[Patrick Hodgdon]

Wow, I'm excited to steal 3rd place from a number of other good entries! Thanks for doing this Ben, it was a lot of fun to see what everyone put together.

[Keith OHalloran]

Ben,
What happened to sway you off your opinion in post 83?

[jeffwarne]

[/quote]
Nice work Ben

[Sven Nilsen]

Ben, Jeff and Mike:

I'm honored (and a bit shocked) to have my entry picked as the winner.  I'm a big fan of these types of exercises on this site and hope there are more to follow.

As much as I'd love to get down to Aiken for a round at Palmetto, I'm not really sure if it will be feasible.  If its okay with you, I'd like to contribute the round to the next edition of the world's greatest golf raffle.

Sven

[Sean Leary]

1 Merion (Par 4) - 360 yds
2 Pine Valley (Par 4) - 368 yds
3 National Golf Links of America (Par 4) - 430 yds
4 Lahinch (Par 5) - 475 yds
5 Crystal Downs (Par 4) - 355 yds
6 Royal Melbourne West (Par 4) - 428 yds
7 San Francisco (Par 3) - 189 yds
8 Pebble Beach (Par 4) - 427 yds
9 Yale (Par 3) - 235 yds

Out - 3267 yds (Par 35)

10 Riviera (Par 4) - 315
11 Pacific Dunes (Par 3) - 148 yds
12 Barnbougle Dunes (Par 4) - 278 yds
13 Augusta National (Par 5) - 510 yds
14 Royal Dornoch (Par 4) - 459 yds
15 North Berwick (Par 3) - 190 yds
16 Cypress Point (Par 3) - 230 yds
17 St. Andrews (Par 4) - 495 yds
18 Royal Lytham & St. Annes (Par 4) - 410 yds

In -  3,035 yds (Par 34)
Total - 6,302 (Par 69)

Par 3's - 148, 189, 190, 230, 235
Par 4's - 278, 315, 355, 360, 368, 410, 427, 428, 430, 459, 495
Par 5's - 475, 510

The Redan and SF#7 are similar in scorecard length but I can't imagine many folks will be pulling the same club.  The same could be said for the Biarritz and the 16th.  The similarity in the lengths of holes 1, 2 and 5 is more than made up for by the distractions at each.  The 3rd at NGLA, the 6th at RMW and the 8th at PB play to different effective lengths, especially considering the nature of the tee shot on 8 and the approach required for each hole.  

General themes:

Holes 1 - 3:  an homage to 80 page threads
Holes 4 - 6:  the good doctor's influence
Holes 7 - 9:  Tupac v. Biggie
Holes 10 - 12:  short but sweet
Holes 13 - 15:  stand alone masterpieces
Holes 16 - 18:  a fitting close

I'd vote for an out and back routing with the predominant wind working with you on the front and hurting on the back.  I can see a St. Andrew's like loop after 8 returning for 11 along the coast.
  
Edit: to correct an egregious misspelling and converting the yardage of the 12th at Barnie from meters to yards.

Here is Sven's submission...

[Garland Bayley]

Okay, I completed my entry yesterday while waiting for an oil change --...

Sounds like you had a pretty easy job.

 

[Dan Kelly]

1 Merion (Par 4) - 360 yds
2 Pine Valley (Par 4) - 368 yds
3 National Golf Links of America (Par 4) - 430 yds
4 Lahinch (Par 5) - 475 yds
5 Crystal Downs (Par 4) - 355 yds
6 Royal Melbourne West (Par 4) - 428 yds
7 San Francisco (Par 3) - 189 yds
8 Pebble Beach (Par 4) - 427 yds
9 Yale (Par 3) - 235 yds

Out - 3267 yds (Par 35)

10 Riviera (Par 4) - 315
11 Pacific Dunes (Par 3) - 148 yds
12 Barnbougle Dunes (Par 4) - 278 yds
13 Augusta National (Par 5) - 510 yds
14 Royal Dornoch (Par 4) - 459 yds
15 North Berwick (Par 3) - 190 yds
16 Cypress Point (Par 3) - 230 yds
17 St. Andrews (Par 4) - 495 yds
18 Royal Lytham & St. Annes (Par 4) - 410 yds

