My Dream 18: The Front Nine
It's possible, even probable, that this list is changing as you read this.
As noted, as this article is going live, I’m off in either Wales or England playing one of fourteen rounds of golf in a trip I’ve called The English Breakfast Tee. Oh, what a punny delight.
And as I am not sure I’ll be writing over there, I tried to schedule a post or two, because that’s just the kind of guy I am. Thankfully, a few folks gave me some ideas that helped pave the way. One of them is the idea of a Dream 18.
This is something that’s also been called an Eclectic 18, but the idea is your personal favorite holes on courses that you’ve played, but each hole has to align with the number on the course. That is, the first hole has to be the first hole on the course. The 18th hole is the 18th hole, etc. It doesn’t have to be a par-72, it doesn’t have to be a certain yardage (mine ended up being annoyingly neat, I actually wanted it to be a bit more quirky), and basically, that’s it. Oh, and you can only use each course one time.
It’s … really tough.
The main inspiration for this - though again, places like Cookie Jar Golf have been doing this for awhile - was Tron from No Laying Up’s post on Instagram, and like him, I will say that if I sat down to do this again tomorrow, even if I wasn’t out playing some great courses, there’s no doubt this would change. And I’ll also acknowledge how fortunate I’ve been. 10 of these 18 courses are overseas, and the eight courses from the United States aren’t exactly slouches. I get it.
Enough of my yapping, let’s boogie.
BALLYBUNION - 1 “SIMPSONS”
The famine graveyard sits to the right, a stark reminder of the serious history of the area and also very much out of bounds for the slicer in your group. But going right of the bunkers on the left side is the right play for the best line into the green, so it will tempt you into a risky decision. Just look at that view. What a way to start your round.
ARDGLASS - 2 “HOWD’S HOLE”
I was tempted to show the video of my friend Rob hitting his shot into the cavern in front of this green, but then I’d likely have to admit he came back to beat me in our match here. Ardglass says depending on the wind, you can use 13 of the 14 clubs in your bag on this 165 yard hole (I’m assuming your putter is not in play here). It is incredibly intimidating and the inclination is to club up - which is why the tricky green and bunkers make that an almost certain bogey if you go long.
OLD MACDONALD - 3 “SAHARA”
It’s not just the Ghost Tree, which I obviously love (I have a tattoo of it, I get it.) The hole is so strategic, you can make a birdie or a double bogey. The key is to hit it over the hill that the tree sits upon, and the tree itself is an aiming point towards the green. (The tree is now supported by cables, which honestly feels sad, and as much as I love it, at this point if they let it fall down and just put a big white rock at the top of the hill, I think that would be okay too.) If you not only clear the hill but land in the right spot you could be almost on the green with your tee shot. Or, you could be in a bunker off to the right.
LAHINCH - 4 “KLONDYKE”
The first of the “that hole could never be built today” holes, the Klondyke is a par-5 hole with a huge mound between your tee shot and the green. With a decent drive you have a chance to go for it in two, but absolutely no idea as to whether you’ve made it, aside from a marker who sits on the mound watching your shot.
It’s a truly absurd and fun holes on one of my favorite courses in the world.
BANDON TRAILS - 5
I think Bandon Trails has the best set of par-3’s on the property (except for the par-3 course Bandon Preserve, and even that is worth a discussion) and my favorite on Trails is the 5th hole. It’s only 125 yards, but no matter where the pin is, I find myself nervous on the tee and in my head.
SHEEP RANCH - 6
Back to back Bandon courses! Sheep Ranch has a few misses but I can’t imagine anyone thinks the 6th hole is one of them. The best line off the tee forces you to hit over this chasm, similar to the second shot on the 8th hole at Pebble Beach. It’s a very long par-4 and it’s quite a test with an elevated green. It’s a really, really good hole.
ROYAL PORTRUSH (DUNLUCE) - 7 “CURRAN POINT”
Perhaps it’s heresy to take a “new” hole at a venerable course as a favorite, but I like what I like. And I really liked this uphill par-5 with massive dunes on the right that probably could be played twenty different ways based on skills, weather and strategies.
PEBBLE BEACH - 8
Did I mention the 8th hole at Pebble Beach? I did. And it’s because it’s such a remarkable hole. (Did I mention that I’ve played the course twice and made par here both times? I didn’t? Oh, it would be a bit brazen to say so? You’re right, I won’t mention that.) The fact that it’s also the site of one of the dumbest decisions by one of my favorite golfers only adds to the charm.
ROYAL COUNTY DOWN - 9
Like many traditional courses, RCD finishes it’s front nine back at the clubhouse, which sits below the Morne mountain in the background. It’s absolutely stunning, made more so by the fact that it sits below the teeing area. It’s hard to overstate how much of a drop-off there is from the tee to the fairway, but hopefully the second shot below shows that. (Our fourth, Rob, is off somewhere to the right looking for his tee shot.) It’s just a stunning hole that wraps up essentially a perfect front nine on what is, essentially an almost perfect golf course.
That’s the front nine. The back nine will come in a future post.
Have you played any of these holes? Have you put together your Dream 18?
I'm just out here catching strays!!! And yes Scott, 9 at RCD is unreal even off in the gorse and dunes....
Besides the Pebble hole, generally how well have you played these? Speaking for myself, I’m a very simple man. If someone asks if I like a course, invariably I say yes if I had a good (for me) round there. So if I did this exercise, I think it would skew towards my own success over a hole’s general awesomeness.