We compile an ultimate fantasy course by choosing holes from the finest layouts in the British Isles
DREAM DESIGN is a celebration of the very best of golf in the British Isles. Our regular Classic Course series turns the spotlight on one special destination each month and over the past seven years we have now featured 80 courses.
They truly span the length, depth and breadth of the British Isles. They include Royal Dornoch in the Scottish Highlands and Royal Cinque Ports in Kent. Saunton, in Devon, and Royal St David's in Wales. And, across the Irish Sea, Waterville, in the south west, and Royal County Down in the north east.
We have selected a composite course from the 1,440 holes that make up these courses. The rules were as follows:
1) Only courses that have so far featured in our 'Classic Course' series (see the map at the end of the feature) were eligible
2) No course should feature more than once
3) Each hole must appear in the position it occupies (in other words, only 9th holes could be considered for our 9th)
4) The resulting layout should feature the traditional balance of 10 par fours, four par threes and four par fives
We have also tried to incorporate a pleasing blend of holes - ranging from mighty par 4s to delightful short holes. We think the result is spectaular - and trust you agree.
Click on the arrows to scroll through our selection
Hole 1
Saunton
478 yards, par 4
Devon, England Designer: Herbert Fowler
THE opening hole at this Devon links is a classic. From the elevated tee, you can see for miles over the course and to the sea beyond.
A good drive will fly forever but there is no shame in laying up and treating this as a par 5 because only the very best open up with a four here.
Hole 2
Blairgowrie
339 yards, par 4
Perthshire, Scotland Designers: Dr Alister MacKenzie/James Braid
THE Rosemount Course at Blairgowrie is many good judges� idea of the best inland golf in Scotland. The fairways are lined by heather and silver birches and the turf is firm and springy. It is a gorgeous place to play golf and while there are several extremely testing holes, others, like this one, allow you the chance to relax and enjoy the scenery.
Hole 3
Royal County Down 477 yards, par 4
County Down, Ireland Designer: Old Tom Morris
MANY believe Royal County Down to be the finest course in the British Isles bar none. Combining just about every element of seaside golf you could imagine, this links thrills the senses. Its upturned-saucer greens get devilishly quick in the summer and while the blind drives are daunting on first viewing, this is really a second-shot course.
At the 3rd, the elevated tee-shot leads to a fairway that snakes between two huge sandhills to a flat yet tricky green.
Hole 4
Royal Cinque Ports 152 yards, par 3
Kent, England Designers: Henry Hunter/Captain Urmston
IT takes a special kind of par 3 to measure just 150 yards, not feature a single bunker and yet still command total respect. Such a hole is the 4th at Royal Cinque Ports, which twice hosted the Open in the early part of the 20th century. The green slopes away on all sides so whichever way the wind is blowing, finding and holding the putting surface is quite a job.
Hole 5
Woodhall Spa 148 yards, par 3
Lincolnshire, England Designer: SV Hotchkin
ANOTHER short but fearsome par 3, the 5th at Woodhall Spa has a green 38 yards in length � but significantly narrower. It is surrounded by trademark cavernous bunkers from which escaping in any direction is often a feat. Woodhall is widely recognised as England�s finest inland course.
Hole 6
Fulford 558 yards, par 5
Yorkshire, England Designer: Major Charles MacKenzie
FAMOUS for hosting the B&H International in the 1970s and 80s and this hole is named after the 1980 champion Graham Marsh. Fulford is a mix of parkland and heathland and the best holes are on the far side of the A64, like this unrelenting but fair par 5. Unless the wind is helping, which it rarely is, it plays as a genuine three-shotter from the very back tees for all except the very longest hitters.
Hole 7
Cruden Bay 380 yards, par 4
Aberdeenshire, Scotland Designers: Old Tom Morris/Archie Simpson
CRUDEN BAY is a magnificent links laid out on thrilling terrain. It may be eccentric in places but is never less than entertaning. This medium-length dogleg demands a drive as far left as you dare then an iron shot threaded through the eye of a needle. And unless you are in the middle of the fairway the pin will be hidden behind one of the mounds on either side of the green.
Hole 8
Tralee 399 yards, par 4
County Kerry, Ireland Designer: Arnold Palmer
THE most spectacular of Irish seaside courses, Tralee is only 25 years old � at least on its present site. It takes full advantage of its clifftop setting with several holes overlooking the ocean. At this classic risk-and-reward par 4, you either play short and right off the tee and face a long second, or take on a carry over the rocks to be rewarded with a wedge in. Tempting but dangerous.
Hole 9
St Annes Old Links 169 yards, par 3
Lancashire, England Designers: George Lowe/Sandy Herd
ST ANNES OLD LINKS is often overshadowed by its famous neighbour, Royal Lytham, but this is a fine course in its own right and the 9th is surely the highlight. The story goes that Bobby Jones noted down its measurements when he played here ahead of the 1926 Open. The long, narrow green is in a hollow and surrounded by eight bunkers. The locals advise taking aim at the flagpole and clubbing up.
Hole 10
Hillside 172 yards, par 3
Merseyside, England Designer: Fred Hawtree
HILLSIDE can be thought of as two courses in one, with much of the front nine running through pine woods and the inward half played amid massive sand hills. So the short 10th sees the transformation from one part to the other. Played slightly uphill, the target is not an ungenerous one but miss it at your peril. Not least because the green itself slopes severely from back to front. Everything that a good par 3 should be.
