The GolfCourseHome Life

Press Release Announces GolfCourseHome's 3rd Annual 'Dream 18' Golf Holes Via MarketWire

The GolfCourseHome Network issued a press release through MarketWire this morning about the selection of its 3rd Annual Dream 18 Golf Holes. This annual selection of superior residential golf course 'dream holes' features 18 golf communities in 10 different states.

The holes were selected by the GolfCourseHome Editors from the more than 5,000 golf holes and 300-plus championship golf courses represented on the GolfCourseHome®Network. The selection pool also featured the creations of more than 75 golf course designers.

To read the accompanying article, see the Front Nine and the Back Nine.

GolfCourseHome's 2009 Dream 18 Golf Holes--The Back Nine Is Mighty Fine

Belfair, Bluffton SC

By The Editors

If you were to play 18 of the finest, most memorable golf holes to be found within any golf course community, which holes would they be? That's the hypothetical question we posed in creating our 2009 listing of great holes from among the communities featured on GolfCourseHome.net.

You may have already read about the Front Nine. Here for your reading (and imagining pleasure) is the Back Nine. Below the list are fuller descriptions. To read about the Front Nine, click here.

GolfCourseHome 2009 Dream 18 Golf Holes, the Back Nine

No. 10. Stonehouse (6th), Toana VA

No. 11. Golden Ocala Golf & Equestrian Club (4th), Ocala FL

No. 12. Belfair  (6th West), Bluffton SC

No. 13. The Links at Gettysburg (3rd), Mt. Joy Township PA

No. 14. Running Y Ranch (4th), Klamath Falls OR

No. 15. The Founders Club (5th), Sarasota FL

No. 16. Heritage Todd Creek (17th), Thornton CO

No. 17. Forest Dunes (14th), Roscommon MI

No. 18. Wachesaw Plantation (18th), Murrels Inlet SC

No. 10. Stonehouse (6th), Toana VA
Located on 5,700 wooded acres in the scenic countryside minutes west of Williamsburg, this beautifully designed recreational community appeals to both retirees and young executive couples. The accessibility of I-64 from Stonehouse makes both Richmond and Newport News easy commutes. It’s a prime location for history buffs, close to Colonial Williamsburg, historic Jamestown and Yorktown.

An admired Mike Strantz course at Stonehouse draws in-the-know golfers from throughout the region. Named Best New Upscale Public Course in the U.S. by Golf Digest in 1996, it is known for dramatic elevation changes over rolling hills and for having some of the biggest greens in the state. We’ve picked Stonehouse’s toughest hole to include in our collection. It’s No. 6, a par-4 that plays 435 from the gold tees, 391 from the whites. This is a dogleg-right that demands a well-placed drive so the player will have as short an iron as possible into a narrow green that’s tough to hold.

No. 11. Golden Ocala Golf & Equestrian Club (4th), Ocala FL
Golden Ocala is a 1,200-acre private community on rolling hills in Central Florida. A 77,000-square-foot clubhouse anchors the community, which is home to championship golf and tennis plus a spa, fitness center and an equestrian center that celebrates this region’s long tradition of horse breeding and training.

No. 4 at Golden Ocala is a “tribute” hole by architect Ron Garl that transports Golden Ocala golfers to southwest Scotland via its wondrous resemblance to the so-called Postage Stamp par-3 at Royal Troon. Stand on the tee with your wedge or 9-iron and study the little hillock mounds with their thick grassy fur, alongside sharp, sculpted bunkers with flat sandy surfaces to play from. All it takes is a high, delicate pitch to find the putting surface—with Florida breezes that replicate Scottish winds rushing past you to complicate matters.

No. 12. Belfair  (6th West), Bluffton SC
Belfair is a lovely combination of golden Lowcountry landscape and a 36-hole club crafted in the golf traditions of the Northeast. Built along the broad marshes and waterways west of Hilton Head, this 1,100-acre Lowcountry retreat is known for its two award-winning Tom Fazio golf courses and amenities to suit an active, refined lifestyle. Life at Belfair centers around a 25,000-square-foot clubhouse with spacious and richly detailed interiors. Luxury locker rooms with private lounges furnished in dark wood and leather set the tone for a memorable day of golf.

