What Relatively Common Golf Course Features Do You Dislike?

[saevel25]

I dislike holes where you can avoid hazards by playing the hole on another fairway etc. I wish they would just make a OOB to stop people playing unsportingly.

I hate courses that have in course OB!!! Just annoying, I want to use my power advantage and play the course how ever the hell I want!!!

No seriously, I hate in course OB. On this one hole, I actually play it about 40 yards right of the fairway because there is this crab apple tree that sits just past this bunker that guards the corner of this slight dogleg right. I fricken HATE that bunker and I HATE that tree. If you aim straight down the fairway a driver can go through it, down a slope and into a retention pond. So I just play it 40 yards right into the rough. Cut about another 30 yards off the hole. I am not going down another hole, but screw the fairway!!! I rather have 140 from the rough than 200 from the middle of the fairway.

[Royster1984]

I hate courses that have in course OB!!! Just annoying, I want to use my power advantage and play the course how ever the hell I want!!!

No seriously, I hate in course OB. On this one hole, I actually play it about 40 yards right of the fairway because there is this crab apple tree that sits just past this bunker that guards the corner of this slight dogleg right. I fricken HATE that bunker and I HATE that tree. If you aim straight down the fairway a driver can go through it, down a slope and into a retention pond. So I just play it 40 yards right into the rough. Cut about another 30 yards off the hole. I am not going down another hole, but screw the fairway!!! I rather have 140 from the rough than 200 from the middle of the fairway.

I just find it a little silly when people can avoid hazards by simply playing the ball down another hole. I would rather they just removed the hazards if 90% of the people just avoid them like the plague and start playing up another hole.

I play at one course in our winter league and there is a long par 4 always into the wind. There is a ditch around 180-190 and when ever you play someone from the home course they just bash one safe down the next fairway and play it as a par 5 as it is hard to reach in two for the average person. It slow's play as you have to wait for people coming and going on to the other fairway.

[phan52]

I hate blind shots. I played in a GAP tournament a few years ago and was playing a course for the first time. I hit a solid drive right down the middle of the fairway and when we came over the rise, there was a creek going across the fairway about 230 yards out. I never found my ball and it is only common sense that it was in the creek. My playing partner said I had to go back to the tee and at first I refused because I felt it was reasonable to claim that it was in the hazard. But I know the rules, so I went back to the tee. I noticed later in the round that they positioned a spotter on the hole. Stupid hole design, for sure.

Fairway bunkers with trees between you and the green. We had a few on our course where trees just grew into the sight lines over time and we have fixed it by either moving the bunkers or removing the trees.

[JetFan1983]

Not a fan of hardpan really anywhere on a course.

[Spyder]

Random bumps, moguls, and such in the middle of fairways that can turn otherwise well played shots into poor results.

Late to the party, but this. One course in particular here in NE Ohio has such severe slopes in the middle of a Par 5 fairway that you literally can stand in one "valley", your playing partner can stand in the next one 20 feet away, and you can't see each other. Absolutely ridiculous when it comes to your 2nd and 3rd shots. Also horrible when it rains as all 3 valleys have water rushing through them that can carry your ball back to the cart path. Probably not exactly legit , but it usually leads to some cussing and/or laughing nearly every time I'm there.

[isukgolf]

Cement Bunkers with sand that is harder than a Walmart parking lot ... if you are not going to maintain them, then remove them.

And courses with houses within yards of the fairway ... I hate nailing a house!

[Spyder]

Cement Bunkers with sand that is harder than a Walmart parking lot ... if you are not going to maintain them, then remove them.

And courses with houses within yards of the fairway ... I hate nailing a house!

If every course around here did that, we'd have about 3 courses with bunkers left within 50 miles of me. I brought the bunker conditions up to a super once last season when I played a certain course near me. The rate was like $52 for 18 holes in July. I remember landing in a bunker that literally felt like concrete. You didn't need to rake anything because you never disturbed the sand and raking was useless because it wouldn't even leave rake marks. At the turn, I asked the superintendent why the bunkers were so "rough" and he laughed and said "It's a bunker. Stay out of'em and you won't have to whine and bitch about the damn sand.". I replied "You've got to be f****** kidding me, right?" to which he responded "Listen, I'm sick of hearing people crying about the damn bunkers. It's golf and you deserve to be penalized if you land in one". I left it at that because I was on the verge of blowing up because of the way he reacted. I never finished the back 9 and I haven't been back there since 2010.

[wils5150]

If every course around here did that, we'd have about 3 courses with bunkers left within 50 miles of me. I brought the bunker conditions up to a super once last season when I played a certain course near me. The rate was like $52 for 18 holes in July. I remember landing in a bunker that literally felt like concrete. You didn't need to rake anything because you never disturbed the sand and raking was useless because it wouldn't even leave rake marks. At the turn, I asked the superintendent why the bunkers were so "rough" and he laughed and said "It's a bunker. Stay out of'em and you won't have to whine and bitch about the damn sand.". I replied "You've got to be f****** kidding me, right?" to which he responded "Listen, I'm sick of hearing people crying about the damn bunkers. It's golf and you deserve to be penalized if you land in one". I left it at that because I was on the verge of blowing up because of the way he reacted. I never finished the back 9 and I haven't been back there since 2010.

A bunker is a hazzard  just like water is except you have a chance out of the bunker. Give me rock hard over flurry any day.

[David in FL]

A bunker is a hazzard  just like water is except you have a chance out of the bunker. Give me rock hard over flurry any day.

