What are the best holes you’ve ever played?
10th: Moortown, Par 3, 172 yards
Dr Alister MacKenzie was so confident about the merits of Gibraltar, as it became known, he constructed it as a test hole to sing the praises of his upcoming course.
The ‘build it and they will come’ approach certainly worked as no one who saw this short hole, moulded out of a rocky slope, wasn’t amazed.
More than a century on, it still thrills. Whether that’s the quartet of bunkers ready to take the poorly struck shot or the feel you get when you hit the right part of the green and watch it slide, slowly and deliciously, across the contours to the hole, it’s just epic.
11th: Hillside, Par 5, 509 yards
Many get distracted by the 10th, which is a wonderful short hole, but it’s here where things start to get really interesting.
Firstly, there’s the view: You’re on high, Royal Birkdale and Hillside’s impressive clubhouse is to your right, and you feel like you can see the whole of the countryside around you – not just an impressive par 5.
It always seems to play into the wind, which makes the tee shot a brute. If you aren’t in the fairway, you’ll be struggling to get to the green in three.
Related: The top 10 courses in Liverpool
12th: Kingsbarns, Par 5, 566 yards
The longest hole on our course and it plays every bit of it into the wind. There’s a reason why it’s called ‘Orrdeal’.
I’m clearly a sucker for an elevated tee, a sea view, and a green that’s carved into an outrcrop. This has all three and that’s why it edges the 15th and gets into my list.
The threat of a watery grave is the challenge and, for those who overcompensate, a couple of bunkers down the right provide a similar route to suffering. I could look at that green, perched right on the edge of the coast, all day.
Related: The top 100 courses in Scotland
One of the best holes on the card is coming up next. Find out where it is by turning the page…
Steve Carroll
A journalist for 25 years, Steve has been immersed in club golf for almost as long. A former club captain, he has passed the Level 3 Rules of Golf exam with distinction having attended the R&A's prestigious Tournament Administrators and Referees Seminar.
Steve has officiated at a host of high-profile tournaments, including Open Regional Qualifying, PGA Fourball Championship, English Men's Senior Amateur, and the North of England Amateur Championship. In 2023, he made his international debut as part of the team that refereed England vs Switzerland U16 girls.
A part of NCG's Top 100s panel, Steve has a particular love of links golf and is frantically trying to restore his single-figure handicap. He currently floats at around 11.
Steve plays at Close House, in Newcastle, and York GC, where he is a member of the club's matches and competitions committee and referees the annual 36-hole scratch York Rose Bowl.
Having studied history at Newcastle University, he became a journalist having passed his NTCJ exams at Darlington College of Technology.
What's in Steve's bag: TaylorMade Stealth 2 driver, 3-wood, and hybrids; TaylorMade Stealth 2 irons; TaylorMade Hi-Toe, Ping ChipR, Sik Putter.