On Belfair West, No. 6 is a short, well-nuanced par-4 that plays 367 from the back tee, with 359 or 341 as shorter yardage options. This is a truly unique golf hole, with two greens. Players have to be mindful of which green is in use on that day before they hit their drives, as placement and approach angle are highly influenced by the green's location.

No. 13. The Links at Gettysburg (3rd), Mt. Joy Township PA
Membership in The Links At Gettysburg offers championship golf, fine dining, recreation, and relaxation at the community’s Premier Clubhouse, which can accommodate up to 250 guests inside. It is designed for indoor-outdoor entertaining, with tents and tables positioned on a triple-tiered stone patio overlooking the 18th fairway and green.

Your round at The Links At Gettysburg will take you up and down rolling Pennsylvania hills, with lakes and creeks on almost every hole and dramatic red rock cliffs that form the backdrop for memorable golf. One of those is the 3rd, the signature hole, a dramatic par-3 from an elevated tee to a large undulating green that fronts a red rock cliff. Hit too far and you'll find the large trap in front of the cliff. Leave it short and you'll hit the creek in front of the green. This 187-yard hole is a true test of skill.

No. 14. Running Y Ranch (4th), Klamath Falls OR

The Running Y Ranch is located in the heart of Southern Oregon’s Cascade Range. Home to Oregon’s only award-winning Arnold Palmer-designed golf course, the Running Y offers luxurious accommodations, a large array of amenities and a full roster of  recreational activities. The community’s 7,138-yard, award-winning golf course offers five sets of tees on every hole, generous fairways and fast, undulating greens.

Palmer himself considers the track one of his best. From its fine array of holes, we select No. 4, which can be played from 409 all the way down to 325 for juniors. Golfers should note the bunkers at the end of the fairway, which will scold an overly long drive, even a straight one. And beware of water down the right side, as well.

No. 15. The Founders Club (5th), Sarasota FL
The Founders Club, well-located an easy 20 minutes from the Sarasota/Bradenton International Airport, is a Florida golf community with superior cultural and recreational advantages. The club’s 18-hole championship golf course takes its cues from the gently rolling inland terrain. Set against a backdrop of centuries-old oaks, pines and palms and highlighted by a natural buffer of lush, untamed landscape, the 7,094-yard, par 72 layout by Robert Trent Jones, Jr. offers a dynamic route along groomed fairways, tranquil lakes and unspoiled wetlands.

For the Dream 18, we showcase this course’s fifth hole, a medium-length par-4 that offers the opportunity to play driver for maximum distance off the tee. Longer hitters may be as bold to play for the upper level fairway off the tee, which affords the optimum approach position.

No. 16. Heritage Todd Creek (17th), Thornton CO
Built in a setting that is pure Colorado, the majestic Rocky Mountains provide a scenic backdrop for the Heritage Todd Creek active-adult community. Designed for active residents age 55-plus who appreciate year-round sunshine, Heritage Todd Creek is a private gated community and home to a brand-new championship golf course by Arthur Hills.

For the Dream 18, we spotlight the par-3, water-guarded 17th here at Heritage Todd Creek. Now a staple of American golf, the do-or-die 17th hole with water ringing the green is well represented at Heritage Todd Creek. This one-shotter is abetted by a fairly deep and steep-faced sand bunker just short of the green. Up above the hole are mounds you can hit bailout shots into, but then comes the chip back, with water staring you in the face.

No. 17. Forest Dunes (14th), Roscommon MI
Forest Dunes Golf Club, centered in the pine-scented fresh air of northern Michigan, is a 1,200-acre golf community recognized for environmental awareness. It is one of just 16 Audubon International Signature Gold Sanctuaries worldwide. Its Tom Weiskopf Signature golf course is a 7,104-yard layout ringed by Huron National Forest that wends through dunes and towering pine trees.

The sixth at Forest Dunes is the one that makes it into the Dream 18. It’s a  short but head-scratchingly complex par-4 that plays just 375 yards at its longest. Nicknamed “Gamble,” this two-shot splits the drive zone into an easy, short drive to the left and long, dangerous tee ball out to the right. When the dust settles, there remains a smallish, heavily bunkered green to work toward with your lofted iron shot. In the autumn, it’s a colorful challenge no matter how you play the hole.

