Favorite Tee Shot

[Bill_McBride]

Mullling over the replies on Rich Goodale's "Most Disappointing First Tee Shots," I wondered about the reverse and then opened it up.

What is your favorite tee shot anywhere?  The tee shot you think about when you start planning a trip......let's limit it to par 4s and par 5s.

Mine could well be the tee shot on #2 at North Berwick.  The closer you are to the beach, the shorter the second shot on this burly par 4.  If you bail safe left, the ensuing second shot plays about 300 yards.

I know it cuts off a lot of distance to flirt with the beach, because the shortest second shot I ever had was a six iron off the hard-packed, tide out beach - over the caddie's head, onto the green!  Who could forget a shot like that??

What's your favorite tee shot?  Anecdotes preferred of course........

[Tom Huckaby]

The be all and end all simply must be:

16 Cypress.  It dominates one's thinking from the time the invite is procured, and never leaves one's memory.  I can't think of any that are really in its league.

TH

[Bill_McBride]

The be all and end all simply must be:

16 Cypress.  It dominates one's thinking from the time the invite is procured, and never leaves one's memory.  I can't think of any that are really in its league.

TH

Reading Comprehension 101 - par 4s and par 5s only.

Of course #16 CP is a par 5 for me. 

[Tom Huckaby]

The be all and end all simply must be:

16 Cypress.  It dominates one's thinking from the time the invite is procured, and never leaves one's memory.  I can't think of any that are really in its league.

TH

Reading Comprehension 101 - par 4s and par 5s only.

Of course #16 CP is a par 5 for me. 

Whoops.  Emily Littela:  never mind.

OK... so... #9 CPC.  Pretty much same reasons as 16.  Damn it's glorious to drive that green.

[Eric Franzen]

4th (Bridge) at Prestwick is definitely one of them. Temptation, drama, defeat...

[Eric Franzen]

Oh, and the 17th at St Andrews Old for christ sake... And 10th at Merion East. 18th at Pebble.

[Tom Huckaby]

Eric:  agree with all of those, although Merion I base on pictures.

I also rather fancy the drive on 18 at TOC.  Nothing particularly hard about it, it's just one of the world's greatest chances for glory.

[Kevin_Reilly]

I have fond memories of #16 at Sand Hills.  I just like that shot, visually, with the carry over the bunker and the opportunity to get a nice Turbo-boost to the left.

[Andy Silis]

17th at NGLA.

So many options depending on the pin position...........plus that glorious view!

[Tom Huckaby]

Kevin:  GREAT call. But man that course is filled with favorite tee shots for me... if I had to make a top 50, likely each of these would make it:

1
2 from waybacks
3
4
7
8
9
10
11
13
14
15
16
17
18

The others would likely be in the top 100.

Hmmmm... we may have just nailed the biggest reason why I call Sand Hills the greatest course on this planet... I love thrilling tee shots.....

TH

[Eric Franzen]

I forgot... Another but more understated personal favorite with a fun diagonal carry is the 5th at Siloth on Solway.

(16th at Sand Hills looks amazing though....)

Lytham also comes to mind for some reason. A couple of good ones out there, but the 2nd flirting with OB to the right while you want to stay away from the deep traps to the left certainly creates some kind of memorable excitement... simply evil. 5th at Alwoodley also pops up in my head.

The 4th and 5th at Bethpage Black also deserves to be mentioned. I better stop now anyway. It feels impossible to single out one favorite right now... I like them all for many various reasons.   

[Tom_Doak]

There are a lot of them I like, for a lot of different reasons.  The first two of my own that come to mind are the second and ninth holes at Pacific Dunes.

But I think my favorite of all is the fourth hole at Royal Melbourne, trying to nail a drive over a cluster of bunkers at the top of a hill.  If you nail it right over the top of them, you get a big roll-out; a fraction of hedging to either side and the ball tends to move sideways and maybe into the rough.  Assuming you get over in the first place!

[Josh Smith]

Also love the tee shot and entire hole at #9 pacific.

Bandon trails has many tee shots that I look forward to as well.  1, 4, 6, 16, so do Greywalls and Kinglsey.

Some of those tee shots feel like par threes, because the drive gets so much play after it lands.

I always envision Augusta as having similar tee shots, that almost have a par three feel, but I've never been.

[Zack Kelly]

My favorite Tee Shot is on the 3rd hole at the Wilmington Municipal course in Wilmington, NC, its a great dog leg right that goes down the hill and then up to a very small green.  Tee shot promotes a nice high cut over the corner.  I grew playing there and every time I go home and play it I just love approaching the 3rd tee box and look out and rip it.

[Mark_F]

But I think my favorite of all is the fourth hole at Royal Melbourne, trying to nail a drive over a cluster of bunkers at the top of a hill.  Assuming you get over in the first place!

