Pacific Dunes in Reverse?

[Jeff Doerr]

Bill's post on Teton Reserve got me thinking last night...

Teton Reserve up in Driggs, ID (about 30 mintues from Jackson Hole, WY) is a reversible routing designed by Hale Irwin.  The growing season is VERY short up there and this course has been in the works for a few years but I believe they are opening it up this year.  You can check out this link where the routing is shown.  
http://www.tetonreserve.com/reversible.html



What would it take to play Pacific Dunes in Reverse?

I'd love to hear what Tom or some of the caddies think of the possibilities. Could you do it? Would Mr. Kaiser let Tom add a few rough tee boxes, open up a few playing corridors?

Here is my late night musing:

#1 Par 5 / Tee off from the hill NE of  18 green – play to 17 green
#2 Par 3 / Tee off from 17 tees to 16 green
#3 Par 4 / Tee off N of 16 green – play to 15 green
#4 Par 5 / Tee off NE of 15 green – play to 14
#5 Par 3 / Tee off on 14 tees to 13 green
#6 Par 4 / Tee off S of 13 green – play to 3 green
#7 Par 5 / Tee off S of 3 green – play to 4 green
#8 Par 3 / Tee off 5 tees to 10 green
#9 Par 3 / Tee off 10 upper tees to 9 lower green

#10 Par 4 / Tee off NE of 9 green – play to 8 green using 9 fairway
#11 Par 4 / Tee off S of 8 green – play to 7 green
#12 Par 5 / Tee off NE of 7 green – play to 6 green
#13 Par 4 / Tee off NW of 6 green – play to 5 green
#14 Par 3 / Tee off 5 tees to 11 green
#15 Par 4 / Tee off N of 4 green – play to 12 green
#16 Par 5 / Tee off SE of 3 green – play to 2 green
#17 Par 4 / Tee off SE of 2 green – play to 1 green
#18 Par 4 / Tee off SW of 1 green – play to 18

Out in 35, In in 37

[rjsimper]

Good luck with the approach shot from 18 to the 17th green....

 

[Jeff Doerr]

Ryan,

That would be a tough one, but there is a landing area short of the green for your 200 yard approach!  

[rjsimper]

Would your 5th green have a bell to ring once clear?

[ForkaB]

Interesting, Jeff

I'd play the (reverse) 9th from near the (reverse) 8th to the upper (normal) 9th.  Now that would be a true (fortress) redan!

PS--I really like the reverse 1st.

[Brad Tufts]

A fun exercise...don't go over when hitting perpendicularly to 11 green!

I wonder, although obviously not designed that way, if Augusta National, in its original form, could have been workable as a reversable layout?  I seem to remember from old aerials that it was very open.

[Jeff Doerr]

Ryan, Rich, and Brad,

It was really fun for me to picture all of these shots in my head.

The other really hard approach would be #6, with the gorse short and the deep bunker beyond it would be VERY demanding!

[Joe Bentham]

not sure the tee shot from 17 tee to 16 green would work at all...

[Kalen Braley]

It would work, it would just be a massively blind shot. And whatever you do, don't miss that green to the right or you'll be in a world of hurt.

[Tom_Doak]

It is way better "forward".

However, interestingly enough, Mr. Keiser at one point was interested in building a green on one of the "green" tees on #13 so you could play that hole backwards.  I just sort of never responded to that suggestion, other than to tell him we had built a whole course like that just north of there if he liked playing holes backwards.

[Jay Flemma]

Jeff great work!!! I find that refreshing.  That was cool how you put that puzzle together.

Tom, what about convincing Mike to have "reverse day" like they have at St. A's and pradera?

Do you think they could still do it somehow at The rawls course?  I know them well enough and the course is so empty in early spring that maybe a reverse round could be arranged...how close do you thkn we could come?  Also Tom, can you think of another design of yours (US) where we could theoretically try it?

[Tim Bert]

Maybe I'm missing something here, but isn't the point of TOC in reverse that it was once played that way and that some of the bunkers and other things about the course actually set up that way.

I love Pacific Dunes, but I'm not sure I understand the point here other than being done as a gimmick.

[Jeff Doerr]

Tim,

You are correct.


Tom,

Agreed - almost unplayable at times in reverse. Forward it is my favorite course I've played.


Mostly it was a lot of fun to think my way through the course at a number of different angles and approaches. IMHO it is a better excercise than trying to figure out if Michelle Wie is related to the true designer of the original cape hole...