Tuesday, January 03, 2006
The Best Holes and Courses
What is the best golf course in the world?
Alas, there is no simple answer. The top golf courses in the world are quite varied and it depends on what you value the most. The question is too simple and deserves a more compliated answer. Sometimes, it is impossible to separate the context and location of the club from the course.
Greatest Golf Courses
Sand Hills
Carnoustie
Royal County Down
Royal Portrush
Shinnecock Hills
Prairie Dunes
Crystal Downs
Merion
The National Golf Links of America
Pine Valley
Sunningdale
Woodhall Spa
Cypress Point
The Best Views and Awe Inspiring Locations
The National Golf Links of America
Kingsbarns
Turnberry
Pebble Beach
Sand Hills
Bandon Dunes
Pacific Dunes
Royal County Down
Old Head
Loch Lomond
Kawana
Cypress Point
The Most Historic
The Old Course at St. Andrews
Royal Liverpool Golf Club
Royal St. George's
Prestwick
North Berwick
Merion
The National Golf Links of America
Garden City
Muirfield (The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers)
A Unique Experience, you will remember for a long time
Muirfield (The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers)
Fishers Island
Cruden Bay
Durban
Shadow Creek
Yeamans Hall
Pine Valley
The National Golf Links of America
Morfontaine
Cypress Point
Special Places
Sunningdale
Woodhall Spa
Yeamans Hall
Merion
Maidstone
The National Golf Links of America
San Francisco Golf Club
Morfontaine
Cypress Point
Clubs I would want to join
Maidstone
San Francisco Golf Club
Royal Liverpool Golf Club
Sunningdale
Yeamans Hall
Somerset Hills
These clubs combine a world-class golf course, a unique and intimite club with great history and are just a bit understated. They also have what the french call a je ne sais quais - that certain something that is hard to put your finger on.
The best hotels I stayed at on the quest
Udny Arms (Cruden Bay)
Dower House Hotel (Woodhall Spa)
Lochgreen House (Royal Troon & Loch Lomond)
Greywalls (Muirfield)
Charleston Place (Yeamans Hall)
Four Seasons George V (Morfontaine)
Westin Valencia (El Saler)
Sea Island Resort (Ocean Forest)
The Hardest Courses
Pine Valley
Bethpage Black
Olympic (Lake)
Royal County Down
Oakmont
Naruo
The Best Clubhouses
Rossdhu House - Loch Lomond, most grandeouse
Garden City - A museum
National Golf Links of America - Like a London gentleman's club
Morfontaine - Cozy french hunting lodge
The Best Caddies
Carnoustie
Best Conditioned Greens
Winged Foot
Carnoustie
Peachtree
Best Food Along the Way
In-and-Out Burger (California)
Lobster lunch (National Golf Links of America)
Best golf lunch (Royal St. George's and Prestwick)
Sticky Toffee Pudding (Udny Arms near Cruden Bay)
Favorite Courses
National Golf Links of America
Carnoustie
Cruden Bay
Cypress Point
North Berwick
Kingsbarns
Sunningdale
Royal County Down
Royal Portrush
Merion
Royal Liverpool (Hoylake)
Royal St. George's (Sandwich)
Sand Hills
Woodhall Spa
Yeamans Hall
The Best Holes I've Played
Aronomink #1 (a donald ross gem, one of the best starting holes)
Baltimore Five Farms #14 (a brilliant Tillinghast par five on great terrain)
Bethpage #4 (could be the single best hole in the world)
Carnoustie #17 (watch the burn, a harder hole than #18)
Chantilly Veneuil #17 (Simpson´s magic par three in the valley)
Chicago Golf #12 ("Punchbowl", tee shot over hill, uphill to punchbowl green)
Cruden Bay #15 ("Blin' Dunt", sorry, we like the blind par 3s)
Crystal Downs #7 (Mackenzie gem, tree in the middle of fairway)
Cypress Point #14 (sharp dogleg right, up the hill through the Cypress trees)
Cypress Point #15 (the sexiest hole in golf, par 3 in an alcove)
Cypress Point #16 (the most famous par three in golf, 200+ carry over water)
Cypress Point #17 (tee off on top of the headlands over water, 2nd shot over trees)
Durban #3 (a par five in a valley surrounded by bush)
Forsgate #8 (world-class par five by "Steamshovel Banks", long and hard)
Hirono #14 (a par four so hard that it has its own escalator)
Hirono #15 (par five with three distinctive fairway areas between ravines)
Honors Course #12 (Short Pete Dye par 4 with tree blocking approach, small green)
Inverness #7 (Downhill-Uphill, par 4 with a snaking burn)
Kawana #15 (par five along the Pacific; as good as any hole at Pebble Beach)
Lahinch #6 ("Dell", blind par 3 anyone?)
