In this video, Golf Monthly's Top 100 UK & Ireland senior panellists Rob Smith and Jezz Ellwood discuss the best holes in the UK and Ireland. They are joined by Golf Monthly editor Michael Harris and the three of them each pick their favour par 3s, 4s and 5s from the Top 100 list. These are some of the most beautifully challenging holes in the world and the team discuss what makes them so special.
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00:00Hello everyone, Neil Tappan here from Golf Monthly and welcome to this video in which we're going to
00:03take a look at some of the best golf holes in the UK and Ireland in association with Peter Millar.
00:09Now the way in which we've worked this video is that I've recruited the help of Rob Smith
00:13and Jez Elwood who run our Top 100 Courses panel and Golf Monthly editor Mike Harris and I've asked
00:19them all for a nomination for their favourite par 3, par 4 and par 5. We're going to discuss
00:25exactly what makes these golf holes so special both in terms of the quality of the test and the
00:30design and also what makes them really exciting to play once you get there. Right we're here at
00:36Wapleston Golf Club, let's get started. Right so we are going to start with par 3s and Rob you're
00:48up first. What are you nominating as your best or one of your best par 3s? Well it's tricky to pick
00:54one out of so many obviously but the one that's always been in my mind. Very often people say
00:59what's your favourite golfing day out? I say Sunningdale because of the two courses. It's the
01:04fifth on the new course at Sunningdale. It is just sublimely beautiful. It's about 180 off the
01:10very back tees, 160ish off the regular tees, big cross bunker hidden down below in front of the
01:17green. Then there's two more that you really can't see that much of on the right of the green
01:21and behind it you see that sixth par 5 heading up into the distance as well.
01:25It is just you could be standing there and be back a hundred years it would just have looked
01:30exactly the same. It's just beautiful and mentioning a hundred years it is centenary
01:34this year for the new course so it seems an appropriate one to put in. Yeah and I think
01:37with all of the par 3s in particular they should all be great photo opportunities really shouldn't
01:43they? So Mike what would you put up as a great par 3? Well so it's really interesting you say
01:48great photo opportunity because it's a hole that whenever I go and play as long as it's not raining
01:54I'll take a photograph of it and it's the 11th at Royal Liverpool. I'm very lucky to be a member
01:58there. I started playing golf there in my 20s when I was at university and very lucky to be a member
02:05there and it's called Alps. All the holes at Hoy Lake have have names and it's just beautiful.
02:12You've got the de-estuary out to your left and it's a beautiful hole it's got a big dune behind it
02:21about 180 yards I think something like that from the you know from the sort of green tees which are
02:26our medal tees at Hoy Lake and it's a really good test. There's normally always a crosswind
02:32very rarely when you've been playing it down or into it's normally off the left so to control the
02:37ball with that length of shot it's always a good normally for me like a hybrid or you know sort of
02:43five wood. It's a great hole they've done some more contouring work behind the green
02:50and it's great runoff there's a big bunk which you think shouldn't be in play at all it's sort of
02:54short and right but it a lot of balls yeah go in there and then it's a really difficult shot to
03:00get it out there but you've got this amazing view I love to you know sort of stand take a picture
03:05just sort of you know look up you know look at the beauty of the hole but it's a really really
03:09great hole but I always think a good test of any hole when you look back is a good view as well
03:14and yeah 11th at Hoy Lake definitely and actually any par three with the crosswind is is tricky
03:20getting the clubbing right it's very difficult. Jess what have you got for well yeah as Rob says
03:25there's a cast of thousands I actually went for the 15th at St Enodoc which is a downhill par three
03:31mid-length and why I've particularly picked that out is because at that point in the round without
03:37being too unkind I think you've just played some of the less exciting holes at St Enodoc. Yeah
03:43because there are some it's important to say there are some unbelievably exciting holes there are
03:47some fantastic holes and then it just goes into this little section which is a bit quieter shall
03:51we say and then you reach this T and it's downhill and you see the estuary beyond you
03:57and it just reinvigorates the round for the final push for home and
04:0116 is a fantastic par five along the the camel estuary and then the last two holes are pretty
04:06strong as well but it just comes at the right time to give you that final push. There's something
04:10quite appealing about downhill yeah I think what is it you feel that you've seen the ball in flight
04:15but the whole way I don't know what it is you see everything don't you which you know an uphill
04:19just inviting yeah you can't always see that much of the green the element of elevation
04:24brings you great visuals doesn't it. Yeah okay Jez well fantastic par three on a brilliant golf
04:29course Rob your par four that you've gone for is the opening hole. It is and I think that actually
04:35opening holes is another good discussion point for top 100 but let's talk specifically about the
04:40first hole of the course that you've chosen here. Well I've chosen the the opening hole at Royal
04:46Porth Call which is one of my favourite courses we have it as the and most people do the best
04:50course in Wales. It's on a brilliant piece of lynxland that rises up from the coast and so
04:55as you come out into the first you see those holes stretching up into the hills beyond you and it
04:59really whets the appetite. The first is not particularly demanding unless the wind is
05:04blowing in or out and it very often is. I remember playing there with a group of a dozen or so of us
05:11and it was absolutely howling in off the beach. All of us of course tend to hit with a bit of a
05:17cut. One guy with us was delighted because he was a left-hander so it meant he could hit his first
05:22straight shot of the tour. We all had to aim out over the beach to keep it back on the hole
05:26but it's a great hole. So two or three bunkers down the left one on the right and then you've
05:30got a deep bunker short of the green but it eases you in. It's not too difficult but it's really
05:34appealing really attractive and a great start to an absolutely great round. What makes a great
05:39opening? I mean Rob you've just described it very well there but what do you think makes a good
05:43opening? Something that's not too hard. You've got to get people away haven't you?
