TEPaul:
I kink of agree with you about messing it up now and then, but from a classical standpoint I don't think they did that very much. Shinnecock is such a great driving course that I was trying to use it as my model, and invariably if the bail-out area is right, the tee is left and vice versa.
This all comes from two thoughts on playing, they are it is easier to draw the ball fromt the left side of the tee, and vice versa, and a tip I got from Chi Chi. He said never go after a pin on the left side of the green with a draw if you are on the right side of the fairway. The reason being that the tendency is to over hook the shot, or push it. The opposite applies for the fade to a right pin from the left side of the fairway.
Tom Doak:
This is interesting because this came to me after playing number 4 at Apache Stronghold a couple of weeks ago. I am playing with two good players, pro's from Ohio, one overhooked it off the tee, the other pushed it well to the right and almost thru the fairway. I got up there and hit a perfect fade 3 wood that left me a little wedge. We had played talking stick the day before, and all of a sudden it hit me why it felt more comfortable for me to hit a fade on a hole that looks like a hook. It was because the back tee was positioned to the right of the ideal landing area. And that is different than one, two, four, five, eight, etc...etc... all holes where I feel real comfortable off the tee. The more I think aobut it the more I kind of like it, at least maybe one or two holes that set up that way. Can you think of any classical examples of this practice.? I can think of one at my home course BCC in Canton,Oh. # 5 is a long par 4 with a creek running down the left side, and up at the green dog legs to the left, with the creek in front and left of the green. The original tee was up a hill and to the right of the fairway. Interesting stuff.