Golf Club Atlas
GolfClubAtlas.com => Golf Course Architecture Discussion Group => Topic started by: Charlie Goerges on November 02, 2023, 11:01:13 AM
-
I'm curious how many examples of the first hole being the best hole on a course there are. If you know any examples, feel free to post them.
Additionally, you don't see lots of first holes on greatest holes lists and I'm curious why that might be. You'd expect the first hole to be the best hole about 1/18th of the time, but it seems like less. Or am I wrong and just missing something.
As an example, on the course I grew up on (Whitebirch course at Breezy Point Resort), a case could be made that the first hole is the best, at least strategically/architecturally.
-
A difficulty for many courses is changed routings where 1 wasn’t 1. Based on present routings I suggest Jeffersonville and Concord in Philly area are two that could be the best hole.
Springfield CC which is also here converted the 10th to 1 and is the best hole.
-
I live at Bryce Resort. It is a small member-owned golf/ski resort in the VA mountains. Like many courses in the DC area, our course was designed by Ed Ault. The course itself isn't much, but the first hole is a long par five that runs along a creek on the right that curves in front of the green.
-
Old White.
-
The first hole on the Strand Course at Portstewart (NI) is very, very good.
"Possibly the finest opening hole in Irish golf"
https://www.facebook.com/portstewartgolfclub/videos/1st-hole-flyover-the-strand-course/1547698671923046/
-
Spyglass? It was my favorite hole on the course - though that might be different than best.
-
Peachtree.
-
Spyglass? It was my favorite hole on the course - though that might be different than best.
The view is spectacular..........
-
The original #1 at ANGC is not too bad.
The 1st hole at San Andres Golf Club is arguably its best. Best green for sure.
-
Machrihanish’s first is often picked as the best first hole in golf and it is great. The rest of the course is very good, but 1 is probably the best hole there.
-
After playing Kirtland CC during the recent Midwest Mashie (thanks to everyone who attended, great to meet you all!)...its first hole was one of my favorites on the course. I'd have to think a bit before calling it my favorite, but it was definitely up there.
-
The first hole on the Strand Course at Portstewart (NI) is very, very good.
"Possibly the finest opening hole in Irish golf"
https://www.facebook.com/portstewartgolfclub/videos/1st-hole-flyover-the-strand-course/1547698671923046/ (https://www.facebook.com/portstewartgolfclub/videos/1st-hole-flyover-the-strand-course/1547698671923046/)
Yes - it is a dramatic tee shot but there are better holes at Portstewart. Still, a good choice.
The 1st at Doonbeg is often singled out as its best hole.
There’s an argument for St. Patrick’s.
-
The first hole on the Strand Course at Portstewart (NI) is very, very good.
"Possibly the finest opening hole in Irish golf"
https://www.facebook.com/portstewartgolfclub/videos/1st-hole-flyover-the-strand-course/1547698671923046/ (https://www.facebook.com/portstewartgolfclub/videos/1st-hole-flyover-the-strand-course/1547698671923046/)
Sorry. Magnificent view, bland hole, maybe even the blandest hole on the course.
Atb
-
Machrihanish’s first is often picked as the best first hole in golf and it is great. The rest of the course is very good, but 1 is probably the best hole there.
John
It was the one I thought of simply because of the best 1st hole in Scotland tag, however I'm really not sure it is any more. With the advent of big headed drivers the drive isn't the fearsome test it used to be. That being the case I tend to think there are better holes at Machrihanish.
Niall
-
Thanks for all the examples everyone! Hopefully we can find some more.
So, do we think the first hole ends up being the best anywhere near 1/18th of the time?
-
Sand Hills
Golf Club of Tennessee
-
Riviera I'd rhey switched the 9s.
-
The first hole on the Strand Course at Portstewart (NI) is very, very good.
"Possibly the finest opening hole in Irish golf"
https://www.facebook.com/portstewartgolfclub/videos/1st-hole-flyover-the-strand-course/1547698671923046/ (https://www.facebook.com/portstewartgolfclub/videos/1st-hole-flyover-the-strand-course/1547698671923046/)
Sorry. Magnificent view, bland hole, maybe even the blandest hole on the course.