05:47Yeah from a golfer's perspective certainly from a design perspective it could be very different but
05:53a brutally difficult first hole and I can think of a couple in our top 100
05:58where you're almost guaranteed to make bogey at best is probably not ideal. I think it's something
06:02again it's that pace of play it's like you do not want people spending 15-20 minutes playing the
06:06first hole because it's so hard. And also when you're playing a medal and you're watching the
06:10group in front of you having an absolute nightmare for the hole that you're about to play.
06:15I think we're talking about par threes you know an opening par three is not always great because
06:19it's usually a fairly lengthy one and you're hitting quite a small headed club for your
06:24first swing of the day and I'd rather be hitting a big headed drive to be honest.
06:29Right so Jess I'm going to go back to you again for this one. What's your,
06:32give us a nomination for one of your best holes as a par four.
06:37I've picked a long par four the ninth at Formby on the northwest coast there and it's 450-460 yards
06:45so it's no pushover. You do have an elevated tee to give you a bit of a potential advantage in
06:50terms of distance so you're playing straight towards the sea although you don't really
06:54realise it because there's a big stand of pines behind the green and it's just it's a test because
07:00you know you've got to get a good drive away for average golfers to get home in two but then when
07:05you get there the green is quite big not ridiculously sloping so if you do do the
07:10hard part and get there in two you have got half a chance of walking off with a par and feeling very
07:15pleased with yourself as you head to the 10th tee. Is the ninth at Formby a hole that they've
07:18made some changes to over the years? Well I think the ninth has changed recently they've
07:23moved the fairway a little bit further left I think to allow longer hitters to attack the hole
07:28if they want to. I think there was some cross rough before which meant longer hitters were
07:32perhaps having to lay up even on a long hole like that but around that part of the course at
07:38Formby there have been a lot of changes over the years because of coastal erosion so I think the
07:42holes before the ninth were new holes some years ago to replace holes that did actually get much
07:48closer to the sea. Yeah and of course Formby I mean just brilliant golf course that proper
07:54mix of two different styles you've got to play it to experience it for yourself it's quite hard
07:59to describe but well worth going to if you can. Mike give us another par 4. Yeah I'm afraid I'm
08:03going to talk about another club I'm very lucky to be a member of Royal North Devon, Westwood Hoe
08:11as it's also known and I'm going to go for the par 4 sixth hole. So you've just played this
08:20brilliant uphill par 3 fiendishly difficult surrounded by bunkers and you walk up and you
08:27are confronted with really inspirational 360 degree view you've got the wild Atlantic out to
08:33your left to go and look across over to Saunton to the golf courses over there in the hotel and
08:39then you've got Westwood Hoe and Northam behind you and it's just a really really incredible
08:47hole in terms of the visuals you stand on this tee you've often got a little there's a bench
08:53behind the par 3 and you have walkers just sort of be sat there and watch you sort of play into
09:00the par 3 and then tee off at the par 4. So you've got your own little sort of mini audience
09:05and quite often they'll be chatting away it's like golfsters incidental to them and that's sort of
09:09a bit the whole Royal North Devon experience is you know whether it's sort of cows and
09:14sheep and horses yeah and there's walkers but it's a really great par 4 it's sort of 400 odd yards
09:21big drive down you got out of bounds up the left hand side and then you play to sort of quite a
09:27narrow green some little hidden bunkers in the fairway because it's just such a natural golf
09:33course they're sort of marked out with little grey stones white stones but yeah really brilliant
09:39par 4. Wonderful and actually the knowledge that you're going to play this hole without bounce
09:44just runs down the left hand side of the hole plays into your mind a bit as you're playing the
09:48holes before it as well so well worth again well worth the trip if you get the chance to play Royal
09:52North Devon. Rob give us a par 5 to talk about. Okay I'm going to stay down then in the southwest
09:58actually and I'm going to go into Cornwall and go to Traverse where Mackenzie and Ebert have made
