What kind of course do you prefer?

[cksurfdude]

We have links style courses here in the Northwest as well. Here is Wine Valley GC outside Walla Walla, Washington, about 40 miles from where I live. It is a U.S. Open local qualifying course

 

Kenny -

Both those courses, the mountain course you showed earlier and that links style course, look really FANTASTIC!!!

 

Expect a knock on your door someday... ;-)

[Kenny B]

Kenny -

Both those courses, the mountain course you showed earlier and that links style course, look really FANTASTIC!!!

 

Expect a knock on your door someday... ;-)

If you make it out this way, give me a shout.  Lots of great courses all over the Northwest.

 

I only played once on Long Island a long time ago; don't even remember the name, but it was a public course about halfway out to Brookhaven.

[Orange Hog]

The best golf I've ever played in my life have been on links style courses - Chambers Bay, True Blue, etc.

 

 

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[Thainer21]

The best golf I've ever played in my life have been on links style courses - Chambers Bay, True Blue, etc.

 

 

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me too.

 

Castle Stuart. Kingsbarns. The old course at St. Andrews.

 

 

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[Orange Hog]

me too.

 

Castle Stuart. Kingsbarns. The old course at St. Andrews.

 

 

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Any course that doesn't have many trees is perfect for me.

 

 

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[cksurfdude]

I only played once on Long Island a long time ago; don't even remember the name, but it was a public course about halfway out to Brookhaven.

Cool

LI has a lot of good public tracks, with some good variety. Lemme know when the next trip happens!

[SuperDave]

I love this but can't afford to play it. It's the Pete Dye course in French Lick, IN.

 

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[revkev]

Pete-Dye-Course-at-French-Lick.jpg

I love this but can't afford to play it. It's the Pete Dye course in French Lick, IN.

 

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Dye, Fazio and Ross. Like I said.

 

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[Peaksy68]

My preference is definitely for "linksish" courses. Undulations, varying slopes on fairways and elevation changes into greens make for much more interesting golf. I like it when you have to think about every shot, not just blaze away.

 

Courses where it looks like the greens are positioned because there happened to be a natural bunker either side, I've only seen this once, at Royal Melbourne, a McKenzie masterpiece, everything looks so unforced.

I'm not a fan of too many blind shots, but a few is ok.

 

Bermuda greens are a necessary evil in some climates, but I much prefer bent.

 

I wouldn't go out of my way to play a crappy course, but if the company or cause is good, I'll play anywhere.

[deejaid]

I like courses that are walkable. That means walk off the green and the next tee box is right there. Courses that have a 100 yards of cart path to get to the next tee box pretty much means it was designed for riding.

 

Other than that I enjoy links style courses, Park style Munis, desert golf, whatever.

 

Although I must admit, I played the Norman Course at PGA West a few weeks ago and it was my favorite round in a long time. Incredible course and I got paired with a similar handicap and we had a really nice round. Shot better than I expected too which made it more enjoyable as well.

[PMookie]

Mountain courses. I went to college in the mountains of NC and there's nothing like courses with elevation changes, beautiful vistas, etc. Nothing's better.

 

 

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[SuperDave]

A mountain course is one I really look forward to playing in the future.

 

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[Kenny B]

A mountain course is one I really look forward to playing in the future.

 

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Mountain courses can be some of the most difficult courses for putting.  The "mountain effect" has to be considered along with what appears to be the slope of the greens, and it can be significant.  But the scenery more than makes up for it.  The only type of course than is more difficult to putt is a mountain course with Bermuda!!

[sp0rtsfan86]

Favorite courses are Coyote Springs-- that's an hour north of Vegas in the middle of nowhere. It's just amazing that the course has literally nothing around it for 30-40 miles. It's a great course, but I love that you can't do anything but golf out there. 

 

My other favorite is Hominy Hill. Just the history of it (private that was given to the county with the requirement that everyone who could play is allowed), plus the fact it's just a nice course.

 

I usually like courses with history or that are unique but not gimmicky.

[Liberty Ball Markers]

I had to bring this thread back... This is #8 - the 'signature hole' at my home course:

 

 

It's a daunting hole, but my favorite. All water - short, left, and long. Only 'safe' play is hit the green or bail out right. There is another tee box to the right, which puts the water on your left as a lateral hazard. 110-150 yards depending on the day's setup.

 

That's one of the best things about it - you never know what you'll get on any particular day. So many of our golf stories happened here, good and bad...

 

Of course it doesn't look like this today - grass is dormant, no leaves on the trees, and the water has ice on the top. Not real thick, but it's getting there.

 

The guy I played with today chunked his tee shot, which would normally cause a nice splash followed by 3 off the tee. Today, it bounced... twice... and then up onto the green!

 

He looked at me like it was my fault, and asked "how the hell do we score that?" My response was "we play it as it lies". Then he walks up and sinks his birdie putt!

 

 

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[revkev]

Nice hole

 

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[ole gray]

I enjoy the mountain type courses although the Georgia mountains are 45 minutes above us in Clayton. My home course has rolling terrain and I like it because it's challenging, always in good shape, and fun.  The thing about the rolling terrain type courses is you have all sorts of lies  from up, down, and side ways to deal with.

[PlaidJacket]

I suppose generally speaking I prefer Parkland style courses. The only true Links style course I've ever played are at Bandon Dunes. I've played many other Link'ish courses but I've determined they really don't suite my eye for some reason. Give me tree-lined fairway and I'm in.

[djahubes]

I like the older designed courses, del monte in Monterey comes to mind. On paper looks quite straightforward, but protected by small, quick greens.