No. 18. Wachesaw Plantation (18th), Murrels Inlet SC
Perched on a high bluff overlooking the Intracoastal Waterway, Wachesaw Plantation set a standard for elite but warm-spirited club golf along the Carolina coast. Wachesaw Plantation Club members socialize amid the natural beauty and serenity and they compete on standout amenities, including a Tom Fazio championship course that helped define Fazio’s signature style.

This par-72 layout is known for both grace and drama, with ornamental grasses sprouting from atop smooth mounds and buff-colored bunkers jut into the landing areas dauntingly. The home hole at this course is a truly great finisher—not long by par-5 standards but with a green that’s guarded by intimidating pot bunkers 40 to 60 yards out and a tough-to-hold putting surface that slopes right-to-left toward the water.

GolfCourseHome's 2009 Dream 18 Golf Holes Takes You from Mountains to Ocean

The Cliffs at Keowee Springs, Six Mile SC

By The Editors

If you were to play 18 of the finest, most memorable golf holes to be found within any golf course community, which holes would they be? That's the hypothetical question we posed in creating our 2009 listing of great holes from among the communities featured on GolfCourseHome.net.

The golf in gated communities is among the purest, best-designed and most carefully crafted in the entire American portfolio. These havens of the country club lifestyle represent more than 5,000 golf holes, 300-plus courses and over 75 different golf architects—a cornucopia to choose from.

Many of the courses are highly ranked by the leading golf publications and have been crafted by the great names in golf course design. That's only part of the story, however.

Live on a Dream
The real payoff is that each of these layouts is a beloved home course to the fortunate golfers who live around it. Whether you play matches on its lush fairways, traverse the course on your morning walk or simply enjoy it as a handsome background to daily life, each one helps create an environment that  that makes everyone in the community glad that they live where they do.

The 18 entries below each include a parenthetical denoting which hole number hole on the original course our selected hole represents. For detailed information on any of these courses or communities, just click on the highlighted name of the community.

Here is a quick list of the holes, in our Dream 18 sequence. Below the initial list is the first of two articles on the Front Nine and Back Nine along with in-depth descriptions. To read about the Back Nine, click here

No. 1. Blackstone (1st), Peoria AZ

No. 2. Deer Brook Golf Club (9th), Shelby NC

No. 3. Lake Jovita Golf & Country Club (11th), Dade City FL

No. 4. The Georgia Club, (5th, original 18), Statham GA

No. 5. The Cliffs at Keowee Springs (7th), Six Mile SC

No. 6. Lake Ridge (16th), Cedar Hill TX

No. 7. Madison Lakes (4th), Madison GA

No. 8. Briar’s Creek (8th), John’s Island SC

No. 9. Lockwood Folly Country Club (18th), Holden Beach NC

No. 10. Stonehouse (6th), Toana VA

No. 11. Golden Ocala Golf & Equestrian Club (4th), Ocala FL

No. 12. Belfair  (6th West), Bluffton SC

No. 13. The Links at Gettysburg (3rd), Mt. Joy Township PA

No. 14. Running Y Ranch (4th), Klamath Falls OR

No. 15. The Founders Club (5th), Sarasota FL

No. 16. Heritage Todd Creek (17th), Thornton CO

No. 17. Forest Dunes (14th), Roscommon MI

No. 18. Wachesaw Plantation (18th), Murrels Inlet SC

No. 1. Blackstone (1st), Peoria AZ
Designed as a sophisticated enclave within the greater gated community of Vistancia, Blackstone tapped the uncommon design skills of Jim Engh to craft an aesthetically robust golf course that would play with great variety from one day to the next.

Members rave about Engh’s rumpled, surprise-filled layout as much as they praise Blackstone’s true country-club experience and the desert, mountain and golf course vistas from their custom and luxury homes within the community’s 588 acres of Sonoran terrain. We start this Dream 18 with the opening hole Engh uses as an emerald-green welcome mat for his Blackstone golfers. It’s certainly inviting, with a fairway nearly 70 yards wide and loaded with those famed contours. A nice drive will be rewarded with a short approach to a gently undulating green bisected by a small ridge.

