Best Nine Hole Courses/Clubs

[Jason Way]

Thanks for digging this thread up Richard.  You saved me some leg work. In the past two months I have read Anthony's book, played Highland Links, and made a return visit to Whitinsville (this week).  Plan to make a return visit to The Dunes Club and a first-time jaunt to Culver next month.  I have 9-holers on the brain. 


On my way back to my hotel, I passed an interesting looking spot - Lexington Golf Club in Lexington, MA.  Anthony, or any of the Boston guys, do you know anything about the place?  The club website doesn't have GCA info that I could find. 

[MCirba]

Boy, I really like both Phoenixville CC and West Chester CC in southeastern PA.  Each is very old school on cool land without much pretension.

[BCowan]

Mike,

   We will have to do Ann Arbor Golf and outing next time ur in town. 

[Mark Pearce]

Another 9 holer "discovered£ on the recent BUDA trip, which is well worth mentioning, is Cruit Island.  Good golf, world class views.

[Phil McDade]

Another 9 holer "discovered£ on the recent BUDA trip, which is well worth mentioning, is Cruit Island.  Good golf, world class views.

From two years ago:


http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,58468.msg1372420.html#msg1372420

[Jason Way]

I found this nice Highland Links photo tour thread from a few years back by Ron M:


http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,59999.0.html


Because I am sure that John wants to see them, here are my photos from my August visit on a perfect Cape Cod morning.





#1 - Par 4 - 250 yards











#2 - Par 5 - 460 yards











#3 - Par 3 - 160 yards








#4 - Par 4 - 379 yards








#5 - Par 4 - 380 yards










#6 - Par 5 - 464 yards














#7 - Par 3 - 171 yards














#8 - Par 4 - 353 yards










#9 - Par 3 - 136 yards

[Jason Way]

I don't have the patience to repost them all, but I have photos of The Dunes Club from May of this year here:

https://geekedongolf.com/2016/04/29/as-good-as-it-gets-lost-dunes-the-dunes-club/

And Whitinsville from a morning in June here:

https://geekedongolf.com/2016/06/23/buddies-back-in-boston-annual-trip-recap/

I have some more photos of Whitinsville from this week's visit that I will try and post shortly.

What I think appeals to me so much about these courses is two-fold:

1.  If I am on the run and don't have much time, it is great to be able to fit in a quick round without feeling like I have left it unfinished.
2.  On golf trips that include multiple courses, it is really nice to be able to experience a 9-holer multiple times while keeping a typical schedule.  I like that feeling of knowing the course a bit better after the replay. 

[Jason Way]

Came across two more previous threads on the subject of 9-holers:


http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,61557.0.html
http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,43301.0.html

[Eric Hammerbacher]

Cape Ann is a really fun 9 hole course in Essex, MA.  You can't beat the views from the 4th and the 7th hole. It would be a fun course to live down the street from.  Cheap, shaggy, and right down the street from lobster rolls and Harpoon IPA at Woodman's.

[Jason Way]

Because I am enjoying playing these 9-holers so much, and reading the threads about them, I combed through and compiled a list to which I added a few out of my own research/wanderings.  Post any additions/corrections and I will update this list.  If you have photos, or links to photo tours, please throw them up here.  If you have experiences with the courses on the list, please do share.  The shorties are worth discussing and celebrating too.

United States
Ben Hollerbach's 9-Holer US Google Map: https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=19Qlbv96qOP9ZyvtQA7cwJnEIiCU


Courses specifically mentioned in the other threads I've scoured:
Aetna Springs - Pope Valley, CA
Black Oak - Auburn, CA
Gleneagles - San Francisco, CA
Northwood - Monte Rio, CA
Petaluma G&CC - Petaluma, CA
Sunnylands - Racnho Mirage, CA
William Land Park - Sacramento, CA

Birchwood CC - Westport, CT
Fenwick GC - Fenwick, CT
Hotchkiss School GC - Lakeville, CT
Lake Waramaug CC - New Preston, CT
Pine Orchard Y&CC - Branford, CT

Hideaway Beach - Marco Island, FL
Palm Beach Par 3 - Palm Beach, FL
Winter Park CC - Winter Park, FL

Ansley GC - Atlanta, GA
Candler Park - Atlanta, GA
Great Dunes Course - Jekyll Island, GA

Kukuiolono GC - Kalaheo, HI

Stone Creek GC - Williamsburg, IA

Billy Caldwell GC - Chicago, IL
Lake Zurich GC - Lake Zurich, IL
Pottawatomie - St Charles, IL
Robert Black GC - Chicago, IL
South Shore GC - Chicago, IL
Sydney R Marovitz GC - Chicago, IL
Vernon Hills GC - Vernon Hills, IL
Woodstock CC - Woodstock, IL

