Shut the course, it's too hard........

[Swingalot]

Well that's exactly what a mate of mine said to the pro at Royal Cinque Ports (deal) when we played it in a society on Monday.
This was a brutal test of golf, links course with fairways 20 yards wide in places, rough that was impossible to play out of, rough that swallowed 50 plus balls from our 12 players, greens like roller coasters and quick as lightening, 3 club wind (and it was a calm day!), run offs from hell etc.
Now I played as well as I can and shot 32pts, but if I'm honest I found it a bit of a slog. The worst score was 6pts and the average was 21pts. No one was above a 16 handicap and the lowest was off 2. Most of the guys were beaten men comes the end.
So the question is, what is the hardest course you have ever played?????

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Well that's exactly what a mate of mine said to the pro at Royal Cinque Ports (deal) when we played it in a society on Monday.
This was a brutal test of golf, links course with fairways 20 yards wide in places, rough that was impossible to play out of, rough that swallowed 50 plus balls from our 12 players, greens like roller coasters and quick as lightening, 3 club wind (and it was a calm day!), run offs from hell etc.
Now I played as well as I can and shot 32pts, but if I'm honest I found it a bit of a slog. The worst score was 6pts and the average was 21pts. No one was above a 16 handicap and the lowest was off 2. Most of the guys were beaten men comes the end.
So the question is, what is the hardest course you have ever played?????

Which tees were you off. I played Tylney Park a few years back. Just a bog standard course and not a links or anything untoward but the fairways had five yards of semi and then knee deep rough. This rough ran both sides of each hole and then behind every green, not more than five yards from the putting surface so a missed green was usually a lost ball. Played it as a club match and my four ball, all mid handicappers lost 11 balls in the first 8 holes. Slog doesn't begin to describe it

Played it a year later and they had got rid of the crazy rough and it was far more playable and a different course and a pleasure to play.

 

[Deleted member 15344]

Well that's exactly what a mate of mine said to the pro at Royal Cinque Ports (deal) when we played it in a society on Monday.
This was a brutal test of golf, links course with fairways 20 yards wide in places, rough that was impossible to play out of, rough that swallowed 50 plus balls from our 12 players, greens like roller coasters and quick as lightening, 3 club wind (and it was a calm day!), run offs from hell etc.
Now I played as well as I can and shot 32pts, but if I'm honest I found it a bit of a slog. The worst score was 6pts and the average was 21pts. No one was above a 16 handicap and the lowest was off 2. Most of the guys were beaten men comes the end.
So the question is, what is the hardest course you have ever played?????

Certainly seems a bit daft to have a course set up that way

 

[Swingalot]

We played the only tees that were out, which were yellow. Believe me, when we looked back at some of the white tees (where they hold the open qualifiers now and a long time ago the open itself) , it put into reality just how good the pros really are!

 

[Blue in Munich]

Carnoustie, or Car-Nasty as the press christened it, 5 days after Paul Lawrie won The Open; grandstands still up & rough still uncut. Absolutely brutal, you start to realise just how good these guys are playing out of stuff like that and keeping control of the ball.

Bethpage Black & Royal St. George's, both off the backs of the day, run it close but neither were as punishing in their set-up.

 

[Deleted member 15344]

Hardest greens I have played on is the Dukes the day after the Senior Tour finished there

Lighting with pins in nasty places

 

[srixon 1]

Burnham from the back tees in a Gale, with horizontal rain for the full 18 holes.

 

[Swingalot]

Carnoustie, or Car-Nasty as the press christened it, 5 days after Paul Lawrie won The Open; grandstands still up & rough still uncut. Absolutely brutal, you start to realise just how good these guys are playing out of stuff like that and keeping control of the ball.

Bethpage Black & Royal St. George's, both off the backs of the day, run it close but neither were as punishing in their set-up.

Agreed regarding the rough. We stood and watched a tee shot (re-load in our group) land 5 ft from the fairway and 10ft from where we were standing........then took 3 of us a few minutes to even find it. When he got up to his ball, hacked it 3 times and then just left it sitting in the grass

 

[CMAC]

Agreed regarding the rough. We stood and watched a tee shot (re-load in our group) land 5 ft from the fairway and 10ft from where we were standing........then took 3 of us a few minutes to even find it. When he got up to his ball, hacked it 3 times and then just left it sitting in the grass

PGA Gleneagles, in the rough = reload from anywhere.

