2024’s Eclectic 18

December is the season of year-end lists: Pitchfork‘s best albums of 2024, OpenTable’s Top 100 restaurants of the year, and so forth. Golf rankings, too, but rather than simply sitting down and tallying up how my notable golf courses one played, it is far more interesting, engaging, and informative to identify the standout holes of the year in the form of an Eclectic 18 list.

Inspired by Michael Chadwick’s post in the Golf Club Atlas Discussion Group, the below list is a compilation of courses visited in 2024. The rules, as set forth in the Discussion Group post:

The few rules I set for myself is if I’ve played more than 18 different courses in the year, I can only select 1 hole from a course. I also want the total par to be within a reasonable range (68-73). That’s it. Otherwise, the task is identifying your favorite holes throughout the year, while also being mindful of not wanting to shoehorn weaker holes in to complete a routing. The imaginative give and take of getting to 18 is an enjoyable exercise, since the results will indicate your preference for hole styles, lengths, etc.

Without too much to dive into prior, below is 2024’s Eclectic 18. As an added bonus, each hole had a runner-up candidate with the same rules. That secondary Eclectic 18 plays to 6,756 yards, par 69.

First hole | Lake Placid Club (Mountain) | 392 yards, par 4

A charming introduction to a rather unusual golf course, the opening fairway heavily tilts to the outside right side of this gentle dogleg left. The topography is so severe that the ideal route up the left will see a blind landing area, but pulling this off sets up a cheeky pitch to a green falling away from the golfer screaming down the backside of the ridge. Anything laid back or to the right side of the hole is a harder shot in, but in all cases, playing to the front edge and letting the ball release is the ideal start to your round of golf here.

Runner-up: Oakmont Country Club

Second hole | St. George’s Golf & Country Club | 473 yards, par 4

Without question in contention for one of, if not Canada’s finest long par 4 (alongside another addition to this Eclectic 18 later in the round), the second hole at Stanley Thompson’s St. George’s is a brilliant two-shot hole working across a diagonal ridge, with the high-side occupying the left side of the fairway over the two bunkers. Getting the tee shot up to the left side provides both an unobstructed visual, and the preferred angle into the green that opens in the front-left. From the lower-right side (and typically just short of the fairway bunker right), a semi-blind approach shot needing to carry the right greenside bunker to a green narrowing in the back awaits. An abrasive, yet tantalizing hole to play, especially on repeat visits as it begins to pollute one’s mind even prior to teeing off on the first hole.

Runner-up: Cabot Highlands (Castle Stuart)

Third hole | National Golf Links of America | 426 yards, par 4

In a golf course full of resplendent moments, perhaps none radiate more from one’s memory than the Alps at National Golf Links, a true strategic masterpiece and a unicorn of brilliance. In order to gain a view into the undulating, heavily-contoured green, working the ball as far to the outside right side of the hole is paramount. Much of the fairway funnels towards the middle off the high-side left and the slightly raised right rough, and anything up the left side is blind over the hillside. With deep bunkers surrounding the green, this is a demanding hole, but one you wish you could play every day—it is that fun.

Runner-up: Norfolk Golf & Country Club, ON

Fourth hole | Club de Golf Grand-Mere | 300 yards, par 4

A monotone visual, the fourth at Grand-Mere provides one of the great reveals in Canada golf after cresting the hill with its roly poly green complex and ragged, natural bunkers. Brilliantly, the diagonal topographic ridge works at an angle from the left side back towards the tee, meaning the right side is less of a carry from the tee than the left. For those attempting to drive the green, playing left of the bunkers you can see and even left of the flag is the best line of play, although missing left provides the most difficult pitch shot. A true pick your poison hole, and an intriguing two-shot no matter how you choose to play it.

Runner-up: Bandon Trails

Fifth hole | Riviera Country Club | 439 yards, par 4

With a wide fairway, the tee shot provides a sense of comfort. Perhaps misaligned as an aggressive tee shot as close to the edge of the fairway better suits the second shot’s success rate, be it up the left side or further up the right. The large knoll short and right of the green obstructs the visual to the right side of the green, and a bunker fronts the left-side. The actual surface, much like the rest of the golf course, is cholk-full of movement.