Maidstone #14 (within the dunes, finest one shot hole in the world?)
Merion #1 (pressure from the lunch crowd, great scene)
Merion #11 (the hole Bobby Jones won the grand slam on)
Mid-Ocean #5 ("Cape", impossible to hit the fairway into the wind)
Morfontaine Valliere #3 (short par four with risk, heather and magic)
Morfontaine Valliere #4 (downhill par three in a sea of heather and fern)
Myopia Hunt Club #18 (what a finishing hole should be)
National Golf Links #17 ("Peconic". Play it once before you die!)
National Golf Links #14 ("Cape" Hole, MacDonald was a genius!)
Naruo Golf Club #8 (Double dog leg left, sweeping semicircle, Alison gem)
North Berwick #15 (the original Redan, magical place)
Pine Valley #2 (deceptively narrow fairway, hugh upill second shot, severe green)
Pine Valley #5 (A heroic par three)
Pine Valley #7 (Hell's Half Acre, strong par five)
Pine Valley #10 ("Devil's Ass H---". Avoid the front bunker!)
Prairie Dunes #8 (uphill all the way, wavy fairways)
Prairie Dunes #12 (Cottonwood tree sentinals force a low shot to a hard green)
Prestwick #1 (we know it's short, but the history and railroad make it ideal)
Riviera #10 (who says a short par 4 can't be challenging?)
Royal Liverpool #3, previously #1 (O.B. right, no bunkers, 90° dogleg right)
Royal St. Georges #4 (world class bunker, wild fairway, severe green)
Royal St. Georges #8 (par 4, super contouring around the green)
Royal St. Georges #14 (par 5, O.B. right, strategic bunkering on approach)
Royal County Down #9 (one of the most scenic par 4s)
Royal Troon #8 ("Postage Stamp", much harder than it looks)
Sand Hills #8 (short par 4 with great risk/reward)
Sand Hills #14 (short 5 with great risk/reward and a severe front/back green)
Sea Island Seaside Course #4 (now that is a dog-leg. So sharp you can cut yourself)
Sebonack #2 (between the Elms, through the sand and up the hill)
Somerset Hills #15 ("Happy Valley", the name says it all, great par 4)
Sypglass Hill #2 ("Billy Bones", risk-reward par four with view of Monterey Bay)
St. Andrews Old #17 ("The Road Hole". Par is a great score here)
Sunningdale #6, #7 and #10 (one of the prettiest courses anywhere)
The Country Club #11 ("Himalayas", hit between the rock & canyon on this par 5)
Valderrama #10 (Dogleg around the cork tree with no margin for error)
Winged Foot West #10 ("Pulpit", Tillinghast excelled at par 3s)
Winged Foot East #13 ("Cameo", a quintessential Tillinghast hole)
Woodhall Spa #16 (who says short par 4s are easy?)
Yeamans Hall #1 (one of the best and most interesting greens in the world)
Favorite Architects
Charles Blair MacDonald
Willie Park, Jr.
