Most difficult course you've played?

[flopdarock]

Hardest long course - The Tradition at Royal New Kent - right outside Richmond, VA. 7450/par 72 from the tips - I believe the slope rating is somewhere near 78. Every other damn tee shot is blind, and if you're in a bad position, you're looking at double or worse easily. If the wind's blowing, you'll be lucky to shoot under 85. The good thing about RNK is that all the hacks stay away - I usually can get through a round there in 3 hours or less.

thats a fun course... needless to say i didnt break a hundred there... neither did my single digit hcp brother... hahaha

[beachbreak]

Bethpage Black. Whipped my butt too many times to count.

[golfinanuj]

This place called the ACE Club in philadelphia. A gary player designed course, it is the hardest course i've played. I'm going to play there again soon, so now hopefully i will be more prepared for it!

[temup]

River Course at Blackwolf Run Kohler, Wi.

[Jared]

By far, the most difficult course I have played is Oakmont Country Club.

[gortyl]

There are three courses that jump to mind when I think of the "most difficult":

- The Prince Course at Princeville on Kauai in early 2007. Conditions were perfect, but it was target golf with a capital T; absolutely zero room for error. I'm sure I shot over 100.

- Carnoustie in September 2004. Sunny, but a wee bit breezy....try 30 mph sustained winds the entire round. I know what I shot because my scorecard from that day is sitting right above this computer in my office in a frame -102...and it was probably the best round I have played up to that time considering I was around a 27 handicap (had to fudge my GHIN card just to be allowed to play since I think the max men's handicap was 24).

- Wolf Creek (Mesquite, NV) in summer of 2003 (2nd vote for this course on this thread). No wind when I played, but it was 108 degrees, I was hungover and drove in a compact car with three other guys for 90 minutes. If you don't hit the fairway, your ball is likely gone. I must have lost 10 balls on the front 9 and shot around 60. On the way to hole #10, you have to drive by the parking lot. We were all sunburned, dehydrated, golf ball poor and feeling like we just spent two hours in the ring with a hungry Mike Tyson. We all looked out at the parking lot, looked each other in the eyes as sweat was gushing down our foreheads and without saying a word, we stopped the carts at bag drop, grabbed our bags and hightailed it out of there!

[msd3075]

The two hardest courses I've played are:

- Spyglass Hill - (75.5/147, par 72)
Went out to Pebble Beach for my wife's cousin's wedding over Thanksgiving last year. They had tee times set up for everyone that was in town early before the wedding. We played it from the blue tees. Shot an 86.

- Hardscrabble Country Club - (74.3/145, pat 70)
This is my home course in Fort Smith. It plays a lot longer than the yardage says simply because several holes you can't hit driver off the tee and because all but one of the par 5's are near-impossible to get to "safely" in two shots. It's a true "shot-maker" course. I've yet to play a serious round from the back tees, but yesterday I shot 79 from the blue tees (72.4/140).

[DKunks]

I don't even call that course difficult. Once you reach a certain point of silliness and "tricked-up-ness" purely for the sake of being stupidly hard, it's no longer worthy of any consideration or thought at all.

Since seriously getting into golf in 2005, i have played Bethpage Black once a year every spring. I cant wait to get out on it this year and play it year of an open.

Im a consistent low 80s player, and i havent broken 90 yet... in fact - it easily plays 10 strokes above your normal scoring average. its simply a monster, its so long and the rough is so dense that its just not fair. the majority of the par 4s play like 5s. One of the big reasons it plays so hard is that there are no carts allowed, and there are so many big elevation changes, by the time you cross the street for 15 you are totally shot. BUT, a friend of mine that plays to a 15 shot an 84 there w/ a course caddie... so there are definitely secrets to playing it well, I just havent figured em out yet ;)

[DJYoshi]

Since seriously getting into golf in 2005, i have played Bethpage Black once a year every spring. I cant wait to get out on it this year and play it year of an open.

I CAN NEVER PLAY BLACK!!! YOU HAVE TO CAMP OUT THERE FOR LIKE 10 HOURS ON A FRIDAY OR SATURDAY NIGHT TO GET OUT!!! at least Torrey Pines lets visitors make reservations 90 days in advance!