Runner-up: Anstruther

Sixth hole | Pacific Dunes | 316 yards, par 4

A superb drive-and-pitch hole, the most obvious tee shot is out to the left with more room, though that brings the carnivorous bunkers short-left of the green into play. The ideal line is out to the right over the one fairway bunker as it opens up the green and provides the most straightforward second shot, but reveals the dangers of missing right of the green with a severe fall off. For those hitting driver, getting it on the surface is a mighty feat. A true Tom Doak masterpiece on a golf course full of worthy moments.

Runner-up: The Creek

Seventh hole | Cruden Bay Golf Club (Championship) | 458 yards, par 4

A brute of a hole working its way from the low point of the property back into the higher dunes, the tee shot is relatively straightforward: keep it left, if you can, and have a second shot in that is shorter, or play it out to the outside right corner of the dogleg, have a longer swing coming into the green, but open up a potential view of the green. The surrounding area around the green is both friendly up the left with balls gently funnelling down to the hole, and severe with misses right being brutally punished. This is a hard, but exciting golf hole!

Runner-up: Bandon Dunes (Shorty’s)

Eighth hole | Old Barnwell | 370 yards, par 4

The 7th at Old Barnwell is the latest in a newfound template from the Doak family tree, with the green’s boomerang orientation being what makes this related to the drivable par 4 at Barnbougle and the eighteenth at Sedge Valley. Old Barnwell is the first to not be waiting at the end of a drivable par 4; as a result of a bit more length, it works well with the options playing into the wide fairway. With the boomerang green wrapping around a bunker and a high side knob on the left, any pin location on the front portion is best approached from the far left side, while anything in the back portion looping around the knob is best attacked from the right side. The hillside coming off the right and the knob on the left the green wraps around make the strategic choices shine given the severity of bounce that can occur on either if a shot is misplaced.

Runner-up: Pinehurst Resort (No. 10)

Ninth hole | Toronto Golf Club (Colt) | 452 yards, par 4

Harry Colt’s brilliant routing at the top of the property that utilizes the fingers jutting out into the low-ground surroundings eventually lead to this stupendous moment, with the routing tumbling into the lowest point of the property with a creek meandering up the left on the tee shot before crossing to the right side of the green. The tee shot ought to be played up the right to utilize the slope, and the severe back-to-front nature of the green can wreak havoc if the miss is in the wrong place.

Runner-up: Muskoka Bay Club

OUT | 3,626 yards | par 36

Tenth hole | Shinnecock Hills Golf Club | 415 yards, par 4

After climbing up the seemingly impossible par 4, 9th, the tenth at Shinnecock is a mind-bending hole that further unravels its strategic merits with multiple plays. From a blind tee shot, two bunkers help direct traffic, though closer to the right bunker is best for an aggressive line. Longer players can get down the hillside into the valley that fronts the green complex, but it might be better to lay back given the easier, less intimidating approach shot and the gentle downhill nature of the second swing. Either or, the difficult green complex that generally slopes away from the player is a fear-inducing approach shot to start the back nine.

Runner-up: Broomsedge

Eleventh hole | Los Angeles Country Club (North) | 277 yards, par 3

Tumbling down from a high tee, George Thomas’ magnum opus utilizes the reverse redan about as good as any singular example in the world of golf at the eleventh. With the accustom feeder slope short and left, balls will work their way down to the putting surface making the hole play shorter than the scorecard suggests. Even so, with trouble left and the green sloping hard right, there is risk involved by either playing too far on that line, or missing your target in the bunkers completely. One of the great inland par 3’s in the world of golf given the severity of penalty and the flexibility in strategy all-the-same.

Runner-up: Brookside Country Club (Canton)

Twelfth hole | Bel-Air Country Club | 395 yards, par 4

The famed “Mae West” hole at Bel-Air is more than a cool nickname. For the ambitious player, the inside-right side of the dogleg provides a better visual coming into the green and takes out the big hump that guards the short-left side, though it is a harder tee shot and more of an uneven lie. With a fair bit of room left and the flattest portion of the fairway awaiting, most tee shots will be played away from the right side of the fairway, though a blind approach shot up and over the knob awaits. Who needs bunkers to challenge when the architecture is this engaging?