Atb
Yup, my take too. Great view but "meh" hole
-
Hooper
-
In his 1960’s SI article (which probably launched the rating boom), Dan Jenkins called Merion’s first hole the best first hole in America. No, it’s not the best hole on the course (maybe 11, 16 or 18?), but Jenkins’ opinion is worth something.
-
It's certainly easier when the course is only nine holes. Dunes Club (MI) has a great opening hole.
I don't believe that the best at Kirtland is #1, but I'm just one thinker.
-
It's certainly easier when the course is only nine holes. Dunes Club (MI) has a great opening hole.
I don't believe that the best at Kirtland is #1, but I'm just one thinker.
-
Machrihanish’s first is often picked as the best first hole in golf and it is great. The rest of the course is very good, but 1 is probably the best hole there.
I wondered if someone would say that! Machrihanish is my favourite course in the world (I don't say it is the best, but it is my favourite) but I think the first hole is rather over-rated. The drive is obviously epic, but the approach is a bit dull, and there's no strategic advantage for playing your tee shot close to the beach. And the terrain, compared to the rest of the course, is quite flat. IMO Machrihanish really starts when you cross the burn on the second hole.
-
Preston Country Club, also an Ault course, when I first played it had the nines reversed and what is now the tenth is a par five that swings in an arc from right to left with the third usually being a short iron over a creek ten yards in front of the green. Has always been my favorite hole there and I would think it's one of the best.
So, I guess I've modified this to include holes that used be the first...
Anybody ever want to play there, I'll be available until July.
-
My two eye-opener opener suggestions are Tobacco Road and Kingsley Club
-
Spring Brook Country Club
I always thought the opener was great short hole with an awesome ("almost severe") Walter Travis Green
(https://www.springbrookcc.net/images/dynamic/getImage.gif?ID=100006984)
Video is here:
https://www.springbrookcc.net/Default.aspx?p=dynamicmodule&pageid=407724&ssid=334807&vnf=1 (https://www.springbrookcc.net/Default.aspx?p=dynamicmodule&pageid=407724&ssid=334807&vnf=1)
The close up of the green at the end helps tell the story ...
-
Spring Brook Country Club
I always thought the opener was great short hole with an awesome ("almost severe") Walter Travis Green
(https://www.springbrookcc.net/images/dynamic/getImage.gif?ID=100006984)
Video is here:
https://www.springbrookcc.net/Default.aspx?p=dynamicmodule&pageid=407724&ssid=334807&vnf=1 (https://www.springbrookcc.net/Default.aspx?p=dynamicmodule&pageid=407724&ssid=334807&vnf=1)
The close up of the green at the end helps tell the story ...
That’s an appealing-looking hole. I think it would look even better with the fairway mowed wider on the left too.
And the video of the green looked fantastic!
-
I second what Charlie said. As a die-hard Travis fan (I've seen Ian's great, restorative bunker work at Cherry Hill and Orchard Park) I love Travis greens. So many Travis club committees weakened his greens during the middle part of the 20th century. It's a shame. They had no idea what they had, and some still don't.
Lookout Point (another Travis course) has a sexy, tee-shot-off-a-cliff opening hole, but I think that (to its credit) there are better holes out on the property. I don't know of another Travis course whose best hole might be its opener. I like the first at CCTroy, but there are others out there.
-
The course that really stands out in my experience here is the Country Club of Farmington in Connecticut, which starts with a brilliant drivable par 4 whose green is up against OB but has just the right amount of room short to make you think about pushing your luck with your tee shot, if not trying all the way for the green. It's a fantastic hole and could not be a better introduction to the golf course.
-
Machrihanish’s first is often picked as the best first hole in golf and it is great. The rest of the course is very good, but 1 is probably the best hole there.
I wondered if someone would say that! Machrihanish is my favourite course in the world (I don't say it is the best, but it is my favourite) but I think the first hole is rather over-rated. The drive is obviously epic, but the approach is a bit dull, and there's no strategic advantage for playing your tee shot close to the beach. And the terrain, compared to the rest of the course, is quite flat. IMO Machrihanish really starts when you cross the burn on the second hole.
Agree. It might be the most dramatic first tee shot anywhere, but it’s not the best hole on the course by far.
-
Might Berkshire Blue be one such course?
Ciao
-
Views seem to be important in this thread.
