Joondalup Resort (Quarry Course)

An overwhelming favourite among our judges, Quarry 4 at Joondalup is dominated by an abrupt quarry wall that separates fairway levels and forms part of an enormous waste bunker. Recovery shots from down in the sand are next to impossible but the rewards for successfully attacking the upper shelf are enormous, which makes this such a strategically pleasing hole.

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The Lakes Golf Club

The key to playing the 14th at The Lakes used to be driving close to the water on the left to leave yourself a shorter approach shot. Now it's positioning the drive and potentially the second shot, but also studying the enormous green complex, the pin position of the day and determining whether it was better to pitch for birdie or try to two-putt from an adjoining postcode. Some hate this green, but it has endless fascination and single-handedly turned a flawed par five into a great one.

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Sanctuary Cove (Pines Course)

The first competitive hole Robert Allenby played as a professional golfer was arguably Australia's toughest, the 10th at Sanctuary Cove Pines. He made triple bogey. Since then countless others have followed in Allenby's footsteps, undone by either the Pines that run down the left of the hole or the water along the right. Two strong, arrow-straight shots are the only way to reach this green in regulation. It may not be a great hole, but it's one that golfers rarely forget.

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Royal Sydney

Royal Sydney has hosted 13 Australian Opens, and the last 10 or 11 have ended on an 18th green set in the shadows of this country's most magnificent clubhouse. Turning hard left through trees, the hole is memorable for both the backdrop and the relief of avoiding trouble and safely reaching the putting surface. That putting surface was made fiendishly difficult by Ross Watson during his 2003 redesign of the course.

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Royal Canberra Golf Club

It's an awful expression, but if ever a golf course had a signature hole it would be Royal Canberra and their 16th. This is the very essence of golf at Westbourne Woods, with the undulating fairway, the towering Pines and the slick, elevated green all combining to create a variety of golfing challenges. Few forget their first par here.

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Commonwealth Golf Club

An undeniably brilliant piece of golf architecture, the 16th at Commonwealth is one of those rare holes that reward both strategic play as well as high skill. Those who can draw their tee shot close to the lake, and then play a soft fade into the green have an enormous advantage, as they should. Technology has made the drive slightly easier, but the angled green remains a Melbourne masterpiece.

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Ellerston Golf Course

As Ellerston is our most exclusive golf course, including any of their holes on a list like this was sure to generate controversy. Our view, though, is that all courses, and therefore all holes, ought to be considered by our judges and those fortunate enough to play here continue to rave about Bob Harrison's 16th hole. It's a true one-off, playing along a creek and turning sharply toward a green encircled by the running water. The all-or-nothing approach shot up the length of the creek is incredibly demanding, but fun.

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The Links Kennedy Bay

An underrated hole on an under-rated links, the 15th at Kennedy Bay can really only be played conservatively or aggressively. There is no middle ground here. Off the tee you either lay back safe and left or attack the pot bunkers and try to play down the narrow right-hand side. The rewards are enormous, for the green rests in a dell at the end of a shallow valley and is much easier to approach from the right. This is a hole that wouldn't be out of place on the Open Rota.

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Royal Adelaide Golf Club, 11th hole, 353 metres

Adelaide's celebrated "Crater Hole" features one of the most exciting approach shots in Australian golf, played across a scrubby waste toward a green set at the base of a large sand crater. Although these dunes are no longer as pure and pristine as they once were, this remains a formidable test of your skill and nerve.

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Victor Harbor Golf Club

Once described by Gary Player as "the best opening hole in Australian golf" the 1st at Victor Harbor is the very definition of an iconic golf hole. 

From an elevated tee beside the clubhouse, your opening drive plunges dramatically along a tight, tree-lined fairway. 

It's the views of the Southern Ocean and its offshore islands, however, that make the hole so memorable.