In -  3,035 yds (Par 34)
Total - 6,302 (Par 69)

Par 3's - 148, 189, 190, 230, 235
Par 4's - 278, 315, 355, 360, 368, 410, 427, 428, 430, 459, 495
Par 5's - 475, 510

The Redan and SF#7 are similar in scorecard length but I can't imagine many folks will be pulling the same club.  The same could be said for the Biarritz and the 16th.  The similarity in the lengths of holes 1, 2 and 5 is more than made up for by the distractions at each.  The 3rd at NGLA, the 6th at RMW and the 8th at PB play to different effective lengths, especially considering the nature of the tee shot on 8 and the approach required for each hole.  

General themes:

Holes 1 - 3:  an homage to 80 page threads
Holes 4 - 6:  the good doctor's influence
Holes 7 - 9:  Tupac v. Biggie
Holes 10 - 12:  short but sweet
Holes 13 - 15:  stand alone masterpieces
Holes 16 - 18:  a fitting close

I'd vote for an out and back routing with the predominant wind working with you on the front and hurting on the back.  I can see a St. Andrew's like loop after 8 returning for 11 along the coast.
  
Edit: to correct an egregious misspelling and converting the yardage of the 12th at Barnie from meters to yards.

Here is Sven's submission...

I'm sure I'm not the only one (you're almost never the only one!) who envies those of you who have stood on all 18 of these tees, and can nod in approval 18 times.

As for me: Four down, 14 to go!

[Simon Holt]

This was a great thread Ben.  I wish I had time to tweak my illegal winner!!!

[Michael George]

Ben:

Thanks for putting this together.  I really enjoyed the exercise.  Sven had a great course and deserved 1st place.  My only problem with his submission was that there was not a Dismal River hole 

[Scott Szabo]

12. Sand Hills              Par 4      415 yds

Michael,

Are you sure you have the right hole in the picture?  That looks like #14, rather than #12.

Scott

[Scott Szabo]

In one way it would be good if guys couldn't automatically head for top 25ish courses to find holes - maybe set a limit.  There were far too many representations from this group for my liking.

Now this would be a fun exercise. 

[Garland Bayley]

In one way it would be good if guys couldn't automatically head for top 25ish courses to find holes - maybe set a limit.  There were far too many representations from this group for my liking.

Now this would be a fun exercise. 

The problem is that we have all played great holes that few others know about. Although Sean has been particularly good at bringing some of those to light with his "winter" series posts, don't you think it would be impossible to judge such a contest?

[Scott Szabo]

In one way it would be good if guys couldn't automatically head for top 25ish courses to find holes - maybe set a limit.  There were far too many representations from this group for my liking.

Now this would be a fun exercise. 

The problem is that we have all played great holes that few others know about. Although Sean has been particularly good at bringing some of those to light with his "winter" series posts, don't you think it would be impossible to judge such a contest?

Absolutely, it would be impossible to judge.  But it doesn't have to be a contest.

I think it would be fun to learn of some of these hidden gems, and may spark some interesting dialogue. 

[Mark Saltzman]

In one way it would be good if guys couldn't automatically head for top 25ish courses to find holes - maybe set a limit.  There were far too many representations from this group for my liking.

Now this would be a fun exercise. 

The problem is that we have all played great holes that few others know about. Although Sean has been particularly good at bringing some of those to light with his "winter" series posts, don't you think it would be impossible to judge such a contest?

Absolutely, it would be impossible to judge.  But it doesn't have to be a contest.

I think it would be fun to learn of some of these hidden gems, and may spark some interesting dialogue. 

Agreed.  Excluding the top 50 or 100 courses in the world and making a list would be really interesting.

[Michael George]

Problem with excluding the top 100 is that people won't know many of the holes.  Now if you had to post pictures, that would be cool - however, I think Mark Saltzman would be the only entry

I have thought about contests like the best 18 in the metropolitan (CITY) area.  For instance, due to the large number of Chicago guys on the string, I think the best 18 in Chicagoland would be fun. 