Runner-up: Engineers Country Club, NY

Thirteenth hole | Muirfield | 193 yards, par 3

Much of Muirfield’s routing is gently rising and falling over the more subdued piece of ground, with the thirteenth best exemplifying what makes this one of the world’s best golf courses. Tucked into a little nook with the green perched into the hillside higher than the teeing area, this is a long, skinny green complex working its way further up the hillside with a devious false front and a couple of pot bunkers awaiting. Challenging, yet fun to play and especially the case in the wind!

Runner-up: North Berwick Golf Club (West)

Fourteenth hole | Royal Dornoch Golf Club (Championship) | 445 yards, par 4

Undoubtedly one of, if not, the finest bunker-less par 4 in the world of golf, “Foxy” is a brute of a hole with a superb green complex. The two mounds up the right catch wayward shots off the tee, but the real star of the show is the green complex resting above the short grass surrounds with carnage waiting those who lack confidence pitching, putting, or wedging the ball up. The humps, bumps, hollows, and contours all complicate shots coming in, but even further for those missing the surface. In the category of “green complexes you’d want to build in your backyard,” this is on the shortlist.

Runner-up: Mount Bruno Country Club

Fifteenth hole | Cape Breton Highlands Links | 540 yards, par 5

If there is a fairway in the world of golf more suitable for the strategic elements of a hole, it would have to fight the fifteenth at Highlands Links for that title. With the diagonal ridge working from the shorter-left to the longer-right, tee balls up the left side could potentially get over the ridge or sit on top, opening up a far easier second shot and a realistic chance at getting home in two for the longer hitters. Tee shots up the right face a blind second shot up and over the topographic ridge. Stanley Thompson’s bunker array and an engaging green complex close out an all-world three-shot hole.

Runner-up: Beaconsfield Golf Club, QC

Sixteenth hole | Cabot Cape Breton (Links) | 457 yards, par 4

Much of Cabot Links plays overlooking the Gulf of St Lawrence much like the great links of Scotland overlook their respective waterways rather than playing directly on them, but the sixteenth is as close as the golfer gets to the ocean. Even so, the strategic merits that make this a standout hole are determined by the genius string of centreline bunkers up the right centre, splitting the hole into the upper-right and lower-left fairway. The ideal angle coming into the green complex is from the right, though a more difficult tee shot. From the left, the depression short-left comes directly into the line of play. Perhaps Rod Whitman’s finest hole?

Runner-up: Beacon Hall Golf Club

Seventeenth hole | Old Town Club | 624 yards, par 5

Old Town provides a handful of truly special moments, but the penultimate three-shotter is a true beast coming off the highest point of the inward nine. Given the sheer length and scale of the hole, there is a bit of visual deception off the tee and it can be tough to decode exactly what’s going on. Tee shots up the right side could potentially struggle to get over the creek depending on the wind direction, and anything left of centre could end up flirting with the bunkers. The centreline bunker acts as a great aiming point for the second shot, but the real highlight is the second half of the shared green with the eighth with its devilish and aggressive movement sitting on the other side of the same creek the tee shot crosses.

Runner-up: Ashburn Golf Club (Old)

Eighteenth hole | Cabot Cape Breton (Cliffs) | 532 yards, par 5

A thrilling finish to the round pressed hard up against the Gulf of St Lawrence, Bill Coore & Ben Crenshaw’s final hoorah at Cabot Cliffs taunts the golfer to play as close to the water as possible to gain a distinct advantage coming into the narrow green sandwiched between the cliff and a bunker. Granted, playing short of the bunkers and left is not a bad play for those going for it in two, but the short nature of this three-shotter tempts anyone into being aggressive, should they want to finish with a bang. A depression coming off the ocean awaits second shots played short, but the good news is, there is always room up the left.

Runner-up: Tarandowah Golfers Club

IN | 3,878 yards | par 37

TOTAL | 7,504 yards | par 73