Which hole *should* be the toughest?

[DJYoshi]

I personally love longer par 5's. i consider them scoring holes.
If you can drive in the fairway at like 250 into the wind. you can look at your next shot being a layup into the wind. a solid 5 iron to get you a pw away.. you can even go 6 iron 9 iron or 7 iron 8 iron.
then 1 or 2 putt.

I used to HATE par 5's b/c it meant i had more chances to mess up.
now i get mad if i don't walk away with a par or birdie.

long par 3's on the other hand like erik mentioned a 240 par 3, unless i hit a clean hybrid or 3 wood... or recover with a great chip, it's most likely bogey city.

I like having a good par 4 to finish strong on. like
Bali Hai's par 4 18th is a MONSTER. 468 par 4 with water & sand all over the place.
drive puts you with 200 left...and you're still taking your chances hitting a 3 iron to the green when if it turns too much to the right, you're in sand or water....so i always go 6 iron then chip/pitch.
my home course's 18th is a little 400 par 4 coming in...i love that hole.

[NM Golf]

I hear what you're saying. I understand we all have different skill levels and that I may enjoy the hole more as I get better. I've played several courses where the #1 handicap hole was easier for me than the # 10 handicap hole and it takes me a few rounds to figure out why (if I ever do). I also like Par 5s as well. I actually get more birdies on Par 5s than 3s (whatever that says about my game

First, that looks like a beautiful golf course. That out of the way, the 18th should be a tough hole that leaves a lasting impression. That looks like a great finishing hole to me. You quoted the yardage from the blues, is that the tee box you play from? If so, you say your handicap is a 30 so maybe you are playing the wrong teebox. Maybe move up one or two until you are able to deal with that hole more easily. I gotta tell you, it doesn't look all that tough to me.

[firstcut]

First, that looks like a beautiful golf course. That out of the way, the 18th should be a tough hole that leaves a lasting impression. That looks like a great finishing hole to me. You quoted the yardage from the blues, is that the tee box you play from? If so, you say your handicap is a 30 so maybe you are playing the wrong teebox. Maybe move up one or two until you are able to deal with that hole more easily. I gotta tell you, it doesn't look all that tough to me.

Ya, as mentioned earlier, I'm very lucky to have such a nice course so close to home. It's usually in good shape, the staff is friendly and in addition to 18, it's got some very challenging holes.

The only downside would be an average 5+ hour round... I think I belong on the whites, but I'm *usually* pretty long off the tee and don't notice a huge difference in score from the whites.. That day I played from the blues because I walked on and my cart-mate played from there. Regardless, even from the whites, only Tiger could carry the first stream. So, if your first shot is *perfect* you still have a 240-260 yard hard fade over the right OB to get to the green. Not happening by me. You really have no choice but to hit onto the second fairway. The second fairway is sloped hard right which makes it difficult to get the "easy" shot the pic shows of the green. From there the green is well protected left and right as seen in the pic (although the pic doesn't look to bad). So, you need three very good shots to get it on in regulation. On the plus side, the green is big! All that said, looking at it I can see how it wouldn't look as difficult as I make it sound to a low handicapper. Maybe I just need to settle down and shoot for bogey on the hole and good things will happen...

[NM Golf]

I disagree. It should be whatever it is. If one player has to give another player 10 strokes, it can matter (mostly psychologically) where those strokes fall, but it shouldn't.

In a tournament the strokes fall where the may. In the money games I play in though no one ever gets their strokes on 9 or 18 because of presses. If a stroke falls on one of those holes it is just moved to the next most difficult hole. I mean who in their right mind would press on 18 knowing their opponent is getting a stroke.

[useless149149]

Regardless, even from the whites, only Tiger could carry the first stream.

I doubt that Tiger could or would try to carry the stream, as it's 300+ yards into the wind to a 20 yard wide landing zone. And regarding 18 (and 16 and 17, both of which I think are tougher) just attack holes 11-15 cuz all those holes are short irons in.