Culver Academy GC - Culver, IN
Maxinkuckee GC - Culver, IN

Falcon Valley GC - Lenexa, KS

Amherst GC - Amherst, MA
Cape Ann - Essex, MA
Chappaquiddick Links - Martha's Vineyard, MA
Chequesset Y&CC - Wellfleet, MA
Forest Park CC - Adams, MA
Greenock CC - Lee, MA
Highland Links - Truro, MA
Lexington GC - Lexington, MA
Marion GC - Marion, MA
Reservation CC - Mattapoisett, MA
Whitinsville GC - Whitinsville, MA

Gibson Island Club - Baltimore, MD

Abenakee GC - Biddeford Pool, ME
Grindstone Neck GC - Winter Harbor, ME
North Haven GC - North Haven, ME
Wawenock GC - Damariscotta, ME
Wilson Lake CC - Wilton, ME

Charlevoix GC - Charlevoix, MI
Elk Rapids GC - Elk Rapids, MI

Keweenaw Mountain Lodge GC - Copper Harbor, MI
Les Cheneaux - Cedarville, MI
Northport Point Club - Northport, MI
Quarry Ridge - Ottawa Lake, MI
Signal Point Club - Niles, MI
Stonycroft Hills Club - Bloomfield Hills, MI
The Dunes Club - New Buffalo, MI
Wawashkamo GC - Mackinac Island, MI

Double Eagle GC - Eagle Bend, MN

Ruth Park Municipal - St. Louis, MO
Highlands Golf & Tennis Center - St. Louis, MO

Headwaters GC - Cashiers, NC

Legends Butte GC - Crawford, NE
Pelican Beach GC - Hyannis, NE
Thedford GC - Thedford, NE

Hooper GC - Walpole, NH

Lawrenceville School GC - Lawrenceville, NJ
Merchantville GC - Merchantville, NJ
Mt Tabor GC - Mt Tabor, NJ
Scotch Plains CC - Scotch Plains, NJ
Skyway GC - Jersey City, NJ

Doral Arrowwood GC - Purchase, NY
Hay Harbor Club - Fishers Island, NY
Millbrook G&TC - Hillbrook, NY
Mosholu GC - Bronx, NY
Pocantico Hills GC - Tarrytown, NY
Quogue Field Club - Quogue, NY
Quaker Hill CC - Pawling, NY
Rip Van Winkle - Palenville, NY
Sadaquada - Whitestown, NY

LC Boles GC - Wooster, OH
Wyoming GC - Cincinnati, OH

Cedar Bend Golf Links - Gold Beach, OR
Country View - Ontario, OR
Crestview GC - Walport, OR
Olalla Valley GC - Toledo, OR
Immegrun GC - Loretto, PA
Phoenixville CC - Phoenixville, PA
St Martin’s at PCC - Philadelphia, PA
St Mary’s CC - St Mary’s, PA
West Chester G&CC - Philadelphia, PA

Weekapaug - Westerly, RI

Sweetens Cove - S. Pittsburg, TN
University of the South Course - Sewanee, TN

Conroe CC - Houston, TX
McLean CC - McLean, TX
Starr Hollow GC - Tolar, TX

Dixie Red Hills - St. George, UT
Links Course at Sand Hollow - St. George, UT

Kanahwa Club - Manakin-Sabot, VA

Lambert Point - Norfolk, VA
Schoolhouse Nine - Sperryville, VA

Sky Ridge - Sequim, WA

Country Club Estates GC - Fontana-On-Geneva Lake, WI

Eagle Springs Resort - Eagle, WI
Plum Lake GC - Sayner, WI
Shoop Park - Racine, WI

Oakhurst Links - White Sulphur Springs, WV

International
Thomas Dai's GB&I 9-holer compilation thread: http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,56120

Courses specifically mentioned in the other threads I've scoured:
Abernethy GC - Nethy Bridge, Scotland
Auchterderran GC - Fife, Scotland
Brayan GC - Scotland
Burnham & Berrow Channel - Somerset, England
Cruit Island - Donegal, Ireland
Flempton GC - Suffolk, England
Frankston - Melbourne, Australia
Hale - Cheshire, England
Kilmore Course at Carne - Ireland
Knutsford GC - Tatton Park, England
Isle of Harris GC - UK
Mulranny GC - Mayo, Ireland
Musselburgh Links - Scotland
Reigate Heath GC - Surrey, England
Royal Workington & Newmarket - Suffolk, England
Rye Jubilee - Rye, England
St. David’s City - Wales
St Olaf at Cruden Bay - Scotland
Tarbat GC - Portmahomack, UK
Traigh - Scotland
Uplands G&SC - Toronto, Canada
Valliere Course - Morfontaine, France

[Eric Hammerbacher]

Annapolis GC closed up.  Can't think of any public 9-holers in MD besides East Potomac courses.

