Do you have a golf course nemesis hole?

[Rob Person]

I've always had 1 hole on each 9 that I think laughs and mocks me when I get on its tee box. What holes do you have that vexxes you?

I have 2 that are always saying "Not today Sally!" and "Thanks for coming, better luck next time!" And for me they are the hardest ones to play. They are also usually my blowup holes.

The 1st is a par 3, usually about 140 yards over water, hitting from an elevated position. it's a wavy sloped tabletop green with a very steep bunker across the entire front. It also has no short spotted layup area because it jets out to the right, and the left side falls into a mucky and dense water runoff area. So if you manage to hit the green, let's hope it lands dead center or just left of the pin.  

The other one is a monster tee shot over water. It's very easy to catch the fairway, but it also slopes back towards the water, and believe me, they will roll in fast! On the off chance you clear the middle of the fairway, you can easily find yourself in the steep far side hills and in the rough. Sometimes giving you a blind 2nd shot towards the green. And a short layup shot is not easy either. (See the last picture)

Hero shots are welcome, but not advised!

But perhaps the even trickier shot is onto the green. It's uphill, and the front and left downslope is no joke! Even your ball retriever can't help you here! 

So these are my nemesis holes.

What's yours?

 

[TJ Hall]

All of them!!!

Theres a few that I’ve hit some bad tee shots on before, regardless of how I’m playing it always seems to happen on the same hole.

My typical ball flight is right to left, so anything hole that doglegs right just doesn’t suit my eye and is a tough tee shot for me.

[DiscipleofPenick]

Yep there's certain courses that I play in a semi-rotation where they get to me. It's usually the tee shot. On my current home course that alternates between #7 and #9. On my absolute favorite course, #12 has been in my head for years.

[VernL4]

Hole #1 of my favorite course would definitely be the one. It's a dogleg left. I hit a slice with my driver way too often. I played there about two weeks ago. My tee shot was a bit left of the fairway! The guy I was playing with said "I'll give you a freebie on the first hole tee". I said "Nope, that's way better than being way over there where I'm usually at! 

[DerekL]

Ha - great topic…first response is first hole of any boys trip! Guaranteed shank!

At my home course (Redwood Meadows), I have my own personal Amen’s Corner.  Holes 13-15, fairly short par 4, dogleg left par 5 with water down the left and par 3 over water…they are the make or break for my round!

[aguybadatgolf]

Oh yea, Colorado National. It’s long and has a decent amount of forced carries. Hole 14 is a 233 yard par 3 into a very elevated green that slopes of very steeply into a creek or brush. I think I’ve played the course 4-5 times now and have only stayed on the green once. The rest have taken a ball, never to be seen again. 

Edited April 10 by aguybadatgolf

[GolfSpy_APH]

Yup. Hole 9.

A well protected par 3 and I just suck at it lol

[skraeling]

10000%

My golf leagues hole 18. 

A not super long par5, but a difficult one (2nd highest handicap hole on the course).  Up hill from the tee box and the crest of this hill is at almost 300yd on a slight leg left.  Needless to say you have a blind shot to the green which slightly dog legs right at the very end.  Also dont miss trying to hit this second shot or your ball is just GONE.  Not much room for error if you try and go for the green on the second shot.

mess tee shot up?  enjoy the trees you puppet ass ******.

Too short?  enjoy being blind for several shots.

 

Edited April 10 by skraeling

[Josh Parker]

I have a couple. 

#10 par 5 with a huge oak tree 40 yards infront of the tee box and being a lefty need to set up with that in line and then another huge cluster of oaks 150yds out that you either go over or lay up to the left of it. 

#15 par 5 that I have talked about a ton on here. Uphill and fairway slopes left to right. Perfect for a lefty to pull a shot and end up 60yds down the hill. 

[Bill Galinas]

I have two at my club.  Both are par 3s.  The first is 180 with a very narrow target area.  The second is a 230 yard downhill par 3 with a creek protecting the green.  I don't get bothered by bogey on either one.  As long as I take 5 out of the equation.  I can make the shots up on other holes.

[Nick_D]

Par 5 along the river with a fairway that is BEGGING to be hit. I miss it every single time....

[GolfSpy_KFT]

Without a doubt hole #14 at my home course. Tight, slight dogleg left with a narrow landing area about 200 yards give or take from the tee box. Wooded OB left of the fairway, and if you go long of the fairway right it is long native grass. Miss right but short of the grass, and you typically have to punch out due to trees and hole layout. Pin is usually tucked back right on the green behind a bunker with woods nearly on top of the green. I've played it well a handful of times, but typically if I can get out of there with no worse than a double, I consider it a success.

[GolfSpy_BEN]

I’ve mentioned it a time or twenty, but it is the 2nd hole, par 4 on my home course:

Off the tee, a carried drive of 245 yards is required, otherwise you are in the creek. My normal play is a layup of 190-200 yards, which usually leaves a 7 iron into the green. It is by far, my most bogeyed hole. 