Certainly you're not excusing courses, or superintendents that don't properly maintain the course......? :-\

[MS256]

Certainly you're not excusing courses, or superintendents that don't properly maintain the course......?

Most of the time I at least give them the benefit of the doubt that they are doing the best they can do with the money they have to do it with.

I can think of about 100 things that need to be done where I work. The course owner works all day long, his wife works all day long, and I work as many hours as they have the money to pay me to work (and then some that I don't charge them for). That is the entire crew.

Somebody said last week that we need to fix a section of cart path. I thought yeah right...We'll put that right on our list after about 99 other things, with first on the list re-planting all of the greens so we have something to putt on.

[David in FL]

Most of the time I at least give them the benefit of the doubt that they are doing the best they can do with the money they have to do it with. I can think of about 100 things that need to be done where I work. The course owner works all day long, his wife works all day long, and I work as many hours as they have the money to pay me to work (and then some that I don't charge them for). That is the entire crew. Somebody said last week that we need to fix a section of cart path. I thought yeah right...We'll put that right on our list after about 99 other things, with first on the list re-planting all of the greens so we have something to putt on.

I didn't understand that to be the context of @wils5150 's response though.....

[MS256]

I didn't understand that to be the context of @wils5150's response though.....

Maybe not.

I just don't expect too much right now.

The last time I went to Capstone Golf Club (which was actually a great layout and a fairly high end course) most of the bunkers were mostly clay waste areas with trenches washed out in them. I know they are having big financial problems so I should have expected it.

It's a shame but if they don't have the money they don't have the money.

[wils5150]

Certainly you're not excusing courses, or superintendents that don't properly maintain the course......?

no I am not but i understand why it happens. Bunkers gobble up more man hours than any other area on a golf course.One thunderstorm rolls in and I can easily have 40 man hours into fixing them. and I like hitting out of a rock hard bunker

And after all it is a hazzard.

[David in FL]

Bunkers gobble up more man hours than any other area on a golf course.  One thunderstorm rolls in and I can easily have 40 man hours

I believe it.....

. and I like hitting out of a rock hard bunker

Me too.....

[Golfingdad]

Blind tee shots

I hate blind shots.

I don't understand why ... those are awesome (sarcasm) ... check out this doozy ...

Seriously ... What in the everlasting ****?!?!?!?!  I am standing on the tee box looking straight down the fairway.  The only grass you see there on the right is one of the old forward tee boxes.  They moved it across that ravine.

This is the dumbest flipping hole ever.  I never saw it then, but I guess when they first built it, the brush was so low that it wasn't a blind shot.  It was still a long carry over a ravine, but it wasn't blind.  If this picture was a little clearer, you'd be able to see the top 16" or so of a 12-15' tall aiming stick that is beyond the fairway.

At this point I feel like the course needs to abandon these tees and push everything across the ravine to where the forward tees are now, and just make it a Par 4.

P.S.  For you Socallers who don't remember, this is #15 at Talega, where we had our Summer outing last year.

[boil3rmak3r]

I also hate any tree that is directly in front of the tee box. Usually about 20 yards or so up. Who are you to tell me what shot I should play? I don't want to slice. Not even this once. If you are going to do that make it a tunnel effect where you have to go straight.

This is my gripe... My home course has two holes where trees on the right side hang over the fairway and it's extremely difficult to hit a draw without either hitting the trees or ending up in the left rough (which, on both holes can put you in more tree trouble). At the very least, have a miss left be less penal. I'm not good enough to fade the ball on demand...

[Spyder]

The course I'm playing on Memorial Day has 5 blind greens where the greens are completely out of view. You're literally using surrounding trees and memory to locate your target and land the green. 3 of these also have completely blind greens where you cannot even see the pin on your approach shot.

To top it off, it has 2 or 3 holes where the fairway is completely out of view from the tee. You're again using memory and surrounding trees to visualize the fairway. Most experienced golfers at this course actually rely on the highway in the background to line up these tee shots, using highway light poles. Pretty ridiculous...

[Dave2512]

Design flaws are the only thing that bug me. Was just thinking about this over the weekend. At my home course we have a serious ball mark problem. This year I have watched it develop, didn't start playing there last season until mid summer and by then the course condition was already what it is. Anyway after low winter traffic and aeration the greens were in pretty good shape heading into spring. Within a few weeks I noticed some greens we getting beat up. The a-ha moment came when I realized the beat up green are the ones where sticking the approach is tough. What I think is happening is people don't even realize they left a mark when they get to the green and find their ball isn't on it due to a blind approach or severely sloped green that hides where the ball actually lands.

Another example is older courses with funky holes that are the result of remodels. Course gets lengthened, new sections are added that don't fit with the original design. A course I play changed one hole from par 4 to par 5 with a forced layup from the tee. When the markers are forward the longest club I can hit is 5i and it leaves a really long second shot over a ditch with nasty reeds that splits the fairway and everything slopes hard right. The margin for error slim so more often than not it's two layups to avoid trouble unless your tee shot leaves you with a perfect angle, there is also a very high pine that blocks the some of the fairway from the layup area. Being forced to hit two mid irons on a par 5 is frustrating. This course is a funky in every way. You can play combo tees that change the par and hole handicaps, there are 5 sets of tees and 3 combo possibilities. If you get paired with strangers you might stop at 3 different tee boxes spread over more than a hundred yards if every one is playing different tees. The hole I mentioned earlier can be played at 245 yards or 506 yards depending on the tees.