Teton Reserve - Reversible Routing

[Bill Satterfield]

I went up and played Teton Reserve twice a couple of weeks ago and was wondering if anyone else has been up there and what their thoughts were.  The plan is for the reversible routing to handle four different layouts.  Currently it isn't setup to handle more than one routing, but there are a couple of greensites where you can tell in the future those greens will be approached from different fairways.  There is quite a bit of bunkering and just one water hazard that comes into play (a creek that runs through the middle of the short par four 12th fairway).  I would really like to see how it plays once the additional routings are implemented, but I was wondering if anyone had played it on this forum.  I have plenty of pictures if anyone is interested in seeing them.

[Jeff Doerr]

Bill,

I posted the course image in the past. I think designing for reverse play is a very interesting concept for the right kind of club and property.  It may indeed by part of GCA in the future as land is an issue and players seek variety at their club.

[Bill Satterfield]

For those that are interested, here are a handful of photos of Teton Reserve:

[Matt_Cohn]

Is flatness of features a necessary condition for a reversible routing, such that most features are generally visible from both directions?

[Jeff Doerr]

Matt (and others), what do you see as the challenge/needs in designing hazards for a truly reversible course?

[Bill Satterfield]

Is flatness of features a necessary condition for a reversible routing, such that most features are generally visible from both directions?

I would think so.  There were only a couple of greensites that were obviously setup to take approaches from multiple angles.  One that comes to mind was toward the bottom of the property and two fairways worked into the green from opposite sides.  In that instance both fairways were moving slightly downhill to get to the green.  In fact, if you look at the layout map that Jeff posted, the green I am referring to is located at the bottom-center of that map.  Playing straight down the map to that green is the 669 yard par five 10th hole while playing along the bottom of the page from the other tee box appears to be a par four when they decide to go reversible.  In fact, the first pic I posted is from the fairway of the 10th hole.  Unfortunately you can't see the green well and how the other fairway works into it, but at least you can get a feel for how much it plays downhill.

As a side note, the fairway bunkering is a bit random due to the fact that they are trying to be in play for multiple tee boxes from multiple angles. 

[Tom_Doak]

Matt:

A property doesn't have to be flat to make a reversible routing work, but it's a lot easier that way.  A hole with a steady tilt can be played successfully in both directions, too.  Lots of rises which might make the hole blind in one direction are the thing to be avoided.

It's a shame to see that the developers of this course aren't actually using the reversible feature.  That is one of the main drawbacks -- to make a successful reversible course you have to have some holes in each direction which people want to play, so essentially that means you're giving up some of the best holes no matter which way you play it.  Most architects are conditioned to use all the best holes they can find for one direction, and if you do that, then nobody will want to play it backwards.

Jeff D:

I think the best sort of hazard for one of these courses would be a sand mound, or a mounded hazard with bunkers stuck into either side.

[Richard Boult]

Bill, feel free to post more photos... added to:

http://delicious.com/golfclubatlas/Wyoming

[Bill Satterfield]

Art, I'll post some additional photos that I have but you have it in the wrong category.  Teton Reserve is located in Idaho, not Wyoming.  It's really close to Wyoming (about 1/2 hour from Jackson Hole) but is actually in Victor, ID.

[Bill Satterfield]