One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. Or, if you prefer: Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. The point is, there are plenty of things and—more specifically—plenty of golf holes that inspire disparate reactions. Here, we take a closer look at eight holes at famous resorts that are known for the love-hate relationship that golfers have after playing them.
Quivira Golf Club, 6th Hole—Cabo San Lucas, B.C.S., Mexico
After a long cart ride from the 5th green, one that follows a path jackknifing up the cliff, golfers not only reach the course’s first comfort station but the first of several dramatically positioned golf holes. Perched along the sheer edge of a cliff face and enhanced by panoramic views of the Pacific Ocean, this short, dogleg-left par four allows players to grip it and rip it if they want to take a crack at driving the green, which requires a close-to-300-yard carry over the ocean. It’s a low-percentage shot for most, but playing the hole conservatively could leave golfers feeling the same way. The relatively narrow fairway runs along the top of the cliff, but it begins to slope downhill at about the halfway mark. That leaves players with a tricky stance, especially considering the requisite high-lofted shot they must hit if they want their approach shots to land—and stay on—the green that sits along the cliff’s edge at least 60 feet below. Visually, the hole is a masterpiece. From a playability standpoint, it leaves many golfers frustrated.
The Straits Course at Whistling Straits, 18th Hole—Kohler, Wis.
Carrying the name “Dyeabolical,” the finishing hole on Destination Kohler’s flagship golf course, three-time PGA Championship venue and 2021 Ryder Cup host Whistling Straits, is one that from tee to green will challenge—and intimidate—amateur players of all ability levels. The tee shot is unnerving, if only for the slew of deeply recessed bunkers left of the fairway and the fact that the plateau of short grass runs out after about 270 yards (from the Green tees, which play about 6,600 yards in total). The truly big hitters can attempt to carry the aforementioned bunkers on the left, which sets up a short iron into the green; but for the vast majority of players, a tee shot to the right will still leave a long iron or fairway wood into an amoeba-shaped green that’s heavily guarded by deep bunkers and ragged dunes everywhere. It’s a great finishing hole for major championship golf, but for the average amateur, it’s a brute that seems only to reward laser-straight drives and extremely precise approach shots.
Harbour Town Golf Links, 13th Hole—Hilton Head Island, S.C.
As is the case for many holes at Harbour Town, just being in the fairway on this short, subtle dogleg-left par four isn’t good enough. Only drives hit to a narrow strip on the very right side of the fairway (between 220 and 250 yards from the Blue tees) will face an unobstructed angle to the green. Should you be successful off the tee, you’ll be left with a wedge or short iron into a green that’s guarded by a horseshoe-shaped bunker furnished with Pete Dye’s signature railway ties. Players who succeeded off the tee will surely want to go pin hunting, but if the hole location on this bicycle-seat-shaped green is positioned anywhere on the front third of the putting surface, any slight miss left, right, or short could lead to a precarious situation where an up-and-down is hard to come by. Par is always a great score on this hole, and it mostly comes via an ideal drive, a defensive approach shot hit to the back section of the green, and a well-judged lag putt.
Bandon Trails at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, 14th Hole—Bandon, Ore.
Standing on the tee, golfers are presented a dramatic vista that overlooks the Back Ridge. This is the spot where Mike Keiser first glimpsed a full panorama of gorse bushes, shore pines, beach-grass-covered dunes, and forests of cedar and spruce—and it’s where Keiser knew he had found the location for his first transcendent American golf resort. The view is spectacular, and the sight looking down the 14th fairway is equally compelling; but playing the hole can be maddening. The downhill fairway is pitched significantly from left to right, which means tee shots that don’t hug the left side (flirting with the edge of the forest) will end up in a low valley on the right. From that vantage point, the putting surface of the steeply elevated green isn’t visible. More troublesome is the narrowness and slightly angled orientation of the green itself, which together produces a tiny landing zone. Perhaps most frustrating, both sides of the sloped green complex funnel balls into either low collection areas or bunkers. Many have found themselves hitting from one collection zone to the next as they try to execute the delicate chips or soft bunker shots that keep their ball on the narrow putting surface.
Pinehurst No. 4, 5th Hole—Pinehurst, N.C.
The 5th hole on Gil Hanse’s redesigned No. 4 course at Pinehurst is the first multi-shot hole on the front nine to effectively reveal much of the landing area from the tee. Hitting to an elevated fairway that first climbs uphill and then trundles across the hillside (pitching notably from left to right), golfers who execute good drives may see their balls bounce and roll out of sight—so long as their tee shots travel past the peak of the fairway’s initial ascent. However, the confidence that those players feel as they walk to their ball is likely to be short-lived. Only when golfers crest the hill will they see how far this gradual par four stretches—it plays 481 yards from the Blue tees and 460 yards from the Whites. The length of the second shot is also exacerbated by a raised green that rejects the vast majority of shots that land short of the surface. From tee to green, the hole is a beauty to look at; but it’s a beast to play.
Streamsong Black, 14th Hole—Bowling Green, Fla.
A well-designed drivable par four should do two things: It should entice golfers to pull driver from their bags, and it should sufficiently penalize those players if the drives that they hit venture too far off-line. The 14th hole on Streamsong’s Black course accomplishes both; however, some would likely argue it’s too penal. The green complex is ruggedly contoured with steep run-offs along the back and right, while a short bowl area in the very front adds another slope to contend with and is only helpful if the hole is cut in the green’s front quadrant. All of that would be acceptable if it weren’t for the sprawling, 100-yard-long bunker that runs up the left side of the fairway. While the far end of that hazard effectively defends the green, the rest of it only dooms players who aim to lay up off the tee but miss their line.
Links Course at Bay Harbor Golf Club, 7th Hole—Bay Harbor, Mich.
Perched along the edge of a bluff and offering unobstructed views of Lake Michigan, the first par five on the Links course at Bay Harbor in northern Michigan may not look polarizing, but it’s certain to solicit strong opinions based on the conditions. With the wind at their back, golfers won’t find the difficulty too imposing—the hole plays only 500 yards from the back tees. In fact, in those conditions, it’s reasonable to think that many players could find themselves with a short chip or pitch (even a putt) for their third. But if the wind should blow in the opposite direction, as it sometimes can, not only will players likely be forced to lay up on their second shots, but that layup will often leave them a blind shot to an elevated green. To be faced with such a challenging third shot after making a prudent decision will surely leave some golfers steaming, but regulars here will know it’s all a matter of how the wind blows.
Mystic Rock at Nemacolin, 11th Hole—Farmington, Pa.
The first par five on the back nine of Nemacolin’s former PGA Tour venue is a doozy, one that swoops gradually to the right and plays more than 600 yards from the back tees. As is customary for a Pete Dye-designed hole, the 11th provides players with two options off the tee: lay up with a shot of about 200 yards (from the Blue tees), which plays to the widest part of the fairway; or hit driver and try to thread the needle as the fairway narrows considerably beyond the 210-yard mark. But there’s a wrinkle. The fairway tumbles significantly downhill past that lay-up zone, which means players who pull out the big dog on the tee are effectively hitting a blind tee shot to a very narrow landing area with rock-and-boulder-strewn hillside that falls away on the right to a water hazard beyond—a hazard that incidentally affects future shots on the hole. It’s nothing but a hit-and-hope scenario on the tee for players who choose to hit driver.