Might not be the best hole on the course, but then again it may be, it's certainly the most memorable, but the 1st at Royal Jersey where the tee shot is played over the 18th green with the beach all along the right, the various military fortifications and the gorgeous yee olde castle in the far distance isn't a hole your likely to forget in a hurry. It also happens to be where Harry Vardon and Ted Ray learnt to play.
atb
(https://jerseynationalpark.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/1_Roger-Noel_Credit-PAUL-LAKEMAN-1024x544.jpeg)
-
(https://jerseynationalpark.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/1_Roger-Noel_Credit-PAUL-LAKEMAN-1024x544.jpeg)
I love when I see something and begin thinking,
"where is that ... and how do I build a trip around going there"
Thanks for the share ...
-
RTJ Trail - The Judge outside Montgomery. Ironically, the 18th is the worst hole.
-
Might Berkshire Blue be one such course?
Ciao
No.
-
(https://jerseynationalpark.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/1_Roger-Noel_Credit-PAUL-LAKEMAN-1024x544.jpeg)
I love when I see something and begin thinking,
"where is that ... and how do I build a trip around going there"
Thanks for the share ...
Royal Jersey is a very cool place. The opening tee shot is quite terrifying -- the gap between the sea wall (which was built by the occupying Germans during WW2 to prevent an amphibious landing by tanks -- and Fort Henry, the building from the Napoleonic Wars that serves as the greenkeeping yard -- is almost exactly 45 yards. If you're a card and pencil golfer, or playing in a medal event, you had better warm up properly!
-
(https://jerseynationalpark.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/1_Roger-Noel_Credit-PAUL-LAKEMAN-1024x544.jpeg)
I love when I see something and begin thinking,
"where is that ... and how do I build a trip around going there"
Thanks for the share ...
Royal Jersey is a very cool place. The opening tee shot is quite terrifying -- the gap between the sea wall (which was built by the occupying Germans during WW2 to prevent an amphibious landing by tanks -- and Fort Henry, the building from the Napoleonic Wars that serves as the greenkeeping yard -- is almost exactly 45 yards. If you're a card and pencil golfer, or playing in a medal event, you had better warm up properly!
The prevailing wind is also from the left. Fun for right-handers who slice and left-handers who hook! :)
atb
-
I think this being the best is debatable with a few of the back nine fours, but it certainly is many people's favourite hole at Lookout Point CC in Fonthill, Ontario. The backdrop i the distance is Niagara Falls
(https://grahamsegger.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Lookout-book-cover-rotated-e1681828330341.jpg)
-
I think one of the reasons it's hard to find these and that it's not one in 18 courses is it's pretty hard to say which is the best hole on most courses. I can't think of many courses I've played where I could comfortably pick one hole as the best hole on the course. How many courses can anyone think of where say the 14th hole is the best hole on the course? To pick an answer it kind of needs to be a clear winner.
By way of example, the 1st at NGLA is a great hole. It's a friendly opening tee shot, that still asks questions and with a fabulous green complex. Is it the best hole on the course? There are 17 other contenders. I couldn't tell you it's a better hole than any of the others (certainly not than all the others).
-
I love Royal Liverpool's layout with the internal OOB.
-
While Wolf Point in Mesquite, NV would be a candidate for the course I most disliked based on one play, I very much liked its first hole.
-
While Wolf Point in Mesquite, NV would be a candidate for the course I most disliked based on one play, I very much liked its first hole.
I was slow. I waited until the 7th hole to quit. :-[
-
I might be able to make a case for Prestwick, but it can't be definitive as the rest of the course is loaded with great holes. When I think about it though, it holds up pretty well. There's certainly nothing else on the course that can match its combination of strategy, charm, and terror, the terror amplified of course by it being the first swing of the day.
-
I don't know if it's the best hole on the course but 1 on The Campus Course at Texas A&M is a unique opener. It's basically a donut, or bagel depending on your preferred snack. You have a fairway wrapping around the hole and at the top there is a green that's designed to be played from both sides but the approach to anything but a far left pin is best from the right side. The longer hitter can also get pretty close in the right conditions but can find some nasty rough in the hole if not carried.
-
While Wolf Point in Mesquite, NV would be a candidate for the course I most disliked based on one play, I very much liked its first hole.
It's Wolf Creek, not Wolf Point