Comments on: Cheap Course Tricks http://thesandtrap.com/columns/trap_five/cheap_course_tricks Golf News, Reviews, and Commentary Sat, 21 Nov 2009 10:05:56 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 hourly 1 By: fabfivefigo http://thesandtrap.com/columns/trap_five/cheap_course_tricks#comment-13856 fabfivefigo Fri, 24 Oct 2008 19:40:46 +0000 http://thesandtrap.com/?p=2985#comment-13856 My worst experience on a golf course was the perfect storm of several of these kinds of tricks. The hole was a shortish par 5 with 120 yard carry over water in front of the green. The bad part was that there was a 50 yard slope down to the water, so you had a long carry off a downhill lie. Waiting on the other side of the water was a green that sloped no less than 8 feet from back to front. I stopped counting at 16. :mad: My worst experience on a golf course was the perfect storm of several of these kinds of tricks. The hole was a shortish par 5 with 120 yard carry over water in front of the green. The bad part was that there was a 50 yard slope down to the water, so you had a long carry off a downhill lie. Waiting on the other side of the water was a green that sloped no less than 8 feet from back to front.

I stopped counting at 16. :mad:

]]> By: Brad Ford http://thesandtrap.com/columns/trap_five/cheap_course_tricks#comment-12984 Brad Ford Sat, 06 Sep 2008 16:42:14 +0000 http://thesandtrap.com/?p=2985#comment-12984 My personal favorite: the public course that is too difficult for "normal" golfers to play. For example, one local course has a hole that is an abomination for the average golfer. Because the hole is built around a hill, the fairway slopes from right to left. A good drive is to the right side of the fairway leaving you a lie in the left side of the fairway, but you will almost always have the ball above your feet. Because they were too stupid/lazy to cut a large tree down, the approach shot must be a fade. How many average golfers do you know who can hit a fade from a hook lie? BTW - if you miss your approach left, you roll down the hill into a ravine. My personal favorite: the public course that is too difficult for "normal" golfers to play. For example, one local course has a hole that is an abomination for the average golfer.

Because the hole is built around a hill, the fairway slopes from right to left. A good drive is to the right side of the fairway leaving you a lie in the left side of the fairway, but you will almost always have the ball above your feet. Because they were too stupid/lazy to cut a large tree down, the approach shot must be a fade.

How many average golfers do you know who can hit a fade from a hook lie? BTW - if you miss your approach left, you roll down the hill into a ravine.

]]> By: goodepic http://thesandtrap.com/columns/trap_five/cheap_course_tricks#comment-12891 goodepic Wed, 03 Sep 2008 00:08:00 +0000 http://thesandtrap.com/?p=2985#comment-12891 The short par 4 dogleg holes can be well done though. Out in LA I play a nice public course called De Bell that's up in the hills above Burbank, and you pretty much have to put the driver away for the whole middle 2/3's of the course if you're like me, a 12-13 handicapper whose good days with the driver means 260-280 and no unwanted shape. But if you're a low handicapper with great shot control and shaping ability, then you can drive or 3 wood most of the par fours. The short par 4 dogleg holes can be well done though. Out in LA I play a nice public course called De Bell that's up in the hills above Burbank, and you pretty much have to put the driver away for the whole middle 2/3's of the course if you're like me, a 12-13 handicapper whose good days with the driver means 260-280 and no unwanted shape. But if you're a low handicapper with great shot control and shaping ability, then you can drive or 3 wood most of the par fours.

]]> By: George P http://thesandtrap.com/columns/trap_five/cheap_course_tricks#comment-12845 George P Mon, 01 Sep 2008 01:09:44 +0000 http://thesandtrap.com/?p=2985#comment-12845 [quote comment="12810"]The one I hate the most is when course designers either don't have the room they want for a hard hole.[/quote] I suspect your first theory is the more usual. And I agree. Nothing results in a more mediocre hole on average than a forced dogleg 350 yard space. I've seen several of these and few turn out well. Short par fours require more planning not less for the designers, and when the opposite occurs the players suffer. Brock said on August 29, 2008:

The one I hate the most is when course designers either don't have the room they want for a hard hole.