H.S. Colt
Tom Simpson
Perry Maxwell
Charles Alison
Alister Mackenzie
Under Rated Courses
National Golf Links of America
Carnoustie
Cruden Bay
Sunningdale (Old)
Kingsbarns
Bandon Dunes
Winged Foot (East)
Royal Liverpool (Hoylake)
Kawana (Fuji)
Naruo
Valderrama
Over-Rated Courses
Medinah #3
Royal Troon (Old)
Oak Hill (East)
Royal Birkdale
Fishers Island
Ocean Forest
Wentworth (West)
Courses that Should be on the List
North Berwick, Scotland
Prestwick, Scotland
Old Head, Kinsale, Ireland
Myopia Hunt Club, Massachusetts
Sebonack, New York
Chantilly, Paris
Best Opening Holes
Spyglass Hill holes 1 through 4
Best Finishing Holes
Carnoustie holes 16 through 18
Worth the trip
The winding entry driveways through the forest at both Yeamans Hall and Morfontaine
The playboy mansion off the 13th green at Los Angeles Country Club
Monkeys on the course at Durban Country Club
Nude sunbathing on an adjacent beach at El Saler
Outside traction system for clubs and escalators for players add to Naruo's allure
Standing on the first tee at the Old Course at St. Andrews
The 19th century and regal feel of Myopia Hunt Club, especially when the riders are out
Alas, there is no simple answer. The top golf courses in the world are quite varied and it depends on what you value the most. The question is too simple and deserves a more compliated answer. Sometimes, it is impossible to separate the context and location of the club from the course.
Greatest Golf Courses
Sand Hills
Carnoustie
Royal County Down
Royal Portrush
Shinnecock Hills
Prairie Dunes
Crystal Downs
Merion
The National Golf Links of America
Pine Valley
Sunningdale
Woodhall Spa
Cypress Point
The Best Views and Awe Inspiring Locations
The National Golf Links of America
Kingsbarns
Turnberry
Pebble Beach
Sand Hills
Bandon Dunes
Pacific Dunes
Royal County Down
Old Head
Loch Lomond
Kawana
Cypress Point
The Most Historic
The Old Course at St. Andrews
Royal Liverpool Golf Club
Royal St. George's
Prestwick
North Berwick
Merion
The National Golf Links of America
Garden City
Muirfield (The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers)
A Unique Experience, you will remember for a long time
Muirfield (The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers)
Fishers Island
Cruden Bay
Durban
Shadow Creek
Yeamans Hall
Pine Valley
The National Golf Links of America
Morfontaine
Cypress Point
Special Places
Sunningdale
Woodhall Spa
Yeamans Hall
Merion
Maidstone
The National Golf Links of America
San Francisco Golf Club
Morfontaine
Cypress Point
Clubs I would want to join
Maidstone
San Francisco Golf Club
Royal Liverpool Golf Club
Sunningdale
Yeamans Hall
Somerset Hills
These clubs combine a world-class golf course, a unique and intimite club with great history and are just a bit understated. They also have what the french call a je ne sais quais - that certain something that is hard to put your finger on.
The best hotels I stayed at on the quest
Udny Arms (Cruden Bay)
Dower House Hotel (Woodhall Spa)
Lochgreen House (Royal Troon & Loch Lomond)
Greywalls (Muirfield)
Charleston Place (Yeamans Hall)
Four Seasons George V (Morfontaine)
Westin Valencia (El Saler)
Sea Island Resort (Ocean Forest)
The Hardest Courses
Pine Valley
Bethpage Black
Olympic (Lake)
Royal County Down
Oakmont
Naruo
The Best Clubhouses
Rossdhu House - Loch Lomond, most grandeouse
Garden City - A museum
National Golf Links of America - Like a London gentleman's club
Morfontaine - Cozy french hunting lodge
The Best Caddies
Carnoustie
Best Conditioned Greens
Winged Foot
Carnoustie
Peachtree
Best Food Along the Way
In-and-Out Burger (California)
Lobster lunch (National Golf Links of America)
Best golf lunch (Royal St. George's and Prestwick)
Sticky Toffee Pudding (Udny Arms near Cruden Bay)
Favorite Courses
National Golf Links of America
Carnoustie
Cruden Bay
Cypress Point
North Berwick
Kingsbarns
Sunningdale
Royal County Down
Royal Portrush
Merion
Royal Liverpool (Hoylake)
