At Waterville, which Hackett called “a beautiful monster,” he laced together so many photogenic holes along the elegant strands of mystical Ballinskelligs Bay that they have become mainstays on Irish golf calendars. The 506-yard, par-5 11th is characteristic of Hackett’s vision. Nicknamed “Tranquility,” it plays through a valley of wild dunes to an elevated green, and is shielded from every other hole, creating a solitary, almost tunnel-like experience.

Perhaps the greatest praise for Hackett is that his many admirers still actively debate which is his finest design. You’ll hear impassioned lobbying for Donegal, a sweeping, muscular layout in northwest Ireland, and Enniscrone, with its enthralling elevated tees. But the man himself, who died at 86 in 1996, was loathe to show favoritism—except on one occasion.

“Once at Waterville, Eddie put his hand on my shoulder and said, ‘I don’t want to hurt your feelings,’” Higgins remembers. “At first, I thought I had done something wrong. But then he lowered his voice and said, ‘I think I have built an even better golf course than this one, on the most natural piece of terrain I’ve ever found.’”

He was speaking of Carne, near the town of Belmullet, a links so rolling and wild it makes Ballybunion almost seem demure. But don’t let the master’s self-ranking stop you from seeking out every known and unknown Hackett design, just to make sure he was right.