Regardless, this was a really fun exercise.  Thanks again Ben.

[Kalen Braley]

Is it ironic that a course with both a hole from ANGC and TOC won?  After all the fuss and muss about that on the earlier pages? 

Congrats to Sven on a job well done, way to go mate!

[Howard Riefs]

A fun exercise and congrats to the winners.

Look forward to completing the next contest while waiting for a tune up.

[Mark_Rowlinson]

Great fun! Thank you for thinking of it and putting in so much effort.

[Eric Smith]

Ben,

I missed seeing how this ended up. Nice to hear you all had some fun in Aiken as well. I agree with your selecting Sven's course - it is super solid. However, I was sort of surprised that you chose it, knowing what you wrote earlier in the thread.

My personal opinion is that a course with a hole from ANGC with a hole from Royal Dornoch is missing the point of the exercise in some ways. 

Would you mind answering Keith's query below? I typed this r e a l l y  s l o w too so not to be accused of rapid fire posting. If you did have a change of heart and mind re: this, could you tell us more about it? Thanks.

Ben,
What happened to sway you off your opinion in post 83?

[jeffwarne]

Ben,

I missed seeing how this ended up. Nice to hear you all had some fun in Aiken as well. I agree with your selecting Sven's course - it is super solid. However, I was sort of surprised that you chose it, knowing what you wrote earlier in the thread.

My personal opinion is that a course with a hole from ANGC with a hole from Royal Dornoch is missing the point of the exercise in some ways. 

Would you mind answering Keith's query below? I typed this r e a l l y  s l o w too so not to be accused of rapid fire posting. If you did have a change of heart and mind re: this, could you tell us more about it? Thanks.

Ben,
What happened to sway you off your opinion in post 83?

The original judge/appointed judges politely explained to Ben that variety was the spice of life; and after enlightening him on this, were distracted by the rigors of interviewing interim guest judges , thus leaving the newly enlightened Ben to make the final calls.

[JNC Lyon]

My list, after the fact.  Obviously, it won't count, but I love lists like this.  So here goes:


Best Eclectic 18 Holes:
1.   Yeamans Hall – 420 – 4
2.   Dismal River – 450 – 4
3.   Inniscrone – 330 – 4
4.   Woking – 350 – 4
5.   Lancaster – 360 – 4
6.   Country Club of Buffalo – 175 – 3
7.   Ballyneal – 290 – 4
8.   Monroe – 140 – 3
9.   Yale – 210 – 3

10.   Renaissance – 570 – 5
11.   Leatherstocking – 570 – 5
12.   Swinley Forest – 450 – 4
13.   North Berwick – 4 – 360
14.   Royal Dornoch – 440 – 4
15.   North Berwick – 190 – 3
16.   The Addington – 510 – 5
17.   Deal – 390 – 4
18.   Garden City – 190 – 3

Par 70, 6,395 Yards Total (Approximate)  The nines are unbalanced in par, but I love every single hole on this list.

[Ben Sims]

Ben,

I missed seeing how this ended up. Nice to hear you all had some fun in Aiken as well. I agree with your selecting Sven's course - it is super solid. However, I was sort of surprised that you chose it, knowing what you wrote earlier in the thread.

My personal opinion is that a course with a hole from ANGC with a hole from Royal Dornoch is missing the point of the exercise in some ways. 

Would you mind answering Keith's query below? I typed this r e a l l y  s l o w too so not to be accused of rapid fire posting. If you did have a change of heart and mind re: this, could you tell us more about it? Thanks.

Ben,
What happened to sway you off your opinion in post 83?

Eric,

I can see where some would argue that I sold out on my original opinion.  I would say that they're only 50% correct.  I did help choose some winners that are a bit jumpy in where they are located.  But you'll see that--and especially in Sven's case--there is a commonality of playing characteristic in many of his stretches of holes.  Sven does also have the commonality of ocean (Royal Lytham a bit off the ocean) on his 5 hole finishing stretch. 

Simply put, I wanted to play his the most. 

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