Words by Peter Handcock
Five Holes I Can’t Stop Thinking About
It’s no secret that I live and breathe golf. As someone who works at the Jar, and a fully-fledged golf nut for over a decade prior, I spend a lot of time immersing myself in the world of courses and design. But what truly captivates me is the variety within the sport — how, at the best courses, rarely do two holes ever feel quite the same.
I find myself thinking about specific holes all the time. Earlier this month, I took a short trip to Scotland to play Crail, Elie, St Andrews New, and a revisit to Royal Aberdeen — a course I hadn’t played in seven years. The front nine is often hailed as the star, and it was the sixth hole specifically that had remained at the forefront of my mind since then. I couldn’t wait to see if it was as I remembered, or if time had altered my perception. Fortunately it was every bit as good as I recalled, which got me thinking: which golf holes truly occupy my mind?
After a lot of deliberation, I’ve narrowed it down to five holes that I think about more than any others.
1. Royal Aberdeen – Hole 6, Par 5, 491 Yards
What better way to start than with the hole that inspired this piece?
The 6th at Royal Aberdeen is quirky, understated, and plays tricks on your mind. The tee shot dives into a narrow, sunken fairway with the flag hidden from view. You’re given a choice: lay back for a view or take on the blind approach. But the design nudges you toward the latter — and it’s all the better for it.
You’re likely left with just over 200 yards to a sunken green, one of my favourite features in golf (Deal’s 3rd comes to mind). It’s guarded by bunkers left and right, but the friendly contours are generous enough that your ball can find the surface.
The hole is definitely closer to a par 4.5, which gets brownie points from me, but it’s a hole I’ve not seen anywhere else. It’s unique, and most importantly, it passes my design test: could I design this hole from scratch? Not a chance. Could I design the 9th at Turnberry myself? A round green flanked by predictable bunkering in a stunning location—100%. But the 6th at Royal Aberdeen asks all the right questions on a great bit of land, without being too loud or extreme. It’s perfect — and now that it’s back in my memory, I’ll probably think about it more over the next seven years than I did the last.
2. Dunaverty – Hole 6, Par 3, 245 Yards
Unlike Royal Aberdeen, my first visit to Dunaverty came just last summer on a whirlwind seven-day, ten-round trip to The Open with my dad.
Dunaverty was an instant favourite — his because he shot a career-best 78, mine because it felt like I’d died and gone to quirky, off-the-beaten-track, pace-of-play heaven. I could have picked a handful of holes here — the short 4th or the punchbowl 8th among them — but it’s the 6th, ‘Arthur’s Seat’, that sticks with me.
At first glance, we assumed it was a short par 4 and teed off accordingly. My dad hit a wipey fade (a mainstay of his game), leaving a short pitch into the green, and rolled in a 20-footer from the fringe for his first birdie of the trip after unsuccessful visits to Delamere Forest, Western Gailes, Machrihanish, Mach Dunes, and the Machrie. He celebrated the only way a dad can – a Justin Leonard style double fist pump.
A rare birdie for the half-par-dad. I went to immortalise it on the scorecard and realised it was a par 3. But the magic wasn’t ruined. The hole’s design — forgiving off the tee, room for recovery, and nestled in one of the most enjoyable stretches of the course — meant we laughed it off, and he eventually bagged a proper birdie at Southerness on our final round of the trip.
A perfect half-par hole, in a beautiful spot, with a great memory attached. No wonder I can’t stop thinking about this hole.
3. Merion – Hole 16, Par 4, 430 Yards
I could pick any hole on this perfect course, which is my favourite in the world, but above the other 17 holes, the showers, the atmosphere on the patio and the snapper soup, the 16th hole takes up a smidgen more head space for me.
Architecturally, it’s a strong hole. The quarry is the focal point, the green is brutal and I love how the fairway blends into the 15th tee, which doubles as a lay-up zone for poor drives. The walk through the quarry is memorable in itself.
