Tee shots that force a particular ball flight... Good / Bad design?

[Slice of Life]

I love hard doglegs to the right. Because I can hit a wicked Bubba Watson-esque slice on command. Actually one of the only shots I can hit with extreme consistency.

To the left? I'm laying up. Haha.

[Spyder]

Originally Posted by Slice of Life

I love hard doglegs to the right. Because I can hit a wicked Bubba Watson-esque slice on command. Actually one of the only shots I can hit with extreme consistency.

To the left? I'm laying up. Haha.

I played Royal Crest this past weekend. Hole 10, the slight dog-leg left with the tree in the center of the fairway. I struggled the whole front 9 with grip issues so I just unleashed on 10 after an adjustment and smashed a beautiful straight-draw that followed the fairway like it was on a rail and came to rest 60 yards from the green.

I tried this same shot later on on the Par 4 that is "reachable" if you carry 268 over the water and I ended up in a LOT of trouble since I hit a pull-draw that time. I ended up in Pine Tree Central over on the left of the green.

PS: Those greens were nightmares. Some were soft and wet, yet others were dry and extremely fast at the same time. I have never played there when the greens were fast. They're always, for the most part, all slow and mostly straight. Having that unpredictable green in front of you really screws you up.

[jshots]

I'd tend to agree that it's not probably the best course design for the average player. I just don't think most people say over handicap of 15 really have the shaped shots in the bag yet.

[Slice of Life]

Originally Posted by Spyder

I played Royal Crest this past weekend. Hole 10, the slight dog-leg left with the tree in the center of the fairway. I struggled the whole front 9 with grip issues so I just unleashed on 10 after an adjustment and smashed a beautiful straight-draw that followed the fairway like it was on a rail and came to rest 60 yards from the green.

I tried this same shot later on on the Par 4 that is "reachable" if you carry 268 over the water and I ended up in a LOT of trouble since I hit a pull-draw that time. I ended up in Pine Tree Central over on the left of the green.

PS: Those greens were nightmares. Some were soft and wet, yet others were dry and extremely fast at the same time. I have never played there when the greens were fast. They're always, for the most part, all slow and mostly straight. Having that unpredictable green in front of you really screws you up.

I played there Saturday AND Sunday. Haha. I LOVE #11...the one over the water. I always go for it...since my misses are to the right, I'm usually in good shape and end up about 60 yards from the pin.

[scottgerweck]

In response to the OP: I tend to agree with most of the posts--that tee shots which favor a particular ball flight are awesome, but there should, in most cases, be a position 'B' that is still playable. Some of the examples given on tour courses are a good example.

Here's a peculiar scenario at Creekside Golf Club in Salem (I'm a former member), which hosts legit tourneys (NAIA nat'ls, Senior US Open qualifiers, etc.): 16th hole is a reachable par 5 with multiple oddities on the tee shot.

1. The tee shot is blind by virtue of a hill in front of the tee box the player must hit over. Anyone playing blue or black tees shouldn't worry about hitting the hill on anything but a duff, but from the white tees I've seen players hit a low ball that hits the hill on it's way up.

2. Tee shot is through a chute--not super narrow, but clearly defined and big, mature trees will knock down anyone drawing outside the lines. It's imposing enough that you focus on getting through cleanly

3. (This is less true from the white tees) A good driver (285+) who hits a straight ball through the middle of the chute winds up in a water hazard which isn't visible from the tee and wouldn't seem to be in play for anything but a hook--the hole seems straight when you look at it, but the shot through the chute actually angles you toward the left side where the hazard is. A big fade is require for longer hitters to find the very wide fairway with a long enough shot to go for the green in two.

This hole has screwed many an unsuspecting player who sees a blind tee shot through a chute on a par-5 and hits a great shot straight through the chute only to find the hazard. My personal feeling after playing the hole hundreds of times is that it would be a great hole if anyone of the 3 oddities was removed, but with all three it's too picky. What do others think?