“Secret Tees” - How long do they remain secret?

[John Chilver-Stainer]

White reading the animated discussion on the "Tom Doak Interview" thread, the mention of “Secret Tees” at Pacific Dunes came up. The irony of the argument that Pacific Dunes is considered short and perhaps not enough challenge for the longer players is in complete contrast to the non-use of the “Secret Tees”.

Over the years I have included quite a few secret tees into my designs. “Secret Tees” are usually included to make use of an interesting alternative angle, or for longer carries over difficult terrain, or to increase the length of a hole, or to take advantage of an elevated area, or to show off a magnificent view. However they don't feature on the score card.

On one course I had 3 of them on a Links Style course, Par 72, 6100m with lots of movement and deep bunkers. It has a high Slope Rating and tests the good golfers enough so they never feel they can master the course consistently. There has been no desire to make the course more difficult on the “Secret Tee” holes as a result they remain secret.

On another course, also a Par 72 and 6100m but of a competely different nature, built in a wetland environment, with ditches and water hazards. The fairways are non undulating terrain, wide and soft. On this course, a rebuild,  I retained two old tees as reserve or “Secret Tees” which would add significant length to the holes and added 2 of my own “Secret Tees”. After two seasons two of the “Secret Tees” were put on the score card. The prime motivation was prestige - to have a longer course - and also to accommodate the golf pros on the pro-ams who wanted to have the distance advantage.

At present I’m also creating a “Secret Tee” which would reduce the distance of a hole and is well off the beaten path but offers a truly amazing view over a gorge. The client loves it, but the tee will probably only be used as a “champagne tee” for corporate dinner golf.

So tell me about  “Secret Tees” that were included in the original design rather than added after the course was opened.

[Tom_Doak]

John:

The reason for those "secret tees" at Pacific Dunes was that they were too extreme for everyday play ... i.e. unplayable into a strong wind.  I didn't think we should put them on the card and tempt people to go back there when they were unplayable.

Generally, though, our clients put every single tee on the scorecard no matter what, because as you say, they want the "prestige" of a longer course.  At Rock Creek we built a little tee for the 14th hole just off the edge of the 13th green, which would make the hole a 560-yard par-4 ... and they put it on the scorecard that way!  It was just a silly tee in response to the long bomber types who were going to complain the course was too short (at 7400 yards) because of the altitude ... and it was right there, so it cost nothing much to build.

[Mark Bourgeois]

Are the secret tees at Barnbougle on the card?

John C-S, I walked all over a big sand dune at Barnbougle looking for one of these magic tees and when I found it I wasn't sure I found it. I'm still not sure...

[Bill_McBride]

Tom D, is the tee on the putting green on the first at Apache Stronghold a "secret tee," or is it in play every day?  I thought that was pretty cool the one day I was there.

[John Moore II]

I am not sure what the original question is, but my thought on 'secret' tees is that they will likely remain secret for a very long time as long as they are not on the scorecard and not on plain view. Tot Hill Farm has what I consider to be a 'secret' tee on the 10th hole. Its just a mown piece of grass right off the back of the 9th green. It generally has no markers there, doesn't show on the scorecard or yardage book, but its a fixed place tee. I would have never known it was there had a member of the course who was playing behind me (knowing I was a fairly good player) not told me it was there and I could hit from that area. I can think of a teeing area at Bryan Park Champions that is like that as well (14 I think). I think that as long as these kinds of 'secret' tees are fairly well hidden and not marked they can stay more or less secret forever except to those who play the course often.

[Dan Herrmann]

I think that as long as these kinds of 'secret' tees are fairly well hidden and not marked they can stay more or less secret forever except to those who play the course often.

John,
Very true.  My home course has some of these and they add a LOT of fun to a round.

I also remember a secret tee at Eastmoreland in Portland, OR.  This tee was used during the Publinks back in the early 1990's.  Apparently it was abandoned soon after the course was built, but the USGA folks loved it and it was restored.  Unfortunately, I think it revereted to it's hidden/secret status soon after the Publinks.

