Most difficult course you've ever played.... - Page 6

Moorland, at Legends in Myrtle Beach, SC. 

Played the blues, walked away with a 92, and was damn proud of it. 

The hardest so far for me has been Circling Raven, in Idaho.  I am heading out to Kuaui next week and will be playing the Prince course and fully expect a beating!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bullitt5339 

Tobacco Road in Sanford, NC........  Golf Digest's 10th hardest course.  It's hard just to be hard and beat you up.  You know when you go to play there that it's not going to be your average round of golf.

 

From the Ripper tees, it's only 6500 yards, but it's 73.2/150.  

 

I played from the Disc tees, and it's 6304 yards, 70.8/142.

 

Here's the opening tee shot.........

 

 

 

Here's a picture of the approach shot on #13.  You can barely see the top of the pin peeking over the hill.  This is pretty representative of the entire course.

 

 

I'll second Tobacco Road.  I actually enjoyed much of the course and found it a good use of "reclaimed" land (was an old sand/asphalt quarry) but some of the shots were just stupid hard solely for the sake of being hard (and/or stupid?). 

Quote:

Originally Posted by stealthduffer 

I'll second Tobacco Road.  I actually enjoyed much of the course and found it a good use of "reclaimed" land (was an old sand/asphalt quarry) but some of the shots were just stupid hard solely for the sake of being hard (and/or stupid?). 

I think that if you're decent, Tobacco Road is one of the easier courses out there of those that are commonly talked about as difficult. It's pure target golf. If you can avoid the various temptations and just plot your way around the course, you can shoot some pretty good scores there pretty easily.

Tot Hill Farm

http://affordablegolfdesign.blogspot.com/2012/11/tot-hill-farm-golf-golf-club-asheville.htm

http://www.tothillfarm.com

6541 yards

72.1/144

Lot of surprises, especially when you are stopping by and playing without an experienced playing partner. 

Special Bonus: A super crusty course marshall (think Jack Palance from City Slickers).

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wyldewood43 

Kaluhyat Golf Club @ Turning Stone Casino Resort.  I was playing it under ideal course and weather conditions as well.  I would hate to play it from the tips or on a windy day...might need to restock the ball pocket of my bag at the turn!!

 

Atunyote, the PGA Tour course was a walk in the park after that.  Of course if I had played from the Tour tees with Tour rough it would be damaging to ones handicap and confidence too!

Yeah, I kinda agree with you....Kaluhyat Golf Club at Turning Stone is rough if you are not an accurate player.  Its not overly long...but some very tight holes throughout.

Quote:

Originally Posted by PGA09 

Royal County Down, the winds and subtleties of the course make it extremely difficult to put the ball in the right place for your next shot. I can't wait to give it another shot.

 April 2012

Crestview Golf Course in Galax Va. It is a grass covered roller coaster of a place. No bunkers, no water hazards, but a very beautiful mountain view course with lots of poison ivy in the woods. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by marrsh28 

So what's the most difficult course you've ever played?

Oakmont Country Club near Pittsburgh, PA. (Built in 1903)

Oakmont has hosted the US Open eight times, more than any other course, and will host the tournament again in 2016. It has also played host to three PGA Championships, five US Amateurs,  and the US Women's Open twice. Winners at Oakmont include Jack Nicklaus, Ben Hogan, Sam Snead, and Johnny Miller.  Oakmont greens are legendary. All are original but the 8th, which was moved several yards to the left to make way for the Pennsylvania Turnpike in the late 1940s. This is the only place where the USGA asked the club to slow down its greens for a U.S. Open. At the 1935 Open, Gene Sarazen putted off a green into a bunker, prompting Ed Stimpson to invent a tool to measure green speeds, the infamous Stimpmeter. Originally a links course, trees were added in the 1950s-1960s. Most were removed beginning after the 1994 U.S. Open, with between 5,000 and 8,000 eliminated during a 2007 renovation alone. One of Oakmont's most famous hazards is the Church Pews bunker, a large roughly one hundred by forty yard bunker that that features twelve grass covered traversing ridges which comes into play on the 3rd and 4th holes. Priot to the 2007 Open all of the bunkers underwent a brutal renovation project that made them deeper, making approach shots to most greens almost impossible.

Here are some notable quotes about Oakmont:

• Lee Trevino: “There's only one course in the country where you could step out right now — right now — and play the U.S. Open, and that's Oakmont.”

• Johnny Miller: "It's probably the best course in the world . . . This is the greatest course I've ever played," and that Oakmont's are the greatest set of greens for testing a player's ability to putt.

• Geoff Ogilvy: "If I didn't hit it into the fairway bunkers this week I would have been all right. I must have been in 25 of them. I don't think I advanced it more than 30 yards out of any of them, maybe twice. It's frustrating."

• Henry Fownes (Oakmont architect): "A poor shot should be a shot irrevocably lost."

• Me: "Be prepared to use every club in your bag, because Oakmont will test your entire game."; and, "Oakmont caddies are worth their weight in gold."

The famous Church Pews.

The Twenty Ten course at Celtic Manor built for the Ryder Cup.

We played from the yellow tees which are two up from the back tees. The yellows are 73 by the UK system (Golfshot seems to think 74 for some reason), the back tees are 77 I think against a par of 71.

Such a fantastic course, you had options on every shot. It was just down to how agressive you wanted to be, but the risks were everywhere. Lots of places to get into big trouble. I didn't have a great day, dropping 5 shots on the first two holes is far from ideal but hit a few good shots that are going to be memories I'll hang onto for a long time. My third into the par 5 18th over the water was all over the flag the whole way. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by marrsh28 

So what's the most difficult course you've ever played?

 

 

I recently played the Prince Course on the island of Kauai during a vacation and it was near impossible.  The wind was blowing a steady 15-20 mphs and gust were 40+.  Most of the par threes on the course were unprotected so club selection was VERY difficult.  At the end of our round, the club pro told me the all-time low score from the tips was only 68!?!?! 

I've never played Sawgrass but have heard its also a nightmare for the average amateur.

I would agree.  Played it in the wind (30-40mph) from the tips and holes 11 and 12 were unplayable.  I actually putted off the green and over the cliff on 11.  I replayed and lost another ball.  The next tee shot was almost impossible.

Quote:

Originally Posted by PGA09 

Royal County Down, the winds and subtleties of the course make it extremely difficult to put the ball in the right place for your next shot. I can't wait to give it another shot.

Me too.  Need a fourth?

Probably the fairest, hard test of golf.

I love that course and you can roll out of bed and walk to the first tee.

Quote:

Originally Posted by NuclearMike 

 

 

I parred it as well after barely clearing the lava rocks in front.  Just a beast of a course.

Must be an easy hole because I did exactly the same thing.  

One course continues to pop up as the hardest when rated by major publications and groups as the hardest and has, for the most part, preserved its reputation for years, even as equipment and golf balls have changed the game.  The course deserves its rating, it is amazing.  Probably your best score will be the first time around it because once you see all the trouble it becomes paralyzing:

The course is Pine Valley, NJ.