[BreakfastBall15]

A few at Kickingbird Golf Course in Edmond, OK.

The par 3 6th hole. Only about 140-135 depending on the day but uphill and the green has level areas to the right and left but a huge valley inbetween them. If the greens are playing fast and you catch it on the downslope your ball is going off the green. Aiming at the middle of the green is not even a thought here. Just hope you can get it on the side of the green where the pin is to give yourself a look at birdie. I've played this course about 30 times, 1 birdie, a fee pars but mainly bogeys or worse.

The par 4 13th. A driveable but massive dog leg right which as a lefty is not good for me. Options are layup to the corner but too far and you're dead or cut the corner and try and get past the trees. If you miss, you're either in tree trouble, on the 14th tee box and forced to keep the next shot low (I've seen a few people try to go over the trees but it never works), or OB. Green has some massive breaks to it depending where the pin is.

If I can play these 2 holes at +2 I'm happy. 

[Jon Diggs]

Yes! The 15th at my course is an uphill par 4 where the elevation to the green from fairway is probably at least 50 feet. The fairway narrows so any shot slightly right is blocked by trees forcing a massive left to right shot with the ball usually well above your feet. The green slopes dramatically from back to front and the only real “fair” pin is front. Anything long is death.

[PlayBadFast]

Skybrook Golf Club in Huntersville, NC. Hole 10 par 4 389 uphill the entire way to a tiered green. I can never seem to string together two good shots in a row on this hole!

 

https://www.skybrookgolf.com/course-layout/

[Samuel09152]

Yep, Hole number #3 on RTJ Hampton Cove Highlands. It is a par 5 but I always hit the watter on the right, and then have to re-tee or play at the drop zone which is still 285-300 yards away from the pin. It is also a split fairway with 5 sand traps. I am lucky to get out with a bogey.

 

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[Cade Rousseau]

Phew, this question made me realize how many golf holes have done me dirty over the years. I mainly play local munis that are fairly forgiving off the tee, but hole 2 at Great Hope in Westover, MD is the first that comes to mind. Water right, tall fescue left and a well placed bunker along the left side of the fairway gives you a small margin of error. I often tend to hit a double cross and find myself reaching in the bag for a second ball. I could go on and on about many other holes, but this one is by far the worst!

[ChaosReigns]

1st hole Carolina colors has claimed many of my Srixon Q star tour divide due to the dreaded first hole shanks off the tee

[Scuz]

Sure do! Played it yesterday and per usual, walked away with a booger! Par 4 over water, downhill to a tiny landing area. Waste area in front of the LZ and 302 yards to carry it to the green. Terrible hole! 

[Preeway]

My nemesis last year was hole #10 at the course I play in my mens league. We alternate 9s each week so this plays as hole #1 every other week. The worst part is its a short par 4 but it has lateral hazard left and OB right. The fairway is plenty wide but I had a tendency to find trouble anyway off the tee leading to bogeys and doubles. In 6 rounds played on that side I was probably +10 on that hole last year. 

[TigerNE]

Our home course has 27 holes, so there are more than one nemesis holes.  The biggest is one of the 9th holes, which is always our last when that 9 is played.  It's a blind downhill tee shot, with woods to the right and big slope from right to left.  Very easy to pull it, which is usually a lost ball.  The 2nd is then off a downhill/side hill lie over a ravine.  It just requires real focus and 2 well executed shots at the end of a round.

For people in the area, it's #9 Fairways at Centennial Golf Club in Carmel, NY.

[SDGolf619]

Yep, Par 5 16th at Balboa Park in San Diego. I am left handed and there's a canyon down the left on the entire hole. Even if you hit the fairway off the tee, it gets even more narrow from there with another hillside on the right of the green. I've made one birdie and a couple of pars in the last year of playing it but I'm probably losing over 1.5+ strokes on that hole. One or two bad shots have definitely ruined a lot of good rounds.

16th hole flyover timestamped.

 

[Shlax]

2 hours ago, Rob Person said:

I've always had 1 hole on each 9 that I think laughs and mocks me when I get on its tee box. What holes do you have that vexxes you?

I have 2 that are always saying "Not today Sally!" and "Thanks for coming, better luck next time!" And for me they are the hardest ones to play. They are also usually my blowup holes.

The 1st is a par 3, usually about 140 yards over water, hitting from an elevated position. it's a wavy sloped tabletop green with a very steep bunker across the entire front. It also has no short spotted layup area because it jets out to the right, and the left side falls into a mucky and dense water runoff area. So if you manage to hit the green, let's hope it lands dead center or just left of the pin.  

