The ideal opening tee shot?

[KenL]

Par 5. Even with a poor drive you can usually still be on the green in regulation.

 

[srixon 1]

Romsey....tiddly down hill par 4. In the summer you can putt it on! (Sort of ?)

I have played there twice. 1st time I drove the green and made the putt for eagle. 2nd time I missed the green but got up and down for birdie. Sort of thing that you don't forget. I wish my stats were that good for more holes.

 

[ArnoldArmChewer]

Old Course (if no one is watching)

 

[MarkT]

Old Course (if no one is watching)

I've actually done that once as it was a shot-gun start. For some reason hit driver, straight in the burn

 

[Deleted member 21258]

A hole that wets the appetite for what is to come, nice elevated tee shot, to a wide fairway and easy to score on.

Austin Lodge used to have a lovely opening tee shot.

 

[Deleted member 3432]

A nice calm day without the usual 20-25 mph headwind which makes our 1st hole a brute.

 

[Grant85]

In GB&I the vast majority of courses were laid out with any practice area, driving range etc. So it was a feature of the design that you would start with a 'handshake' hole. A relatively undemanding par 4 with a reasonable target for the 1st and 2nd shots.

I'm not sure that's necessarily the case but in the main at 'older' courses the 17th and 18th holes more demanding than 1 & 2... simply because they were laid out before par was conceived, before handicaps and most golf was played in matchplay format. So the final holes were a test for the better player to separate themselves from their opponent.

Have a think about any 'original' layouts from Braid, Colt, MacKenzie, Old Tom etc. There's a good number that follow that philosophy.

 

[hairball_89]

Personally I like a hole where I can fire off something like a 6 iron if it's short, or a hybrid if it's longer. Something gentle to ease me in but where I'm not forced into driver.

There are one or two courses I play that really demand driver off the first, and those I'll definitely be aiming to arrive early enough to get a good bit of practice in. Doesn't always work mind!

 

[Foxholer]

Par 5 with a wide fairway is a good start. Gives you the chance to recover. A long (but wide) par 4 which a low stroke index seems to work as well - most people get a shot so a bogey is fine.

Certainly agree with with the Par 5 concept. Mill Ride's 1st is a great example (as an Eagle is possible too!). Berkshire Red comes close too, though more difficult. Certainly Sunningdale Old too!
I'd suggest a 'simple' (therefore likely high SI) Par 4 is better than a low SI one. Craigielaw's 1st worked pretty well, though it was neither designed as the 1st, nor quite so 'simple'! Royal Birkdale, Carnoustie, St Andrews Old (perhaps apart from the burn) or New likewise. Hoylake is significantly more demanding (in non-Open format) as drive has to get pretty much to the corner.
Then there's the challenge of The Shire's 1st! Which, imo, makes Berkshire Blue's seem tame - even after a fabulous Berkshire Lunch!
Harry Colt certainly seemed to like the 'high tarriff' Par 4 starter though. Quite a few of his courses start with pretty challenging Par 4s! James Braid perhaps less so (at least challenge wise).

 

[Doon frae Troon]

Trees / oob all the way down the right side if I recall?

Never noticed them, I just saw the nice big wide fairway set up for my [then] power fade.

 

[patricks148]

TBH i like an easy starting hole short ish par 4, like the first at Dornoch or like Nairns 1st used to be

 

[MrC]

Haverhill - 6iron into dog leg followed by 9iron/wedge into green....

Perfect start for me. Not to much can go wrong and sets the round up for tougher challenges after