[Brendan Dolan]

I was just looking at the profile on Shinnecock Hills, in which Ran states that his brother, had once written an article stating that he felt that the 1st there was the finest in all of golf.  What do you guys look for in an opening hole?  Do you like a par 4 or par 5, a difficult or an easy hole?

Personally I don't feel that the opener needs to be an easy hole, what is wrong with testing the golfer from the start.  Saying that though I really like a medium par 5 starting hole.  If you don't hit a great tee shot you have a chance for recovery, while if you bust a perfect drive you have an opportunity to start your round with a bang.

My favorite opening hole that I have played would be Royal County Down.  It is pretty straight forward hole, but it plays through some great topography and has an extremely neat green site.  All sorts of scores can be made on the hole.  It is a great way to start your round.

Brendan  

[Michael Robin]

Definately like that par 5 start. Partial to Riviera's, Olympic's, Barnbougle's, etc.. On the new side, and a par 4, I love the 1st at
Bandon Trails. Also, the 1st at Stone Eagle is really good.

[W.H. Cosgrove]

Merion has to qualify as one of the great golf experiences.  Tee off as the clinking of china and silverware stops for your address and swing.  

Close second would be the tee shot at the Old Course, surrounded by history and the gawking passerbys.  

Honorable mention woud be the first at Cypress teeing it up over seventeen mile drive.  

[Gary_Nelson]

My favorite is Pebble Beach.  The adrenaline is up, the tee shot isn't too demanding, the whole round is in front of you.  Architecturally it may not be the best in the world... but it certainly is my favorite.

[Donnie Beck]

You can't complain about the 1st at NGLA

[Wayne Freeman]

I think we've covered this ground before, but I like an easier first hole to get the round started.  Certainly not like the first at CC Brookline or Winged Foot -  pretty tough.  It's tough to beat the first at Riviera-  just a great elevated tee and a reasonable hole to have a birdie chance.  I might get blasted here, but I didn't really like the first at National all that much. Because it's the first hole you want to take out your driver-  too easy to pull one into the parking lot.  

[Jimmy Muratt]

#1 at Crystal Downs is a terrific opener.  It presents a great vista of the front nine from the elevated tee to show what awaits you and it's a very solid hole as well.  There is ample room off the tee but the larged shared fairway bunker on the right is not the place to miss.  The approach shot is tougher than first appears as trouble lurks all around the green.  And, as with most of the holes at Crystal, a good deal of the fun starts when you pull out the flatstick.

[RJ_Daley]

Among my favorites: #1 Tobacco Road, and #1 Sand Hills, and #1 Sutton Bay.

[Tyler Kearns]

Dick,

I was not so enamoured by the 1st at Sutton Bay as you. I found the lack of depth perception was particularily taxing, and combined with the elevated tee made for a rather uncomfortable feeling over the ball. While some may argue that is the essence of golf, keeping the golfer on his toes, not on the opening shot! I think a bunker set into the large mound to the right-centre of the fairway would greatly improve the scenario.

TK

[Eric_Dorsey]

It may not be visually appealing, but I believe Oakmont's 1st is a great hole is it not?  some day I'll get there and see it for myself.  

[Wayne Wiggins, Jr.]

Aronimink's #1 is definitely a great way to start your round.  

[AndrewB]

My favorite opening hole that I have played would be Royal County Down.  It is pretty straight forward hole, but it plays through some great topography and has an extremely neat green site.  All sorts of scores can be made on the hole.  It is a great way to start your round.

I like that hole a lot too.  You can get at it in two if you hit a good drive, but on the approach shot it's tough to tell where the green is.  The green is quite narrow and sits down so it's not visible; it's also left of where you think it is, which makes it easy to miss right and end up in a tricky spot.

Both times I played it the dunes on the left seemed to have a magnet for my tee shots.  The tee is pretty well shielded from the wind, so it's hard to convince yourself to aim far enough right; then again, maybe I just hooked it.

[AndrewB]

It may not be visually appealing, but I believe Oakmont's 1st is a great hole is it not?  some day I'll get there and see it for myself.  

I've seen (not played) it and I didn't think there was anything visually unappealing about the opener at Oakmont -- what are you referring to?

That's another opener I liked.  It didn't seem to play that long (despite being 481!) because of the downhill, but was exceptionally tricky to get the ball close from an approach shot given the firmness and slope of the area in front of the green and the green itself.  Those that did judge it properly still had to be very careful with the speed of their putts.

[cary lichtenstein]

Greywalls beats them all by a mile

[wsmorrison]

I believe the quality of the opening hole must be linked to the pesence or absence of a driving range.  Classic era courses that did not have driving ranges usually had an easier opener in terms of shot demand.