[Bruce Leland]

Tom D, is the tee on the putting green on the first at Apache Stronghold a "secret tee," or is it in play every day?  I thought that was pretty cool the one day I was there.

I'm interested in Toms answer but if it's in play every day, I'll make the drive through the wash to the other tees as I'm not sure I could reach the fairway from the putting green! 

[Jim Tang]

Isn't there a secret tee on # 17 at Bandon Dunes?  It is located somewhere off in the junk on the right, in front of the chasm, turning the hole into a par 3, rather than a par 4.

[Billsteele]

Jim-You are correct. It's about 140 yards over the abyss (if I remember correctly).

[Matthew Rose]

I grew up playing a muni that had two secret tees for a number of years. Originally they only had white and red markers, and the course played a shade under 6400 yards to a par of 71.

The 9th hole was a 400 yard par four requiring a long carry over a ravine and a maintenance road which wraps around to the right. To the right of the fairway, large trees are planted between the fairway and the road. It requires probably a 220 yard tee shot just from that tee to have an unobstructed second shot. The area behind the tee was wide open and flat and generally mowed to first cut height. Since this was a muni, they didn't mow the tees particularly closely, so the boundaries of the tees and fairways were often hard to define. This spot about 35 yards behind the existing tee looked like it could have been a tee, and was maintained like it could have been one.

The 10th hole was about 460 yards but with a significantly uphill second shot, and played as a par-five for a number of years, before it was remeasured years later at 440 and changed to a par-four. There was a low, flat little area mown closely on the other side of a drainage ditch about 30 yards left and behind the existing tee which backed into the parking lot.

This course hosts a fairly significant Wisconsin statewide amateur tournament every year, and whenever that event was on, they would mow both of these spots to teeing height and put the markers down there. They wouldn't use the normal white markers, but they made up a set of special markers used on the entire course which were unpainted natural wood. Apart from that one event, I never saw the markers there at any other time. They added probably 35 yards to each hole, so instead of 6390, the course played to about 6460.

That all changed when they decided to add a third set of tees to the course. They actually re-graded and built a proper tee on #9 and enlarged the area on #10 and cleared a few trees, as it was a very awkward tee shot in its previous incarnation. They built a couple of other back tees and now the course is a little over 6500 with a par of 72 (#10 is played as a par-five).

The course had opened in 1924 and expanded to 18 holes after WW2 - I first played it in 1984, and it was probably 10 years before the championship tees were added to it. I'm guessing those holes had probably been there for 40 years prior to my arrival there, but I couldn't tell you much other than that. I know that the order of the holes had been changed as well, as the first year we were there, those two holes played as #16 and #17.

[Steve Lang]

  Don't forget the 4th at Banff (Stanley Thompson).. right of the cart path , down the hill a little bit..  much different view of the green from it.. part of original set-up

this is view from current tee

[Jim Tang]

To Bill Steele -

Did you play those tees at Bandon?  I have only heard about them, but never played them.  Can you just walk over there?  My understanding they were usually closed and off limits.

[Andy Troeger]

Paa-Ko Ridge has secret tees on #16 and #17, both high up on hills that overlook large portions of the course. I would guess most people find the one on #17, but the one on #16 is pretty well hidden and wouldn't get much use from those who don't already know its there. They don't put markers on either one, but I've never played either hole from anywhere else 

[Jon Heise]

I love the concept of the hidden tee.  I've only seen a couple, but it's a lot of fun to stumble upon one when you play a course once or twice, and it'll give some good variation on your home course every once in a while.

Wish I'da known about that tee at Tot Hill...

[Billsteele]

Jim-The first (and only time) I played Bandon, it was just me and my caddie. I hit my tee ball  from the regular tees on #17 and as we walked down the fairway he called me over to the secret tee and I hit one from over there as well. It really is a pretty neat shot over the ravine.