No. 2. Deer Brook Golf Club (9th), Shelby NC
Deer Brook Golf Club is a master-planned golf community in the Blue Ridge Mountain foothills, set between Greenville/Spartanburg, S.C. and Charlotte, N.C., with easy access to two international airports. Homesites are now available along a parkland-style, 6,911-yard course designed by Rick Robbins who was a lead designer for Jack Nicklaus for five years. Lot prices here include the initiation fee for Deer Brook G.C.

The stimulating front nine at Deer Brook closes with a handsome par-4 that can stretch to 415 yards but plays from a member-tee yardage of 378. A well-placed placed drive is crucial as the fairway slopes leftward, favoring a fade. Water lurks on the left as golfers hit to the green, which is guarded by twin traps left and right.

No. 3. Lake Jovita Golf & Country Club (11th), Dade City FL
Lake Jovita Golf & Country Club is blessed with rippling terrain and tall hardwoods that give a North Carolina look amid Florida sunshine and warmth. Freshwater lakes dot the landscape and quicken the pulse of an avid golfer. In fact, the club's South course features the longest natural drop of any course in the state—94 feet from tee to green on the par-5 11th hole.

Tom Lehman, the PGA Tour pro who designed Lake Jovita South (and the North , as well), built greens with subtle, even confounding, contours. That 11th is a par-5 playing 539 yards from the blues. It hides its green behind a plateau fairway that drops suddenly to the target—backed by water and guarded left and short-right by bunkers. A tough and memorable hole.

No. 4. The Georgia Club, (5th, original 18), Statham GA
In a prime location 45 miles east of Atlanta and 10 miles west of Athens, The Georgia Club allows an easy pace of life made special by the quality of the service and amenities. Central focus of the community is its 37,000-square-foot clubhouse, which completed a major expansion and renovation in fall 2007 to accommodate more than 340 guests. Golf here is a 27-hole celebration of the natural rolling terrain and tall trees that architect Denis Griffiths, a one-time associate of Gary Player Golf Design, has so skillfully tamed.

The original fifth hole of his Chancellors Course is a strategically compelling par-4 where any pushed or sliced tee shot flirts with water right. What really occupies the player’s thoughts on the tee is a specimen oak left in place on the fairway, down the right side about 80 yards from the front of the green. To play around this obstacle could require an imaginative shot, low and curving. Up at the green, a framing pair of sand bunkers are placed so as to add even more value to the left-side tee shot.

No. 5. The Cliffs at Keowee Springs (7th), Six Mile SC
Envisioned as a place where you’ll receive more than just an occasional massage or annual retreat, The Cliffs at Keowee Springs represents a new concept in the creation of a healthy living community where families can enjoy and maintain a Family Wellness Lifestyle. All that wellness and fitness is a cinch to help lower golf scores.

You’ll know it’s working if you can negotiate the dogleg on the par-4 seventh at the Tom Fazio-designed Keowee Springs Course. Ample fairway to the left of the turn bunker offers an easy target but leaves you a lengthy route to the green.  To make this hole play shorter, pound your drive over that bunker and catch the downslope on the other side of it. Players should note that the approach shot over a small valley to an elevated green is better if played from the left side of the fairway.

No. 6. Lake Ridge (16th), Cedar Hill TX
Ideally located just south of Dallas/Fort Worth, Lake Ridge is a master-planned golf community where residents enjoy a wide array of sophisticated options for shopping, dining, and entertainment—plus scenic beauty and high-quality recreation. Lake Ridge is home to one of the highest elevation points in North Texas. It offers 25-mile skyline views of downtown Fort Worth. The community counts 7,500-acre Joe Pool Lake and Tangle Ridge Golf Club as its prime assets.

Listed in the “Best of Texas” by Texas Golfer magazine, the Jeff Brauer-designed Tangle Ridge features 6,835 yards of exciting elevation changes, subtle greens and tree-lined fairways. Brauer’s 424-yard 16th is a par-4 with a deceptively simple appearance. Its main feature is a “Valley of Sin” in the approach area. Don't let your second shot fall into it, since a chip or putt over the this type of contour is an unusual and seldom-practiced shot.