Royal St. George's (Sandwich)
Sand Hills
Woodhall Spa
Yeamans Hall
The Best Holes I've Played
Aronomink #1 (a donald ross gem, one of the best starting holes)
Baltimore Five Farms #14 (a brilliant Tillinghast par five on great terrain)
Bethpage #4 (could be the single best hole in the world)
Carnoustie #17 (watch the burn, a harder hole than #18)
Chantilly Veneuil #17 (Simpson´s magic par three in the valley)
Chicago Golf #12 ("Punchbowl", tee shot over hill, uphill to punchbowl green)
Cruden Bay #15 ("Blin' Dunt", sorry, we like the blind par 3s)
Crystal Downs #7 (Mackenzie gem, tree in the middle of fairway)
Cypress Point #14 (sharp dogleg right, up the hill through the Cypress trees)
Cypress Point #15 (the sexiest hole in golf, par 3 in an alcove)
Cypress Point #16 (the most famous par three in golf, 200+ carry over water)
Cypress Point #17 (tee off on top of the headlands over water, 2nd shot over trees)
Durban #3 (a par five in a valley surrounded by bush)
Forsgate #8 (world-class par five by "Steamshovel Banks", long and hard)
Hirono #14 (a par four so hard that it has its own escalator)
Hirono #15 (par five with three distinctive fairway areas between ravines)
Honors Course #12 (Short Pete Dye par 4 with tree blocking approach, small green)
Inverness #7 (Downhill-Uphill, par 4 with a snaking burn)
Kawana #15 (par five along the Pacific; as good as any hole at Pebble Beach)
Lahinch #6 ("Dell", blind par 3 anyone?)
Maidstone #14 (within the dunes, finest one shot hole in the world?)
Merion #1 (pressure from the lunch crowd, great scene)
Merion #11 (the hole Bobby Jones won the grand slam on)
Mid-Ocean #5 ("Cape", impossible to hit the fairway into the wind)
Morfontaine Valliere #3 (short par four with risk, heather and magic)
Morfontaine Valliere #4 (downhill par three in a sea of heather and fern)
Myopia Hunt Club #18 (what a finishing hole should be)
National Golf Links #17 ("Peconic". Play it once before you die!)
National Golf Links #14 ("Cape" Hole, MacDonald was a genius!)
Naruo Golf Club #8 (Double dog leg left, sweeping semicircle, Alison gem)
North Berwick #15 (the original Redan, magical place)
Pine Valley #2 (deceptively narrow fairway, hugh upill second shot, severe green)
Pine Valley #5 (A heroic par three)
Pine Valley #7 (Hell's Half Acre, strong par five)
Pine Valley #10 ("Devil's Ass H---". Avoid the front bunker!)
Prairie Dunes #8 (uphill all the way, wavy fairways)
Prairie Dunes #12 (Cottonwood tree sentinals force a low shot to a hard green)
Prestwick #1 (we know it's short, but the history and railroad make it ideal)
Riviera #10 (who says a short par 4 can't be challenging?)
Royal Liverpool #3, previously #1 (O.B. right, no bunkers, 90° dogleg right)
Royal St. Georges #4 (world class bunker, wild fairway, severe green)
Royal St. Georges #8 (par 4, super contouring around the green)
Royal St. Georges #14 (par 5, O.B. right, strategic bunkering on approach)
Royal County Down #9 (one of the most scenic par 4s)
Royal Troon #8 ("Postage Stamp", much harder than it looks)
Sand Hills #8 (short par 4 with great risk/reward)
Sand Hills #14 (short 5 with great risk/reward and a severe front/back green)
Sea Island Seaside Course #4 (now that is a dog-leg. So sharp you can cut yourself)
Sebonack #2 (between the Elms, through the sand and up the hill)
Somerset Hills #15 ("Happy Valley", the name says it all, great par 4)
Sypglass Hill #2 ("Billy Bones", risk-reward par four with view of Monterey Bay)
St. Andrews Old #17 ("The Road Hole". Par is a great score here)
Sunningdale #6, #7 and #10 (one of the prettiest courses anywhere)
The Country Club #11 ("Himalayas", hit between the rock & canyon on this par 5)
Valderrama #10 (Dogleg around the cork tree with no margin for error)
Winged Foot West #10 ("Pulpit", Tillinghast excelled at par 3s)
Winged Foot East #13 ("Cameo", a quintessential Tillinghast hole)
Woodhall Spa #16 (who says short par 4s are easy?)
