What is the best hole in the world and why?

[Jason Topp]

I do not recall this thread in the past although I am sure it has been discussed.

What is the best hole in the world and why is it the best?

[Mike Hendren]

I'm just stupid enough to get this sucker thread moving. 

The only way to respond is to think of the first hole, or perhaps first two holes that pops into one's mind.  Given that, I'll nominate the 3rd at National Golf Links of America and the 17th at The Old Course.    Both are half-par holes for most players, highly strategic and quirky,  feature a blind shot, a diagonal fairway that requires one to judge both line and distance, bold yet highly distinct greens and the option to play short and away from the green on the second if poorly positioned from the tee.   Can't argue they're the "best" but would have to think long and hard about subordinating either to anything else I've seen or played.

Of course, the real answer is the 290 yards 7th at my home course - Rolling Hills Country Club in Ripley, Tennessee.  An uphill reverse redan that calls for a separate thread. 

Mike

[John Sabino]

The 12th at Augusta because I birdied it  , although it obviously has some serious risk/reward decision making involved. I think it brilliant because it is such a short hole with so much danger lurking. The beauty of the hole also masks the treachery.


Would agree with Michael that the Road Hole is also a very strong contender for best single hole for the range of strategic options and its difficulty.


If you want to throw scenery in as a criteria, the heroic carry of Cypress Point's impossible par 3 16th would win

[Joe Schackman]

Will always lean towards half-pars, as Michael mentioned above.

Top candidates that come to mind:

17 St. Andrew (Old Course)
13 Augusta National

Although my East Coast Bias leads throw in 15th & 4th and Bethpage Black

[Kalen Braley]

17th at TPC Sawgrass....of course!!

[Ed Brzezowski]

The 12th on the Old Course. Numerous club selections changed by wind and weather. Hidden bunkers and a great green.

Otherwise it has to be number two at Pine Valley.

[Bill_McBride]

The one that immediately came to mind for me was #14, the Long Hole at St Andrews.  I love Dr. Mackenzie's sketch of the hole where he shows how four different players, A, C, C and D, can each play the hole via a different plan to avoid the hazards that include the Beardies, Hell, and the OOB wall.   Safely finding the Elysian Fields is not always the best answer to the puzzle!


Interesting that 12, 14 and 17 have all been named. 

[Tom Allen]

I kind of like #10 at Riviera for this spot.  Strategy, not length, scores on that hole, and even then, it is no bargain. 

[PCCraig]

Jason,


It has to be totally subjective, no? There can't really be a certain "best", or a wrong answer can there?

[BHoover]

I think it's whatever hole you happen to be playing at that moment.

[Peter Pallotta]

With reference to Mike's thread about seaside courses, the answer is the 18th at Pebble Beach. Imagine the last golf hole you will ever play: can anything be better than a classic and historic Par 5, standing there on the tee being serenaded by the crashing waves of the Pacific to your left, and then, after a bold and brilliantly executed drive that was all about reward whatever the risk strolling the fairway in the California sun and a gentle breeze where so many greats have walked before with an actual choice to make about perhaps the last full shot of your life -- only to reach your ball and suddenly know, really and truly know, that you will hit and hold the green in two, the blue white-capped water on the left not posing for you at this sublime moment any sense of danger but serving only as a last bit of golfing Grace: a final picture that the great Maestro in the Sky has painted just for you, to make this golf hole the greatest and most memorable of your life.  Yes, indeed, the best golf hole in the world -- providing everything that any golfer would need to satisfy mind, body and soul before shaking off this mortal coil and joining the choir invisible.

[Jason Topp]

Jason,


It has to be totally subjective, no? There can't really be a certain "best", or a wrong answer can there?

If you cannot defend it, then it is a wrong answer.  I am trying to come up with my answer and am still working through it. 

[Matthew Essig]

I think it's whatever hole you happen to be playing at that moment.

While I want to +1 this sentiment, there have just been too many holes where I have said, "WTF were they thinking with this shit" ... 

My top 5 candidates:
Pasatiempo 11
ANGC 9
Cypress 16
Bethpage 4
St. Andrews 11

[MClutterbuck]

Cypress 15: spectacular setting, great bunkering, fun green, wind is a factor, short hole that can result in birdies or a lot of pain.

ANGC 13: because it requires a great drive to set up a good chance to go for the green in 2, even with a great drive it makes you decide on going for it or laying up, because even a layup has to be well placed to give you a good chance to hit close to the pin and because the green is a lot of fun to put in. It also changes quite a lot depending on pin position. The hole plays as good for amateurs as for pros.

PB 8: the hole is so good that even before the awkward blind drive your adrenalin is already pumpin. I can´t think of a more satisfying shot in golf than hitting the green at 8.

[Dave McCollum]

I'm with Bill.  My first thought was 14 on TOC.

[David Davis]

Cypress 16
RCD 9
Shinnecock 11
North Berwick 13
Troon 8
Prestwick 5
Old Course 17

[JJShanley]

Troon 8

This doesn't reflect the greatness (or otherwise) of the hole, but when I go to a pro tournament, I typically spend my time at the par 3s.  I had a cracking afternoon at the Postage Stamp during the 2004 Open.  You can see the tee shot clearly, and then enjoy a variety of creative recoveries after that.  Additionally, because you have to walk a couple of miles from the entrance, you don't encounter as large a crowd as you might expect at, say, the Old Course Road Hole.