Merion East did not have a driving range for some time after its current range was aquired from Haverford College.  The first hole tee shot was not all that difficult (it used to be near the circle on the entrance drive and was played as a dogleg left).  When it was changed by Flynn in 1929 for the 1930 Amateur it retained its relatively simple shot demand from the tee yet next to the dining patio it was certainly more psychologically imposing.  The second shot starts the heightened difficulties that follow.

Shinnecock Hills first tee shot is an exceptional one.  The tee is back and left of the original Macdonald tee.  An earlier version of the design had the tee back and right of the Macdonald tee.  The green was moved considerably farther down range and left of the Macdonald green, which can be seen near the fairway bunkers that used to be greenside bunkers on the right just passed the turn of the fairway.  The shot does not seem intimidating as you stand above an expansive view of the flatter areas of the golf course.  What makes it a difficult opener is the width available to you.  However the width is compromised by the angles of the right and left fairway margins.  You have to have proper distance control given the angle of attack to find the fairway.  A failure in either can cause a difficult shot from the rough and even a lost ball.  Not the way you want to start the round.  The dogleg creates the difficulty.  The width and lack of trees creates an impression of comfort that doesn't really exist with the angles and distant requirements.


Gary,

I disagree about Pebble Beach.  It is not nearly an interesting shot as is found on much of the remainder of the course.  I always wondered why the routing didn't start somewhere else to create a more powerful impact; something that brings the ocean into view.  I find the first and second to be some of the duller holes and neither challenging or aesthetically pleasing.

The opener at Aronimink is a thrilling tee shot.  Although it is straightaway, a long tee shot does create a far simpler approach shot.  The ball stays in the air a long time over the valley below to an uphill fairway.  The second shot to the two tiered green must be played precisely.

Manufacturers is also a thrilling opener.  I think the level fairway landing area is 80 feet below the tee.  The trees left and right are a bit confining.  It must have been even more of a temptation to tee one up and have a rip at it with a wide fairway.  As it is many golfers probably mistakenly hit too aggressively to see the ball hang in the air a long time and travel prodigious lengths.  The approach to the green with fairway melding in makes it hard to determine distance perspective, to front pins especially.

"Greywalls beats them all by a mile"

Cary,

In what way does Greywalls beat them all by a mile?  Your wont for hyperbole is not supported by any defending statements.  For a statement that bold I hope you are willing to provide some  support.

[T_MacWood]

Sand Hills is the most exhilirating, almost too exhilirating. I like the firsts at Cascades, The Golf Club, Lost Dunes and Inverness.

[Andy Levett]

This one:
 

Generally I prefer the ‘get you away’ style but not at the expense of compromising the routing elsewhere.

[BCrosby]

Cuscowilla #1.

Best, most strategic, most interesting openning hole in golf.

Bob

[Kelly Blake Moran]

Hands down for me is the first at Royal Dornoch.

[Andy Hughes]

Andy L, I was thinking about St Andrews before I got to your post. Your photo makes a compelling argument for Machrihanish!

[John Kavanaugh]

I doubt if any first hole has had a more interesting public life than at Augusta National.  Having only seen the green in person my first thought was how the hell does a guy ever two putt and move on.  The green alone makes it my favorite first hole.

Bob,

I don't see the strategy on the first at Cuscowilla...sure you want to stay left to give an easier approach to the green but given that it is the first hole the risk of getting lost left in the junk is not worth the reward.  Maybe if it was later in the round but with that green you're just gonna make par anyway.  The approach from the right isn't that hard if you just take caution to avoid the bunker as it may be one of the easiest holding greens on the course partly because of the short iron in..

[jeffwarne]

Machrahanish is quite good-as is National,but by far my favorite was Royal Aberdeen-teeing off 6 feet from the bar/grillroom window-hitting downhill to the green and fairway backed up by a panoramic ocean

[David_Madison]

Tobacco Road's first is excellent - - a great introduction to what will follow throughout the round. The hole looks harder than it really is, with those huge nasty mounds on both sides intimidating both the first and second shots and making it easy to forget the enormously wide fairway that you really have. Plenty of risk/reward with the go/no-go decision on the second shot. Lots of thought required to play well, but an easy hole if thought through.

[John_Cullum]

The first hole at Forest Heights CC in Statesboro Ga. It's about 350 yards slightly downhill. The fairway is about 100 yards wide, but the green is angled left to right with a right side bunker and serious trouble long. The green slopes away a little in the back, and there is a large pine tree about 60 yards short right that you would have to go over or around if you push your drive. I have mentioned this course before on the site but I believe I remain the only GCA registrant to have played it. You are all missing out on one of the great value plays in golf.

Of course, they don't put down the silverware or crystal as you play your stroke. They don't even close the lid on the barbecue grill, and that does detract from the experience greatly.

[Kyle Harris]

The 1st at Huntingdon Valley.

Similar theatre to Merion (tee is hard against the pro shop and staging area).

A sweeping downhill hole that invites you to lay into a drive.  

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