No. 7. Madison Lakes (4th), Madison GA
Surrounded by antebellum history in the lakes region of central Georgia, residents of this 1,000-acre planned community enjoy golf, tennis, hiking, horseback riding and relaxation. Their homesites are surrounded by rolling hills, open spaces and 60 acres of lakes and streams. The master plan includes four miles of trails, parks, equestrian, fitness, tennis, pools, and multiple recreation centers. At the heart of the property is Long Shadow Golf Club, a newly completed 18-hole championship course.

Already praised by the national golf media, the course will be complemented by a proposed executive-style layout for beginners and casual golfers. The first par-3 in our Dream 18 for 2009 is Long Shadow G.C.’s fourth hole, which can play at yardages from 115 all the way up to 239. Whatever distance you play, the strategy is to fly your tee shot into the left-front portion of green. contours will feed ball toward center. A hint: Elevation change is less than it appears, from tee to green.

No. 8. Briar’s Creek (8th), John’s Island SC
Minutes from Charleston and just moments from Kiawah Island, Briar's Creek is a private club community with outstanding Lowcountry golf designed by Rees Jones. The young, yet tradition-minded community features estate homesites in a 900-acre setting composed of sweeping marshland and ancient forest home to rare birds and wildlife.

The golf is world-class golf with zero tee times, and the hole we place in our Dream 18 is Briar’s Creek No. 8. The tee shot on this 404-yard par-4 will need your full attention. A bunker guards the left side; another lures any overdone bailout shot on the right. The green and approach are divided by a ridge into left and right halves. This is a great example of greenside bunkers that aren't overly large in size but exert a powerful effect on play because subtle ground contours will feed an iffy shot perilously toward the hazard.

No. 9. Lockwood Folly Country Club (18th), Holden Beach NC
Located on the southernmost coast of North Carolina, where the Lockwood Folly River merges with the Intracoastal Waterway, this 500-acre community features breathtaking vistas of tidal estuary, moss- covered hardwoods and stately pines. There are as river and Waterway lots and/or views awaiting custom-home construction. The ocean, visible from some lots, is minutes away by boat or car.

The pond to the right of the 18th green on Willard Byrd's 500-yard, par-4 finishing hole is a great example of water hazards deployed to please the eye and jangle the nerves at the same time. Already any golfer is thinking "water" as they proceed up this short (for a par-5) but serpentine fairway. That's because the hole’s backdrop is a long, luxuriant view of the Intracoastal Waterway, flecked with islands and stretching to the Atlantic.

The 2008 Dream 18 Golf Holes: The Back Nine Shines from East to West

by Editors of GolfCourseHome

Hole No. 10, Amelia Island Plantation, Amelia Island, FL

Hole No. 10, Amelia Island Plantation, Amelia Island, FL

Among its 72 holes of championship golf on this landmark coastal community is the tricky but highly praised 10th hole on Pete Dye’s Oak Marsh layout. The hole, measuring just 307 yards from the furthest-back tee, is a prototypical short par-4, with water right of the green, water behind it and four penal bunkers surrounding the putting surface. Many golfers have the power to reach this hole in one, but few have the accuracy to avoid big trouble. Founded in 1971, this resort community was an early example of the twin appeal of excellent golf and an eco-conscious master plan. The Plantation’s three-plus miles of unspoiled beach and its vast tracts of coastal marsh and woodland remain its prime assets. Click here for more information about Amelia Island Plantation!

Hole No. 11, Paa-Ko Communities, Sandia Park, NM (7th)


Hole No. 11, Paa-Ko Communities, Sandia Park, NM (7th)

The hole we highlight at Paa-Ko is named  “Field House” It’s a charming par-4 that stretches 496 yards from the back tee box but only 425 from the members’ tee. The strategy on this graceful, downsloping hole is to shoot for the middle of its saddle-shaped fairway, avoiding the rocky ravine and grass bunker that protect the inside of the dogleg. The green is open in front and receptive to a run-up shot. Paa-Ko Communities lies on the eastern face of the Sandia Mountains, integrating upscale residential development with untouched lands to provide a sense of true community in a setting of natural elegance. Its 27-hole Ken Dye golf course is one of the best in the Southwest.