The other one is a monster tee shot over water. It's very easy to catch the fairway, but it also slopes back towards the water, and believe me, they will roll in fast! On the off chance you clear the middle of the fairway, you can easily find yourself in the steep far side hills and in the rough. Sometimes giving you a blind 2nd shot towards the green. And a short layup shot is not easy either. (See the last picture)

Hero shots are welcome, but not advised!

But perhaps the even trickier shot is onto the green. It's uphill, and the front and left downslope is no joke! Even your ball retriever can't help you here! 

So these are my nemesis holes.

What's yours?

 

Absolutely!

Mine is the 16th hole. It is usually where my rounds sink or swim as a good round prior to playing this hole means nothing.

It's a 400ish yds par 4 with a right bend.

• The first challenge lies on the tee shot where immediately right of the cart path is OB, long off the fairway is a water hazard and bailing out left leaves a very long approach shot off a steep downhill lie (for right-handed players).
• Next, the elongated green is protected by a gigantic and deep bunker on the front right. Bailing out left ensures that you will be short-sided and once again leaves a downhill lie for the chip shot.

Scoring a bogey on this hole is not the end of the world and anything better typically signifies that I've had a great round!

[Flanpro]

The 9th hole at my course causes more “tragedy from strategy” than any hole I’ve played in my life. It’s a simple looking dogleg right that’s not very long. Tee shot out of a shute to a landing area in front of two big bunkers at the corner of the dogleg. There is a creek that cuts in front of the tee deck and winds along the right side of the fairway all the way to the green where it cuts in front of the green to a pond on the left of the green. 
Green is 6000 sq/ft that slopes to the pond on the left and has at least 1000 subtle turns and slopes. 
I still haven’t figured out the ideal tee shot, approach shot or landing area on the green!
It can ruin a good round. I came to this tee last year at -3, feeling good, and recorded a solid 8 after all the carnage!

Edited April 11 by Flanpro

[curtdusoleil]

The par 4 third, number 1 handicap hole at my "home" course, Browns Mill in Atlanta. Particularly when the tees are all the way back, but even from the whites it's a bear that everyone hates. At its longest it plays around 470.

It seems simple enough, being straight ahead. But it's a very thin fairway with trees and OB all down the left with a bunker in play. The entire right side is trees and uphill the whole way.

You have to hit a perfect tee shot to have any chance at the green in 2 and it's always at least a long iron or fairway wood to get on. Very easy to miss short or roll off if you make it to the green.

It has bunker front right. When the pin is up, it's easy to miss into the bunker. When the pin is tucked back right behind the bunker, it really hard to get close.

Bogey here feels like a par and pars feel like birdies. It really plays like a par 5. Doubles are extremely common and are a total round killer right at the beginning.

On the totally other side, the par 5 tenth hole is the 18 handicap and could really be a par 4. I've eagled it something like 12 times. I can't decide if that makes up for hole 3 or they should switch 3 to a par 5 and 10 to a par 4. It would probably end up the same score differential anyway.

[Greg Tobias]

I have a local (old military air station) that has a nice 9 hole course. All but one hole is nice.  It is a par 3 Hole # 4  that is protected by trees at the entrance to the green with a slight dogleg left which is a narrow entry. 

Bogey every time!  Challenging but attainable par.

[Wheelieb]

There are 2 holes I will talk about at the same course. Honey Bee in Virginia Beach, VA is where I'm talking about. First is hole number 1. Tee Boxes are probably 80 yards from water crossing in front of you then continues up the left side, so If you draw the ball and don't start far enough right you are in it. The other issue that I had, It has power lines that also can interfere with your tee shot as I had it happen to me twice in two different matches. It's a free re-tee no stroke gained, but it does kick you out of rhythm. The second is hole number 7. the dog leg right is not conducive for a draw, there is a bunker on the right side about 210 and is pretty long that can collect a layup. there are pine trees on the right hand side by the bunker that you could go over, but you better have height on your tee shot. Or you may not know where your ball ricochets to. In the amount of times I played that course my best score on that hole was par since it is a par 5. Most of the time I'm good for a 7 or 8. 

[CFreddie]

I have two (both Par 5s):

1) #2 - requires you to carry a small lake off tee shot and land in a (relatively) small landing area that runs out very quickly into the woods.  The second shot has to carry a creek, which is somewhat blind (the ideal landing area for the first shot is a lower area).  Finally, your approach shot is on a turtleback green, with run-offs in every direction.

2) #10 - Narrow dog-leg left tee shot - I usually only hit hybrid / 5I to land on top of a ridge but you have to dodge encroaching trees on both sides.  The rest of the hole is downhill, but since the course is poorly maintained, you usually hitting off dirt / hardpan (for some reason, grass can never grow here).  Just an all-around narrow hole from start to finish.

 

[MN_Hacker]

First rule of "Nemesis Hole" is don't talk about Nemesis Hole......