Holes We Love at Dormie Network
Our Favorite Holes Across the Network
It was love at first sight with these golf holes.
Dormie Network’s collection of golf courses offers some of the most memorable golf holes in the country, so we're taking the time to spotlight the most beloved holes, just in time for Valentine’s Day. Whether it's a tricky par 3 that demands precision, a par 4 with a jaw-dropping view, or a challenging risk-reward layout, these holes have captured the hearts of our head golf professionals alike. Join us as we take you on a journey through the best golf holes across each of our seven destination courses: ArborLinks, Ballyhack, Briggs Ranch, Dormie Club, GrayBull, Hidden Creek, and Victoria National. We hope you fall in love with our favorite golf holes.
Holes We Love at ArborLinks
The first Dormie Network course is an Arnold Palmer Signature design, showcasing the site’s natural landscape with a links-style course that winds through the state’s golden countryside. Here are Drew Seubert’s favorites:
Hole #2
Drew Seubert, Head Golf Professional
Hole #2: Par 4 (227-347 yards)
A short par 4 “layup” hole that requires a long iron or hybrid off the tee. Big hitters have the opportunity to take direct aim over the trees! Is the risk worth the reward? You decide! A well-placed tee shot in the fairway will leave you with a short iron into the green. The green features a false front, so any approach ending up short could roll down into the collection area.
Hole #9: Par 4 (337-455 yards)
The top handicap hole typically plays directly into the south wind. The near-blind tee shot can make or break your chance at par. Water also comes into play on your second shot, demanding accuracy as you look to hit a large green protected by three greenside bunkers. The back half of the green slopes toward the water. This lengthy par 4 is a fun challenge for all aspects of your game.
Hole #10: Par 5 (421-536 yards)
Making the turn, you’ll face a short par 5, that offers a strong start to your back nine. The tee shot here requires a favorable line to the left side of the fairway, which slopes from left to right. With a well-struck drive, players can challenge the green in two. Be careful though—there’s no room to miss to the right. Anything right of the green will end up in the penalty area. Your second shot is similar to hole #1 with a downhill look to a relatively small green. For most players though, they’ll be staring at a birdie putt or an easy par to kick off their back nine.
Holes We Love at Ballyhack
“As cliché as this sounds, and often my ‘go-to’ response when being asked to highlight a few signature holes at Ballyhack, we really are truly blessed with eighteen of them. Time of day, season, wind-direction, and which hole has left you exasperated with expletives on how badly you have been beaten up, can all equally affect the process of highlighting any favorites!”
Here are Matt Bevan’s favorites:
Hole #16
Matt Bevan, Head Golf Professional
Hole #3 Par 3 (11 – 251 yards)
As golfers, we tend to have an innate sense of self-punishment and this par 3 hole that I often refer to as “the shortest par 5 in Virginia” doesn’t disappoint. Golf course architect and designer Lester George often promotes the thought process of laying up just short of this green to play the odds of getting ‘up and down’ from short of the green. For those of us who simply cannot resist the temptation of flag-hunting, a shot left below the hole is always preferable here with distance control being paramount. With a green complex as challenging as this one, take your par and run!!
Hole #6 Par 4 (242 – 354 yards)
A classic risk-reward par 4 that is a nice change of pace from the challenging opening to the round! There are two main options: a) laying up to a generous fairway, or b) for those long enough, attempting to drive the green. The hole is framed beautifully through the elevation change from the tee box, a marsh area lining the left-hand side, and a steep bank of high grass on the opposing side. When trying to drive the green, the best aim point from the tee box is the green-side bunker complex that is cut into the cliffside on the right of the green.
Hole #10 Par 5 (46 – 595 yards)
I added this one to my list of favorite golf holes largely due to the vista from the fairway approach, where the green has a stunning backdrop of the Blue Ridge Mountain range winding to the south. In addition to its photogenic setting, in turn, it is a very playable par 5 that can be reached with a brave two or a more conservative three-shot approach.