Hole No. 12, Deer Brook Golf Club, Shelby, NC (14th)


Hole No. 12, Deer Brook Golf Club, Shelby, NC (14th)

Joining this select collection of golf holes is No. 14 at Deer Brook, a highly versatile par-3 hole dominated by a large, imposing pond. Architect Rick Robbins scattered an array of tee boxes along the far arc of the lake and laid out a gang of bunkers, five in all, around the green. Day in and day out, this one-shotter reveals subtle new playing angles depending on wind direction and tee- marker placement. If nothing else it’s an advanced course in precision club selection. Deer Brook Golf Club is a master-planned golf community in the Blue Ridge Mountain foothills. Excellent conditioning and a clever routing by Robbins make Deer Brook a top-quality golf experience. Its bentgrass greens are medium- sized and sited on subtle knolls and hollows. Water comes into play on seven holes. Click here for more information about Deer Brook!

Hole No. 13, Hawthorn Woods Country Club, Hawthorn Woods, IL (10th)

Hole No. 13, Hawthorn Woods Country Club, Hawthorn Woods, IL (10th)

A true thinking-man’s par-4, the 10th at Hawthorn Woods plays shorter than 400 yards even at its longest. Golfers must strongly consider playing their tee shots with fairway wood or a long iron to the plateau landing area. The best-positioned tee shot will leave a middle iron for the approach shot. From atop the plateau the green sits well below the fairway and is protected by a bunker right and a water hazard left, putting accuracy at a premium. Set amidst rolling countryside and centered on a championship Arnold Palmer Signature golf course, Hawthorn Woods is a private enclave that offers a high quality of life and proximity to the commerce and culture of Chicago. Click here for more information about Hawthorn Woods!

Hole No. 14, Glacier Club, Durango, CO (5th, Glacier nine)

Hole No. 14,  Glacier Club, Durango, CO (5th, Glacier nine)

No. 5 on the Glacier nine up in the light air of this sporting community is a strategic par-4 that plays from 330 to 360 yards downhill, depending on tee placement. Position, not necessarily length, is the appropriate strategy. The long, narrow green is protected by a wetland on the right and bunkers left. Wise golfers will be sure to avoid the menacing bunker in the center of the fairway to have their best chance of sticking the second close to the hole. Glacier Club is a private luxury, mountain golf community just outside of Durango amid the natural magnificence of the surrounding Rockies landscape. Its amenities are already built and ready for members’ enjoyment, including 27 holes of golf –three of the most scenic and satisfying nines in the Rockies. Click here for more information about Glacier Club!

Hole No. 15, Mountain Air Country Club, Burnsville, NC (1st)

Hole No. 15, Mountain Air Country Club, Burnsville, NC (1st)

The Mountain Air motif of elevated teeing grounds playing down to sinuous fairways begins at the alpine club’s par-4 first. It’s a charming, 361-yard finesse hole with a dogleg-right fairway and a compact green surrounded by four bunkers. Most golf communities in the eastern U.S. look up to Mountain Air, which perches on a 4,600-foot peak called Slickrock Mountain. With 70 degree mid-summer temperatures and 100-mile panoramic views, the community’s 6,425-yard original 18 (watch for a new nine opening soon) is a joy to play in summer. Click here for more information about Mountain Air Country Club!

Hole No. 16, The Bridges at Preston Crossings, Gunter, TX (14th)

Hole No. 16, The Bridges at Preston Crossings, Gunter, TX (14th)

The Bridges at Preston Crossings is a new master-planned community being built on the site of the historic MM Ranch. It’s a 1,580-acre site well-suited for the design style of Fred Couples, who uses subtle land features to create appealing and disconcerting shot challenges. Couples outdid himself in designing the thought-provoking and truly demanding par-5,  No. 14 Hole,  which can play as long as 619 yards from the black tee markers. Most members would take the hole on from the blue tees,  making this a 536-yard three-shorter. Assuming you drive it well, the next challenge is to play across a pond to the left side of what becomes a split fairway, and wedge it onto the green from there. If you play away from the pond, a good second shot will leave you in a low, trough-like section of fairway playing upslope to the green.
Click here for information about The Bridges at Preston Crossing!  

