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Golf’s Guilty Pleasures

The 36 Most Beautiful Golf Holes

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If Joyce Kilmer thought nothing lovelier than a tree, it simply proves he wasn’t a golfer. This year, we surveyed local golf pros (and one architect) to choose what they believe are our region’s most beautiful golf holes. From tantalizing and tart par 3s to broad and buxom par 5s, the pros truly came through with 36 hot and juicy picks. Call it the Golf Guide Swimsuit issue, but rated G for golf, of course. i We hope you enjoy reading this year’s selections, and that they will whet your appetite for whatever linksland fantasies you care to indulge yourself in this golf season. i Warning: contains golfers-only content, player discretion advised. Must be 18 or longer to play. Partial fairway nudity, suggestive approaches, naughty niblicks and tap-in temptresses. For swinging adults only.
OK, that’s about as far as a tongue-in-cheek metaphor for a golf guide should go—or allow. On a more factual note, you will be pleased to see just how much beauty our little corner of the golfing kingdom possesses. Enjoy.

No. 1 Aronimink Golf Club, Newtown Square, Pa. 414 yards, par 4: Soft and cuddly. White Manor’s Marc Levine likes the way this opening hole “rises before you along a treelined fairway that promises you a wonderful day of golf.”

No. 1 Manufacturers Golf and Country Club, Oreland, Pa. 385 yards, par 4: “A thing of beauty…” Kimberton’s Jim Maach says the “elevated tee makes the ball seem like it will carry forever.”

No. 1 White Manor Country Club, Malvern, Pa. 424 yards, par 4: A real eyeful. The Rookery’s Butch Holtzclaw calls the elevated view of this starter nothing short of “spectacular, simply because of the overall view from the tee.”

No. 2 Bayside Resort, Fenwick Island, Del. 614 yards, par 5: Looks good in anything. Bear Trap Dunes’ Brian Painter says this “long par 5 with water on both sides, the Assawoman Bay on the left and a second shot full of options along with the bay and Ocean City skyline in the background, makes this hole play and look different every time you arrive,” and gives the hole its constantly changing beauty.
 

No. 3 Cripple Creek, Bethany Beach, Del. 331 yards, par 4: A true beauty that needs no makeup. “Your drive is framed by a wonderful view of the bay,” says Back Creek’s Jim McGoarty. And water completes the attraction here, as McGoarty notes, “the green is surrounded by natural marsh, with the bay as background.”

No. 3 Wilmington (South), Wilmington, Del. 585 yards, par 5: A beauty to beware? White Clay Creek’s Ryan Kidwell likes the “frame of the hole, a true three-shotter, especially with the new changes. Your tee shot is through a corridor of trees, and your second is a layup if you want a real chance for a birdie putt.”

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