Hole #16 Par 4 (283 – 491 yards)
This is a hole that would be on most players’ favorite golf hole list since it contains every ingredient that represents Ballyhack in a nutshell. Elevation changes, forced carries, high grass, winding creek bed, perfectly placed bunkering, and a green framed into the rolling farmland as if it has been there since time began. I get exhausted thinking about playing this one, however, navigating it successfully is a reward in itself! The fairway is generous despite the intimidation tactics from Mr. George so once the fairway has been hit, you will be well on your way to securing a good score!
Holes We Love at Briggs Ranch
The Tom Fazio golf course at Briggs Ranch Golf Club is among the region's most renowned courses and a fair test of golf for all players. The course is a member-favorite during winter. Here are Mike Frost's favorites:
Hole #10
Mike Frost, Head Golf Professional
Hole #4: Par 4 (240 – 345 yards)
This par 4 is a great risk/reward hole. Longer players can step on the driver and go for the green, however, coming up short leaves an awkward shot to an elevated green and false front. On hole #4, you see a variety of scores ranging from eagle to much higher than eagle.
Hole #6: Par 4 (326 – 438 yards)
This is a beautiful tee shot to an exciting green complex, and players can get their creative shot-shaping juices flowing. Also, don’t forget to say hi to Jack and Jose (the club’s steer mascots) as you walk off the green, they are always looking for a treat (or 10) and head scratches.
Hole #10: Par 4 (329 – 411 yards)
Hole #10 has one of the prettiest tee shots in all of Texas. This hole and tee shot captures what I feel is the essence of Briggs Ranch. It has elevation change, an inviting fairway, lots of bunkers, rewards players for executing, and is a really fun hole. Plus, it’s close to the clubhouse for a quick Ranch Water delivery!
Hole #17: Par 3 (127 – 199 yards)
This is my favorite par 3 on the course… don’t tell the others. Hole #17 really is exciting with a long tee shot to a well-defended green. Par is a great score here… especially for me.
Holes We Love at Dormie Club
Located just a few minutes north of the Home of American Golf, Dormie Club offers one of the finest destination golf experiences in the North Carolina Sandhills. Each hole is a classic from the Coore & Crenshaw original design that sits on over 1,000 acres of sandy, undulating terrain. Here are Kalan Fread’s favorites:
Hole #18
Kalan Fread, Head Golf Professional
Hole #3: Par 4 (243 – 312 yards)
This is a short par 4 with a diabolical green complex with five different tiers to keep your attention. A long iron off the tee will leave you just short of a treacherous fairway bunker, with a wedge in hand. Hole #3 provides an opportunity for a birdie... or a big number.
Hole #7: Par 3 (147 – 236 yards)
It's a monster par 3 with very little room to bail out. Dormie Club’s signature hole, the par-3 seventh is a reverse redan with some length. A significant tee shot over a marsh is required to reach the green, which is also protected by three large bunkers in front. Make sure you have enough club and then add another!
Hole #8: Par 4 (372 – 488 yards)
Known as one of the toughest holes on the course, at least it provides the best view. With a blind shot to the fairway and a massive right-to-left slope, getting the correct line is imperative. A par should make any golfer proud.
Hole #18: Par 4 (341 – 420 yards)
The perfect finishing hole. The way the clubhouse frames the hole in the background is second to none. Proper club selection and distance control are crucial in the approach if you want to end the round on a high note.
Holes We Love at GrayBull
Designed by David McLay Kidd, this authentic links-style course will leave you breathless. The seventh club to join Dormie Network, GrayBull Club is an out-of-this-world experience. Here are Landan Maassen's favorites:
Hole #16
Landan Maassen, Head Golf Professional
Hole #1: Par 4 (291 – 449 yards)
This is a fantastic opening hole that really sets up your round. A wide fairway to the right does run out of room fast into a large waste bunker so be careful with your club selection!
Hole #7: Par 3 (91 – 157 yards)
One of the more unique shaped greens you will find which stores quite a bit of movement throughout. Hitting this green is paramount in making a 3 or better here!
Hole #14: Par 5 (419 – 540 yards)
Typically playing down-wind and downhill this medium-length Par 5 becomes very reachable for most players. Keep your tee shot left of the bunkers and catch the speed slot and you just might have a chance to get home in two!!
