All Time 18

ALL TIME 18

On the occasion of playing my 1500th golf course, I have decided to post my all-time favorite 18 holes.  The process of putting together my favorite 18 was surprisingly easy.  I started thinking of my favorite courses and came up with the best hole on those courses.  I only allowed myself one hole from each course.  Most courses fell right into place and I only had to make a few tough choices between two holes on a given course.

Please note that these are my favorite holes 1 to 18 and not my ideal golf course.  This course plays to a par of 73 because there are only three par 3’s.  The front nine features three brutally hard par 4’s and every par 4 on the back nine is under 370 yards with three of them being 300 yards.  My ideal golf course would most likely have five par 3’s, a nice variety of par 4’s and 5’s, and play to a par of 70 or 71.
Yardages given on the holes are from the tees I played and not necessarily from the back tees.  Enjoy:

Hole #1 Sand Hills Golf Club, Par 5, 521 Yards
The first hole of a golf course sets the tone for the experience you are about to have and no first hole captures that tone more perfectly than Sand Hills. You are presented with a wide fairway but hitting it on the correct side off the tee is crucial if you want to get home in two or simply have an easy pitch for your third.


Hole #2 Pine Valley Golf Club, Par 4, 355 Yards
 The hardest 355 yards in golf!  This hole is all about the second shot.  The fairway is plenty wide but your short second shot is to a surprisingly large green with contours that shock you because from the fairway it looks like a dead flat normal sized green.

Hole #3 National Golf Links of America, Par 4, 426 Yards
The Alps hole at National Golf Links is one of the hardest holes I’ve ever played, and yet it’s one of my favorites.  I started on this hole the first time I played the course and there is nothing quite like starting your round with a double bogey because you couldn’t figure out where to hit your second shot.  The long second shot is completely blind to a green that is not as forgiving as you think it would be.

Hole #4 Bethpage State Park Black Course, Par 5, 461 Yards
 The common thread among the par five’s on my list is the requirement to execute three good shots in order to make a birdie.  So many par five’s these days allow you to bomb your tee shot and then hit your three wood as close to the green as you can with almost no consequences.

Hole #5 Pinehurst #2, Par 4, 436 Yards
Now played as a Par five because of the f****** USGA, this hole will always be a par four to me.  This is my all-time favorite golf hole.  I once lagged a three foot putt on this hole because I was above the hole and terrified of what would happen if I missed the putt. The awkward second shot where the ball is above your feet to a green that is the exact opposite of receptive confounds me every time I play it.

Hole #6 Royal Dornoch Golf Club, Par 3, 161 Yards
The first par three on my favorite list comes from my all-time favorite golf course.  Royal Dornoch is where Donald Ross grew up and this hole is a perfect example of the influence Dornoch would later have on his design philosophy.

Hole #7 Fishers Island Club, Par 4, 363 Yards
Named Latimer, this hole, besides having a stunning view, features a wonderful undulating fairway and a simple yet moderately challenging green.

Hole #8 Ballyneal Golf Club, Par 5, 515 Yards
My favorite par five in golf, this is the only hole on my list where the yardage is an approximation.  Ballyneal has no formal tee markers and no course rating or slope so the need for actual yardages is non-existent.

Hole #9 Royal County Down, Par 4, 427 Yards
The famous quote most used to describe Royal County Down is “Where the Mountains of Mourne sweep down to the sea.” The ninth perfectly encapsulates what that means.  County Down has by far the best front nine in all of golf and is my second favorite golf course.

Hole #10 Riviera Country Club, Par 4, 301 Yards
This hole where driving the green doesn’t guarantee a birdie, let alone a par, the tenth at Riviera confounds even the pros with its small angled green and unforgiving surrounds. 

Hole #11 Merion Golf Club East Course, Par 4, 367 Yards
The hole where Bobby Jones clinched the “Grand Slam” presents a blind tee shot where hitting the fairway is essential to have a shot to make birdie on this small green protected by water.

Hole #12 The Country Club, Par 3, 131 Yards
My biggest pet peeve in modern architecture is that nobody builds great short par threes anymore.  Every modern designer with the possible exception of Coore/Crenshaw and Tom Doak build par threes that always end up playing over 180 yards.  Every golf course should have a great short par three and this hole at The Country Club is my favorite.

Hole #13 Streamsong Resort Blue Course, Par 4, 293 Yards
Tom Doak designs the best short par fours in golf and this is the first of two to appear on my list.  I have no idea why Tom is so good at designing amazing short par fours but most of his courses feature at least one that is truly special.

Hole #14 Old Town Club, Par 4, 339 Yards
My home course for several years, this hole features a fairway that cants sharply from right to left and a narrow green that falls off severely to the left.  A tee shot that leaves a full wedge approach is crucial to making birdie on this hole.  Driving the green here requires an almost perfect shot.

Hole #15 Rock Creek Cattle Company, Par 4, 299 Yards
The second Tom Doak designed short par four on my list features a stunning background and some artfully designed bunkers.  The pin in this picture is hidden behind the bunker on the right and sums up what I love about this hole and its many options.

Hole #16 Cypress Point Club, Par 3, 235 Yards
One of the most photographed holes in golf and possibly the most dramatic tee shot in golf.  I made a memorable birdie on this hole hitting driver off the tee.  The memory of making that fifteen foot birdie putt with my dad watching is one of my all time favorites.

Hole #17 Crystal Downs Country Club, Par 4, 311 Yards
I had the chance to play this hole again in 2018 after an eleven year absence.  The walk through the woods to reveal this view is one of the best in golf.  Hitting driver off the tee actually makes this hole harder because of having to hit your second shot from an upslope.

Hole #18 Pebble Beach Golf Links, Par 5, 543 Yards
Yeah, I know, it’s cliché to pick the hole that everybody picks for the best eighteenth hole in golf but honestly who doesn’t want to finish their round on this hole?   A risk/reward par five that has a ton of strategy and requires you to execute two or three great shots to make birdie.  Plus it plays right to left, perfect for my draw!

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