Template Holes-Which is your favorite?

[HJJ003]

I like to think of myself as a "armchair architect". Love golf course architecture, and its history. I especially love the template holes that CB.M./Seth Raynor brought over from overseas and implemented when really kickstarting American Golf design. The template holes get a lot of attention, and are often analyzed, duplicated, and have been used as inspiration for many designs throughout the history of American golf. My question to my TST friends...is do you have a favorite template hole??

Its a tough choice for me, but I love a good quality Cape hole. Its visually appealing, while daunting at the same time. A well designed cape rewards bravery with a closer approach shot, and though it often gives the conservative player a better angle to the green its from a much farther distance making them still take on a great amount of risk with their second shot. Also, I love the "short" par 3 design. I love the idea of having a simple full wedge or short Iron into a green so well guarded a great shot is a MUST. Not necessarily a fan of a short island green, but love a short par 3 with nasty bunkers or deep rough protecting just about all sides. If I had to chose one I dont like it would be the "redan", just because I think its overdone and I am probably not a good enough player to appreciate its shotmaking value. 

 

What about you? Favorites? Dislikes? 

[DeadMan]

If people don't know what template holes are, here's a good link that will explain template holes and give examples of them: http://www.friedegg.co/macraynor/

My personal favorite is the short hole. I like par 3s that give you a shorter club but still make it a test. I don't play many par 3s where I hit wedge, so it's refreshing to have one. But it's not an easy hole still, because the green is still difficult and you generally are not making par if you don't hit the green.

[Patch]

I personally like the ones with a windmill. 😍

If not that, then I like par 4s with a  dog leg left/right, that with a little effort, allows me to cut the corner and gives me an easy second shot, and/or a good chance at an eagle. 

Playing most of my  rounds in the desert, I like pins with water protecting the greens. 

In reality, I like any pin that is more challenging than the average. 

Edited June 12, 2018 by Patch

[iacas]

24 minutes ago, Patch said:

If not that, then I like par 4s with a  dog leg left/right, that with a little effort, allows me to cut the corner and gives me an easy second shot, and/or a good chance at an eagle.

That's not a "template hole" per se.

35 minutes ago, DeadMan said:

If people don't know what template holes are, here's a good link that will explain template holes and give examples of them: http://www.friedegg.co/macraynor/

http://www.friedegg.co/template-holes/ lists just the template holes - yours has the biographies of the two guys above them.

I don't know that I have a favorite template hole. I've enjoyed varieties of all of them, and I find it enjoyable to play Raynor courses. Some say he's over-rated because he just kept making the same holes, but his routing, his drainage, his overall work are just so varied and often genius. The holes don't feel like copies of holes, but they loosely adhere to the template idea, but look and even often play so differently.

If I had to pick one, I'd pick the Redan… as my least favorite template.  I think redan holes have the least variety, and force a particular shot shape a bit more than I prefer. But this is my least favorite, which is different than "I don't like it."

 

[DeadMan]

If we're talking about the least favorite types of these, I actually don't like cape holes. But that's just a personal preference, because my miss is a pull hook that will normally end up in the water on cape holes.

[p1n9183]

In the list i will pick Cape Template.

After playing in a lot of courses i love the design off one hole here ir argentina.
Par 4, 400 yards. A river on the rigth and trees on the left. On the left of the trees and rigth of the river it´s OB.
For the second shot you have to cross the river again. The green it´s just in the edge of the river but in the rigth side.

Played that hole 6 times. 1 triple, 1 double, 2 bogeys and 2 pars. 

[Moxley]

The Alps hole for me, as it's the closest thing to what we have on my home course (although the similar variants on my course have the bunkers well short of the green, rather than immediately before the green, penalising a mishit (or ambitious shot from far out) more than a slight misjudgement). Really interesting approach shots to play, and it's such a joy to walk over the hill and see your ball 6 feet from the flag! 

[Ballhittinboy]

Redan - two best I have played at Chicago Golf Club and The Old White TPC at The Greenbrier

[iacas]

1 hour ago, Ballhittinboy said:

Redan - two best I have played at Chicago Golf Club and The Old White TPC at The Greenbrier

That’s probably my least favorite just because of the limited options and the required conditions (Redans play poorly in soft conditions).

And looking back now after posting that… at least I’m consistent. 🙂

[iacas]

 

This is as good a place to stick that video as any.

[FLOG4]

I gave thought to this concept and have for some time...I sit down and ponder which type template is my fave….and then I think how many template types are there...I review the list at the start of this post....8 types. I scratch my head...I thought there were 10...Then I try to list the types. Alps, I love this type hole and rarely see one. Prestwick was my first round played overseas and because of member tee time restrictions on weekend they sent us off 12 and 17 is the Alps and it is spectacular...It is my fave and the original 17 at Prestwick is also my fave hole of templates. Then Biarritz ….Love these. Love 9 at Yale. There is one on Old Macdonald at Bandon also. I have played the original at North Berwick. But Yale 9 my fave. Cape holes...Don't like em. Have had arguments with rater types over them...Candidly they are suppose to be short doglegs creating a proper entry based on green complex angle...My point with length of play today...many have become drivable par 4's. And candidly, that isn't per se a template hole but should be....Everybody loves a drivable par 4 too....Then we have Redan. The original at North Berwick....When I first played it I nailed a great iron. It ended up over the green...I was mystified how...the green sloped away and was firm...WTH....Love the redan at Somerset Hills NJ. Short..another. The original at Royal Troon is diabolical. You better hit it within 10 feet of the angle you aim at...Love short par 3's. Punchbowl...This again is a great type but so few. Love the punchbowl at Fishers Island. Blind entry to a huge bowl...Love it. Have a bud who is member at Ivy Hills near Cincy and they have a punchbowl par 3...And they have more than twice as many aces there as any other par 3...Road hole another template. They have one again at Old Macdonald at Bandon but you can't duplicate the original...17 at Old Course St Andrews. It is a beast.  Eden, This is a very specific type hole. The original at St Andrews Old is maybe not duplicable.   Double Plateau, You see this quite a bit. Just a two tier green on a tough par 4. The last is Sahara..I haven't been to the original and I have played National twice and theirs is quite nice. 

[iacas]

5 hours ago, FLOG4 said:

Double Plateau, You see this quite a bit. Just a two tier green on a tough par 4.

Maybe you meant it by what you wrote, but it's three tiers - three separate "sections" of the green. Two of them (the plateaus) might be about the same height as each other, but it's still three separate sections.

Anyway:

9. Alps
10. Biarritz
11. Cape
12. Double Plateau
13. Eden
14. Redan
15. Road
16. Short

Others include:

1. Cardinal
2. Dell
3. Long
4. Maiden
5. Reef
6. Sahara

There may be "others" but it depends on how you define "template hole."

[Hardspoon]

My favorite is the Short.

If I’m playing a new course, and I notice a 105-yard par-3, I’m instantly intrigued. The unusual greens and elevation changes that designers use to make short par-3’s challenging are generally interesting to me.