Yeamans Hall #1 (one of the best and most interesting greens in the world)
Favorite Architects
Charles Blair MacDonald
Willie Park, Jr.
H.S. Colt
Tom Simpson
Perry Maxwell
Charles Alison
Alister Mackenzie
Under Rated Courses
National Golf Links of America
Carnoustie
Cruden Bay
Sunningdale (Old)
Kingsbarns
Bandon Dunes
Winged Foot (East)
Royal Liverpool (Hoylake)
Kawana (Fuji)
Naruo
Valderrama
Over-Rated Courses
Medinah #3
Royal Troon (Old)
Oak Hill (East)
Royal Birkdale
Fishers Island
Ocean Forest
Wentworth (West)
Courses that Should be on the List
North Berwick, Scotland
Prestwick, Scotland
Old Head, Kinsale, Ireland
Myopia Hunt Club, Massachusetts
Sebonack, New York
Chantilly, Paris
Best Opening Holes
Spyglass Hill holes 1 through 4
Best Finishing Holes
Carnoustie holes 16 through 18
Worth the trip
The winding entry driveways through the forest at both Yeamans Hall and Morfontaine
The playboy mansion off the 13th green at Los Angeles Country Club
Monkeys on the course at Durban Country Club
Nude sunbathing on an adjacent beach at El Saler
Outside traction system for clubs and escalators for players add to Naruo's allure
Standing on the first tee at the Old Course at St. Andrews
The 19th century and regal feel of Myopia Hunt Club, especially when the riders are out
Comments:
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I hope you don't mind me saying but you have under clubbed on a few of my personal favorites!
1. Merion (#13)- this golf club while challanging is the best golf experience I have had. The round of golf that requires strategy on every swing is the type of course that a quality golfer longs to play. The short dog leg right 1st hole - 3 wood maybe less to be 135 out - to large fast green in which you have to be under the pin or three putts creept into your pyche. I played a perfect tee shot to 135 and slightly pulled my 9 iron into the bunker and plugged and tripplied the hole - almost ruined my round!
2. Ballybunion (#14) !!!! - the greatest golf experience. I went out as the first group, the mist just lifting and a fresh cuban cigar filling my head with sweet aroma and a slight case of mild nauseu and dizziness. True golf - this is the place I will take my sons to when they are old enough to enjoy the game. Please provide some additional detail on this wonderful place.
These two should be more like #7 - #8
3. Bethpage Black - Merion is tough for the good golfer, Bethpage is Mount Everest for a man in a wheelchair! Tell me more about your experience at Bethpage - great setup but make sure you hire a caddy prior to going to the course. Big mistake! I think it was the 8th hole, uphill par 4 - I hit a solid drive into the wind and rain and cleared the bunker that runs along the fairway by 10 yards. Probably hit the ball 265 yards. I had 220 yards at least - uphill into the wind. I hit a hard 4 iron as good as I could hit it and was just right of the green in shin deep rough - I bogeied the hole! - I think I one-putted.
I liked the blog - if you need help geeting onto any courses let me know - or if you need a fourth let me know.
1. Merion (#13)- this golf club while challanging is the best golf experience I have had. The round of golf that requires strategy on every swing is the type of course that a quality golfer longs to play. The short dog leg right 1st hole - 3 wood maybe less to be 135 out - to large fast green in which you have to be under the pin or three putts creept into your pyche. I played a perfect tee shot to 135 and slightly pulled my 9 iron into the bunker and plugged and tripplied the hole - almost ruined my round!
