[Richard Choi]

On my recent round at The Plantation Course at Kapalua, the one thing that I really noticed was how short the course played relative to its yardage.

From the blues, it is 7263 yards. But there are several factors that makes it feel like it is substantially less.

First, it is par 73, so that long 484 yard hole is not a long par 4 but a short par 5.

Second, almost all of the long holes are downwind and downhill. For example, the 663 yard 18th can legitimately reached in two because the tradewind is behind you and the hole falls a couple of hundred feet from tee to green.

Third, the conditions are firm and fast so that your tee shots will roll and you can hit your appoach shots short of green and run it up.

The course really did not feel much longer than the normal 6200~6400 yard courses I usually play at home. It was actually pretty neat.

What are some other courses of note that play much shorter than the yardage indicates?

conversely, what are some courses of note that play much longer than the yardage indicates (I would vote for Bethpage Black whose 6800 yards feel like 7600 yards)?

[Charlie Goerges]

What a cool question, especially the converse question. Is the easiest way to make a course play longer than it's yardage to eliminate some/all of the par 5s?

[Phil McDade]

I've always though Scotland's Boat of Garten plays longer than its yardage, and it's a sub-6,000-yd course from the tips. The entire course is carved out of a birch forest, and the fairways are fairly narrow, with the trees close by, putting a real premium on accuracy off the tee (and thus fewer drivers). It also has several uphill approach shots -- you constantly are adding a club to the yardage into greens, because alot of the greens sit up noticeably from the fairway or at the end of a long, uphill portion of the fairway. But the greens are small, and you end up fighting the urge to use a shorter iron for accuracy to hold the greens vs. having enough club to get to the green. A solid design from Braid.

[Jason Topp]

Short par threes and par fours can impact the perceived length of a course quite a bit.  A course with 10 400 yard par fours,4  200 yard par threes and 4 550 yard par fives is a 7000 yard course.  If the lengths of the holes vary very little it might be a boring course but no individual hole will overwhelm someone with length.

By contrast, if the par threes average 150 yards and you have 2 par fours of 300 yards, the other 8 par fours need to average 450 to get to 7000 yards and the course will seem very long for most of us.

I think courses (especially those built in the 60's and 70's) often include long par threes and avoid short par fours just to get the total yardage up without beating up the player too much.  Course quality suffers mightily but a player can handle a longer yardage that way.

[Tom_Doak]

MacKenzie had a knack for making a short course play long ... Pasatiempo and Crystal Downs are both just 6500 yards, but because you don't hit driver on the short par-4's, and there are hills involved, they seem to play much longer.

On the flip side, I don't know how long the Red course at The Berkshire is -- probably not very long -- but with the six par-5's and six 3's it played VERY short.

[Rory Connaughton]

In SE PA, Merion and Lancaster play longer than their yardages.  My perspective on Merion may be skewed by the final 5 holes but it always feels longer to me than the card suggests. 

[Jason McNamara]

What a cool question, especially the converse question. Is the easiest way to make a course play longer than it's yardage to eliminate some/all of the par 5s?

Aldeburgh is only 6400 yards, but it's par 68 and has 7 par 4s that are > 425 yards.

[Mike Wagner]

Richard,

I'm glad you posed this question.  As a fellow NW resident, I always get a chuckle out of overall yardage here vs. warmer climates.  Overall, 6700 or so courses here play much like 7000-7200 yard courses in warm conditions.

Inglewood GC, a great traditional Macan layout plays much longer than it's 6600 scorecard says.  Steep hills and soggy fairways will do it every time.

Also played Gold Mountain Olympic last week from the tips in the rain.  It seemed to play about 7600.

[Brad Wilbur]

Spyglass, even from 6500 or so, plays so much longer

[archie_struthers]

 


 I've always thought the Philadelphia Cricket Club  (Flourtown)  Wissahickon  ,  Tillinghast    has always played longer than the yardage  .  The Militia Hill Course  (Hurzden /Fry)  right next door does not play nearly as long IMHO 

Just another great old Philly Course  !

[Richard Choi]

Also played Gold Mountain Olympic last week from the tips in the rain.  It seemed to play about 7600.

Mike, you BEAST!!!

Gold Mountain plays every bit of its yardage and then some.

I will also agree with you that cold wet atmosphere in NW does not allow your ball to fly much and the soft ground doesn't give you much roll. I usually play around 6300 to 6600 yards in NW, but will play 6400 to 7000 yards when playing in Palm Springs or Florida. They feel about equivalent.

[Dan Herrmann]

I think Merion East wins "Longest Short Course" by a mile

[Adam Clayman]

High Pointe seemed longer because of the inapproriate maintenance meld. Same was true at pinon hills. All from no bounce no roll. In my best Joann Worely.  BORING!

[Carl Nichols]

It's obviously not a short course, but I thought Olympic Lake played a lot longer than its yardage.  Probably had something to do with the fact that both times I played the course was pretty wet and the days were cool and damp...

[Adrian_Stiff]

What a cool question, especially the converse question. Is the easiest way to make a course play longer than it's yardage to eliminate some/all of the par 5s?

Aldeburgh is only 6400 yards, but it's par 68 and has 7 par 4s that are > 425 yards.

Jason- In some respects that is almost like a 7400 yarder par 72. Long courses should be divisible not only by the Par, but by the distribution of long holes.... 2 x 315 yard par 4 holes are the equal to 1 x 480 yard par 5 and a 150 yard 3.

[Carl Rogers]

Riverfront plays much longer becuase the fairways are almost sticky.  The white tees are 6350 +/- yards and it is all carry. (If I knew more about grass and irrigation, I would guess it is over watered.)

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