20 yds from 10th green, FC thins a wedge and it bounced into the rough 5 feet from the green, 4 of us couldn't find it! Stroke and distance for a chip shot

 

[richart]

Carnoustie, in driving rain and wind, that even the locals wouldn't go out in.

 

[backwoodsman]

PGA Gleneagles, in the rough = reload from anywhere.

20 yds from 10th green, FC thins a wedge and it bounced into the rough 5 feet from the green, 4 of us couldn't find it! Stroke and distance for a chip shot

Didn't think the PGA was that hard - although playing off the back tees would be a different kettle of fish. From this year's trip, I thought North Berwick was harder.

 

[MashieNiblick]

Royal St Georges.

Played it many years ago on a flat calm day in October off the forward tees and did well to break 100 (I was playing off 16 at the time). I was a links novice, and just working out the lines and what sort of shot to play did my head in before I had even attempted the shot. Then watched the ball land and go nowhere near where I was expecting. Dread to think what it would have
been like if there had been any wind. That's when I fell in love with links golf. A totally different test to my home parkland course.

 

[Break90]

Played Hunstanton Links a few weeks ago in a club match, my first experience of links golf.

Morning round was not too bad as the breeze was very mild, but when the wind got up in the afternoon round it was virtually impossible. Rock hard fairways and greens, sideways bounces all over the place, like putting down a marble staircase.

Cant wait to go back though.......

 

[patricks148]

Royal Dornoch at Times it can be soul destroying.

But if you drive well and hit your Irons well, stay out of bunkers and putt well you can make a score

 

[BTatHome]

Knowing how tough it was away from the fairway did nobody not change strategy and play other clubs from the tees. Surely the obvious thing is to ensure you hit fairways.

Would of least ensured less lost balls.

 

[Swingalot]

Knowing how tough it was away from the fairway did nobody not change strategy and play other clubs from the tees. Surely the obvious thing is to ensure you hit fairways.

Would of least ensured less lost balls.

Point taken and I'm sure some just carried on blasting drivers. My group took our fair share of 3 woods and utilities and sometimes irons, but the carry was sometimes too long and on many occasions a shot that hit the fairway ended in the semi rough or set times heavy rough. That said, I do think a fair few of us would play the course differently (if at all ) if we tried it again.

 

[chrisd]

Point taken and I'm sure some just carried on blasting drivers. My group took our fair share of 3 woods and utilities and sometimes irons, but the carry was sometimes too long and on many occasions a shot that hit the fairway ended in the semi rough or set times heavy rough. That said, I do think a fair few of us would play the course differently (if at all ) if we tried it again.

I've played it a few times and, you're right, some of the carries off the tee to clear the rough, require the shorter hitters to go with a driver.

 

[BTatHome]

I agree that sometimes you just have to hit it .... but I've seen far too many people blasting away with drivers that put them in trouble on every hole!

I just wondered if anybody was taking the conditions and playing different.

 

[Piece]

Carnoustie, or Car-Nasty as the press christened it, 5 days after Paul Lawrie won The Open; grandstands still up & rough still uncut. Absolutely brutal, you start to realise just how good these guys are playing out of stuff like that and keeping control of the ball.

^^^ This. We also played it soon after the Open off the back plates on a decent windy day. Rough up. Unforgiving and an eye opener, but enjoyable.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

I played Pannal, Yorkshire, shortly after it had been used for an Open qualifier a few years ago. I wasn't playing well at the time and I was thoroughly beaten up by the course by the end. Three of our fourball had similar views that it was too hard, the fourth we decided was having a macho moment when he said he liked it. I have played it since, I checked first that it was not near to any type of qualifier, and enjoyed it more although it is still a very tough course. It is not one I would want as a home course as it would be a permanent test and not relaxing. For better golfers only. I should add that the people at Pannal, members and employees were all as pleasant as you could be.

Ultimately the courses mentioned are used for tournaments or qualifiers because they stretch pro's. They then make them even harder by reducing fairways and growing the rough. No wonder we amateurs struggle if we catch them at the wrong time. They would be hard enough in general play.

I understand the point about hitting irons to keep it straight and agree on the whole. I played Forest Pines, Lincolnshire, a little while ago. Most holes are tight and tree lined and straight hitting is paramount. Most hit rescue clubs or irons off the tee after the first few holes but it did take some of the fun out of it. Yes we kept in play but it was safe golf rather than fun golf.