I want the track I'm playing to work it's way to difficulty instead of being a complete monster from the start.

 

 

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[TheWahoo]

Any course that doesn't have many trees is perfect for me.

 

 

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As you get older and the prostate grows, you may change your mind about them trees.

[ole gray]

As you get older and the prostate grows, you may change your mind about them trees.

Or you can get that sucker yanked out like I did

 

 

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[Kenny B]

I suppose generally speaking I prefer Parkland style courses. The only true Links style course I've ever played are at Bandon Dunes. I've played many other Link'ish courses but I've determined they really don't suite my eye for some reason. Give me tree-lined fairway and I'm in.

hahaha  I'm in too!  The trees, that is.

[Kenny B]

Or you can get that sucker yanked out like I did

 

 

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You too, huh?

[ole gray]

You too, huh?

 

 

Yup...   Robotic surgery

[Philly Golf Guy]

I'm partial to courses where you find MacKenzie's 13 principles of course design:

 

 The course should have beautiful surroundings;

- The course, if possible, should be arranged in two loops of nine holes;

- There should be a large proportion of of good two-shot holes, and at least four one-shot holes;

- There should be little walking between the greens and tees;

- Every hole should be different in character;

- There should be a minimum of blindness for the approach shots;

- There should be infinite variety in the strokes required to play the various holes….(with every club utilized);

- There should be a complete absence of the annoyance and irritation caused by the necessity of searching for lost balls;

- The course should be so interesting that even the scratch player is constantly stimulated to improve his game;

- The course should be so arranged that (all levels of players can) enjoy the round in spite of … piling up a big score;

- The course should be equally good during the winter and summer, the texture of the greens and fairways should be perfect and the approaches should have the same consistency as the greens;

- There should be a sufficient number of heroic carries; and

- The greens and fairways should be sufficiently undulating.

[cksurfdude]

I'm partial to courses where you find MacKenzie's 13 principles of course design:

 

The course should have beautiful surroundings;

- The course, if possible, should be arranged in two loops of nine holes;

 

- There should be a large proportion of of good two-shot holes, and at least four one-shot holes;

 

- There should be little walking between the greens and tees;

 

- Every hole should be different in character;

 

- There should be a minimum of blindness for the approach shots;

 

- There should be infinite variety in the strokes required to play the various holes….(with every club utilized);

 

- There should be a complete absence of the annoyance and irritation caused by the necessity of searching for lost balls;

 

- The course should be so interesting that even the scratch player is constantly stimulated to improve his game;

 

- The course should be so arranged that (all levels of players can) enjoy the round in spite of … piling up a big score;

 

- The course should be equally good during the winter and summer, the texture of the greens and fairways should be perfect and the approaches should have the same consistency as the greens;

 

- There should be a sufficient number of heroic carries; and

 

- The greens and fairways should be sufficiently undulating.

Wow! That is awesome!!

 

If only...........................

[Kenny B]

That's a good list.  To me, most of these can be rolled up into the two principles:

 

- The course should be so interesting that even the scratch player is constantly stimulated to improve his game;

- The course should be so arranged that (all levels of players can) enjoy the round in spite of … piling up a big score

 

If the course doesn't have those other principles, then the scratch player and/or the other players will be disappointed.

 

I will say that I played a course that was an out and back 18 hole design, and it was fabulous.  Didn't miss the turn at all, but I guess that is course dependent.

[Rtracymog]

I like a variety. Give me some long par 5s and some short par 4s. Give me some risk/reward shots and make me use a lot of the clubs in my bag.

I always like courses that have some changes in elevation. There's nothing like standing on a tee and pounding one and waiting for it to land. Or when there's trouble out there on an elevated tee and you have to wait to see if you're safe or not.

One thing that drives me nuts is playing a course where 3 or more of the par threes are the same distance. I don't want to hit the same thing over and over again. Mix it up!

 

 

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[sixcat]

Growing up in the Appalachian Mountains, rolling hills and wide open space is what I am accustomed to.  I cannot stand courses lined with housing.  The claustrophobic feel drives me nuts and it feels like a "money grab" by the developers.  I love tree lined, clearly defined fairways that use terrain and topography within the design concept.  A quality design doesn't require to much shaping of the existing terrain. 

 

In my mind, this is why the Pinehurst area has stood the test of time.  If an architect is able to use the natural landscape to increase playability, it only increases the experience.  Old school architects knew how to use what mother nature supplied and didn't have the desire nor the means by which to move millions of cubic yards of earth.  My biggest pet peeve is hearing an architect brag about the millions of cubic yards of earth that was moved to build a course.  

 

I say this fully realizing I have a "trained eye" being in the civil engineering field for more than 22 years.  But for perspective, a full size dump truck carries 8 to 10 cubic yards of material.  Imagine the sheer volume of earth needed to make up a million cubic yards!  In my opinion, that's lazy design.  To just move it where you want it requires little to no imagination and/or vision.  At that point, you are designing Disney World and selling us Micky Mouse golf.

 

Sorry, didn't mean to turn this into a quasi rant.

[Kenny B]

I agree about the houses.  My favorite courses that I have played over the years didn't have any houses.  I play a muni, and there are no houses directly on the course, but some condos are visible.  However, there is a place for that type of course, mostly in retirement communities.  I have played some very nice courses with houses on them, but they were tastefully done, and set back off the course with trees between them and the fairway; not in reach of a slice.   

 

Obviously the best courses will be laid out naturally, but if the location for a course has been predetermined by circumstance, I am not put off by moving lots of dirt IF it will make for a better course than it would otherwise.