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.