2. Ballybunion (#14) !!!! - the greatest golf experience. I went out as the first group, the mist just lifting and a fresh cuban cigar filling my head with sweet aroma and a slight case of mild nauseu and dizziness. True golf - this is the place I will take my sons to when they are old enough to enjoy the game. Please provide some additional detail on this wonderful place.
These two should be more like #7 - #8
3. Bethpage Black - Merion is tough for the good golfer, Bethpage is Mount Everest for a man in a wheelchair! Tell me more about your experience at Bethpage - great setup but make sure you hire a caddy prior to going to the course. Big mistake! I think it was the 8th hole, uphill par 4 - I hit a solid drive into the wind and rain and cleared the bunker that runs along the fairway by 10 yards. Probably hit the ball 265 yards. I had 220 yards at least - uphill into the wind. I hit a hard 4 iron as good as I could hit it and was just right of the green in shin deep rough - I bogeied the hole! - I think I one-putted.
I liked the blog - if you need help geeting onto any courses let me know - or if you need a fourth let me know.
# posted by 
: 10:34 AM
: 10:34 AM
Left off the list is Olympia Fields. While the USGA messed up the setup for the Open, only three players broke par. Olympia Fields is one of the few clubs that has two championship level courses - the famous North Course, and the newly renovated South Course, which many members prefer.
# posted by : 9:11 PM
: 9:11 PM
Check out Royal Cinque Ports in Deal, Kent next time you are in the south of England. This is one of the forgotten great links of the U.K. Easily good enough to host an Open championship and possibly will in the not too distant future.
# posted by : 11:39 AM
: 11:39 AM
What about Torrey Pines?? I played just before they closed the course for the open this year. While any other year this may not compete... This year was WORLD CLASS. When they bring the open back... It will be well worth the 300$ it will cost to play. Hit them long and straight my friend.
# posted by : 6:28 AM
: 6:28 AM
Fantastic site and great writing about trips that most of us only dream about. I just got back from Scotland and agree completely with your assesments of Carnoustie and North Berwick and The Old Course. Also completely agree with your view of Medinah, which I was glad to see that I wasn't crazy. By the way, just for editing purposes, in your list of favorite holes you've played, North Berwick's Redan hole is #15. Outstanding work and thanks for a fantastic site.
# posted by : 11:58 AM
: 11:58 AM 
I agree with you on several things: San Francisco GC and Sunningdale are the clubs I would most like to be a member at. Secondly, I agree about the In and Out Burger, I went there after playing at Olympic one time, its off that road between John Daly and Highway 1, but when I went back I couldn't find it. Great food though!
# posted by : 5:49 AM
: 5:49 AM
Hello i dont know if anyone here could help me. My Step dad has been trying to complete the top 100 golf courses and so far he has done 98 of them. I am not very big on golf myself but i believe it is quite a challenge to complete so many as they tend to change quite a lot.
He has recently been diagnosed with terminal cancer and i know his dream is to play Loch Lomond. I have since found out how difficult it is to play there. I have spoken to macmillan cancer trust and they were advised that the only way he would be able to play there is if a member signed him in.
If anyone could help or give some advise as to anyone who could be contacted i would be eternaly gratefull. My Email address is Monkeykingsp@aol.co.uk.
Any advise at all would be truely appreciated.
Many thanks
Casey
He has recently been diagnosed with terminal cancer and i know his dream is to play Loch Lomond. I have since found out how difficult it is to play there. I have spoken to macmillan cancer trust and they were advised that the only way he would be able to play there is if a member signed him in.
If anyone could help or give some advise as to anyone who could be contacted i would be eternaly gratefull. My Email address is Monkeykingsp@aol.co.uk.
Any advise at all would be truely appreciated.
Many thanks
Casey
# posted by : 3:01 AM
: 3:01 AM
童貞卒業を考えているなら、迷わずココ！今まで童貞とヤッた事がない女性というのは意外と多いものです。そんな彼女たちは一度童貞とやってみたいと考えるのは自然な事と言えるでしょう。当サイトにはそんな好奇心旺盛な女性たちが登録されています
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