The Most Beautiful Holes In The Top 100
A glance at the criteria for evaluating our finest courses will reveal that while visual beauty is an important constituent, it is not quite so influential as others. Its value, both the individual holes and the views around it and beyond the course, counts for 15%.
There are many golfers who, from a purely personal perspective, would increase its weight. One of golf’s great debates is whether you would rather play a good course in a wonderful location, or a strategically excellent design but in a less attractive setting.
Regardless, the integrity of the Top 100 criteria has stood the test of time and rightly reflects that we all like different things.
So what makes for a beautiful golf hole? While this is naturally in the eye of the beholder, then when it comes to golf, it is probably a combination of two things. One is simply its physical appearance rather than whether it is technically a great design. The strategy, the precise placement of any bunkers or water, the green site and the immediate surroundings aren’t so important.
In simple terms, it is a golf hole that a non-golfer would admire. The second factor is the complete opposite. It is just how well designed and pleasing the hole is from a playing perspective. With regard to the Golf Monthly Top 100, the good news is that there are countless holes that more than satisfy both these visual and cerebral categories.
Par 3s
It is probably par 3s that come most readily to mind when we think of a beautiful golf hole. This is because they are a complete entity that can be instantly captured in one breathtaking moment as you step onto the tee.
Sunningdale (New) - Hole 5
The 5th on the New Course at Sunningdale, the new 11th on the Ailsa Course at Turnberry and the 13th at Hollinwell are just three where despite your enthusiasm to get on with things and to try and hit the green, you also want to wait a while to soak in the sights.
Hollinwell - Hole 13
While on par 3s, let’s not forget that there are literally hundreds all over the UK&I but at less celebrated courses that are just waiting to be discovered and enjoyed.
Par 4s
The most obvious beauty of a par 4 is in the inspirational view awaiting on the tee. More often than not it will be elevated, as this reveals more of the hole and excites the golfer. Three such holes in the Top 100 are the 2nd at Trevose with a desert of sand and the sea as a stunning backdrop...
Trevose (Championship) - Hole 2
... the 14th at Trump International Links Scotland where you peer down a corridor of magnificent, grassy dunes...
Trump International Links Scotland - Hole 14
... and the 14th at Tandridge Golf Club which is played from way up high down into a valley before crossing a ditch up to a beautifully-sited and well-protected green.
Tandridge - Hole 14
All of these have a gorgeous, inviting and very photogenic view for the drive.
Par 5s
Doonbeg - Hole 1
The opening hole at Doonbeg is a brilliant example whose beauty you can enjoy from the clubhouse and which acts as a real siren call to get out and play. There’s a lone fairway bunker on the right and then a welcoming party of seven more up by the amphitheatre setting of the green in the dunes. This makes for as compelling an opening hole as any. The benefit of some par 5s in terms of beauty is that occasionally you will get a triple whammy; a wow-factor drive, an intriguing second, and a lovely approach.
Adare Manor - Hole 18
One such example is the closing hole on the Golf Course at Adare Manor. From the tee, the river protects the left for as far as the eye can see with bunkers waiting for anything too long and right. The approach asks whether you cross the river now or later, and the green itself is beautifully positioned in front of the Manor. Great beauty all the way.
The physical and architectural beauty on offer in the Top 100 is enormous, and as a look through the galleries in the far more detailed reports available on the Golf Monthly website will reveal, there isn’t a course where great beauty in one form or another doesn’t exist.
