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What kind of course suits your eye?

Hawk

Hawk

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What kind of course do you play the best on and why? Do you have any course designers that you like more than others?

My perfect course is an inland links style. I only say inland because I'm not so close to any big bodies of water.

I like a course that's generous off the tee, but due to design and hazards gives you a good and not as good (but safe) option to go for. In a perfect world, I'd opt for more bunkers than trees, but I can deal with trees if they aren't the predominant hazard on a course. I like lots of bunkers.

I always enjoy a course that offers a way to get the ball to the green on the ground if needed, especially if the course is in an area that has a lot of wind. I like doglegs to the left and tend to struggle on courses with a lot of doglegs to the right.

I like big greens since I'm not the most accurate guy and they can be difficult with tiers/undulations. Preferreably a quicker putting surface on bentgrass. I like shaved areas around the green, especially if they funnel errant shots down into difficult collection areas. Being able to putt from off the green is another plus.

My favorite course designer that I've actually played courses by is Arnold Palmer.
 
I like inland links. More space for me to workability the ball. Woodlands courses can be intimidating, but do make it easier for me to visualize distances.
 
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blugold said:
I like inland links. More space for me to workability the ball. Woodlands courses can be intimidating, but do make it easier for me to visualize distances.
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That's a good statement and I agree. Many of our inland links courses can be really deceiving when it comes to judging distances and what's out there.
 
Hawk said:
That's a good statement and I agree. Many of our inland links courses can be really deceiving when it comes to judging distances and what's out there.
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My home course is an inland links. And I look at my gps and laser and say, "No way its only ______ yards to the green." But it is. Stupid optical illusions.
 
Long courses! I tend to play better the longer the course is. My home course is a short and tight course so I think my game travels well. I like a course that doesn't take driver out of my hands. I like the holes that are risk/reward and gives you options on the tee box. I like holes with trouble on one side but bail outs on the other. I tend to do well on link style courses.
 
I actually feel like I do better on wooded parkland courses. I tend to be a pretty consistently straight driver of the ball (except on bad days), and I'm not a great sand player, so trees as hazards vs. bunkers tend to work very well for me when my game is working. However, I absolutely love the looks of heathland/links courses in the UK/Ireland (and the very few that are stateside), even if they may not suit my game perfectly. I badly want to take a golf trip over to play them. I played one heathland course in England, but I played in a scramble and don't know what I actually shot.
 
I like courses that make you plan your round before you even get to the course. There are 3-4 courses within 30 minutes of me that really make me plan out my round as I can't just go out an pound drivers all day.

One of the courses was designed by Pete Dye, which as you can expect is just a phenomenal track to play. Visually demanding from the tee, but as you get to your landing area you realize there is a lot more room than you anticipated. And it doesn't matter how many times I play the course, I still get intimidated visually by some of the tee shots.

I also love courses where the green's roll true and relatively quick. I know this is more of a course condition thing, but I absolutely love being able to putt and not have my ball bouncing around due to the green's condition. Also not having to take a full swing to hit a 30 foot putt is nice too.

As far as favorite course designer, I'm going to take the easy road here and say Pete Dye. I've played one of his courses and have many more on my bucket list of courses to play.
 
I love links style courses as well. I agree with you that a course that is open off the tee, but has a certain area that is preferable really suits my game well. If you give me a target to hit, but I'm not scared of the consequences if I miss, then I will be more likely to hit it. I tend to like the Smyers courses I have played, a far underrated architect in my eyes is Mike Dasher. I've played 3 of his courses and think he does a phenomenal job.
 
Give me a course that has wide fairways that gives me options on how to play the hole, and then gets progressively tougher as you get closer to the green. I'm a bit erratic off of the tee, but I'm a pretty good putter, so that works to my strengths. For example, I love a course like True Blue or the New Course at Grand Cypress. On the other hand, my "home" course tends to be tight and tree-lined, so it's more difficult for me than for some other people.
 
arydolphin said:
Give me a course that has wide fairways that gives me options on how to play the hole, and then gets progressively tougher as you get closer to the green. I'm a bit erratic off of the tee, but I'm a pretty good putter, so that works to my strengths. For example, I love a course like True Blue or the New Course at Grand Cypress. On the other hand, my "home" course tends to be tight and tree-lined, so it's more difficult for me than for some other people.
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I'm with you there Ary. I loved True Blue. I don't mind a lot of challenge around the greens, but if I'm out of a hole off the tee I get frustrated.
 