[Phil McDade]

Jason:


Certainly Country Club Estates belongs in the Wisconsin list; an original and largely untouched Bendelow, I think it's one of the better 9-holers in the state:


http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,39987.msg1413629.html#msg1413629


A 9-holer that's far off the beaten tracks, with a great history, is Plum Lake GC, deep in the North Woods, more than a century old, built with horses and featuring one of the coolest clubhouses in the state, its first head pro was.......Pete Jans:


http://www.plumlakegolf.com/history.shtml

[RJ_Daley]

Whilst I haven't playedthe long list of 9 holers to say which is the best,  having now seen and played Cruit Isalnd, I would feel comfortable saying there can't be  better 9 hole course.  Scenic beyond ability to describe. Clever hole designs, and the head greenkeeper is a Golf Club Atlas  lurker.  (Brian McMonagle)

[Tom_Doak]

Jason:


One more for your list:  Maxinkuckee GC, Culver, IN.  A separate nine holes from the Military Academy course, a few miles south of town on Lake Maxinkuckee, also built by William Langford.  Alice Dye's family had a summer place there, and Pete and sons used to visit sometimes, too.


Some of the best 9-hole courses I listed in the original Confidential Guide are no longer nine holes:  Rolling Rock and Harrison Hills were the two best of those.


Also, if Lexington looked interesting, why did you pass it by?

[Jason Way]

Thanks for the additions Phil, and for the nugget about PJ.  Always happy to learn more about that character. 

I think I might have to take a jaunt to hit the Eagle Springs / CCE combo.  That's some good ol' timey fun.

[Jason Way]

Also, if Lexington looked interesting, why did you pass it by?

Given that I was in Boston for work, and had already snuck out to play Whitinsville and George Wright at that point, it struck me as a touch irresponsible/piggy to try and hop out onto Lexington as well (in addition to it being private). 


I would be lying if I said that the thought didn't cross my mind though...

[Pete_Pittock]

Jason Way,
I am most of my way through playing all of the golf courses in Oregon, twenty left. One 9 hole course highly thought of, Elkhorn Valley, was expanded to 18 and lost its coolness.  I have referenced before a few good nine hole courses -worth your time and effort if you are in the vicinity.

a. Cedar Bend Golf Links (John Zoller) is near Gold Beach on the southern Oregon coast. Small streams in the valley, with a cedar covered hillside. Both the hillside and the streams play a big factor on its best holes, 1,6,7 with perched greens atop shaved slopes. Balls are recoverable.The 4th is a par 3 with tees shots vectored south and west. The greens are big enough that each has two flags, for the out and in 9s. on built to

b. Country View(Scott McKinney), near the Idaho border at Ontario is a family built course over unproductive farmland. They had no experience in golf, read a book about how to construct a golf course, said we can do that and set sail. Outside of a tight, iffy tee shot from the back tees it is a very good basic course with true, fast greens. Good design, strategy,
the 5th and 6th are the best as they run capishly along and across the edge of the elevated property, thus the view.

c. Crestview GC, aka Crestview Hills, is in Waldport on the central Oregon Coast. It was revitalized by Dan Hixson (Wine Valley) a few years ago. There are some drainage issue on 1&2, probably related to the housing east of the course. The heart of the course is 4,5,6. Four is a probably downhill par 3 hole fronted by a lake. It looks vicious, especially with a wind, but last year, three players in succession aced it. The 5th is a reachable par 4, slight dogleg left with jungle left,
6 is a semiblind uphill par 3 with a spined green. Nine is a uphill par 3 which plays less than its yardage because, well,
it is shorter than the listed yardage. That leaves you long, which is the wrong place to be.

d. Olalla Valley GC (Matthew Gruber) is near Toledo on the central Oregon coast. After driving along a winding narrow road you come to the course, which continues winding. The opening hole is okay, a mid length 4, which only becomes dangerous if you become away of the road and OB left, and the sinuous Olalla Creek on the right. They both beckon as sirens and unless you are straight that day, welcome equitable stroke control. I think a gentle fade is best, as I found out on the 4th shot from the tee. The second looks like it should play the same, but the hole opens up to the draw. The 5th is a par five dogleg right that demands a draw so the hard left to right slope doesn't end up in the darn creek. 6 and 7 go up the hill, and up the hill. Local knowledge or a trusty cart sent out on scouting mission are vital. Drop shot 8, The  straight finisher would be easy except for the crossing stream (ball not recoverable) in the landing area.  The sum result, if you are an 8, playing against an 8 from Olalla Valley, simplify things by just emptying your wallet on the first tee, but still play because its 6000 yds. are very worth it.

