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Ever play holes that are too long

cjroman said:
I see people play off of the blues all the time that have no business playing there. There was a group of older (I'm 43) men, I'm gueessing in their 50's teeing off in front on my daughter and I last week. The card has the blues at 378 and whites at 352 for the first hole.

They all played off the blues. 2 of 4 hit the fairway, none were at or inside the 150...

Pride is an evil thing.
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I was just telling my wife about this phenomenom last night. That 90% of golfers (myself included), have no business playing from the blues. And I really don't like being paired up with a group that wants to play from the blues but do not have the game for it. They look at you funny for playing from the whites, and then proceed to go out and goon everything up.
 
The guys I play with are all "seniors," and we normally play the "senior tees." In one league I'm in I have to play the "whites," and when I do there are two par 4's that I cannot reach in two. But as I've gotten older I've learned to manage these type of holes by laying up to a comfortable distance. There are very few par 5's that I can reach nowadays in two from either the senior or white tees.
 
Sometimes it is not a matter of what tee you play -- it's just a tough (or bad) hole -- and sometimes it's an architectural/topography issue.

There is a course I play that has a 467-yard par four from the blue tees (and it's 456 from the white tees which is on the same teeing ground). It's a dogleg right over a ravine that runs along the entire right side of the hole and it is into the wind onto a high plateau, so you cannot cut the corner unless you can carry it like 260 into a pretty strong wind. It is typically a drive and a 3-wood to get to the front of the green, and about 40% of the time, you cannot get there with a 3-wood. You are typically left with a 20 to 30 yard shot. They cannot move the tees up to make the hole a reasonable length, because the ravine on the right side curves in front of the tee. The next tee over the ravine is the ladies tee.

So basically it's just too long of a par 4 that the cannot really fix due to the topography, unless they put the tees where the ladies tees are set. This would be fine with me, as it would still be a decent hole, but I guess they do not want to make it too short. So you basically figure that a bogey is pretty much par.
 
The association that I play with started doing the play it forward and adjusting handicap for it. The only issue I have is they allow me to play from forward tees (senior) due to my handicap, when I can easily reach every hole on the course in regulation from the blues. Distance isn't the issue for me, it is my short game that is terrible.
 
It surprises me that if so many people are struggling to reach greens, why not just move up? Sometimes the ego has to be put aside
 
When drivers and fairway woods were actually wood, I used to play a course that had a hole that were 440 yards. It was a driver, 3 wood, and a chip for 95% of the golfers on the course.

I look at the distances on the scorecard from each tee before I make a choice on which set to play from. I usually play the whites.
 
I don't think I have played a hole that was too long, necessarily. All par 4s that I play would be reachable with a good drive, but the thing that irks me are par 3s where I would have to hit a solid 3w to get on. I'd rather play a par 4 or par 5 that is too long vs. one that is too narrow or tight.
 
Why is it the longest holes always seem to play into the wind.

I remember playing the Blue Monster on a day when the wind was blowing the opposite direction than normal. IIRC hole #10 was a 575-600 yard par 5 from the whites and playing into a 20+ mph wind. I had a putt for par that I missed.
 
There is one hole at a course called The Links, just few miles from home. The 9th hole is ridiculously long....

From the white tees - 600 yards
From the blue tees - 640 yards
From the black tees - a whopping 777 yards !

This is not a severe downhill hole either. The tee shot has to go up and over a rise, then the hole is a bit downhill, then the hole starts rising again and finishes on a 3 tiered green. The one time I played from the tips, I hit a big drive, a good 3wd, a real good 18* hybrid and was still left with a 20 yard pitch to the green. Crazy hole if you ask me.

http://www.golfthelinks.net/scorecard.htm
 
neophyte said:
Ever sit at your course and watch where most regular golfers hit the fairway. Most don't hit the ball as far as they think. I have a bushnell neo x and it tells my how far I hit the ball. I also have learned not to tell golfers how far I or they really hit the ball.

Last week I played a course that had holes I couldn't reach in regulation. I am usually one of the longest hitters at my club. In fact, I hit four good straight shots to reach one par 4. I also took five good shots to hit a par 5 green. I was playing from the white T next to the front T. When I mentioned how long the hole played. One of the ladies in my foursome said to me that I now know how most women feel playing.

My home course has several par fours that most women take three or four good shots to reach the green.

