Some golf holes are just better than others. A course cannot have 18 "signature holes," regardless of how aggressive, jaded, or obtuse the marketing plan is for that course.
There are some golf holes that just elicit joy when standing on the tee box, a smile, the thought: "I can't wait to play this hole."
There are others that after walking toward the next tee get a sigh of relief: "whew, that's over."
Some are perfect representations of their place, or course style, or atmosphere.
Compiling this list of golf holes that I love (that I've played), I realized that I love certain golf holes for all those different reasons.
(Yardages are listed from the regular / member / white / where I played them from tees.)
Bethpage State Park (Black Course): Hole 4
Par 5, 461 yards
Bethpage State Park's Black Course is known to be a brute - and it's famous first tee sign suggests as such - and the par-5 fourth hole is no exception.
While it is a short par 5 by scorecard yardage, the hole plays longer as its first fairway is about 20 yards wide with a bunker left and thick rough right. Couple that with an uphill approach over a Tillinghast Great Hazard, and this hole is a beast.
So why do I love it even after saying, yeah it's kind of impossible?
After holing out on the third green and making the turn to the left toward, you see this merciless hole from above as the fourth is slightly below the third green - it is all out in front of you. It looks easier than it is.
It has a great example of one of A.W. Tillinghast's common design features: the Great Hazard.
It's a grand hole. Even though it is only the fourth, it feels important. Play it well and your round is off to a great start. Struggle, and it may be a long day on the Black.
Forsgate Country Club (Banks Course): Hole 17
Par 3, 201 yards
There is something special about playing a Biarritz hole, and the Banks Course at Forsgate Country Club in Monroe, New Jersey has a great one. The front of the green was restored, returning this hole to its originally intended and magnificent green.
This hole plays 201 yards from the member tees (but can play up a listed 239 yards - which would be even longer if the hole was on the back shelf as above!), but depending on the hole location on the 72 yard long(!) green can play anywhere from a short iron to a long iron (or even a hybrid or fairway wood!).
When my group played this hole in a charity outing - thankfully it was a shamble format so we could experience this great course mostly playing our own ball (charity event organizers take note!) - it was the raffle hole. Pay into the pot, and for every ball on the green, the group got an extra raffle ticket. Do you play a short iron to the front of the green to almost guarantee a raffle ticket, or play to the back tier with a long iron to try to improve your group's score? A dilemma I am sure Charles Banks did not consider when designing this golf hole.
The Ridge at Back Brook: Hole 7
Par 5, 550 yards
A downhill par five, the 7th hole at the Ridge at Back Brook in Ringoes, New Jersey offers a multitude of options on how to play it and includes a key aesthetic feature of the course.
The tee shot is to a wide fairway. From there, the player has three options: (1) go for the green, protected by a bunker left (hitting off the fairway from a hook lie), (2) play to a lower fairway on the left, or (3) play to a higher fairway on the right. The hole location may play a factor in this decision.
The two approach fairways are split by two bunkers and rock outcroppings which are a feature throughout the course. Play to the upper fairway requires a carry of rock outcropping known as "the moonscape."
I love this hole because of its options of play, scoring potential, beauty, and cohesion with the rest of the course.
Harbour Town Golf Links: Hole 18
Par 4, 414 yards
The final three holes at Harbour Town Golf Links on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina are unlike the first fifteen: they play along the water. The Calibogue Sound to be specific.
(Side note: the last two syllables of "Calibogue" is pronounced awfully close to "bogey"... hopefully that doesn't foreshadow the score on the holes.)
Not to take anything away from the architectural qualities of the first fifteen holes at Harbour Town, but the playing corridors of those holes are like many courses on Hilton Head: through residential areas, abutting backyards of houses, and crossing neighborhood streets.
But on the last three holes, you can feel the breeze coming off the Sound, see the water, and really feel like you are on an island.
The final hole plays toward the Harbour Town lighthouse, an icon not just for Sea Pines (the residential area and resort which includes Harbour Town) but for the entire island as well.
The drive is over a marsh to the widest - by far - fairway on the course: almost 80 yards wide! The second shot is also over a marsh on the direct line to the narrow green, which is protected by bunkers in front and behind and the Sound immediately to the left. There is plenty of room to bail out right, but that leaves a difficult chip or pitch with the penalty area directly behind the green.
The finale at Harbour Town embraces its sense of place: the water, tidal marshes, and the lighthouse.
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