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In Praise of Quirky Uniqueness Over Consistent Excellence


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Someone was discussing Streamsong and their feeling after playing:

"..., I may take a hit on this and I am a big Coore/Crenshaw fan and their brilliance is on full display here, HOWEVER, this type of property, FOR ME, tends to leave a feeling of one hole bleeding into the next. I had this same feeling when I played The Prarie Club Dunes course this past summer. I am sure, rather than the design, it is simply the lack of any meaningful visual reference surrounding each hole. Kind of like driving through Wyoming or the west desert of Nevada. Also, none of the par 3's jumped out at me."

The comment really struck a cord with me.  In SE Michigan we have a fairly well regarded course, Shepherd's Hollow.  It makes a lot of "Top 100 You Can Play" type lists.  I have played there a couple times and it really is a very nice layout, just not very memorable.  Almost every hole winds through dense pine & hardwood forest.  The fairways roll up, down & sideways.  Lots of dangerous looking fairway & greenside bunker complexes and tee shots from elevated tees.  Each hole is a beauty but at the end of the day, one is hard pressed to recall any single hole.  Typically three of the par 3 holes are virtually cookie cut (elevated tee to canted green 170-185 yards).  The only holes that really can be recalled are the one par 3 with water and the closing par 5 that requires one to navigate around a large pond.

Torrey Pines (South) is another that sort of confounds me.  Two par 3's that go dramatically down toward the ocean and the closing par 5 with water.  Everything else is just a blur, allbeit an extremely difficult and attractive blur.

Can a course be too excellent?  Is a string of identical pearls less interesting than a necklace with a mixture of diamonds and rhinestones?  At the end of the day, it seems I prefer my great holes separated by some just good ones versus unrelenting excellence.

Anyone else care to share their thoughts?

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Brian Kuehn

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I don't believe a course can be "too excellent", but I like variety within a course. Short and long, tough and easy, uphill and downhill, "normal" and "quirky".  Many of  the best courses in the world, and some of the most famous, have those quirky holes.  Consider 17 at the Old Course, where you drive over a portion of the building.  At Lahinch, in Ireland, the hole that stands out is 5th, a blind par 3 over the sand dune.  Perhaps that's one reason I enjoy the courses designed my Mike Strantz, he embraces quirky (to a fault, in some people's opinions).

The thing I don't particularly care for is the trend for new courses to publicize their "signature holes".  In my experience, the holes labeled as signature holes are generally completely different from the rest of the course.  Shouldn't a signature hole be the best representation of what the course is really like?

Dave

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Perhaps that's one reason I enjoy the courses designed my Mike Strantz, he embraces quirky (to a fault, in some people's opinions).

Over the top quirky.

-Jerry

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Someone was discussing Streamsong and their feeling after playing:

"..., I may take a hit on this and I am a big Coore/Crenshaw fan and their brilliance is on full display here, HOWEVER, this type of property, FOR ME, tends to leave a feeling of one hole bleeding into the next. I had this same feeling when I played The Prarie Club Dunes course this past summer. I am sure, rather than the design, it is simply the lack of any meaningful visual reference surrounding each hole. Kind of like driving through Wyoming or the west desert of Nevada. Also, none of the par 3's jumped out at me."

The comment really struck a cord with me.  In SE Michigan we have a fairly well regarded course, Shepherd's Hollow.  It makes a lot of "Top 100 You Can Play" type lists.  I have played there a couple times and it really is a very nice layout, just not very memorable.  Almost every hole winds through dense pine & hardwood forest.  The fairways roll up, down & sideways.  Lots of dangerous looking fairway & greenside bunker complexes and tee shots from elevated tees.  Each hole is a beauty but at the end of the day, one is hard pressed to recall any single hole.  Typically three of the par 3 holes are virtually cookie cut (elevated tee to canted green 170-185 yards).  The only holes that really can be recalled are the one par 3 with water and the closing par 5 that requires one to navigate around a large pond.

Torrey Pines (South) is another that sort of confounds me.  Two par 3's that go dramatically down toward the ocean and the closing par 5 with water.  Everything else is just a blur, allbeit an extremely difficult and attractive blur.

Can a course be too excellent?  Is a string of identical pearls less interesting than a necklace with a mixture of diamonds and rhinestones?  At the end of the day, it seems I prefer my great holes separated by some just good ones versus unrelenting excellence.

Anyone else care to share their thoughts?


Good post. Interesting thought process. Given sufficient quantity and a lack of contrast can certainly take the edge off memorability. But I am sure given enough detailed study of each hole and understanding of nuances at a certain requisite level would easily justify the sustained excitement of and excellence of 18 shades of green to many a golf enthusiast.

Vishal S.

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I have found over the years, that the courses I play at, on a some what regular basis always have a hole, or three that I remember. I most likely will not remember the hole's number, but just the layout of the hole itself. Of some quirkiness is that most of the holes I remember have water involved with them. Another goofy thing is I won't remember those holes until they are the next one on the list to play. It's kind of like..... "oh yeah, I remember this critter"...... when I get to them.

There was a hole at Winterwood aka Desert Rose that had some history to it. It's the hole Mike Austin hit his 515 yard drive on. I was able to play that hole before it was changed to a different layout. The history made it more memorable.

In my own case I will remember good shots longer than any particular hole, on any particular golf course.

In My Bag:
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I'd always rather a course that is consistently excellent as you'll have odd days where certain holes trip you up or take your breath away. Particularly when pin positions completely change the nature of the holes - for me, that's the real proof of a good design.

Currently focusing on: Key 4 - shorter backswing.

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Note: This thread is 3278 days old. We appreciate that you found this thread instead of starting a new one, but if you plan to post here please make sure it's still relevant. If not, please start a new topic. Thank you!

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