Hole #16: Par 4 (194 – 372 yards)
Also one of David McLay Kidds’ favorite holes as he said “This is the best drivable par four I've ever seen.” The first hole of the closing stretch might be the best on the property. A reachable par 4 with an amphitheater green and a plethora of choices. Choose to lay up and you bring in a deep greenside bunker into play or push a drive as far as you can and either reach the green or have a short shot on! A tricky green still makes this a tough Birdie.
Holes We Love at Hidden Creek
Located in New Jersey, Hidden Creek is a masterpiece of Coore & Crenshaw design. Brecken Whitfield, Head Golf Professional, shares his favorites:
Hole #4
Brecken Whitfield, Head Golf Professional
Hole #4: Par 3 (155 - 219 yards)
This lengthy par 3 has been known for a long time as the signature hole. Heavily sloped from front to back, the green is large, as many are at Hidden Creek. Oftentimes, you can carry the ball to the front of the green and it will roll all the way to the middle or even the back. It is very challenging; however, it rewards good shots when they are hit with the undulation of the green. But if you miss in the wrong place, good luck with getting up & down as the green is surrounded by two bunkers, one on each side of the green.
Hole #8: Par 4 (232 - 329 yards)
Probably the most fun hole at Hidden Creek! Thought to be an “easy” hole because it is short and drivable for some, but, there is a bunker in the middle of the fairway and “Crenshaw’s Mound” in the middle of the green. If you wind up on the incorrect side of the mound, you are staring a 3 putt or even a 4 putt in the face if you are not careful. This leads many to layup to a good yardage so they can make sure to hit the ball on the correct side of Crenshaw’s Mound.
Hole #13: Par 4 (312 – 392 yards)
A bit of a risk/reward hole and one of the most visually appealing holes on the course from the tee box! A dog leg right off the tee, there is a large landing area if you hit less than a driver but that leads to a longer approach. If you can hit a very accurate drive in between the bunkers to a small landing area it will give you a much better chance of getting out dodge with a par or maybe even a birdie, as the green is very difficult. You must make sure you are on the correct tier on the green or you will be in a difficult spot.
Holes We Love at Victoria National
Victoria National is a top 100 course and Tom Fazio design that will test you every step of the way. Here are Jake Peacock’s favorite holes:
Hole #9
Jake Peacock, Head Golf Professional
Hole 2: Par 4 (197 - 374 yards)
After a somewhat benign visual appearance to the opening hole, when you come around from the 1st green to the 2nd tee, Victoria National slaps you in the face with an extremely intimidating and demanding 2nd tee shot at what looks like a scorable short par 4. That being said, if you can find the fairway on hole #2, you're left with a short iron or wedge that now makes you feel like you have a great chance for birdie. You'll want to capitalize on that wedge shot because you're not likely going to get another good look over the next four holes!
Hole 9: Par 5 (403 - 558 yards)
This Par 5 should be reachable for many players depending on the wind, but the tee shot finally gives you a chance to breathe and swing the driver with some confidence. Players are left with the option of going for the green or laying up on either side of the largest bunker on the golf course to a split fairway approach. I always pay close attention to the hole location here because if it's back left, you’ll want to lay up to the right fairway, but that is a much harder second shot.
Hole 14: Par 4 (347 - 471 yards)
The HARDEST, long par 4 most will ever play. After what felt like the easiest stretch of holes at Victoria National from hole #7 through hole #13, you again make the drive from the 13th green to 14 for a monster tee shot with no bailout. If you get the ball in play, your approach shot will likely be over 200 yards to an elevated green, and if the flag is on the right, good luck. I'll take a bogey and head to 15 any day!
These holes aren’t just scenic—they define what makes Dormie Network courses truly unique. Dormie Network members have full access to the growing collection of nationwide clubs. And it gets even better: our expert head golf professionals are onsite to help you create private tournaments, refine your game, discuss strategy, or share insider knowledge.
Now that we've introduced you to the holes we love, make sure to meet the ones that’ll give you a run for our money—the scariest holes across the Network.