It sits in the middle of one of the best stretches of golf anywhere, but it’s the beauty of the hole that sticks with me, so I’ll let the photo do the talking.
4. Muirfield – Hole 12, Par 4, 390 Yards
Sometimes the way you play a hole shapes how you feel about it. I usually pride myself on separating my golf from how I view a hole or course — but the way the downhill 12th at Muirfield presented itself to me, and the way I executed the test, is still something I think about five years later.
It’s a simple hole: fairway bunker up the left, greenside bunkers short right, and a drop-off left that reveals the true intent — hug the bunker to get the best angle in.
When I played it, the pin was front-right and the wind was straight down. I could have flown a driver past the bunker and left myself a fiddly 60-yard pitch where my only hope of keeping the ball within 30 feet would be to hit the pin. But the night before, I rewatched the 2013 Open and saw Poulter hit 8-iron off the tee to stay short of the bunker and leave a full shot in. That stuck.
With the wind in my back, I followed suit — 8-iron short of the trap, then a 9-iron to a foot. Maybe the most enjoyable and rewarding birdie of my life. Certainly the most memorable.
Up to that point in the round, I loved Muirfield but couldn’t say why. Walking off the 12th green, I got it.
It’s not a half-par hole, but it’s a perfect par 4. And it still pops into my head regularly — always followed by a smile.
5. Deal – Hole 17, Par 4, 361 Yards
It wouldn’t be an honest list if I didn’t include Deal. After all, Sam would fill the same article with 5 holes at Blackwell.
Ask around and people will tell you the 3rd, 4th, 6th, 15th, or 16th are their favourite holes at Deal — and fair enough. But the 17th is mine. There are probably a dozen reasons I love this hole, but I’ll focus on the top 3:
1) Deception off the tee. A bunker on the left tricks you into thinking the line is further left than it is. If you fall for it, you’ve got a blind approach and a bad angle, potentially from a sandscrape too. In reality you need to not be fooled by this trap and hit down the right to get a view of the flag.
2) The contours. This stretch of duneland is exceptional, and the shape of the fairway, lit up by the evening sun, creates one of my favourite views in golf. If benches in the middle of fairways were allowed, this is where I’d want mine — on the plateau, looking down over the rolling fairway and spectacle bunkers, with the flagpole and white clubhouse in the distance.
3) The green. Maybe the smallest on the course and possibly my favourite depending on the day of the week you ask me. The great greens at Deal all have a purpose: the gigantic and undulating 1st is forgiving – perfect for the first hole – but provides a taster for what’s to come. The punchbowl 3rd is smaller, but plays bigger with its surrounding contours, making it accessible with a long-iron or wood in hand, and the brilliant 16th is beautifully contoured once again, but giant, making approaches playable onto this elevated surface. On the 17th, the green is small but severe, allowing wedges to be hit close, sometimes holed, but also providing drama down the stretch if the green is missed and a chance at a 3 turns into a prayer for a 4.
Andy Johnson once said crisps (or potato chips, I guess) are excellent models for greens — folded edges and unpredictable shaping. The 17th at Deal is the most crisp-like green I’ve seen.
Narrowing this list down to five holes was no easy task. There are countless others that come to mind: Sunningdale Old, 9th, for its strategy, aesthetic from the tee, and regularly being under-appreciated. Elie’s 10th, for its beauty and quirk. The 15th at The Creek for its scale and strategy. Somerset Hills’ 5th, simply the best green I ever did see. Oh, and every hole on The Old Course.
While my memory of some of these holes is no doubt shaped by the experience I had playing them, there’s one thing that ties them all together: excellent design. It’s why I’ll never tire of golf courses — and why I genuinely believe we’re all lucky enough to be playing the greatest game on earth. Show me a Top 5 Tennis Courts I Can’t Stop Thinking About article… I’ll wait.
I was hoping this brain dump would free up some thinking time for more important thoughts, but I realise I’ve only fuelled the fire. The more I think about golf holes, the more I crave playing them again. It seems my brain just won’t stop thinking about golf courses — and I’m not complaining.
