A well designed RTJ 370 yard hole

[Robert Mercer Deruntz]

This is the 12th at Rolling Hills CC.  The aggressive tee shot will open up the green to an easy L wedge.  The safe tee shot will have a ball below the feet shot to an elevated green with trouble long. 

[Tim Leahy]

Is that Rolling Hills CC in Palos Verdes, CA?

[Tom_Doak]

Well, if that is an RTJ, Sr. design, I can guarantee you he was not designing it so you could open up the green for an easy L-wedge.  Because (a) there were no L-wedges back then, and (b) Mr. Jones was not a big fan of easy.

[Robert Mercer Deruntz]

Tom Doak
You have pointed out my applying modern clubbing to a 50+ years old course.  The aggressive tee shot rewards the player with a 70-95 yard shot should be the correct revision. 
RTJ,Sr.  seems to be an easy target for many, but with a large design portfolio, there are many great holes that he has designed.  This is a hole that should be considered among his great holes.

[Ronald Montesano]

I'm just shocked that the pond is not five times bigger, occupying the final 185 yards of the hole, abutting the green.

[Robert Mercer Deruntz]

Not every course by RTJ featured massive earthmoving.  Most of his metro-NY courses seem keep the earthmoving to green complexes, and many of them are not overly imposed upon the terrain.  The pond behind the green is the club's water supply, and the right side stream was left intact.  At this time of year, this is a very beautiful hole.

[JNC Lyon]

I'm just shocked that the pond is not five times bigger, occupying the final 185 yards of the hole, abutting the green.

You should know better!  RTJ was a very underrated architect of sub-400 yard par fours.  See 3 and 11 at Crag Burn.

[Bill_McBride]

One of the better RTJ Sr short par 4s I remember (not as good as #4 Spyglass but good!) is at Rio Rico, south of Tucson.

It's about 330 from the back, with a creek on the right, rocky hillside on the left, and dogleg of about 60^o and an uphill pitch shot second to a green that's benched into that rocky hillside.  There are some other good holes there, and a few not too stellar, but I really liked that one.

[Jeff Spittel]

Didn't he design Tuxedo? Thought there were a bunch of very cool holes there.

[Chris_Clouser]

At the lone RTJ course in Indiana, the best part of the course are the par 5s and the short par 4s.  Only a couple of the par 3s are worth mentioning and just a couple of the long par 4s spring to mind as being more than average. 

[Matthew Hunt]

Well, if that is an RTJ, Sr. design, I can guarantee you he was not designing it so you could open up the green for an easy L-wedge.  Because (a) there were no L-wedges back then, and (b) Mr. Jones was not a big fan of easy.

The idea of an easy shot in golf is an illusion, it is all about ingrained expectations.

[Tim Gavrich]

Is that Rolling Hills CC in Palos Verdes, CA?

I believe it's Rolling Hills CC in Wilton (I believe), CT.

The shorter par 4s at Tanglewood Park are the holes that stood out as being the best on the course.  I think the typical RTJ green complex is one that is better suited to holes that are typically approached with a shorter club.