Hawk said:
I'm with you there Ary. I loved True Blue. I don't mind a lot of challenge around the greens, but if I'm out of a hole off the tee I get frustrated.
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I love the options too. Like #1, take it down the left and shorten the hole or put it out to the right and make it a 3 shot hole. I hate holes that only give you one option off of the tee and one option into the green.
 
Good question. I tend to play best where I have options on each shot, which means I can decide on the distance of each of my shots and whether I can fly it or have it roll on to the green. Holes that are narrow and either dog leg or snake to the green I tend to do better on than those that are wide open. I guess it helps me focus more. I putt better with ultra fast greens and like a nice first cut rough around them. I actually am fine with bunkers and would rather have trees lining the fairways than long rough or fescue. I don't think water affects me either way. Dog legs to the right are better for me and I love drop shot par 3's. I tend to feast on them, to the extent my game allows.

I tend to play well on Donald Ross courses and shockingly, he's my favorite architect. I also play well on Dye courses, probably because I'm a lot more cautious and think through my shots. I am terrible on Arthur Hills courses. It's more of a target style golf and always demands shots from me I can't hit. I also don't like the visuals of his holes, so I'm always on edge.
 
arydolphin said:
I love the options too. Like #1, take it down the left and shorten the hole or put it out to the right and make it a 3 shot hole. I hate holes that only give you one option off of the tee and one option into the green.
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Same here. My 'home' course gives me a lot of those shots and I can play it differently almost every time out there. Last year at my old club it seemed like I just had one option off the tee on the majority of the holes and if I didn't execute I was looking at a bogey or worse.
 
What type of course suits my eye the best? inland links.
What type of course suits my game the best? mini golf.
 
I like Parkland courses that challenges club selection. I'm kind of with you guys, I like big fairways but being in Iowa now I'm getting more used to playing outta the trees :)
 
As far as suiting my eye purely from the standpoint of playing it, I'd probably say heathland. I've never played a true links style course, but we have a really nice heathland course called Ridge Creek nearby and I really enjoy it. Stay out of the rough! But the feeling of it being wide open off the tee, even if it's really not, has a subliminal effect on me that helps me swing much more freely than if there are huge trees down both sides. That being said, from a purely aesthetic view, I absolutely prefer moutain, or very mature parkland style courses with big trees, lots of contrast in color, white bunkers, etc.

I haven't played courses by a lot of the biggest designers, but I will say that I've really enjoyed a couple of the Johnny Miller designs I've played. Robert Trent Jones as well. Never played a Dye, Nicklaus, Palmer, MacKenzie, etc. yet, but hopefully I will soon.
 
I like courses that are both long, as well as set up in a way that what you see is what you get. I don't care for blind tee shots, or hidden hazards.
 
I prefer courses that are a bit more wide open. I hate narrow courses that require lots of 5W, hybrid, long iron off the tee.

I dont mind smaller greens, but id take bigger with more undulation, preferrably not dreadfully slow
 
My favorite type of course is one that makes me use every type of shot/club in my bag. I want to be challenged and rewarded for going for it or for laying up depending on what the shot dictates. Pin placement is usually the best determination of this. If you are going to tuck a pin on the right edge with water long and a bunker short, give me a birdie chance pin placement on the next hole.
 
I hate tight fairways, I love to hit the big stick any chance I can get. I enjoy the links style courses, or courses with big waste bunkers, I don't like woodsy courses because of how tight they are, also the bugs in the woods get to me sometimes.
 
My home track is very narrow with lots of trees and small greens. I love when I get to play a course that is wide open with larger greens.
 
I love dramatic elevation changes through the course. I am inconsistant with the driver so some more open holes off the tee are nice. There should be some trouble, preferable trouble you can play out of, not water or rough so thick you could lose your golf cart. The holes should become a bit more demanding as you approach the greens, too.
 
Hawk, you just described my favorite course. Cairo, Ne, its long, but links style with small sections of elevation change and timber. Huge greens that get extremely fast by mid day. It can be brutal in the wind, but still fun.
 
You would have liked where we all played yesterday Due. The wind was pretty light for such a wide open place, maybe 15mph, but it added to the challenge at that. It would have been pretty tough in the 20-30mph winds that seem to be blowing so often around here in Spring.
 
I like wide fairways. I have trouble hitting it straight off the tee. I don't mind tough areas around the greens as much, but I get pretty upset when I'm in the trees off the tee
 
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