Lu Lu, all 103 yards of it is pretty fun.  Even better from the ravine/gunk in front (not me, but another here).

Did anyone mention #10 at Riviera?

[ChipOat]

Ian Andrew:

I've not played Gleneagles but I don't believe a hole has to be easy in order to effectively "change the pace" of a stretch of holes.

Besides, what's wrong with 18 relatively difficult holes?  Pine Valley has 16-18 of them depending on who you talk to.

Mike Cirba:

I know this is semantics, but I don't consider a hole as "easy" if a small mis-step usually equals bogey or worse.  Best example I can think of = #8 at Pine Valley although #10 at Riviera is close.

Scott Burroughs:

See my note to Mike Cirba directly above.  #10 at Riviera is NOT easy if you make just the least little mistake.

Jeff Fortson:

To a lesser degree, my notes to Messrs. Cirba and Burroughs would apply to WFW #6.  Admittedly, I'm not the world's primo wedge artiste but what's easy about that hole if you miss the green - even short/left?

All:

TOC #18: overrated; not my kind of finishing hole.
TOC #'s 9&10: part of why TOC is overrated IMO.
RDGC #15: not a bad hole but my least favorite there (I do think #16 is better and, while #7 is undistinguished, it's still pretty challenging).
Merion #13: Never figured out why some people think so highly of this one.  If it wasn't at Merion, would anybody care?

[Mike_Cirba]

Chip Oat;

I define easy holes as one's where an 10 yo kid or someone's grandmom could make a par fairly easily.  

Most of the holes mentioned here meet that criteria.  

The "best" easy holes, however, ususally have some twist that can jump up and bite any level of golfer, if played carelessly or without solid analysis and execution.

[Doug Wright]

Not quite "homer-ing" but...

#1 Cherry Hills (right Arnie?)
#17 Castle Pines GC (double eagle/8 pt Stableford heaven)

And #18 TOC.

Best,

[Evan Fleisher]

The 18th at St. Andrews will get a lot of votes, I'm sure.  Count mine as one.

[David_Tepper]

What could be an easier par-5 than #13 at Augusta National? Hit 3-wood, 6-iron & sandwedge and you should have no more than a 20-footer for birdie. On the other hand, if you try to reach the green in two, you can find the hazard with either your 1st or 2nd shot and a 7 comes into the picture pretty easily. I think the action on #13 on Sunday afternoon has determined the winners (and losers) of more Masters than any other hole on the course.  

[Doug Siebert]

ACR, good call on #1 Prestwick, I guess you are right there are a lot of "easy" holes there, not surprising given how short it is for the most part (ignoring the dozen straight par 4s on the back nine that are 460+ into the wind....or at least it seems that way!)

So why have I shot 95 and 102 my two trips there, when I was in the 70s or low 80s everywhere else I played (including hard courses like Muirfield, Carnoustie, etc.)   Prestwick sure is a damn hard course for having so many easy holes!