[Jason Way]

The 17th on our Classic Great 18 is Prairie Dunes #17, a par-5.

This lay of the land five-par plays beautifully uphill over rumpled ground, bringing to mind thoughts of the 8th at Crystal Downs. 

Maxwell's genius is evident in both his restraint tee to green, and the green setting itself.  With a nasty bunker left and a steep drop-off right, the player finds himself between Scylla and Charybdis trying to judge the wind and distance properly to land safely on the green.

The adventure doesn't end when the approach finds the green, which is brilliantly contoured and separated into distinct sections.  The wind quickly blows away any relief as the player attempts to navigate his ball safely into the hole.









Our Runners-up - NGLA, Essex County Club, St. George, Seminole, Old Town Club, Yale, Olympia Fields CC North, Roaring Gap Club

[Terry Lavin]

This is a terrific choice. PD has a bunch of amazing holes and this just might be the best. On another note, I can't see 17 at Olympia North being a runner up here. In my judgment, it's the second best 17th hole on that property.

[BCowan]

Haven't played PD, but I will nominate the #17 at Orchard Lake. 

[Jason Way]

Haven't played PD, but I will nominate the #17 at Orchard Lake. 

Great pick Ben. Can't believe that I forgot that one. I absolutely loved that hole.

[Jason Way]

We conclude this adventure with my favorite of all classic courses played to date.  The 18th on our Classic Great 18 is Essex County Club #18, a par-4.

Home holes that return to the clubhouse have a special place in our hearts, and none do so more dramatically than the great finisher at Essex County.  Recent tree removal and restoration work here by Superintendent Eric Richardson and his staff have revealed the beauty of the topography, as well as the view of the outstanding clubhouse.

The boldness of Donald Ross’s vision manifested in the twists and turns of the fairway, and the sublime creekside green setting are unparalleled.  The green provides one last taste of The Donald as well - canted, subtly crowned and contoured, it is the kind of putting surface that takes a lifetime to master.







Our Runners-up - Pebble Beach, Yale, Oakmont, Milwaukee CC, Inverness, Garden City

We hope you enjoyed our little cold-weather escape, and this walk through greatness.  Think you can do better?  Bring it on.


PGKorbs, JCavs, and Wizay out.

[Joe Hancock]

Jason and gang,


Thanks for this thread. It's been fun to follow along and see what fellow afficianado's holds up as "great". I like where you all went with this. Thanks to everyone who chimed in with opinions as well.


Joe

[Brent Gremillion]

Can the person that nominated #3 at Sweetens Cove please tell me what made the hole worthy in your opinion. It was my least favorite hole of the layout. Unforgettable, for all the wrong reasons. Please don't take this as me detracting from the genius of the 9 in total. I could play that 9 every day for the rest of my life and never get bored or complain...except when I played #3 every lap. I just saw a bowling lane with o.b. Down the whole left, a huge bunker right, and a tree in front of the green. It was a cool green with an elephant buried under it; but, the hole was not really fun or interesting.
1,4,5,6,7,8,& 9 were glorious
Let me add that I only went around once so I could have been lost or not paying attention for those few minutes.

[Peter Korbakes]

This is a terrific choice. PD has a bunch of amazing holes and this just might be the best. On another note, I can't see 17 at Olympia North being a runner up here. In my judgment, it's the second best 17th hole on that property.

Judge--


I love the 17th on North. So much so I believe it is one of the more underrated architectural holes on the property. It has two aspects of architecture I absolutely love: 1. a green that slopes front to back 2. A partially blind approach shot (in that you cannot see the bottom third/half of the flag stick.


You have options off the tee which face risk. The farther you hit up, the more you have to challenge the left fw bunker. The green I believe is the most subtle on the property. By that I mean you'd be pressed to find a hole where golfers will miss more putts inside 10' than on 17. Most importantly, I think the 2nd shot is so hard to judge. Typically you have the wind off your back, uphill shot, somewhat blind, green sloping away. I don't know, I love it.


Also, compared to 17 South, ehhh. I thikn 17S is pretty solid for a bunkerless hole with a simple, timeless protected green.... but it's too over treed. If you hit it too far down the left you have tree problems coming in, and if you bite off too much of the corner with a well struck shot, you'll rattle in the garbage right. IMO the hole would be vastly improved from some tree removal. At the same time we can say that about quite a few places across Chicago and the country.

[Sven Nilsen]

Jason, Peter and Jon:


Those are both definitely great 18's.  Any chance you'll do an international version?


Couldn't post without one quibble, which is to ask if Skokie is really deserving of five honorable mentions?  And if it is, why isn't 8 on the list?  I'd take 8 over any of the ones you noted from the 14-16 stretch, and could buy an argument that it is a better hole than 1 and 12.


Sven

[Terry Lavin]

Nice ending!  That's a great example of golf porn at its apogee.  Thanks for the work, it was an enjoyable ride.

[Jason Way]

Thanks fellas. Appreciate you all following along and kicking in your nominations.


I compiled all the photos and our commentary here -> https://bit.ly/AmericasGreat18s for those who would like to see a presentation that is a bit more concise. 


Sven, we aren't well travelled enough to do an International version.  Hopefully, some day...

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