Jack Nicklaus feels that most players prefer downhill tee shots.  It is fun to watch the shot soar high and land softly.

What are your favorite tee shots, downhill or not?

I'll pick 17 at Ballybunion.  It begs you to hit driver aaround the corner or cut off as much as you dare.  The reward is great and the penalty for waywardness is great.  But fun it is.

Second might be 10 at Riviera.

Phil, I also love cape hole.  I especially like those that go right to left such as many of the 18th holes of Pete Dye.  The ones that go right to left are more challenging for me.  Hitting the ball left to right is a little less predictable.

Posted by: Tommy Williamsen
What are your favorite tee shots

My next one  

I'll name a few that I'm fond of:

14 at Rustic

9,18 at Pebble

10 at Pasatimepo

1,18 at Riviera

1 at Spyglass

5 at Colonial

12 at Rancho Santa Fe

10 at Sandpiper

4,15 at Barona

4,9,13 at Stone Eagle

I could keep going on, but I'll restrain myself.

One of the best opening tee shots in golf of this variety is the 1st at Shinnecock Hills.  The 1st at Pine Valley is also quite good.  

I concur.  Another hole you are familiar with is also great fun, 11 at Merion.

My favorite tee shots are those that make you think regarding the line (offset fairways are especially good for this) and even distance; thus about what club to hit.

One of the best opening tee shots in golf of this variety is the 1st at Shinnecock Hills.  The 1st at Pine Valley is also quite good.  

Wayne,
You beat me to it . . .
#1 at Shinnecock is my favorite tee shot of any that I've played.

-Ted

Tommy,

The 5th at Mid-Ocean is the best Cape hole I've seen and one of the most enjoyable drives because it is downhill and really rewards an aggressive line and/or proper right-to-left shaping.  One of the great driving holes in the world for my money.

I was going to say the 1st at Mid Ocean. What a distant view and a great sweeping fairway.

I certainly don't think the tee shot at 11 is the most difficult.  18 from the back tee may be just because of the carry.  I guess the reason I pick 11 is that it gives the player some many options about where to hit it and how far from the green do you want to be.  It is not just a blast it far and straight shot.

Among my favorites are

#17 at Yale - Uphill and blind over a saddle where you can see your ball take a big high bounce when you are on a good line.  It just looks really good to my eye

#'s 5 and 11 at Bethpage Black.  - Both are drives to offset fairways.  #5 is right in front of you with the huge fairway bunker on the right where the 2nd shot is set up better by an approach from the right.  #11 is partially blind with the fairway being obscured by the tall grass in front of the tee.  The natural line would be to aim at the center of the green but that will put you into the left rough.  Aim at the right greenside bunker and you hit the fairway. I love shots like that that have no framing.

Geoff,

Great call on #11 Bethpage Black.
That is a very tough shot to hit with confidence.
I always have trouble getting my bearings on that tee.
#1 at Bethpage Black is a lot of fun too. . .

-Ted

For reasons similar to Phil's comment:

13 @ CPC
3 @ SFGC
17 @ LA North
4 @ Pine Barrens

For other reasons:

14 @ LA North

Geoff,

I think the 6th at Yale is a wonderful driving hole because there is so much to be gained by keeping it close to the inside of the dogleg and the hazard.  Great risk/reward shot.

Phil

It is indeed -The leven hole strategy is especially hard for a lefty with a left to right draw.  The kids can now take the water out of play and just blow it right over the stream into a very wide fairway that leaves them a wedge approach.

Ted - BB is a great driving course. I can't think of a less then very interesting to stellar tee shot except perhaps 18.

Five phenomenal downhill tee shots were created by Devereaux Emmet for the Lenox Hills Golf Clu which today is known as the Green Course at Bethpage State Park.

#1 is a 330 yard par four that begs the player to give it a good rip and go at the green... except a hook will wing you straight over to #1 on the Black. The only savings grace if you do this is being able to say hello to the players on that hole who are looking for their balls on the first fairway of the Green course after hitting their own monster slices in an effort to cut the corner.

#4 is about 340 yards that plays a lot less due to a slight manufactured dofleg left. The green is straight out in front of you; just carry a hellacious cross-bunker and another huge one fronting the green and you can drive this green. You can't hold the drive and it will bound over it and into a lot of trouble guaranteeing bogey or even worse, but what the heck... you drove a green!

#10 is about 330 yards straight away played from a tee that is 100+ feet higher than the fairway. As someone who grew up with a single swing speed, Kill It, this tee is heaven both in height and fun.

#13 is a par five of about 550 yards that rolls slightly uphill and then down and just seems to go on forever after you once again tee off from among the eagle lairs up on the hillside.

The best though, is #15, a par three of 160 yards or so whose tee is so high up in relation to the green that one needs oxygen equipment if they are up there any length of time. Even a topped grounder struck by the most dedicated serious of hackers gets enough flight time that frequent flyer miles are given to the player.

Many a summer's round back in my younger days were spent trying to see just how high I could sling a ball into the air with as much backspin as possible in an effort to see if I could plug it completely into the green surface.

It's hard to beat a tee shot towards a mountain, it looks like the ball is never going to come down.

The 18th at Killarney Killeen is a great example.