YOUR ALL-TIME FAVORITE HOLE

[Lou_Duran]

A friend sent me a most beautiful holiday season card from the USGA collection recently.  It depicts a painting of PBGL's #8 from the perspective of looking toward the tee from the back of the green.

In my opinion, PBGL is a vastly overrated course.  Yet, I can't think of a single hole anywhere that I may like better.  The seaside blind tee shot, the chasm separating the landing area from the green, the slope and roll of the fairway, the angle of the green complex, the considerable movement of the putting surface, the serious trouble all over the place.  It is a hole that not only has tremedous beauty and mystery, but it requires strategy and commitment to hitting three or four superb shots.

What are your favorite hole (s) and why?  

[cary lichtenstein]

Favorite holes:

8th Pebble Beach
16th Cypress

[HamiltonBHearst]

Any hole at Friar's head.

[ChipOat]

Best hole = #6 at The Creek; Pure risk/reward strategy off the tee with an awesome Punchbowl/Reverse Redan green complex.  Also one of my favorites.

Cannot single out only 1 favorite.  Cannot even get to 1 for many of 8 different categories (e.g. long par 4, short par 3, etc.)

#8 at Pebble is certainly right up there.

Will give the nod to #8 at Pine Valley for both best AND favorite short par 4.

All candidates are oft-mentioned on this DG from Merion, PV, Shinnecock, NGLA, Dornoch, Pebble, Cypress, etc. (except Sand Hills - haven't played yet.

Now back to my Christmas Day grog.

[Patrick_Mucci]

Lou,

From the same course, picking a par 3, par 4 and par 5:

 6 at NGLA
 8 at NGLA
18 at NGLA

I could play them exclusively for the rest of my life and enjoy every experience.

Just look at the variety and strategy they present

[Mark Brown]

*Augusta National 13 - favorite
Pebble Beach 18
Harbour Town 17 & 18
Pine Valley 2, 8 (original green)
Pete Dye GC 7 (par 3)
Muirfield Village 14
Long Cove 3 & 15
Black Diamond Quarry 16
Haig Point 14
Secession 14
May River 6 &7
Cypress Point 17
Belfair-West 12

And many already mentioned.

[Tom_Doak]

For years my favorite was the fourth at Cruden Bay, not just for the golf shot, but for the village across the inlet and the whole scene.

However, my new favorite might be the 13th at Barnbougle Dunes, a 205-yard par-3 with my interpretation of MacKenzie's "Sitwell Park" green.  I've always wanted to do a green like that, and this was the perfect spot for it.

I have only played the hole twice now.  The second time, playing with Don Placek and Bruce Hepner and Brian Slawnik [in the loser's flight of our intercompany tournament], I saw Brian land a four wood fifteen feet behind the hole on a ridge and I immediately said "That could go in."  We all screamed and hollered at the ball for about ten seconds until it had stopped a foot behind the hole.

I can't wait to go back and try out another of the hole locations there.

[Mike_Young]

I don't know that anyone can pick just one...but one of my favorites that pops in my mind over and over is 7 at Crystal Downs.  

[Mark_F]

3rd at Macrihanish, when the sun is setting.

Just arriving at the top of the hill, with the golden light laying softly across all those humps and folds, a gentle breeze brushing your face, makes you glad you chose golf over tennis, or heaven forbid, cricket.

18th at Royal Porthcawl, because you get two spectaculars in the one hole.  A sublime tee shot straight at the sea over the edge of a fairway, and another second straight toward the sea over a rough knoll to an away sloping green.

The car park at West Sussex

Just driving in and seeing the most gorgeous clubhouse on the planet is almost enough.  

[Neil Regan]

3rd at Macrihanish, when the sun is setting.

Just arriving at the top of the hill, with the golden light laying softly across all those humps and folds, a gentle breeze brushing your face, makes you glad you chose golf over tennis, or heaven forbid, cricket.
....

Mark,

  Me too.

  And don't forget the birds.

[SPDB]

Neil - Do you really copyright these photos, or is that mark just for show?

[Neil Regan]

Sean-

   The copyright © is there more to protect the club.

[Mike_Golden]

#5, Bethpage Black

[Jim Johnson]

For years my favorite was the fourth at Cruden Bay, not just for the golf shot, but for the village across the inlet and the whole scene.

