Best Courses without Lateral / Water Hazards

[Kevin Pallier]

What are the best courses in the World without lateral / water hazards ? By all means the course can have dams etc - it's just that they're never in the lines of play.

There's a few in Australia I can recall  - Royal Melbourne + Victoria and I also recall Muirfield (Scotland) doesn't - was hoping to hear some from the US ? ROW ?

[James Bennett]

Cypress Point - the Pacific Ocean is not deemed to be a hazard.  

Riviera (well, the dry barrancas are marked as hazards, but there is generally no water in them). Rustic Canyon is in the same boat.

Olympic Lake, although when I played there was a lot of water about, from the rain.

James B

(Edit Re CPC - I'll check to see whether the drainage streams are 'red pegged' - actually, I think there is a hazard short right of #13 anyway, albeit somewhat out of play).

[Phil_the_Author]

Other than the small drainage pond short of the 8th green... Bethpage Black.

[Jim Nugent]

Just some guesses: does Sand Hills have water hazards?  Ballyneal?  Shinnecock Hills?  

[wsmorrison]

Jim,

The 6th at Shinnecock Hills, called Pond, does have a man-made drainage pond that rarely comes into play.   It is the lowest point on the property.  It makes the "small drainage pond" short of the 8th at Bethpage Black look large.  The pond at BB is more in play than the pond at SH as it is close to the green on a 220+ yard hole.

[John Foley]

Sand Hills has no water in play.

Neither does Wildhorse.

[Pete_Pittock]

Scratch Rustic Canyon. It has a flood prone wash running through it. But it is usually dry.

I think:
Sunningdale (Old) - scratched
Woodhall Spa
Royal Lytham & St Annes
Royal Adelaide - scratched
Kingston Heath -scratched

[Tim Gavrich]

Doesn't Hidden Creek down in NJ have no such hazards?

[noonan]

NCR South

[James Bennett]

Pete Pittock

Royal Adelaide had a narrow drainage trench between the #18 green and the practice green when the surrounds were shaved in the 1998 Oz Open - technically a water hazard, but you would never lose a ball in it (which is my preferred test of a water hazard).

However, more recently (the last year), the rhs of #14 and #15 plus the rhs of #16 have been converted to wetlands to transfer local sururban stormwater into the local aquifer for course irrigation.  Particularly on #15, a wide shot to the right will now be 'wet'.

Scratch Royal Adelaide.

I must add that some of the water hazards I have seen over the last year or so have been quite different to the traditional 'irretrievable ball' lake.  I think of Merion East in Philadelphia (and for that matter Rolling Green) and the more recent works at Peninsula South near Melbourne.  Shallow streams as a hazard, with limited risk of losing a ball.  Definitely not lakes.  Very effective.

James B

[Mark Pearce]

Many of the great links have no water in play.  Certainly true of Muirfield and Hoylake.

[Kevin Pallier]

Sunningdale (Old)
Kingston Heath

Pete

I cant recall one at Woodhall Spa but Sunningdale (Old) has the pond on the 5th

Kingston Heath also has one lining the left of the P5 12th.

St. Andrews Beach doesn't have one if I can recall correctly ? I'm sure John Geary will put me right given that he's been there more times than anyone over the past few years !!

[Phil_the_Author]

Wayne,

My memory of the 6th at Shinnecock is relegated to the '86 Open and television...

My impression is the the pond on 6 is rather large. Could you post a photo of it as I just can't seem to get my head around it being very small.

[wsmorrison]

Phil,

Both ponds are about the size of their respective greens.  You are right, the Shinnecock pond (expanded in the last couple of years) does not make the one at Bethpage look large...just that it is much more in play and has a larger impact.  

The pond at Bethpage's Black Course sits 7 yards in front of the green and is very much in play while the pond at Shinnecock is 55 yards short of the green on a 456 yard hole and was not meant as a hazard that is integral to the design.  It is only in play after a wayward drive and even then only when one tries to do too much in their recovery.  Rather, the pond is for drainage purposes (another holding pond was placed in the woods to the left of the hole) as it is the lowest point on the property.

[JESII]

Wayne,

I would argue that the pond on #6 is exactly where every single person that mis-plays their drive would like to hit their second shot...would you disagree?

This is not to say it has more of an impact than #8 at BB, just that the pond at SH is ideally placed, even if it was just for convenience of drainage...

[JESII]

The best I've played (that I can think of) is Hidden Creek, as Tim Gavrich mentioned...that creek really is hidden...

[Phil_the_Author]

Wayne, thanks for the info... it makes more sense to me now.

[jeffwarne]

The ponds on #6 at Shinnecock and #8 at Bethpage are very much in play.

I guess the water on #17 at TPC isn't in play either if you hit the green

[Jim_Coleman]

    Oakmont.  Many ditches with red stakes; no water (I think).

[Karl Bernetich]

Got beat to the punch (as usual)

NCR South

[wsmorrison]

Jeff,

Very much in play?  Under what circumstances?  It is very evident and can usually be avoided.

"I would argue that the pond on #6 is exactly where every single person that mis-plays their drive would like to hit their second shot...would you disagree?"

Jim,

More so when the course was built than today.  Today, typical drives from the back tee (260 yards) are 200 yards from the green and 150 yards to clear the pond.  Even if wayward, you can hit a recovery shot from a difficult lie 100 yards to layup before the pond, hit to the left of the pond, which is not all that easy to do or have a 200 yard shot to the front of the green.  If you are playing from the tips and depending upon the lie, the 200 yard shot over the pond isn't overly daunting.

For high handicappers, the alternate left fairway sets the player up on a line that skirts the pond and wouldn't come into play in any case except on the third shot, from which the pond is relatively easy to avoid.

[Tim Bert]

Pinehurst #2 has the water on #16, but it really isn't in play for the vast majority.  I don't know if the pro tees are stretched back far enough that it is actually a factor, but I'm not sure how they could be.

[Eric Franzen]

Winged Foot West and Royal Dornoch also comes to mind.

Cheers,

Eric

[Ben Stephens]

Woodhall Spa definitely doesn't have water hazards.

Hunstanton doesn't really have water apart from a drainage ditch which crosses fairway on the 8th.

Ganton has a pond nr the 6th tee but it doesn't come into play.

Royal Lytham and St Annes.

[Tom_Doak]

Winged Foot West has the stream going across the 15th fairway.  Not something that a good player should ever be in, but it's there.  For that matter, you can yank it on the beach on the 9th or 16th at Royal Dornoch ... I can't remember if that is staked or not.

None of the Melbourne Sand Belt courses have water hazards, except for the pond on the 16th hole at Commonwealth.  Royal Melbourne is 0-for-36.

Lots of people mention Olympic but San Francisco Golf Club doesn't have water, either.

From my own collection, the only courses without any water or staked hazard are St. Andrews Beach and Ballyneal -- maybe that's why I like them so much.  Wicked Pony won't have one, either.