UK Golfers Vote: Best Holes In Scotland
Visit Scotland polled over 3,000 UK golfers to "find Scotland's best golf holes and hidden golfing gems," and maybe because I liked the findings so much, wish they had asked and shared even more questions. 
Hard to argue with the winning Best View, especially with Kevin Markham's image from Cruden Bay's 9th tee.
The poll asked golfers to vote for the best opening and closing holes, a best Par 3, 4 and 5, as well as the best view and a best overall hole from a selection of shortlisted holes across the country. The poll highlighted both what makes Scotland’s famous courses so iconic and invited entrants to support local heroes and suggest their favourite golf holes.
Here is our list of the best golf holes in Scotland as voted for by golfers across the UK.
This BBC version lists how many votes the winners received.
Wednesday, April 26, 2017 at 02:03 AM
Reader Comments (26)
@DJ21 You will no doubt enjoy both courses,, each for different reasons. The views from the 9th tee, and the 10th tee are both incredible. Make sure to take a few minutes and inhale when you get there.
D. maculata...for sure re: first time at #1. The first time I took my son over the pond, we ended our journey though Scotland's best by playing TOC. He was a former college All-American, and at the time a PGA golf professional at a very good facility, and had play ed in hundreds and hundreds of tournaments since he was a kid, and as a competitive professional, and a club professional - he had what I would describe "ice water in his veins" when it came to playing competitive golf. After he scraped a #2 iron about 260 right down the pipe on his opening tee shot at TOC, I sort of waited for him to catch up with me as I had started to walk toward the fairway....he quick-stepped up to me and locked his arm in mine - -what a great experience to be playing with my son at the TOC I thought---- I asked him if he had hit his tee shot a "little" heavy.....his answer shocked me. He said, "Yeah, I did." He admitted that was the "most nervous tee shot" he had ever experienced. I sort of laughed and reminded him that he had teed off in hundreds of golf tournaments, and asked what was so different about teeing off for a casual round of golf with his dad, albeit it was TOC, as we had done hundreds of time, or was it the small "crowd" that is always gathered around the #1 & #18 holes watching players tee off and finish their rounds... ....His answer very simple..."They have all been here."
He got it...I knew in that moment, he got it.
While 17 at TOC and 18 at Carnoustie are more stout tests, the 18th at TOC is just the best due to that history you feel on the 1st tee. The course sends you away from town and loops you back and you finish among the everyday people and buildings and if you play 2 good shots you have a reasonable chance at birdie. Can't ask for more.
Can you explain your reason behind your comment "Not sure how OTM gets design credit for the 18th at TOC, but whatever."
Agree about the 17th, simply a hole impossible not to think about before you reach it.
Chico, that is the funniest story yet ! I could share some about a resort project we had in Hawaii and 80% of our play was from Japan, getting the "first time on real golf course" stories and their first introduction to driving a golf cart...OMG !!!......but not as funny as the one you just shared.
D. maculata Thanks, pretty neat experience for me, no doubt.
@munihack "Can't ask for more." +1
TOC modification by Old Tom was circa 1870, Machrihinish circa 1876, Troon circa 1880, TOC Road Hole goes back to Allan Robertson circa 1850, Cruden circa 1894-6. It seems the voting was interesting too, but the main issue being that some of the great designs come from well within the last half of the 19th Century.
I have always tried to persuade golfers to look at this period which I define as the Golden Age of Golf and Golf Course Architecture, because to this day much is still copied in just the same way that the likes of Mackenzie, Colt, Braid and Park Jun. used many of these early ideas within their schemes.
Personally, I always thought that 18 was a hoot - sort of like playing up one of the nicest streets downtown. Pretty special. But most of the guys that I play with would have selected the Road Hole.
Perhaps that says something about the makeup of old World and New World golfers.
Baron +1....."the original" Redan at NBWL
Mike Clayton +10B (I think that is what he says he is worth now?)
Old Tom gets credit for the 18th at St Andrews because he changed the course there. Before he redesigned it, there were 4 holes where there are now the 1st and 18th. They were short par 3's, and help understand that the Old Course was once a 22 hole golf course. Old Tom was responsible for the present 1st and 18th, and in fact he laid out the 18th green. He supervised the movement of earth to make it. in so doing, the workers dug the depression in front of the green in order to build up the present green. In so doing, they came upon an ancient burial ground - and they quit working in a huff..
why do they call it the valley of sin? Because there were bones from the ancient burial ground there.
Golf history.
Sorry got your name wrong.
Old Tom over his 40 years at TOC nearly doubled the size of the course, he was involved in reclaiming the land from the sea to achieve re designing the 1st & 18th Hole - is you see an aerial photo you will note the 1st is rather flat compared to the ripples and bums of the 18th. As for the 18th Green, its reported to contain the victims of the 1832 cholera outbreak in St Andrews - perhaps the reason in 1870 why the Green was raised and the Valley of Sin still represents the original height of the earlier course.
In fact by re-designing the 1st Hole it also had a knock on affect onto the 17 & 2, which was also modified. In fact much of the course layout today is the result of Old Tom as he removed the gorse/whims, modified the fairways and relayed the Greens some with wells for irrigation, raised the bunkers due to water table raising the base of many by 6 -15" to stop the water pooling. Most of the actual re-design was undertaken between his return to St Andrews in 1864 and completed more or less prior to the death of Young Tommy in 1875. With the new design for the 1 & 18th Holes it allowed for TOC to be played in reverse which today in the norm.
Old Tom did not design TOC, but re-designed it to more or less what is there today with the exception of a few bunkers filled in and some added after his time. As is the tradition in the 19th Century the designer had a Hole named after him, so it was only fitting that Old Tom's name was given to the 18th.
Chico- I still say if anyone designed a hole with a tee shot over one building and skirting another, they would be fired. Sorry, but to me 17 is just goofy.
Pops- hopefully improvements very soon on me. yippee!
dig