Since PGA pros can drive the ball over 300 and hit 3 wood almost as far and hit a 7 iron 200. 325 pus 275 plus 200 equals 800.

When playing forward t's and still taking an extra good hybrid shot to reach the greens distance, then a chip on and two putts. Results in a double bogey on the card. and you hit good shots?
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I have never seen a hole that is too long but I've also never played a course with an 800 yard hole either.
 
blugold said:
Should be noted, nowhere in the rules of golf does it say that you have to go for the green in regulation. There's no shame in laying up on a par 4, or a par 3
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Very true, however, many golfers with inflated egos will not accept this rational.
 
I need to start playing the courses that you guys all do. With a good drive, I've never been far enough away on a par 4 that was anything more than a 6i. And I'm not a monster long hitter either. I was 250ish yds with my previous driver, haven't gotten my Stage2 out for a round yet but I only expect a marginal gain in yardage.
 
JRod said:
He says he his the ball pretty far and it takes four good shots to get on. I would like to see the scorecard so i have some sort of frame of reference.
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I fully agree with this, and without sounding like I'm poking fun, if it takes anyone four "good, straight shots" on a par four then they need to move up to the first set of tees.
 
BBrattina said:
I fully agree with this, and without sounding like I'm poking fun, if it takes anyone four "good, straight shots" on a par four then they need to move up to the first set of tees.
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Or two.
 
Drumdog said:
There is one hole at a course called The Links, just few miles from home. The 9th hole is ridiculously long....

From the white tees - 600 yards
From the blue tees - 640 yards
From the black tees - a whopping 777 yards !

This is not a severe downhill hole either. The tee shot has to go up and over a rise, then the hole is a bit downhill, then the hole starts rising again and finishes on a 3 tiered green. The one time I played from the tips, I hit a big drive, a good 3wd, a real good 18* hybrid and was still left with a 20 yard pitch to the green. Crazy hole if you ask me.

http://www.golfthelinks.net/scorecard.htm
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I don't think 600 and 640 are ridiculously long. 777 on the other hand....
 
I don't know I mean if you are playing holes that are consistently too long you need to move up a set of tees. Even the longest courses have forward tees that make the course manageable.

However one thing I can't stand is to use distance to make a hole/course hard. I think distance is leaned on far to much by course designers to make a course difficult.
 
lightningbolt44 said:
I don't know I mean if you are playing holes that are consistently too long you need to move up a set of tees. Even the longest courses have forward tees that make the course manageable.

However one thing I can't stand is to use distance to make a hole/course hard. I think distance is leaned on far to much by course designers to make a course difficult.
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Agreed. When they use distance instead of creativity it's annoying.
 
JRod said:
Agreed. When they use distance instead of creativity it's annoying.
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Its not really annoying when you carry 315 into the wind like some do
 
Interestingly enough, today I made seven pars. Of those, six were one-putts. And I had an additional one-putt for a bogey.

wubears71 said:
...I'd rather pitch and putt then hit the GIR, then putt, putt, putt.
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JRod said:
I don't think 600 and 640 are ridiculously long. 777 on the other hand....
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Yea, I was referring to the 777 as the ridiculously long.
 
For me at age 69 the clear answer is yes. Since I can still get it out there pretty good when I MOVE UP A TEE some of the holes are to easy, sometimes on those holes I MOVE BACK. If the temperature is not really hot and the ground conditions are not soft and wet I really don't need to move up. That said my days of playing the tips are gone and gone, that will not happen ever.

As my handicap attests I am not a stud golfer but if I consistently moved up it would be lower. The stars were aligned for my last round shot 71and but for a totally unnecessary 3 put and a 5 on the easiest par 5 should have shot my age. I really do not pat myself on the back for this low score as the move up tee I chose was like 6175 yards and I did not once elect to move back during that round. Also temp was 77, did not have to wait to hit a shot until final two holes, those elements keep me loose and stronger.
 
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When playing a course, particularly one new to me, I'll look at the score card and play the tees that have only 1-2 par 4s over 400 yards. That usually puts me in a good challenge, comfort zone. Usually that is the white tees though sometimes the blues. If that long par 4 is 450 or a par 3 is 220 I accept that the golf gods or course designers are mean SOBs so I just close my eyes and swing out of my shoes. Keep it fun.
 
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