Is your course intuitive?

[larmen]

I checked out a new course today, local to me, 9 hole of a club which also has an 18 hole course. It's only the 3rd different course I am playing and while I liked it I made a bit of a mess of it.

1st hole was fairly easy, just out of the club house onto the tee, and 300something yards down in a line. Jump over one tee, then a little shorter back fort the 2nd hole.
There I was, looking for the 3rd tee. There was an arrow pointing left, but the box said 5. 2 kids were on a tee above it which turned out to be the 3rd, waving me through. Nice guys.
4 was easy, 5 was then a little difficult to find, even that I just walked across it.

6 is where my trouble started. Long fairway, being just on the right and can't see the flag at all. Asking those guys again, and the green is behind the trees, I am too far right. I can finally see a flag to the (a) green, play to it and chip on for a bogey.
Looking for the 7th tee I cross another tee box and a green, making me think that green should have been the 6th green? I think I just played the 4th green again. ;-(

8 is straight forward par 3, coming to 9. I can't reach in 2 anyway, driver and woods not working all day, hitting 5 iron onto the fairway, leaving 2x 7/8 iron to hit the green. Can't see the flag, must be towards the club house. Putting one nicely on the edge of the fairway, which turns out being the 1st fairway again ;-(.
I can now see the 9th green to my left through a group of trees I can go above (nope), but now I can go through the gap (nope again), but now I can hit it.


Just looking at google maps now and if you know it it is straight forward, but on the course I was running around like a headless chicken. Next time will be better.
As I said above, it is only the 3rd course I am playing, and the 1st I didn't have a map.

At your course, can someone who doesn't know it follow it around easily?

 

[Imurg]

Mostly.
As I've posted on other threads, it's easy to skip from the 2nd green to the 16th tee and from the 4th to the 15th. They're both more logically placed if you don't know the layout.
A couple of strategically located signs would solve a problem that shouldn't exist.
I've played other courses where the next tee isn't obvious and I remember CVG telling me his society played one course where a couple of groups simply couldn't find a tee....
Signage is cheap.

 

[Pathetic Shark]

I played Machranihanish Dunes and it was the only course where I needed the course planner to find my way to the next tee.

 

[Orikoru]

Ours is a bit strange in two places you hadn't been before. Next to the third green is the 7th tee, you have walk the footpath around the back of it to find the 4th on the other side of the bushes. The walk from the 14th green goes past the back of the 10th green before you get to the 15th. And the 9th and 17th tees are next to each other so I guess you could potentially play the wrong one. Other than that it's all quite easy though I think.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

Ours is pretty good, perhaps only the one tricky hole. The worst I've played is Rockcliffe Hall near Darlington, a flash new course owned by the Middlesbrough chairman. I've only played it once but we went wrong a few times and had to double back. They've spent big money on it, spend a bit more on a few wooden signs with arrows. Really not tricky to fix.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

One of my biggest pet hates about courses when the signage isn't good. How hard is it to have sign posts and ensure players get round with minimal fuss (and pace of play of course). If I was the OP with any intent of returning, email your concerns and issues to the club. Aside from anything else it's good for them to know but at least the OP knows the way next time

 

[Backache]

Quite a few places where you could go wrong, but much better marked than it used to be.

 

[jim8flog]

We have several doglegs but there is a course map on the card.

I played Cricket St Thomas last week for the first time (and will probably never play it again due to the hills and my buggy batteries not lasting the distance) and they have a lot of blind tees shots and blind shots in to the greens.

You would not get lost on it, well signposted, but working out exactly where greens are on some holes is a slightly different matter.

 

[richart]

We have four greens that when you come off them, the nearest tee is not the next hole. This is due to the course being changed years ago, so it became two loops of nine.

Fortunately the signage is good, though if you carry and don’t follow the trolley signs you could go wrong. We also have two tees for different holes on the same box. Best to read the tee markers.

 

[Italian outcast]

We walk across the 3rd fairway (or go round behind the 3rd tee) get to the 2nd
Otherwise its relatively straightforward - navigation wise at least

 

[Capella]

Ours is pretty much "what you see is what you get". No severe doglegs or blind shots (unless you hit it really monster long, in which case you might be able to cut one or two corners). The difficulty comes more from its length and from very well places bunkers/hazards as well as a lot of trees that can make the fairway . It helps if you can hit a straight ball, but there are no secrets. It is a very fair course, even when you play it for the first itme.

 

[Deleted member 21258]

Not completely but in the main not to bad to go from each green to the next tee. You could easily go from the 15th green onto the 18th tee tho, as it is right next door to the green.

Most fairways and directions of holes can be seen off the tee. 16th hole being the most hidden green/hole direction wise, as you need to hit it over the trees left to cut off some of the dogleg. 14th you can easily get the wrong side(left) of the fairway and be blocked out for your next shot, unless you hit a high draw/hook. If going for the 4th & 9th par 5s in two, they are blind shots to the green, so a bit tricky first time out.

Don't remember having much problem when we first played the course.

 

[IanM]

...now I understand Blackmoor, I didnt realise the order had been altered... mind you the signs there are good.

Nothing worse than walking onto a wrong tee, or putting out and not having a clue where to go.

Pretty sure Newport is obvious!

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

Easy enough to follow the way round if you pay attention to the signs which are obvious.

On playing the holes - four holes with blind second shots for most players - none of which are to the green (as 3 x par 5s and a v long par 4) - and one blind shot to a green unless you hit the ball a decent long way when the green appears.

 

[patricks148]

very easy, if you can't find your way to the next tee at Nairn, you have your eyes closed

 

[TheDashingBlade]

I remember Epsom being hellish moving from field to field and going across several holes

 

[larmen]

If I was the OP with any intent of returning, email your concerns and issues to the club

I can’t exclude the possibility that I was a numpty myself out there.