Fairway Width

[iacas]

The fairways at my course are exceedingly narrow. The narrowest I've ever played. Here's a 540 yard par 5, and I'd been telling people for years that the whole drive landing area was 17 yards wide. Well, yesterday I paced it off and I was wrong. It was 16.5.

Picture taken with a camera phone, so excuse the quality. Granted, this fairway is the narrowest on my course (well, nearly the narrowest - some are about the same) but the widest on my course is about 24 yards. It's the narrowest course I've ever played, so I voted for the last option.

Bag is there to give a small sense of perspective. Camera's not very wide angle, but you can see the rough lines (we don't have enough room for a first cut - it's fairway, then rough).

[Rafcin]

The tightest fairway on my course have about 20yds landing area after 200yds forced carry. On the right side there are trees, rocks and steep hill (going up - 50% of slices getting a bounce back into the fairway ) and left side is a dead-drop. I don't have a good pic for it though. There are few more :

and this one (fairway is RIGHT of the big tree in the center of the view):


There are only 3 or 4 holes that would be categorized as "grip it and rip it"...

[Rickins]

The local muni where 80% of my rounds are played would be categorized as a "grip it and rip it" sort of course by the standards of the better players but the average player will find "chutes" off some of the tees and some narrow landing areas for average drives - ponds cut into the fairway and "strategically" placed trees and bunkers. Pretty typical...

Rick

[Saint_Viper]

A mixed bag really, some holes have nice and wide, others can be tricky buggers.



6th Hole, some nicely placed bunkers make it a bit harder to drive the green ;)



11th Hole, Fairway breaks round to the right which is not very wide, again well placed bunkers means you have to be carefull



15th Hole, Slope (Upwards on the left, deep drop on the right, very narrow fairway roughly where the marker is on the picture, probably only 10-15 yards wide.

[iacas]

It's interesting nobody has chosen "wide" or "really" wide yet. So either The Sand Trap forum doesn't have a representative membership (we like 'em tight!) or we're all off in our perception of what tight and wide are.

[Leftie_power]

I choose really wide, Not first hole at St.Andrews or anything, but you take driver on all the 4's and 5's, if you miss tho, it's forest so good luck.

[muskegman]

This is a shot of my home course from the 11th tee. Its a par-5 just under 500 yards from the tips (its a fairly short course).

[DBake]

  muskegman said:

This is a shot of my home course from the 11th tee. Its a par-5 just under 500 yards from the tips (its a fairly short course).

Hey Musk, Where you call you home course up there in the evergreen state?

[muskegman]

  DBake said:

Hey Musk, Where you call you home course up there in the evergreen state?

Tahoma Valley which used to be Nisqually Valley GC... its a little goat track out in Yelm, about 15 minutes from my front door. I played Fort Lewis GC on Saturday and I occasionally get over to the Links at Hawk's Prairie, but most weeks I'm down at Tahoma Valley.

Its going through some reconstruction on the delapidated pro-shop soon, which'll be good. Under new ownership the course is shaping up pretty well.

[Leftie_power]

I like Seve's philoshopy " They should make the fairways narrower, then everyone will have to play out of the ruff, not just me"

[bunkerputt]

I hit more fairways when they are tight than otherwise.  I just swing tighter when the target is narrower.

[WUTiger]

I took an intro senior's membership this summer at Stonewolf G.C., a Nicklaus design course.

I listed the fairways as narrow. They are actually medium width, but play narrow because of the banking and slopes. To play well, you have to shape the teeshot on about half the holes. Several holes demand "position" drives, and big hitters can knock the ball through the landing area if they don't take the right line.

It was built as part of a housing development, and seven holes have OB both left and right.

[Gioguy21]

Our fairways at my home courses: Picatinny Arsenal Golf Club, Pocono Farms Country Club and Glenbrook Golf Club are very different in terms of fairway width. Picatinny is very tight on the front and then wider on the back...Pocono Farms has 2 holes that have wide fairways otherwise are a shot makers course and Glenbrook is wide open. i picked average because unless they're set up for tournaments they're very fair.

[hackerandloveit]

I picked normal or average.  Mainly because there are a few holes that are narrow, but most are roughly 30 yards across.  Some courses around here can get really wide open.  Granite Falls North course near me is about the most wide open course I have played.  Some holes are wide as they are long.  Par 4's that is.  Not really, but they sure seem like it sometimes.  I didn't count that course as I only play it a few times a year.

[Paradox]

typical distance at my home course is roughly 25-30 yards..I'd say thats about average.

[Timmy]

My town's course is average width, but there's no rough to separate the fairways really.  Also, it's a 9-hole that is tightly packed in between a highway and 3 fields.  With no rough, it's quite easy to scoot one off into the fields.

[Zwick]

My course has about 20 yards wide fairways (+about 3 yards semi rough) with a  lot of very nasty rough (knee-high, thick stuff --> 90% a lost ball). Voted average, but after reading the thread, I guess I should change that to narrow.

[inthecup]

My home course is Indianwood in Lake Orion MI. There are two courses. The old course is going to host the 2012 senior open. It is a links style course designed in the 20's. I would describe it as narrow with minimal rough and lots o heather. Heather can mean PW out or lost ball and in a rare instance you can take a swing at it. The new course is narrower! The new course slope is 146 from the tips.