Jack Nicklaus once called Machrihanish’s 1st the best opening hole in golf.
That’s quite the statement when you consider the number of spectacular openers there are around the world. But having finally stood on the tee myself for our 48 Hours in Machrihanish video, I can completely understand why the 18-time major champion was so enamoured by it.
What makes a great opening hole?
It is the view? The level of difficulty? The quality of golf? How strategic it is? Or is it simply the feeling you get standing on the tee box for the very first time?
Well, if you’re Machrihanish you somehow tick all those boxes.
It’s spectacular, but it’s also what I consider proper golf – and that’s why I can resonate with Nicklaus’ opinion so much. If you also get the chance to play it, you’ll understand the great man’s thinking. From my experience it features a combination that is very difficult for any golf course to replicate.
Machrihanish opening hole: The coastline makes Machrihanish what it is
Everybody talks about the first hole at Machrihanish, and understandably so.
Named Battery, it’s very much created by the coastline. You stand on the tee box knowing the obvious temptation is to take on as much of the ocean as possible. The further you go, the better your position to attack the flag.
But the daunting sight of the Atlantic Ocean, which looms in the corner of your eye at address, makes it a real heart racer. A forced carry over the beach means you’re faced with one of the most exhilarating opening drives and strategic dilemmas you’re likely to come across.
Do you take on the aggressive line? Or do you play within yourself and accept a longer, more difficult, second shot?
It’s a real head spinner which makes the hole so good. It has also helped Machrihanish become something of a golfing pilgrimage.
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But at the same time, I do think the 1st is in danger of overshadowing just how good a golf course this is.
The more I think about my time there, the more I keep going back to the stretch from the 3rd to the 8th. That is consecutively some of the best golf I’ve played.
The 1st gives you that screensaver moment and possesses the wow factor all great holes need, but the course just continues to deliver. How can it not when you consider the land it’s built on?
This is an Old Tom Morris design. He extended it to a full 18-hole layout after it was originally put together by the local community. He’s also the one responsible for moving it to its current location.
It doesn’t feel like the links courses you might associate with other parts of Scotland. There is something different about Machrihanish, almost as if it has fallen off the edge of Ireland and attached itself to Scotland.
What impressed me most, though, not just with the 1st but with the whole course, is the combination of that setting and the strategic element. You really get the feeling the course hasn’t felt the need to impose itself on the area, but rather the coastline does a lot of the work for it.
Perhaps that’s why Nicklaus’ view holds such weight. And the fact he’s the most decorated professional golfer of all-time.
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NOW HAVE YOUR SAY
Machrihanish opening hole: What do you think is the best opening hole anywhere in the world? Where does the first at Machrihanish rank? What is the best opening hole you have played and why was it so good? Let us know in the comments or by getting in touch with us on X!
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