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Ranking all 12 finishing holes in WGT

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Sat, Apr 13 2019 9:37 AM (18 replies)
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  • fobby1980
    310 Posts
    Fri, Feb 1 2019 5:03 PM

    Just for fun, I decided to rank all 12 finishing holes in WGT. I tried to take as much historical contexts and scenery into consideration but mainly my own playing experience, since I don’t know that much about these holes. And let’s face it, how these holes play within WGT is vastly different than in real life. So without further ado, let’s get to it:

    1-Pebble Beach: any time you have a par 5 to finish it’s always exciting, and of all 12 holes, this gives you the best chance realistically to make eagle. That alone puts it at #1. Visually, it’s also one of the best in all of WGT. Every time I managed to make eagle here I felt very proud.

    2-Chambers Bay: this hole gives you the second best chance at eagle, although you need a lot of help with the wind. I also like the fact that even with a good tailwind, you still need to execute if you want a chance for eagle because the pin is right in the middle of a bowl. Leave it short and you’re left with an awkward pitch; too long and that putt from the top shelf is no given to make par either.

    3-Congressional: a beast of a par 4; plays shorter because it’s downhill but makes no mistake, the approach in my opinion is the best in all of WGT. What’s not to like? Water on 3 sides, and if you played safe and left your 2nd shot on the greens’ top shelf the downhill putt can be really nasty. This hole used to be #17 but was changed to be the finishing hole for the 2011 US Open. A very good decision that was.

    4-Merion: an extremely beastly par 4, the only reason this hole is below Congressional is because with the back pin location it’s almost impossible to make birdie here. If you randomly got a strong headwind here? Good luck trying to make par. This hole is one of the very few holes in WGT that I have not been able to birdie ever since I advanced to Legend.

    5-Erin Hills: the last of the finishing par 5s, this one is as long as they come. Yes, I’m placing this hole this high simply because of the excitement factor. Other than that, it plays quite straightforwardly. The emboldened players will try to play their second shots hugging the left side of the fairway to leave a wedge for their third shots. That’s the only major strategy for this hole that I can think of.

    6-Olympic: a devilish little par 4, this hole can ruins your round in a hurry. It has the tiniest fairway in all of WGT, and you must find the fairway to be able to have any good chance for birdie. Even the second shot to an uphill greens is not as easy as it looks because it’s very easy to overshoot and leave your ball on the top shelf, which leaves an extremely awkward downhill putt. Again, every time I made birdie here I was very happy.

    7-Wolf Creek: visually, it looks fantastic, and with the right wind you can drive this hole for an eagle chance. So why this low on the ranking? The answer is, I think it’s too gimmicky. Water on the left and front, bunkers on the right, and a souped-up tiered greens? It looks too contrived. Nevertheless, every time I play this hole it’s very exciting.

    8-Kiawah Island: a rather average finishing hole, its only saving graces are its length and the back left pin location that’s only 3 yards from the fairway. Depending on the wind, it can be quite easy if you can cut the corner on the right side of the fairway or a real beast if you’re forced to play your approach from the left side.

    9-Royal St Georges: quite easy compared to the other holes on the course. Only time you have to worry is with a tailwind because that brings the two fairway bunkers into play. Other than that, the only real trouble on the greens is the mini Valley of Sin on the left side. All in all, a middling finishing hole.

    10-St Andrews: it oozes history, but just like in real life, in WGT it plays extremely easy. The only thing you need to worry about is the Valley of Sin; avoids it and you have a very good chance for a birdie. In fact I’d be disappointed if I don’t birdie this hole every time I played St Andrews. Fortunately I think WGT tried to combat this by building into their algorithms to give every players a 28-30 lateral wind every time they play this hole, I‘m pretty sure.

    11-Bethpage Black: now I admit this hole plays vastly different in real life than in WGT. In real life, you stand on the tee box looking down at that sliver of green flanked by two huge seas of white sands, especially on Sunday at the US Open, and your knees just buckled. Here in WGT it’s just another downhill par 4 playing to an uphill greens, on a course that’s full of them. It’s a shame really.

    12-Pinehurst: the vast majority of opinions among WGT players is that Pinehurst is a boring course, and this hole does absolutely nothing to change that view. Now I contend that Pinehurst does have its merits, but they’re nowhere to be seen on this hole. A forced carry over sand? Check. An approach to a right pin location that threatens to run off the greens? Check. Take out the clubhouse in the background and this hole looks exactly like many other holes on the course. There’s only one word to describe it: forgettable.

    Well that’s it for the rankings. Who knows? Maybe I’ll rank the opening holes next

  • andwhy67
    2,816 Posts
    Sat, Feb 2 2019 5:44 AM

    fobby1980:
    9-Royal St Georges: quite easy compared to the other holes on the course. Only time you have to worry is with a tailwind because that brings the two fairway bunkers into play. Other than that, the only real trouble on the greens is the mini Valley of Sin on the left side. All in all, a middling finishing hole.

    !985 Sandy Lyle won  at Royal st Georges, If I'm correct fluffed his chip onto the green and we watched it roll almost back to his feet, he sank to his knees thinking it was all over. The player chasing him was Tom Kite, Worked out o.k for Sandy, and then won the U.S Masters in 1988 his two major championships wins.

  • BPeterson8256
    2,903 Posts
    Sat, Feb 2 2019 11:20 AM

    fobby1980:

    Just for fun, I decided to rank all 12 finishing holes in WGT. 

    Well that’s it for the rankings. Who knows? Maybe I’ll rank the opening holes next

    I like it, especially the "just for fun part". That is the best reason for anything.