Hole 11
Carne 365 yards, par 4 - County Mayo, Ireland Designer: Eddie Hackett
WILD and unique Carne is an exhilarating golfing experience, and this hole embodies many of its contrary charms. Only opened in 1992, it is one of the youngest courses in Dream Design yet it looks as though it has been there forever � which in a sense it has.Wonderfully natural throughout, on the 11th, from the dramatically elevated tee, play down a valley and lay up at the angle of the dogleg. Then wedge up to a green on a shelf and hope and pray you have judged the distance accurately. It is the kind of hole you can birdie one day and not even finish the next.
Hole 12
Kingsbarns 606 yards, par 5
Fife, Scotland Designers: Kyle Phillips/Mark Parsinen
STILL less than 10 years old, Kingsbarns has made a very big impression in a very small period of time. It has become everybody�s favourite course, with views of the sea from each hole and a selection of unforgettable holes. One of the very best is the 12th where the fairway is generous enough to let rip from the tee and the challenge only really begins when you get within range of the green. Depending on the pin position you could be left with a short putt for birdie or a frighteningly long one � the green is 72 yards in length.
Hole 13
Nefyn 405 yards, par 4
Gwynedd, North Wales Designers: JH Taylor/James Braid
NEFYN is a course that everyone should play at least once. Remotely located, it feels like you are playing at the end of the earth, especially on the back nine of the Old Course.
Laid out on a narrow headland, it features thrilling holes like this one, where you can attempt a carry over the bay to make the second shot much shorter.
This part of the course is seemingly connected to the mainland by little more than a thread and before returning you can even call in for a pint at the Ty Coch Inn, which is only accessibe by road at low tide.
Hole 14
Royal Dornoch 445 yards, par 4
Highlands, Scotland Designer: Old Tom Morris
NAMED �Foxy, this hole does not have a single bunker but such are its angles it does not need any. A double dogleg, the best line in is from the left but a steep bank divides the green from the fairway and it is always the most awkward of targets. Land short and you tend to stay there, but fly the green and risk running through. Cunning, clever and charming.
Hole 15
Remedy Oak 500 yards, par 5
Dorset, England Designer: John Jacobs
REMEDY OAK is only a few years old but you would hardly know it to judge by the towering pines. There are shades of Loch Lomond in a design that combines long and testing holes with others that offer the chance of a birdie. The 15th is both these things at once. Imagine the 13th at Augusta, but a mirror image. So a stream is on your right and the hole turns in that direction. The water then cuts in front of the green so any attempt to find the green in two must be powerful and precise
Hole 16
Ganton 438 yards, par 4
North Yorkshire, England Designer: Tom Chisholm
AN outpost of top-quality golf in England, Ganton is something of an oddity. It plays like a links while being several miles from the sea. But however you categorise it, there is no doubt this is a course of the very highest quality. The 16th is perhaps its finest moment. Drive over a bunker big enough to conceal a bus to find a fairway that is pinched in by trees on either side. Then thread a long iron on to a large green protected by bunkers and gorse.
Hole 17
County Sligo (Rosses Point) 455 yards, par 4
County Sligo, Ireland Designer: Harry Colt
A TRULY heroic par 4 on a course that combines wild beauty with subtle strategy. The (relatively) easy part of this hole is driving along the basin of the valley to the corner of the dogleg. Then you must propel your second shot 200 yards uphill, carrying it all the way, to find a huge two-tiered green. Two-putt from there and you will have a par to remember.
Hole 18
Waterville 594 yards, par 5
County Kerry, Ireland Designers: Mulcahy/Hackett/Harmon/Fazio
AS strong a closing hole as can be imagined. Almost 600 yards, from an elevated tee, with the sea to your right every inch of the way. Waterville is among the very best courses in the Republic of Ireland, and along with The European, probably the best to be built in the past quarter of a century. Since Tom Fazio�s most recent improvements, it is truly without a weak link.
| Card of the Course (championship tees) | ||||||||
| 1 | Saunton (East) | 478 | 4 | 10 | Hillside | 172 | 3 | |
| 2 | Blairgowrie | 373 | 4 | 11 | Carne | 365 | 4 | |
| 3 | Royal County Down | 477 | 4 | 12 | Kingsbarns | 606 | 5 | |
| 4 | Royal Cinque Ports | 152 | 3 | 13 | Nefyn | 405 | 4 | |
| 5 | Woodhall Spa | 148 | 3 | 14 | Royal Dornoch | 445 | 4 | |
| 6 | Fulford | 558 | 5 | 15 | Remedy Oak | 500 | 5 | |
| 7 | Cruden Bay | 380 | 4 | 16 | Ganton | 438 | 4 | |
| 8 | Tralee | 399 | 4 | 17 | Co Sligo (Rosses Point) | 455 | 4 | |
| 9 | St Annes Old Links | 169 | 3 | 18 | Waterville | 594 | 5 | |
| Out: 3,134 yards, par 34 | In: 3,980 yards, par 38 | |||||||
| Total: 7,114 yards, par 72 (championship tees) | ||||||||