Stroke Index 18

[chico]

I played a course yesterday that the stoke index 18 was a 500 yard Par 5. It got me thinking that I can't remember ever playing a course before where this was the case.
Even more surprising when it had three relatively short par 3's and a couple of quite short par 4s .
Are there many other courses with a par 5 as S.I. 18?

 

[Orikoru]

West Herts SI18 is a par 5 as well. 480 yards off the middle tees, 490 off the back.

I'm not a fan of it. Usually SI18 is a short par 3 which makes sense if you've only got to knock a wedge onto a green. But even a shortish par 5 requires a good drive and well struck second shot. How can a driver, wood and a wedge be easier than just a wedge?

 

[Crow]

Kilworth Springs.
494 yards yellow
504 yards white
535 blue
(It's not the easiest hole on the course!)

 

[chico]

Kilworth Springs.
494 yards yellow
504 yards white
535 blue
(It's not the easiest hole on the course!)

View attachment 53664

That's a beast to be S.I. 18

 

[rudebhoy]

There is talk at our place that one of par 5s (currently SI 10) is to be changed to SI 18.

 

[PhilTheFragger]

The 2nd at Ellesborough is a par 5 SI 18. 513 off the whites, 507 off the yellows
Its pretty straight, slight curve to the right, but very undulating.

A bad shot will put you out of position, and its pretty tough to get back on track, once you are off

I have birdied it twice

 

[louise_a]

Manchester golf club has a SI18 par 5 on the women's card

 

[wjemather]

When our SIs are reallocated next year, a par 5 that is currently SI 7 will become SI 18. Both course rating data and real world scores support that it is the easiest hole in relation to par.

Our other par 5s will be similarly reallocated from low to high, and our shortest par 3 hole will change from SI 18 to SI 11.

 

[Pants]

When will people recognise that the SI of a hole does not necessarily reflect it's difficulty?

 

[IanMcC]

We took the opportunity of resetting our Stroke Indexes in 2022 when our course was reconfigured. Our Par 5 old 2nd, which is now the 15th, used to be SI 6, or something. It came out as the easiest hole on the course by some margin, and is now SI 17. Many a Senior regaled me for taking away a 'Scoring Hole'.

 

[IanMcC]

When will people recognise that the SI of a hole does not necessarily reflect it's difficulty?

It didn't used to, I grant you, but under the new Rules Of Handicapping, it is a pretty close approximation.

 

[Springveldt]

There is talk at our place that one of par 5s (currently SI 10) is to be changed to SI 18.

Makes sense as I think it’s the easiest hole on the course with a typical wind. I’m sure it’s the hole I had the lowest scoring average on.

The current SI 18 never made sense to me as it’s a 160 yard par 3 that I hit the green less than 30% of the time.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Ours is supposedly the shortest (8th) and our SI 17 is a par 3 of around 185 yards off the whites with a massive dip before the green. I take 4 every time and look to make that dropped shot up elsewhere. Plays so much tougher than the SI

 

[sunshine]

Ours is supposedly the shortest (8th) and our SI 17 is a par 3 of around 185 yards off the whites with a massive dip before the green. I take 4 every time and look to make that dropped shot up elsewhere. Plays so much tougher than the SI

If it’s hard to make par but you make bogey every time, then this should be a high stroke index like 17.
Imagine how unfair it would be if it was SI2 and you were giving someone 2 shots. They would make an “easy” 4 and you would lose the hole every time.

 

[Maninblack4612]

Where the stroke indices are placed is more important than the difficulty of the hole. The guidelines for allocating them, which are very detailed, say quite clearly that hole difficulty is not the only consideration. For example, if the 18th was by far the hardest hole on the course it would never be given the index 1 because, in matchplay, this would rarely give the handicapped player a chance of using it. In some ways receiving a shot on the hardest hole may not be an advantage if your opponent has a good chance of playing it in two stokes less than you.

 

[Slab]

Complete opposite to OP

SI 1, 2 & 3 are all par 5's
SI 15, 16, 17 & 18 are all (tough) Par 3's

Not really reflecting their difficulty in relation to the rest of the course (newish course so SI not really set with matchplay in mind)

 

[Deleted member 25575]

For me that feels right, on your par 5 you can hit a drive say 200 and into the rough, play back out 150 down the fairway and you leave yourself 150 in having hit a poor tee shot, you still have a good chance of hitting the green in regulation.
A short par 3 if you hit a bad tee shot you can’t hit the green in regulation.
A 500 par 5 I’m looking at a par hole, if it’s dry and or down wind I’m thinking bird. A short (140) par 3 is likely protected by bunkers and while I’m still looking at it as a par hole, I’m certainly never expecting bird

 

[woofers]

The ‘fairness’ of stroke indices is surely only relevant in matchplay.
In stableford scoring if you aren’t receiving a shot on a hole but think you should, then it stands to reason that there is a hole where you’re getting a shot which you would trade off.
Pretty sure that if you applied the number of strokes you’re getting to the first number of holes played, e.g. PH 12 apply to first 12 holes, regardless of SI, you’ll get the same stableford score as taking them against SI.

 

[Orikoru]

Makes sense as I think it’s the easiest hole on the course with a typical wind. I’m sure it’s the hole I had the lowest scoring average on.

The current SI 18 never made sense to me as it’s a 160 yard par 3 that I hit the green less than 30% of the time.

I must admit, as a 13/14 capper it does annoy me that 90% of the holes I don't get shots on are par 3s. It's led to me not really liking par 3s anymore. Baffles me that I could not receive a shot on a 160 par 3 as you say, but I do get one on a par 4 that's only a drive and wedge. I'd rather the other way round as you've more margin for error and more options on the short par 4.

 

[Singlefiguregokfer]

The 8th hole at Ashbourne GC is a short par 5 si 18