However, my new favorite might be the 13th at Barnbougle Dunes, a 205-yard par-3 with my interpretation of MacKenzie's "Sitwell Park" green.  I've always wanted to do a green like that, and this was the perfect spot for it.

I have only played the hole twice now.  The second time, playing with Don Placek and Bruce Hepner and Brian Slawnik [in the loser's flight of our intercompany tournament], I saw Brian land a four wood fifteen feet behind the hole on a ridge and I immediately said "That could go in."  We all screamed and hollered at the ball for about ten seconds until it had stopped a foot behind the hole.

I can't wait to go back and try out another of the hole locations there.

Tom,
For those of us who are not entirely familiar with the "Sitwell Park" green (including myself), could you elaborate for us what is involved in the design and construction of one, and what the designer (i.e. yourself) is attempting to provide the golfer.
Thanks.
JJ

[Neil Regan]

Here is a picture of the Sitwell Park green  (from a website called DesignMentor)

[Chris Kane]

The Barnbougle version isn't quite as severe, but Tom and Mike did a wonderful job - its a GREAT hole.  The kind of par-3 where you could spend hours hitting shots at the green, using the contours to bounce your ball around.

Then you could spend all day around the green chipping and putting!

[TEPaul]

For years my favorite hole in the world was Maidstone's #9. It still is. It's a great drive, particularly in the wind, and an even better approach shot. Day in and day out there are many different ways of playing that hole, not to mention the fact it just looks so good too.

[Bill Weber]

I don't believe I've ever been so struck with a hole as Calamity #14 Royal Portrush. From the first time I walked onto the tee box until now years later the sight, the feel, the memory lingers on. When my golfing days are over I will still come back to 14 and replay it in my mind.

[Steve Lapper]

A three-way tie between the following:

1) Sand Hills #17
    Just my favorite short par 3 in the world (although there are quite a few that rise near to this level). The only negative thought that enters my mind is that the round is ending

2) Royal Melbourne West #6
    With all the great par 4's I've ever teed it up on, this still ranks the absolute best!

3) Bethpage #4
    Do many/any other par 5's extend out with this kind of polished beauty, strategy and demand for execution? Simply the best of them IMHO





PS....Runner's up #9 at Myopia/#16 at Merion/#16 at Pine Valley

[TEPaul]

Bill Weber:

I agree that the impression made when a golfer first arrives at the tee of "Calamity" is one that he will probably never forget. That hole is a good pick on your part.

Have you ever heard the reaction of Gary Player when he arrived at that tee with some Portrush members? He looked down from the tee of "Calamity" at the entire stretch of the super-cool rough and broken topography of the Valley course below and proclaimed that that was a mess he could fix with an army of D-8s!!

For that remark those members aware of that story will probably never forgive him! Too bad the man's talent as a golf architect will never remotely match his talents as a world class tournament golfer!  

'That's a mess I could fix.....'

And coming from a non-American tournament golfer of all people. I could sort of understand it if the remark came from Scott Hoch, but from Gary Player who cut his teeth on the rough and tumble links courses of Europe???

[Ian Dalzell]

Pebble Beach #8
Royal Portrush #4
Doonbeg #18
Royal Portrush #14

And the winner is  . . . .Royal Portrush #4 . Calamity is inspiring landscape, but for pure golf hole #4 has it!

[Jonathan Cummings]

I don't have a new favorite hole (too many to choose from) but after 35 years of playing this game I was exposed last month to clearly the most difficult golf hole I have every seen.

Kidnappers 15th.  In a stiff breeze this hole plays like a Hitchockian nightmare on steriods!

JC

[RJ_Daley]

I am like BillV.  My favorite can't be identified on any given day.  Among them, as I sit here looking at the tundra, thinking about which hole I just wish I could play right now are; 15th Wild Horse, 7th or 8th Sand Hills, 17th Bayside, 13th Crystal Downs, 6th and 7th Lawsonia, 5th Arcadia Bluffs, 16th Rustic Canyon....

oh never mind, I can't do the exercise as presented!

[Mark Brown]

2nd try - non U.S.

Old Course 15, 17
And many others across the pond (didn't make notes)that I can't remember the hole # - at courses like Cruden Bay, County Down, Portrush,
Ballybunion Old, Lahinch

[John_Cullum]

I'll go with 8th at Royal Troon.