What do you want from an opening hole?

[srixon 1]

A short par 5 is preferable, such as the one at Stoneham. Ours is a short par 4, mid iron and then wedge. Driver usually gets you in the ?.

 

[jim8flog]

Does no-one warm up?

I have a mate who always hits a bucket or two on the range before starting - very often you would not think he had not, often car crashes the 1st and 2nd and he is a relatively good player (H.I. around 13).

I like to warm up but it is just that, somewhere between 6 and 10 balls is enough.

 

[Orikoru]

I would love the first hole to be a nice wide, short par 4, so you can smash driver down there with carefree abandon and then have a wedge or short iron to the green. Ease your way in.

I've never had this at either of my clubs though of course. At my old club, the first was a tough 160-ish par 3 with a two-tier green surrounded by 5 bunkers. At my new club, the first is a tough 175-ish par 3 with a very narrow green, a large tree on each side and bunkers protecting the front. At the old club there was no warm-up facility either, so you had to be on it straight away with your long irons / hybrid in my case, or you could make a right mess of it. New club has practise nets at least, but still a tricky first shot of the day to hit a long, straight 7 wood or hybrid.

I can't think of many courses I've played that had a nice, easy par 4 to start. It seems not to be the done thing!

 

[Jimaroid]

A quick hello from the starter, not the life story again please mate. NO WAITING. I just want to tee up and hit a gently fading drive down a par 4 to get going. Give me something memorable or tricky around the green to see how my irons are going (badly usually). A decent putt for par or bogey is ideal, no birdies as that’s always the start of a bad round.

So essentially the 1st holes on the Eden and Old are my idea of what I want to start.

 

[KenL]

The second shot at 1st hole at the old course is not that easy, especially if the pin is at the front.

 

[Foxholer]

Ideally..James Braid style opener Par 4 not particularly tough but with firway bunkers to navigate for the aggressive and same in front of the green. Or - as per a previous club - Par 5, perhaps reachable in 2, with little danger for the first, but trouble/decisions to make further down.

What I have...135-165 Par 3 with water on 3 sides! Welcome to The Shire!

 

[Lord Tyrion]

Like a number of others I'd agree that the opener should be a gentle par 4 to ease you into the round. Nothing too tight, nothing too long. My current course is pretty close to having such a hole. A smidge long to be truly comfortable but close enough. A previous club started with a 200yd par 3 onto a raised green. Not a sympathetic start to a round.

 

[Deleted member 21258]

No queue on the first, no one waiting on the fairway.

Then for icing on the cake, a nice gentle par 4 or 5 to break you into the round.

 

[Deleted member 29109]

Does no-one warm up?

Yep. I prefer to warm up in the net with the 2 clubs I intend to use down the first. That can be anything from a 4 iron then wedge. To a 5 wood and a 6 iron.

I'm just trying to loosen up and feel like I
have a good strike. Then a bit of chipping and putting.

I'm not too fused these days about the type of hole. My old club used to be a mid iron and a chip to a short par 4. So I got used to not hitting a wood.

Now, as mentioned. I can hit any number of clubs of the first tee depending on the wind. Our first can look intimidating, but its actually not if you play it right.

 

[bobmac]

Short par 5s are a nightmare as most think they can reach in 2 so wait and wait and wait until the guys in front who didn't reach the green, pitch and putt and putt and putt.
Give me a big wide short par 4 which gives everyone a good chance at getting a par

 

[Deleted member 1147]

Does no-one warm up?

I have heated car seats, does that count?

 

[IanM]

I don't want Southerndown's opener. Straight up a steep hill and the hole itself is a bit bland. But look away 90 degrees to starboard and the views across Merthyr Mawr and Ogmore Beach more than compensate.

 

[Imurg]

A birdie!

Not a birdie please....I'll take those from the 2nd onwards.
I like ours..350 yards, you have to hit a poor shot to get in trouble, put it out to the left with a hybrid/5 wood, let the slope bring it back, short iron on to the green, couple of putts, standard par - move on.

 

[nickjdavis]

Although a simple par 4 of say 330-360 yards is a nice way to start the round I don't actually mind a par 3 start as they are often useful in forcibly creating space between groups on the course.

Unlike par 5's, whereby a group will pretty much always tee off just as the group ahead are out of range...even if this means they tee off earlier than their allotted time....causes congestion...especially if the following hole is quite short.

 

[rksquire]

One that is just difficult enough that you have to work for par / bogey but not so crazy that your round is potentially over before you start! So no OOB or wilderness either side of a narrow fairway! We open with a 430 par 4, with red stakes left, OOB right and a fairway bunker and pond (with about 15 to 20 yards fairway between) in most peoples landing zone. I can carry the bunker sometimes but not the pond so now just lay up before the trouble and treat it like a par 5 - rarely 1 putt for a par but it happens sometimes and a bogey isn't a disaster!

 

[Beedee]

Short, wide par 4. Very low chance of losing a ball so everyone gets off the tee with the minimum of fuss, so no deep rough or OOB. Hole mustn't be driveable so the fantasists aren't waiting on the tee for the green to clear.

Ours is a fairly short par 4. On the plus side there's some slopes and a couple of well-positioned big trees to make the hole interesting. On the minus there's some rough that doesn't look that long but is surprisingly good at causing a walk of shame back to the tee.

 

[sweaty sock]

I always think a par 3 is perfect as it spaces the field out a bit more, in effect give a full hole between groups. Doesn't have to be as difficult as the one at ours that I described...

Dont like short par 4s, means groups are only a short hit apart, and means big hitters wait the full hole, short hitters tee off before the group in from even reach their drives, pace of course is ruined from the outset...

 

[slowhand]

MY course starts with a short par 4 that even the short hitters like me the choice of playing 3-wood then mid iron, or driver then wedge.

Unfortunately it's then followed by a 600 yds + par 5, dogleg right with fairway sloping left to right, into the prevailing wind with OOB all the way down the right

 

[chico]

Does no-one warm up?

Does a sprint from the car park to the tee count as a warm up?

 

[rudebhoy]

Most courses I have played tend to have a pretty boring straightforward first hole. Very often it is the weakest hole on the course. I have wondered in the past whether this is something designers do to ease you into your round.