Hole No. 17, Horn Rapids, Richland WA (14th)

Hole No. 17, Horn Rapids, Richland WA (14th)

Keith Foster, praised for his skill in balancing visual beauty with strategic complexity, provides us our penultimate challenge with this position-over-power par-5. The 512-yard 14th at Horn Rapids begins with a U.K.-style blind tee shot to something of an “island fairway.” Longer hitters have to club down to avoid driving through the fairway into a transition area. The approach shot will need to keep to the right side of the green to avoid the bunkers fronting the left side of the green. Horn Rapids is an 800-acre, master-planned golf community near the banks of the Yakima River in the sunny, temperate Tri-Cities region of Washington. The community’s reputation for neighborhood sociability extends to its Keith Foster-designed golf course with it sweeping desert views. Click here for more information about Horn Rapids! 

Hole No. 18, PGA National, Palm Beach Gardens, FL (18th, Champion Course)

Hole No. 18, PGA National, Palm Beach Gardens, FL (18th, Champion Course)

A classic 18th on a tour-tested layout provides the closing hole for this edition of the Dream 18. The 18th at the Champion Course (home to the PGA Tour’s Honda Classic) exemplifies this community’s landmark status in the world of competitive golf. The hole, newly renovated by Jack Nicklaus, is a 600-yard double-dogleg par-5 that starts with a long carry over a reedy Florida swamp and doesn’t let up. It was the scene of a Ryder Cup- winning wedge shot by Lanny Wadkins in 1983. PGA National is a resort community that not only offers five golf courses, but amenities from spa to tennis to health and fitness.

2nd Annual List of the Dream 18 Holes: The 2008 Front Nine is Divine

    
The Villages at Tullymore, MI: The #1 Dream Hole

The Dream 18
2nd Annual Dream 18
by Editors of GolfCourseHome

If you were to play 18 of the finest, most memorable golf holes to be found within any golf course community, which ones would they be? You’ll find the answers in this Second Annual Dream 18 listing, devined from among the 200-plus communities featured on GolfCourseHome.net. 

These havens of the country club lifestyle represent more than 5,000 golf holes, 300-plus championship courses and more than 75 different golf architects—a wealth to choose from. Many of the courses are highly ranked by the leading golf publications and have been crafted by the great names in golf course design. Best of all, you can live on them. 

If you'd like to add your own favorite golf hole to this list,  please email us and we’ll be glad to publish your selections  at a later date. This issue we present the Front Nine. See our next issue for the Back Nine.

The Front Nine

1. The Villages of Tullymore, (12th), Stanwood, MI
2. Kingsmill on the James (15th – Woods Course), Williamsburg, VA
3. Tennessee National, (12th), Loudon, TN
4. Blackstone, (8th) Peoria, AZ
5. Ross Bridge (13th), Hoover, AL
6. Montreux (17th) Reno, NV
7. The Club at Olde Stone (16th) Alvaton, KY
8. Sugarloaf Mountain (13th), Cleremont, FL
9. Heron Point by Pete Dye, Sea Pines (18th), Hilton Head, SC

Hole No. 1, The Villages of Tullymore, (12th), Stanwood, MI. The Tullymore golf course, designed by Jim Engh and ranked No. 14 on Golf Digest’s "100 Greatest Public Courses,” is a canopy of rolling woodland and waterway within the 800-acre Tullymore - St. Ives Resort complex. Lakes dot the landscape and Shinglebolt Creek winds through it. This year’s “dream 18” begins there with a classically quirky and British-style par-3 that many have likened to the famous “Dell” hole at Lahinch in the west of Ireland. The common feature between the two is a green mostly hidden behind a substantial dune. No. 12 at Tullymore, at 247 yards, certainly outsizes its Irish predecessor. Click here for information about The Villages at Tullymore!

Hole No. 2, Kingsmill on the James, (15th – Woods Course), Williamsburg, VA. This 2,900-acre resort community is growing in popularity among home buyers even as its amenity package continues to expand and improve. The new Woods Course, named by Golf Magazine a "Top Ten New Course You Can Play," was designed by Tom Clark in concert with U.S. Open champion Curtis Strange. The duo ornamented their 6,659-yard parkland-style design with a unique double green with a bunker in the center. The green is shared—St. Andrews style—by the par-3 12th hole and our featured par-4 15th. Though only 384 yards long, No. 15 ranks as the fourth-hardest hole on the course, due in large part to an imposing water hazard that fronts the green. Click here for more information about Kingsmill on the James!