I suspect your first theory is the more usual. And I agree. Nothing results in a more mediocre hole on average than a forced dogleg 350 yard space. I've seen several of these and few turn out well. Short par fours require more planning not less for the designers, and when the opposite occurs the players suffer.

]]> By: George P http://thesandtrap.com/columns/trap_five/cheap_course_tricks#comment-12844 George P Mon, 01 Sep 2008 01:02:49 +0000 http://thesandtrap.com/?p=2985#comment-12844 [quote comment="12805"]How bout on a par 4 around 420 yards, having a bunker 75 yards from the green. A decent player will have absolutely no trouble with it, but it will give the high handicapper fits.[/quote] That depends on how far off the tee the bunker is and whether it carries across the entire corridor of play. In general, if such a bunker completely crosses the play corridor, it would be a problem for high handicappers. However, I don't think we need to necessarirly remove the "hard" parts of holes. My point about helping high handicappers was more about <em>not</em> killing them off the tee. It's possible for a routing to give a high-capper a way around a hazard while still making it penal for a low-capper. It's all about where the typical drives would land (and giving hackers a way around the ugliest stuff). And I think that should be a public course standard, not a private course one (when you join, you accept the course.) Jarvis said on August 29, 2008:

How bout on a par 4 around 420 yards, having a bunker 75 yards from the green. A decent player will have absolutely no trouble with it, but it will give the high handicapper fits.

That depends on how far off the tee the bunker is and whether it carries across the entire corridor of play. In general, if such a bunker completely crosses the play corridor, it would be a problem for high handicappers. However, I don't think we need to necessarirly remove the "hard" parts of holes. My point about helping high handicappers was more about not killing them off the tee. It's possible for a routing to give a high-capper a way around a hazard while still making it penal for a low-capper. It's all about where the typical drives would land (and giving hackers a way around the ugliest stuff). And I think that should be a public course standard, not a private course one (when you join, you accept the course.)

]]> By: Brock http://thesandtrap.com/columns/trap_five/cheap_course_tricks#comment-12810 Brock Sat, 30 Aug 2008 00:56:09 +0000 http://thesandtrap.com/?p=2985#comment-12810 The one I hate the most is when course designers either don't have the room they want for a hard hole or think it is a neat idea and give you a 360 yard par 4 that you have to hit 7 or 8-iron off the tee then turns 90 degrees and you have 210 into the hole. Its like they don't have the room to make a long par 4 that requires a good drive with the big stick or even a long iron and then you have 190-220 into the hole depending on club choice. I think if its a 90 degree turn at least let me hit a similar or shorter club on the second shot rather than the first. The one I hate the most is when course designers either don't have the room they want for a hard hole or think it is a neat idea and give you a 360 yard par 4 that you have to hit 7 or 8-iron off the tee then turns 90 degrees and you have 210 into the hole. Its like they don't have the room to make a long par 4 that requires a good drive with the big stick or even a long iron and then you have 190-220 into the hole depending on club choice. I think if its a 90 degree turn at least let me hit a similar or shorter club on the second shot rather than the first.

]]> By: Jarvis http://thesandtrap.com/columns/trap_five/cheap_course_tricks#comment-12805 Jarvis Fri, 29 Aug 2008 22:14:08 +0000 http://thesandtrap.com/?p=2985#comment-12805 How bout on a par 4 around 420 yards, having a bunker 75 yards from the green. A decent player will have absolutely no trouble with it, but it will give the high handicapper fits. How bout on a par 4 around 420 yards, having a bunker 75 yards from the green. A decent player will have absolutely no trouble with it, but it will give the high handicapper fits.

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