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| Cypress Point |
There are opening holes that ease you into a round, and then there are opening holes that make you stop and take a picture before you even put the tee in the ground.
The best opening holes in golf do more than begin a scorecard. They introduce a course's personality, establish a sense of place and, sometimes, provide a view you'll remember long after the round is over.
From the Pacific coastline to the sandhills of Nebraska and the rugged terrain of the Northeast, these 10 opening holes offer some of the most spectacular first-tee views in American golf.
1. Cypress Point Club – Pebble Beach, California
Few places in golf can match the beauty of the Monterey Peninsula, and Cypress Point wastes little time showing it off.
The first hole is a relatively gentle par 4, but the setting is anything but ordinary. Cypress trees, rolling terrain and the Pacific Ocean establish the visual character of the course immediately. It's an understated beginning to one of America's most spectacular golf experiences.
The real drama comes later at Cypress Point, but the first tee provides an elegant introduction to what's ahead.
2. Pebble Beach Golf Links – Pebble Beach, California
It seems almost unfair that a course with one of golf's most famous closing stretches also has such a spectacular beginning.
The first hole at Pebble Beach is a relatively straightforward par 4, but the surrounding Monterey Peninsula scenery immediately lets you know you're somewhere special. The Pacific Ocean is already part of the landscape, while the opening fairway begins the journey toward some of the most famous holes in golf.
For many golfers, simply standing on the first tee at Pebble Beach is an experience.
3. Sand Hills Golf Club – Mullen, Nebraska
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| Sand Hills |
The first hole at Sand Hills is a wonderful example of how spectacular golf scenery doesn't require an ocean or mountain range.
Here, it's all about the Nebraska Sandhills.
The opening hole is a par 5 that winds through enormous grass-covered dunes. From the first tee, the golfer gets an immediate sense of the scale and isolation that make Sand Hills one of America's great golf courses.
There's something almost cinematic about looking across the rolling dunes and realizing there isn't a building, road or development in sight.
4. Bandon Dunes Golf Resort – Bandon, Oregon
The opening hole of Bandon Dunes provides an immediate introduction to the rugged beauty of the Oregon coast.
The wide fairway invites the golfer to get the round started, but it's difficult not to look beyond the golf and take in the dunes, native vegetation and Pacific coastline.
Bandon Dunes is one of those places where the landscape feels bigger than the golf course. The first tee makes that clear from the beginning.
5. Old Macdonald – Bandon, Oregon
If the first hole at Bandon Dunes introduces golfers to the Oregon coast, the opening hole at Old Macdonald introduces them to a very different kind of beauty.
The course occupies dramatic coastal terrain, with massive dunes and wide-open views creating an almost links-like environment.
The first hole doesn't overwhelm you with manufactured spectacle. Instead, it gives you room to appreciate the land. That's part of the genius of the Bandon experience.
6. Whistling Straits – Sheboygan, Wisconsin
Whistling Straits looks like it was dropped onto the Lake Michigan shoreline from somewhere across the Atlantic.
The opening hole immediately establishes that character. Rugged fescue, dramatic bunkering, expansive views and the presence of Lake Michigan create a memorable first impression.
The course's visual presentation can make the first tee feel more like the beginning of a championship than an ordinary round of golf.
And that's fitting. Whistling Straits has hosted major championships, including the PGA Championship and Ryder Cup.
7. The Honors Course – Ooltewah, Tennessee
The Honors Course offers a different kind of scenic opening.
Rather than ocean views or endless dunes, the course is tucked into the rolling hills of southeastern Tennessee. The first hole introduces golfers to a heavily wooded, natural setting with elevation changes that immediately establish the character of the course.
It's a reminder that some of America's most beautiful golf scenery is found away from the country's traditional golf destinations.
8. Streamsong Red – Bowling Green, Florida
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| Streamsong Red |
Florida golf doesn't have to mean palm trees and flat terrain.
Streamsong Red is proof.
Built across a dramatic former phosphate-mining landscape, the course features enormous sandy expanses, rolling terrain and elevation changes that seem almost impossible for central Florida.
The opening hole provides an immediate glimpse of that unusual landscape. Instead of the stereotypical Florida golf experience, golfers encounter something closer to an inland links.
9. Kiawah Island Golf Resort – Kiawah Island, South Carolina
The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island is famous for its spectacular coastal setting, and the first hole provides an appropriate introduction.
The course sits directly along the Atlantic, with dunes, sea breezes and native coastal vegetation shaping the experience.
The scenery can be especially dramatic when the wind is blowing. That's when you realize you're not simply playing a course near the ocean. You're playing a course that feels completely connected to it.
10. TPC Sawgrass – Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida
The first hole at TPC Sawgrass isn't necessarily the most dramatic opening hole on this list, but it earns its place because of the experience it creates.
Golfers begin their rounds at one of America's most recognizable courses, surrounded by the distinctive landscape and water hazards of the Stadium Course.
And there's something psychologically appealing about standing on the first tee knowing that, eventually, you'll have to face the 17th hole.
The first tee isn't just the beginning of a round at TPC Sawgrass. It's the beginning of the journey toward one of golf's most famous holes.
The First Tee Is Part of the Experience
A great opening hole doesn't necessarily need to be difficult. It doesn't even need to be architecturally spectacular.
Sometimes, it simply needs to make you want to hit the first shot.
That's what these 10 holes have in common. Whether you're looking at the Pacific Ocean, rolling sandhills, Lake Michigan, coastal dunes or the hills of Tennessee, each provides something golfers can't get from a scorecard.
The best opening holes tell you something about the course before you've even hit your first shot.
And these might be the most beautiful introductions in American golf.
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