 

[Trey Kemp]

Jason,


I grew up playing 9-hole courses in West Texas, I will try find my old pictures and post them.  They are not significant architecturally, but most of them have just enough quirkiness to make them interesting, at least for me.  There is even one course in the panhandle of Texas that still has sand greens, McLean Country Club in McLean, TX. 


Up in your neck of the woods I have played Vernon Hills Golf Course, I believe done by Dick Nugent and the Youth Links at Cantigny is a cool concept.

[MCirba]

Cedarbrook in Cheltenham, PA is NLE, Jason.

Thanks for compiling the list!

[Steve Kohler]

New poster here, joined the board at the urging of Mr. John Mayhugh after a match we played earlier in the summer.

I'm a member at Wyoming GC in Cincinnati, OH.  It's a gem of a 9 holer - a 1906 (I think?) Bendelow routed on a compact property that was previously a dairy farm.  It's built on a bit of a hillside, yet remains very walkable.  It tips out at 6200 yards with 3 each of par 3's, 4's, and 5's.  There are several interesting greens complexes and the greens feature a lot of subtle breaks that regularly throw off members and guests alike.  My only gripe with the course is a common one for older clubs: trees have grown over time to encroach on some lines of play.  A memorial stump program would be a great initiative here.

The club has a strong walking culture, and it's very common to see walkers/pushcarters outnumber cart riders by a multiple of 2 or more, even on the busiest weekend mornings.  It has a small membership and flies well below the radar, even on the Cincinnati golf scene.  In terms of design value, test of golf, aesthetics, conditioning, etc., I would stack it up favorably against any course in the Cincinnati area (save Camargo).

I will try to take some photos of some of the more interesting elements of the course and post them to the board.

[Pete Lavallee]

Glad to see Mass. with 9 courses so far. You can add Amherst GC in the University town in the western part of the state. It dates from the  late 1800's and is distinguished by some of the longest fairway grass on the planet; I suspect it an attempt to keep drives in check on a shortish layout.

[Thomas Dai]

Whilst I haven't playedthe long list of 9 holers to say which is the best,  having now seen and played Cruit Isalnd, I would feel comfortable saying there can't be  better 9 hole course.  Scenic beyond ability to describe. Clever hole designs, and the head greenkeeper is a Golf Club Atlas  lurker.  (Brian McMonagle)

RJD,


Glad to hear you enjoyed Cruit/"Critch". Terrific location and not just very scenic but very fine golf as well. Nice lurker news.


A few others should also have visited recently. I hope they enjoyed it too.


A thread with photos - http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,58468.msg1373046.html#msg1373046


Atb

[SPDB]

You can also add Pine Orchard Yacht & Country Club in Branford, CT to the list (even though it has 10 greens). I like it simply because yacht-cum-golf clubs are such a rarity (might be an interesting thread topic). It also has a host of quirk that makes it really fun and charming to play, e.g., the 5th hole which has blind tee shot to a bowl fairway followed by a mini alps-like approach to a blind green that also sits in a tiny dell.

[Will Lozier]

I've mentioned it on some GCA.com thread before and had interaction with others who have played it, but R&A Chappaquiddick Links, formerly Island Ballwatchers' Society (better name!), is a hoot of a 9-holer on the island that I used to play with my brother who was a Martha's Vineyard carpenter. It is beyond F&F, has some wonderful tiny green sites and some incredibly fun holes. It was the first "small" course that I truly fell for and helped to change my views on conditioning, length, and how a "round of golf" should be defined. You used to go in the shed, put $10 in the box, and play away. Seriously OL' SCHOOL!


https://www.google.com/maps/place/N+Neck+Rd,+Edgartown,+MA+02539/@41.3904873,-70.4786571,683m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x89e52c8b72ba53c9:0xe301efcc37dd8af2!8m2!3d41.392753!4d-70.4744008


https://vineyardgazette.com/news/2012/08/30/no-fore-forever-chappy-golf-course-goes-market


https://www.facebook.com/royalandancientchappaquiddicklinks

[Bill Hoyle]

Sweeten's Cove in TN was a really good 9 hole course.  Excellent use of a valley (or hollar) with many different tee opportunities to keep repeating rounds fresh and fun.