10:04some changes Tom Mackenzie I think in about 10 years ago maybe a bit less than that. The bunkering
10:10has been revamped everywhere and looks beautiful now and the hole where it stands out the most was
10:15to me the my favourite hole anyway it's the a par 5 which runs parallel to the beach then
10:20turns left towards the beach and as you get to the corner of the dog leg and go around you get
10:26ever closer the the rugged bank bunkering is is fabulous you then have the the Atlantic
10:32and you actually see the white horses behind there too you have to be careful which flag
10:36you're going for too because if the the lifeguards are out then there's a big big flag on the left
10:42and then the green is just below that it's now a huge undulating green completely different to
10:48the way it was before and it's just a glorious par 5 because you've got options it's risk reward
10:53you can how much of the corner you take on and but then the reward regardless of the score is
10:58when you get to the green what a brilliant sight right down by the beach absolutely lovely. It's
11:02one of the most beautiful holes for sure within our top 100 courses I would say. Jez give us another
11:08par 5. Oh well I've gone for Lippock and the par 5 which is now the 7th I think used to be the 13th
11:14they've done a lot of work at Lippock recently and rerouted it to make a road crossing point safer
11:19and this hole now comes much earlier in the round it plays down and then up to a green that's just
11:25got the most fantastic visuals as you play up to it heather right and left a couple of big bunkers
11:30pine trees right and left and the drive is fairly generous but if you don't quite get it
11:36there's a penalty area across the bottom of the valley which I'm told actually marks the
11:40Hampshire West Sussex border and if you're in the heather or you haven't quite got your
11:45dried you're going to have to decide whether or not to try and take this penalty area on before
11:49the final climb up to the green. I've played Lippock a number of times and that's always the
11:53hole that sticks in my mind which is such a good hole. It's sort of quintessentially sort of that
11:59it's inland golf in England, UK and Ireland at its best. I think heather and pines and a little
12:06bit of change of elevation as you go down and up is enough to paint a very pretty picture.
12:11Yes and also I quite like the fact that it's it is as you say slightly fairly generous t-shot so
12:17it feels like you can have a go at it. Well you you would have no trouble getting home in two
12:20tappers wouldn't it wouldn't even have to go after it. Yeah and Mike give us another uh our last
12:26par five. I'm I'm going to cheat a bit and I'm going to say the red course uh at the Barkridge
12:32has uh six par three six par fours and six par fives so it's great it's a really fun golf course.
12:38I would find it hard to pick any one of those par fives because they're all great um first is a
12:45really good hole really inviting drive uh probably the third would be my favorite of the par fives
12:52and it just plays up to a really great green um but say they're all good and I just you know
12:58none of the par fives feel overly long you feel like you've got a chance you know get a decent
13:04drive where you feel like okay I've got a you know decent birdie chance you should be coming in
13:08if you're big hitter like you maybe I'll knock it on in two but for the rest of us you're probably
13:12coming in with a shortish iron for your third shot um but I just love that as a make I think
13:17it's so fun having those you know those par fives you know six par fives um there so yeah
13:23bit of a fudge there that I couldn't you know couldn't hold them on but yeah. I particularly
13:28like the one just before the big par three across the big dip I can't remember what number that is
13:33and I like it because I very nearly made an albatross there last time I played with Rob
13:37but I don't like to talk about it that much so just leave it there. Very good hole.
13:41So there you have it that's our look at some of the best holes in the UK and Ireland we took them
13:48from our list of top 100 courses because you know a great one great hole doesn't make a great golf
13:53course but having these top 100 courses and then picking out some of our absolute favorites is
13:58probably worth doing. What do you have to say have you played any absolutely wonderful holes
14:02that you want to talk about please do leave some comments below we'd love to hear what you have to
14:06say but that's it for now from Wapleston thanks for watching we'll see you next time.