Jeez, Tom, anyone can do that these days...

[Bill_McBride]

But I think my favorite of all is the fourth hole at Royal Melbourne, trying to nail a drive over a cluster of bunkers at the top of a hill.  Assuming you get over in the first place!

Jeez, Tom, anyone can do that these days...

And isn't that a crying shame? 

[David Stamm]

Some of fav tee shots.



2 and 16 at Rancho Santa Fe

14 at Barona Creek

14 at Rustic Canyon

10 and 18 at Riviera

13 and 17 at LACC

10 and 16 at Pasatiempo

6, 8, 9, 12, 14 and 17 at CPC

8 at MPCC Shore

7 at Torrey Pines North

10 at Sandpiper

11, 16 and 17 at Soule Park

5, 7 and 18 at Ojai

5, 10, 13 and 14 at Palos Verdes

12 at Pacific Grove

1 at Balboa Park

6, 9, 10 and 18 at Pebble Beach

1 and 4 at Spyglass

3 at Victoria


 

[Jeff Tang]

The third hole at Arcadia Bluffs in Michigan is a great tee shot looking out towards the lake as you tee off and you feel like you can really bust one.

The fifth at the River Course at Blackwolf Run is a great tee shot, and looking back towards the tee after you get down in the fairway is a cool experience to see where you just came from.

The ninth also at the River Course is a great shot in that there are at least three different options to choose from the tee.

I'd agree with the 17th at the Old Course, and also the first and eighteenth there.

[Kyle Henderson]

#1 at Tobacco Road:
A big drawing drive beyond the first gap can put you within range of the green, a soft fade with driver allows you to see your ball land past the first gap, a stiff head wind may require you to lay short of the first narrowing to avoid being swept into the dunes. Plenty of room if you carry your shot the correct distance, nasty trouble if you go wild.




#10 at Wente Vineyards:
One of the best views around after climbing 250 feet (9 switchbacks in the cart path, no joke). The green can be driven, but short or right brings the canyon into play (through winds blast up through it and can throw our ball back to safety), left or long means you'll have a nasty bunker shot or you'll be buried in the weeds down the hill. A mid-iron off the tee leaves a wedge in hand, but the less you challenge the canyon, the more you have to aim towards it on the approach to prevent your ball from being blown left of the green into trouble. The green has a subtle slope back towards the player in its middle/right portion.

View from blue tees.


Looking right from the tee box.

[G Jones]

13th at ANGC (if you draw it)
15th at PV (for the beauty)
15th at Merion east (great angle)
15th at East Lake (great angle from champ tee)
2nd at North Berwick (great angle)
4th at Yale (great angle from champ tee)

...as you can tell, I like tee shots to left-to-right angled fairways :-)

[Chris Kane]

But I think my favorite of all is the fourth hole at Royal Melbourne, trying to nail a drive over a cluster of bunkers at the top of a hill.  If you nail it right over the top of them, you get a big roll-out; a fraction of hedging to either side and the ball tends to move sideways and maybe into the rough.  Assuming you get over in the first place!

Tom, if you nail your drive over the bunker, you end up out of position!  If you don't "hedge" to the right a bit, you add 20-30m to the second shot.

And Mark is right, anyone can do it these days.  And for the poor elderly souls who can't, its probably the most unfair hole in Australia.

[jkinney]

17th at NGLA.

So many options depending on the pin position...........plus that glorious view!

Agreed.....there's no place in the world I'd rather be than on the back tee of "Peconic".....sublime is only word that I can conjur up to describe it. And then you have all the risk/reward options when it's time to hit !!

[mike_beene]

7 at Gullane is sensory overload:ball in air forever,the castle and firth bridge ahead and all of Muirfield in view behind.Add good weather and gorse in bloom.

[Jim Nugent]

Several months ago someone ran a thread about one of Doak's holes at Rock Creek.   A gulley or canyon runs diagonally from left to right across the fairway, which drops off from the tee.  You can see the green in the distance.  Lots of movement, fantastic scenery. 

Can't call it my favorite, since I haven't even played the course.  Looked quite cool, though.

Another tee shot that looks amazing to me, again from pictures: the 11th at Royal County Down.  Looks like you hit over a small mountain to reach a blind fairway. 

[Mark Pearce]

I assume the absence of a nomination for the 1st at Machrihanish is because it so obviously belongs here?

I like the nomination of the 5th at Silloth.  On another thread the 1st at Muirfield got a mention and certainly deserves it.  Whilst neither is a great, great hole BUDAites will enjoy both the 5th at Anstruther and the 12th at Elie.  The 12th at Elie has hints of Machrihanish No 1 from the back tees.  How about 16 at Ganton?