[DavidFehertysBike]

I CAN NEVER PLAY BLACK!!! YOU HAVE TO CAMP OUT THERE FOR LIKE 10 HOURS ON A FRIDAY OR SATURDAY NIGHT TO GET OUT!!! at least Torrey Pines lets visitors make reservations 90 days in advance!

Its not as bad as people make it seem. If you go there as a single during the work week you'll get on within an hour, or even less sometimes. I still have my NYC parks card but i cant imagine its different for anyone else. Ive never tried to play there on a weekend or holiday, though. Even if you cant get on Black the blue and red are just as good.

That said, i wouldnt bother until the late fall, LOL. The place is going to get rampaged with trophy hunters because of the open this year.

[wachesawgolfer]

I'm calling total BS here...there is no way that as a 9 handicap, they put you at the tips or anywhere close. The starter that escorts you to the first tee at CB would NEVER do that.

I will take an 83 thank you and its sure helps my ego. Not many people can shoot a real 83, its like 2 percent of all golfers under strict rules. Golly, even an 84 cheers me up. But, I cheer up easy under 85.

[DKunks]

I CAN NEVER PLAY BLACK!!! YOU HAVE TO CAMP OUT THERE FOR LIKE 10 HOURS ON A FRIDAY OR SATURDAY NIGHT TO GET OUT!!! at least Torrey Pines lets visitors make reservations 90 days in advance!

untrue.

if you are registered w/ the county, you can make a tee time exclusively for the black pretty much any day of the work week. I always take a day off around the end of april (they dont open the black till 4/15). or you can walk up and get on w/ in an hour or 2. than you can get in some good practice time... youll need it for that track

[Bump-n-MI]

The Bear at Grand Traverse Resort

It plays to a rating of 76.3 and 148 slope. I'm heading back there in May to give it another shot cause it kicked my ass the first time I played it!

[DJYoshi]

untrue.

then I shouldn't have moved back to Jersey!

not a lot of NY'ers I know play...so it would be cool to get a tee time... but do they give them to out of county too? Last I heard about weekday's it's not that bad to get on... but weekends I heard people actually line up in the early morning hours to play black... that was about 10 months ago when i was talking to someone that tooted his horn b/c of how "disgustingly nasty" he is (said he was a +2).... i'd love to go and get out on a weekday when it's easier to go.. but nobody can come with me b/c they're all working! how long's the drive once you get on the L.I.E.?

[DavidFehertysBike]

then I shouldn't have moved back to Jersey!

Its the LIE so its always going to be a f**kin nightmare unless you leave like 3 in the morning. But its not too long (probably 45 to an hour from the city) but its reletive on traffic. I take 278 to the belt parkway when i go there from jersey. I dont know if the LIE is quicker, but it seems more aggrivating to me.

[DJYoshi]

Its the LIE so its always going to be a f**kin nightmare unless you leave like 3 in the morning. But its not too long (probably 45 to an hour from the city) but its reletive on traffic. I take 278 to the belt parkway when i go there from jersey. I dont know if the LIE is quicker, but it seems more aggrivating to me.

oh absolutely... taking the belt just makes more sense when you're rolling out that way. i have season seats to the mets.... and it's touch and go.. even though I don't take the lie... sometimes i can get to shea in 45 minutes from m y house to the parking lot... and there's been times where it's taken me just about 3.5 hours.....

and the 45 minutes was on a friday during "rush hour" b/c we just don't have 1 hour of traffic.... the 3.5 was on a tuesday around 3:30...when i wanted to get there early for endy chavez bobblehead night! maybe i'll try to get out to bethpage after the open.... i'm sure it has to be crazy right now up until the open.

[clubhousehero]

Question about Bethpage.

On their website it says residents pay less than non residents. When they say residents do they mean county residents or NY state residents?

[meenman]

The toughest course I have played is Bridgewater in Lakeland (73.0/145).

The toughest part of this course is some of the bunkers - its not the fact that they are so deep but if you hit the sides instead of landing in, you may not find your ball in the rough on the bunker sides.

I really wouldnt recommend this course to anyone at this point. Clubhouse is a trailer, no cartgirls and only a couple port-a-potties on the course. It could be good if the ever modernize.