[BCowan]

#2 at Franklin Hills- Nice strategic options off the tee.  Fun 2nd shot requiring distance control, and a green with great contours
#14 at Inverness-  My personal favorite on the course.  I miss the shoot on the tee shot that was removed.  Small green with a nice mound in center of the green.  2nd shot requires one to land short
#2 Kingsley- Already went there
#17 Orchard Lake-  More or less it's just a stunning hole.  Requires a solid 2nd shot to a raised green. 
#13 Ocala Golf Club- Great half par, par 5

[Keith OHalloran]

#14 At Sand Hills. Best par 5 I have played. Every score from 3 to "pick it up" is available.

[Ian Andrew]

I’ll have to say the 6th at The Creek Club by Seth Raynor would be a favourite.

The tee shot appears fairly simple because there is tons of room out on the right and the bunker barely comes into play. The problem with that play is from that angle you’re pretty much dead. You really need to be on the left to have a reasonable chance at approaching the green. The forest on the left of the hole defends the ideal line and a shot into the forest is a lost shot. Ideally you must hit a light draw around the tree line to gain position on the flatter plateau for the approach.

The approach is a stunner. The green is a reverse redan punchbowl!!! This is the most unique and wonderful green complex I know. The shot is a fade into the throat in front of the green to access the front half of the green, or at the front left to access the back pin positions. The ball will release and run a long way from both spots. The joy of the hole is that it uses the rambling hillside to define the locations of the landing area and then a perfect natural ridge to find the green site. Since the hole goes with the grade the whole way everything blends in magnificently.

[Phil McDade]

ANGC 13: because it requires a great drive to set up a good chance to go for the green in 2, even with a great drive it makes you decide on going for it or laying up, because even a layup has to be well placed to give you a good chance to hit close to the pin and because the green is a lot of fun to put in. It also changes quite a lot depending on pin position. The hole plays as good for amateurs as for pros.

This....


I've never played it, but don't care if that downgrades my opinion. While there are many great par 3s, they tend to be limited in how they play, with perhaps an exception or two (Cypress Point, which is a contender here). There's many great par 4s, some mentioned already. But the first hole I thought of was this one.


Why AGNC's 13th?


-- It has always struck me as one of the great option-filled, risk-reward holes ever built.


-- It's natural in appearance and -- save for the green contours -- in fact (as opposed to natural looking that's been concocted). It follows the flow of the creek, takes into account the terrain of the course, and has one of best-placed greens I've seen.


-- The green is all-world, certainly a must for any hole that's in the running for best hole.


-- As noted above, it's a hole that delivers a test for all audiences intended (the best tournament in golf, and regular member play).


-- It can be both severely penal and hugely rewarding, and unlike nearly all par 5s, has a thoughtful and even fear-enducing 2nd shot, with recriminations all around for how that 2nd shot is played.


-- It has options off the tee, options for the 2nd shot, and all manner of decisions for the golfer to make depending on the outcome of those first two shots.


Given one hole to play, anywhere anytime, I'd take the 13th at ANGC in the spring.

[Steve Salmen]

The most architecturally perfect golf hole I have ever played is the 13th at Shinnecock.  It has many fantastic characteristics including:
-a wide fairway that invites a drive to the left side, leaving a longer approach, but a better angle.
-a direct line from tee to green, however, right rough is no good. But a straight shot will end close to the green.
-a yardage of 365 that can cause confusion whether to blast off or lay back.
-elevation change in that you drive downhill and approach back up.
-a fantastic green that runs off short and long, bisected front to back by a ridge. Runoff short grass surrounds the green. 

I could really go on about this hole because to me it is as close to perfect as it gets. The 14th is prettier but there is really only 1 way to play it.

[cary lichtenstein]

I remember after a 7 month layoff, I teed off in Palm Springs with my dad on a par 4, hit a drive and 8 iron and made 2. Definitely best hole in the world

[Jason Thurman]

5 at Wolf Run is basically a perfect golf hole. 445 yards or so, a great risk/reward tee shot with a pair of bunkers to be flirted with or carried to shorten the approach. A downhill approach to a redan-style green with turf conditions that consistently beg for the ball to be bounced on to the surface. An insane green complex where four-putting is possible for someone who hits the wrong section with their approach. A very high likelihood of finding trouble with a misjudged or misplayed shot, but an even higher likelihood of finding your ball after each shot even though there's OB and a "native cut" in play. And finally, consistently fast and firm turf conditions that open up all the possibilities enabled by the architecture despite it being a bentgrass course on heavy soil in the heart of the Midwest. Every shot holds the opportunity to hit one of the most memorable balls of your life, or to find one of the hazards and get completely screwed, or even better, to get completely out of position without realizing it until a shot or two later.


Every play is a little different, and always exciting. In a vacuum, 16 at Cypress might be better. But I've never played it and I'll be lucky to play it once in my lifetime, which means I'll never be able to explore all the different outcomes that can happen for different routes and shots on that hole. How many people have arrived on that tee dripping with excitement only to anticlimactically send one to a watery grave in the Pacific? 5 at Wolf Run is a different story. I look forward to it every time I play it, and it seems to get better and better with each play. Even when you play it poorly, every shot is engaging and fun to tackle. In my experience, there are very few holes for which that's the case.

[Wade Whitehead]

It's interesting to read the "13 at ANGC" responses, then to recall that they're about to change that hole.

WW