Hole No. 3, Tennessee National, (12th), Loudon, TN. Rolling hills and over three miles of waterfront provide a  bucolic setting for Medallist Development’s bold and history-minded Tennessee National. Carving his way through foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains, Greg Norman laid out a richly varied golf course, using the shoreline of Watts Bar Lake as a hazard on several holes. One excellent example is Norman’s intimidating par-3 12th hole, guarded down the right side by the famous lake and swarming with bunkers—eight in total—up by the green. From the front tees it’s a sporty little hole, but way back at 209 yards it is a daunting proposition. Click here for more information about Tennessee National!

Hole No. 4, Blackstone, (8th) Peoria, AZ. Thrilling mountain views and black volcanic rock, indigenous to the area from which the community earned its name, make this community (within Vistancia) a jewel of the desert and make the Blackstone golf course, designed by Jim Engh, a visual delight. Engh’s gift for adapting classic hole designs of Great Britain and of America’s so-called Golden Age is on display in this “punchbowl” style par-4. The genius of the design is that the same raised mounds that partially hide the green serve to gather off-line shots and steer them toward the flag. Click here for more information about Blackstone!

Hole No. 5, Ross Bridge (13th), Hoover, AL Ross Bridge is a private community set within an exciting golf  resort and spa complex in a woodland setting near Birmingham. It combines small-town comforts with sweeping views of the surrounding foothills, plus a destination golf course that is part of the famed Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail. The Ross Bridge course is big and brawny in the Jones tradition, sprawling over 330 acres and stretching almost 8,200 yards. The hole at Ross Bridge that truly tests a player’s fortitude is the 698-yard (no typo) par-5 13th, lined with hazards from tee to green. Click here for more information Ross Bridge!

Hole No. 6, Montreux (17th) Reno, NV Montrêux is a private, gated golf community bordering Toiyabe National Forest in the Sierra Nevada mountain range near Lake Tahoe. It is home to the only Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course in northern Nevada and the host site of  the PGA Tour’s Reno-Tahoe Open. Montrêux’s 18-hole Nicklaus Signature course winds over 7,552 yards. Also, the tee elevation above the fairway on the 17th hole is 138 feet, giving the drive a heroic “hang time” that leaves players sighing their approval. Click here for more information about Montreux!

Hole No. 7, The Club at Olde Stone (16th) Alvaton, KY. Tucked serenely into the rolling hills of Kentucky, Olde Stone offers all the amenities of your favorite club community. It starts with a championship golf course designed by Arthur Hills, a resort-style swimming pool with a zero entry feature and an adult Jacuzzi garden. The golf course was named a "Best New Private Course" for 2007 by Golf Digest, partly on the strength of its “Redan-style” par-3 16th, featuring the classic front-right bunker placement and a side-sloping green that allows shots to be played short and right of the putting surface, so that they kick toward the standard pin placement in the back left portion of the green. Click here for more information about The Club at Olde Stone!

Hole No. 8, Sugarloaf Mountain (13th), Cleremont, FL. This new, 1,400-acre private community occupies the  highest point in the Florida peninsula and is home to the Sunshine State’s only Bill Coore-Ben Crenshaw golf course. One of its highlights is the 507-yard 13th, a par-4 of seemingly prodigious length. In fact, it's the longest par 4 in Florida, but the blind tee shot plays severely downhill, reminiscent of the 10th at Augusta National, so the hole plays quite a bit shorter than its stated yardage. If the drive comes “slingshotting” off the slope correctly, your second shot can be played with a short iron. Click here for more information about Sugarloaf Mountain!

Hole No. 9, Heron Point by Pete Dye, Sea Pines (18th), Hilton Head, SC. Probably the newest hole in this collection, the closing hole at Heron Point is knee-knocking par-4, especially for the hook-prone golfer staring at water all the way down the left side, and more water behind the green— which is fortified at the edges by Pete Dye’s trademark railroad ties. Graceful mounds and folds to the right of the green ensures a tricky stance and lie for the player who chickened out and faded or blocked the approach shot. Dye was hired to “tear down” the decades-old Sea Marsh course that helped establish Sea Pines as a Sunbelt resort-residential community for the affluent golfer. Click here for more information about Sea Pines Plantation!