Hole Rankings

One thing about golf courses is that everyone has very different opinions – one person might like a perfectly green, lush course with big white bunkers and another might prefer a course that plays firmer with a more rugged aesthetic.  One person may think an egregiously long par 4 is a really fun challenge, one person might be annoyed. 

 

So I hope that people understand that my rankings reflect my own very personal opinion – this is not meant to be represented as some objective review despite it being very numerical.

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If you ask me to describe what I like in a golf hole or a golf course, I have some general ideas that I’ll mostly stand by.  But for most of my very favorite holes, its just kind of a feeling that hits me as I’m playing it – I can describe the individual parts of those holes that I like but the real answer is more just that the hole/course makes me feel something that I can’t really explain.

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But in general, I can break down my favorite aspects of golf course architecture into a couple of categories: initial impression/uniqueness, scale, greens, and strategy/clarity.

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Initial Impression/Uniqueness

Probably the biggest influence on my opinion of a golf hole is how I feel about the hole when I first get up to the tee box.  This is a tough one to put into words, but for my favorite holes ever, I've legitimately laughed out loud when I first saw the hole.  ​The 1st hole at Primland, the 13th hole at Ocean Dunes, the 5th hole at Royal Melbourne, and the 3rd hole at Tot Hill Farm are a few holes that come to mind that put a smile on my face the entire time I was playing them.

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There are many things that can make a course/experience/hole unique, but I am a huge fan of anything that makes me feel this way.  It’s not a coincidence that when I think about my favorite golf places in the world (listed below), almost all of these are incredibly unique in different ways.

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1. Schoolhouse Nine (par 3 course in the middle of Shenandoah that you can play over and over again for $20, usually empty and can walk around barefoot)

2. Cape Wickham (the most outrageous setting (golf or non-golf) that I have ever experienced)

3. Nemacolin (Mystic Rock)  (not quite as unique as others, but my first favorite course and located in a beautiful setting in the middle of the mountains)

4. Lehigh CC (again, not quite as unique as the others but a spectacular William Flynn design that I’ve played more than any other course)

5. Tot Hill Farm (One of the craziest and most spectacular courses I’ve ever played, almost every hole would be shocking at any other course)

6. King Island Golf & Bowling Club (9 hole course on a similar setting to Cape Wickham, maintained by locals and having truly otherworldly scenery)

7. Steel Club  (not super unique, just one of my favorite courses anywhere to get to play)

8. The Bootlegger @ Forest Dunes (awesome par 3 course with great greens and a very cool vibe)

9. Marquette (Greywalls) (similar to Tot Hill Farm, one of the craziest courses I’ve ever played on a truly outrageous plot of land)

10. Bulle Rock  (nothing too unique here, just another course that I love playing)

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So it might be the setting, the aesthetics, the remoteness, the culture, or the course architecture that makes a course unique, but finding a course or hole that feels this way is truly a treat.

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Scale

Something that I really appreciate is when a golf hole either matches the scale of the land (or is even smaller).  For the most part, I am not a huge fan of large, broad, slopes and huge greens, and I like to see a little bit of abnormality and severity to give holes some definition. 

 

One example of a course that think does this really well is Cape Wickham.  The land and the site is so ridiculous throughout the course, but the holes typically have only a couple of smaller sharply defined features.  My favorite holes are ones where the land has a lot going on and the hole design does not try to compete with that.  Having said that, there are some courses that I love where the design is somewhat over the top and stands out that way.  Tot Hill Farm is a good example of this, but it still mostly matches the very hilly site and maintains the ruggedness and severity that I like.​

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My thoughts on the width of a hole are very related to my thoughts on scale.  I support the idea that wide fairways allow for more playability and reinforce the importance of proper angles into greens for better players, but I think this is highly condition-dependent for angles to actually matter.  Having said that, one thing that will almost immediately make me hate a golf hole is if the corridor of play is too narrow.  If there is a situation where there is lost ball right and left, the playing corridor needs to be wide enough to allow for some margin of error.  I don't mind an extremely tight hole with trees on either side if the trees are thin enough to allow for some creativity to get the ball up near the green.  And if the fairways are extremely wide, I prefer holes that have some definition on the tee shot to where you can't just hit driver as far as you can. 

 

My two favorite courses do an excellent job of maintaining width but adding challenge and interest to tee shots.  At Pinehurst No. 2, the fairways are reasonably generous, but a miss results in a punishment either in a fairway bunker or waste area.  Missing a fairway still allows for an opportunity to recover without a lost ball, but there is still a proper penalty for doing so.  Royal Melbourne (West) is similar.  The fairways are very generous, but the firm conditioning makes angles on approach shots so much more important.  Trees can come into play, but it is still difficult to lose a golf ball and the punishment for a miss is fair.  

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A course that is incredibly wide that could use a little more definition on the tee shots is Forest Dunes (The Loop).  In both directions, the fairways are extremely wide, but it lacks many defining items that would make the tee shots more interesting.  This is likely a product of needing the holes to work both ways, but in my opinion the lack of intrigue off the tee prevents many of the holes from being some of my favorites.

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Greens

In my opinion, having interesting greens is the easiest way to raise the floor of a golf course.  If there is a dead straight par 4 with a bunkerless, flat fairway that has an interesting green complex, I will most likely greatly prefer that hole compared to a hole with repetitive fairway bunkering and a flat green with bunkers short left and short right.  I tend to prefer greens that are on the smaller side with more severe slopes and runoffs, but I like any green that requires creativity on short game shots and putts.  

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I've only gotten to play three of his courses, but my favorite greens that I've played are on Alister MacKenzie courses.  Obviously Royal Melbourne (West) has some spectacular greensites, but a course like Titirangi in Auckland best captures what I'm trying to say here.  Titirangi has a relatively boring layout and some nondescript tee shots, but it gets significantly elevated just because of how awesome the greens are.  And when it comes to greens that I like, they need to straddle the line between complexity and restraint.  I generally love playing Doak greens because they have a lot going on, but there is usually at least one hole on every Doak course (and in the case of Te Arai (North), practically every hole on the course) where the green is so crazy that it doesn't make sense.  I'd rather have greens like that than greens that are completely flat and boring green complexes, but my ideal greens fall somewhere in between.​​

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Strategy/Clarity

While I do care a lot about some outside factors like aesthetics and scenery, my favorite courses are ones that still manage to provide substance for the golf itself.  I love having to think my way around a course and having to be mentally engaged for an entire round.  The best experience of this that I’ve had has been at Royal Melbourne.  On every shot, you have several different options that can all be the right selection, but each requires a different shot shape, a different landing spot, and a different risk.  Being successfully aggressive provides a significant reward, but there is also risk associated with it.  Having features that define tee shots and approach shots and require actual thought and strategy significantly augments a golfing experience.