    I may have listed RSG a little higher. I like that it is such an easy hole to get a bird for the win if needed, but if you really want to get that bird putt in tight, you have to risk the left side of the flag. And any hit to the left turns it into a par and possible bogey. I had just such a shot in a ready go a couple weeks ago. I knew a bird would win. I thought I hit the perfect shot with a right to left cross wind. I landed about a foot left of the pin, thinking I had the win, only to watch the ball trickle down off of the side. Total funstration (fun + frustrating) lol

    Nice job on your list.

    Brett

  • craigswan
    30,837 Posts
    Sat, Feb 2 2019 12:00 PM

    As one of the oldest golf courses in the world, the Old Course at St. Andrews Golf Club is full of history. Much of that history has occurred on the 18th hole.

    The Valley of Sin. The famous clubhouse. The Swilcan Bridge. 

    All golfers who play the closing hole walk over the 700-year-old bridge. Players pose on the bridge for a variety of reasons. Some do it following an Open Championship victory. Others to signify their last time playing the course. Today they may stop for a picture just to post it on Instagram.

    The hole is entitled "Tom Morris." Old Tom Morris designed both No. 1 and No. 18 at St. Andrews.

    It is one of the easiest par 4s not only on the course but on the PGA TOUR schedule. The last time The Open Championship was held at St. Andrews (2010), the hole played as the second-easiest par 4 of all courses.

    In 2005, the hole yielded nine eagles and played as the easiest par 4 on the PGA TOUR all season. The stroke average that year? 3.538. Of the 990 holes played on TOUR that season, only 39 holes played easier. The 17th that precedes it played as the most difficult hole of all 936 in 2010.

    The Open Championship this year will be the 29th time the event has been held at St. Andrews. 

  • andwhy67
    2,816 Posts
    Sat, Feb 2 2019 12:15 PM

    BPeterson8256:

    fobby1980:

    Just for fun, I decided to rank all 12 finishing holes in WGT. 

    Well that’s it for the rankings. Who knows? Maybe I’ll rank the opening holes next

    I like it, especially the "just for fun part". That is the best reason for anything.

    I may have listed RSG a little higher. I like that it is such an easy hole to get a bird for the win if needed, but if you really want to get that bird putt in tight, you have to risk the left side of the flag. And any hit to the left turns it into a par and possible bogey. I had just such a shot in a ready go a couple weeks ago. I knew a bird would win. I thought I hit the perfect shot with a right to left cross wind. I landed about a foot left of the pin, thinking I had the win, only to watch the ball trickle down off of the side. Total funstration (fun + frustrating) lol

    Nice job on your list.

    Brett

    There you go WGT

    A best of 'finishing holes'

     

  • AlaskanDame
    18,876 Posts
    Sat, Feb 2 2019 1:32 PM
    In our club, we have two custom courses that take advantage of most of these "finishing holes." We call one "Grand Clubhouses" (which are not entirely 9ths and 18ths; consider Congr. 10, for instance), and the other is "Most Beautiful Holes" which 18ths often are, but not always, as noted above, but there are many others, of course.
  • DodgyPutter
    4,690 Posts
    Sat, Feb 2 2019 1:56 PM

    craigswan:
    The Open Championship this year will be the 29th time the event has been held at St. Andrews. 

    Confused me somewhat so I thought I'd find what you were copying.  

    Why not just say 18th at St Andrews ? 

  • Gepetto1958
    4,204 Posts
    Sat, Feb 2 2019 2:16 PM

    fobby1980:
    12-Pinehurst: the vast majority of opinions among WGT players is that Pinehurst is a boring course

     

    ..i must be a boring guy then

  • fobby1980
    310 Posts
    Sat, Feb 2 2019 4:18 PM

    craigswan:

    As one of the oldest golf courses in the world, the Old Course at St. Andrews Golf Club is full of history. Much of that history has occurred on the 18th hole.

    The Valley of Sin. The famous clubhouse. The Swilcan Bridge. 

    All golfers who play the closing hole walk over the 700-year-old bridge. Players pose on the bridge for a variety of reasons. Some do it following an Open Championship victory. Others to signify their last time playing the course. Today they may stop for a picture just to post it on Instagram.

    The hole is entitled "Tom Morris." Old Tom Morris designed both No. 1 and No. 18 at St. Andrews.

    It is one of the easiest par 4s not only on the course but on the PGA TOUR schedule. The last time The Open Championship was held at St. Andrews (2010), the hole played as the second-easiest par 4 of all courses.

    In 2005, the hole yielded nine eagles and played as the easiest par 4 on the PGA TOUR all season. The stroke average that year? 3.538. Of the 990 holes played on TOUR that season, only 39 holes played easier. The 17th that precedes it played as the most difficult hole of all 936 in 2010.

    The Open Championship this year will be the 29th time the event has been held at St. Andrews. 

    Yes but we don’t get to experience any of that history in WGT. Now if we’re ranking all these holes in real life though....

  • DavidTomsFanatic
    43 Posts
    Sat, Feb 2 2019 4:31 PM

    fobby1980:
    12-Pinehurst: the vast majority of opinions among WGT players is that Pinehurst is a boring course

    On the contrary, Pinehurst is one of my favourite courses because it punishes reckless aggression and rewards patience. There are some holes you can attack and other holes in which you should play for the middle of the green and settle for par. Course management is key to give you the best chance of making the best score. 

    There are two holes I don't like though, the par-4 4th and par-4 16th, they are basically par 5s unless you're a long hitter.

     

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