Dream 18

Joe Passov, Golf Magazine's architecture and course rankings editor, built his Dream 18 with the best holes from the best courses in the world. What he arrived at is a sublime 7,149 yards of history, drama and yes, sometimes even pure torture. If only we could all get a tee time on this course.

Hole No. 1

Royal Melbourne (West)
Melbourne, Australia
6th hole; par 4, 428 yards

Designer Alister MacKenzie placed a nest of artfully sculpted bunkers fringed in heather on the inside elbow of this sharp dogleg right. Carry them (220-240 yards) and you're rewarded with a straightforward approach shot. Tee shots played cautiously to the left leave a lengthy approach from a hanging lie to an elevated green tilted audaciously from back to front. Playing from above the hole in the 1959 Canada Cup, Sam Snead putted off the green into a bunker.

Credit: Russell Kirk