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St Andrews Beach

While the 2nd at St Andrews Beach lacks the obvious "sex appeal" of the 4th at Barnbougle, in the right wind it's as tempting as Tom Doak's other Hall of Fame short four. Dictating strategy here is the waste area down the left-hand side and cleverly positioned bunkers through the fairway. There is plenty of space for those content with par, but those hoping for an easy birdie have to attack the sand and try feed their balls toward the green.

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The Dunes Golf Links

Endorsements don't come much stronger, than 5-time Open Champion Tom Watson's declaration in the mid-1990s that the 17th at The Dunes was "an exquisite golf hole". With its tees benched into the side of a dune, and its green set on a soft plateau protected by beautifully crafted bunkers, it isn't hard to see the attraction.

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Royal Melbourne (West Course)

Brilliantly conceived and impeccably shaped, 5 West at Royal Melbourne is close to the perfect par three. Its steeply pitched green sits beyond a valley and between a series of glorious Sandbelt bunkers. The reward for keeping your ball under the hole is enormous, but it takes both skill and courage to flirt with the green's false front. This was the only hole at Royal Melbourne built under the direct guidance of Dr MacKenzie, who understandably left the club comfortable that Mick Morcom (its Head Greenkeeper) was capable of bringing his plans to life.

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Barnbougle Dunes

When stretched to its absolute limit the 7th at Barnbougle Dunes measures a touch over 110 metres, yet it's a hole where all golfers will celebrate a par. The challenge here is all about the green, which is set on a gentle spur and falls away sharply on all sides. Left and long are definitely not options, while short or right are only marginally better.

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Houston PGA TOUR host Redstone Golf Club receives name change by new ownership

Next year's Shell Houston Open will be staged at the Golf Club of Houston. No that's not a new club in the Houston area, it's simply the new name of the former 36-hole Redstone Golf Club, which was purchased by Escalante Golf from The Redstone Cos. nearly nine months ago.

According to the deal, Escalante, which is based in Ft. Worth, Texas, had nine months to come up with a new name. After deliberating for the past two months on names that reflected Houston's heritage, industry and various animals and birds, senior officials settled on one that reflected the city and the fact that the club is all about golf.

"We selected the name 'Golf Club of Houston' as it conveys precisely what it is — a pure golf experience that focuses on golf at every level from beginner programs at The First Tee of Greater Houston to hosting one of the premier events on the PGA Tour," said David McDonald, president of the Escalante in a prepared statement.

Dave Matheson, who is one of the company's four partners, said the company unveiled the new name to its members on Thursday night before conducting a formal press conference on Friday. He said that members seemed to largely support the new name of the 36-hole club, which has played host to the PGA Tour event since 2002.

"At the end of the day, we're not inventing fire or sending a man to the moon," said Matheson, VP of corporate communications and marketing. "We're just changing the name of the place."

The purchase agreement also requires Escalante to change the name of the Houstonian Golf & Country Club because the Redstone Cos. still owns the Houstonian Hotel, Spa and Conference Center, which was affiliated with the golf course.

As of Friday, the company website already reflected the name change, and the golf shop at Redstone was already carrying its first shipment of logoed apparel and merchandise. And while the logo reflects the new name, it did retain the arrowhead in the old Redstone logo.

Besides the new name and logo, everything else remains the same at Redstone Golf Club. The Member Course, which hosted the tournament the first four years until the Tournament Course opened in 2005, is still private. Designed by Rees Jones and David Toms, the Tournament Course is still open to the public. Regarded as one of the best conditioned courses on tour, the course hosts the SHO the week before the Masters, April 3-6.

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New South Wales Golf Club

Pipped by the outrageously spectacular 5th hole last time, the 6th at New South Wales garnered the most votes of any hole this year and rightly joins its infamous sibling in the Hall of Fame. Added by Eric Apperly sometime after Dr. Alister MacKenzie left Australia, the hole plays directly across the ocean to a green angled toward the water. There are few more breathtaking par threes anywhere in the world, and no self-respecting catalogue of great Aussie holes is complete without it.

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