[Michael Taylor]

I played at Macquarie Links GC yesterday and I was presented with one of the most intimidating holes I've ever seen. I will post pics up later but I'd like to know what are some of the most intimidating holes you fellas have played. Include pics please.

For me it would be 15 NSW and 11 Mac Links. (Pics up later)

Pup

[Jaeger Kovich]

17 At Sawgrass is an obvious choice.
17 at Kiawah Ocean Course.
16 at Cypress Point
18 at Tobacco Road

and for non-architectural reasons, #1 at The Old Course

[Mac Plumart]

The more I see 17 at Kiawah Ocean listed as intimidating, the more I think I must be stupid.  On that tee box, I wasn't intimidated at all.  The green is backstopped by hills, long is not too big of an issue due to that...at least for me I just gripped it and ripped it.  Again...I am probably dump!   



See what I mean, what is the big deal about that?   

But I will say this...

16 at Piedmont Driving Club gets in my mind as soon as I tee of hole #1.  Longish par 4 that requires a diagonal shot to a teeny-tiny penninsula green.  I put two in the water on Friday and then stuck one to 6 inches for a kick in 7!!  Damn, I'm good!!


8 at Longaberger..penninsula green that plays downhill big time from a severly sloped fairway.  WOW!!!





16 at Black Diamond Ranch Quarry...c'mon another forced carry over the quarry...but his time to a semi-blind and skinny fairway.





And no doubt 17 at TPC Sawgrass is intimidating...but I think 16 and 18 are better/harder holes. 

 

[John Moore II]

17 At Sawgrass is an obvious choice.
17 at Kiawah Ocean Course.
16 at Cypress Point
18 at Tobacco Road

and for non-architectural reasons, #1 at The Old Course

Of all the holes at Tobacco Road, 18 would not be the one I picked. #1, to me is more intimidating. As is the second shot on #11 if you are hitting towards the green, that bunker is crazy deep. For that matter, I'd say #14 is really intimidating from the very back tees (the ones that are not open anymore). But 18 was not all that intimidating of a hole; the fairway is really wide and that fairway bunker is not all that deep. Not sure what the most intimidating hole I've ever played is though. Would almost have to be a hole at Tot Hill Farm of Tobacco Road, though #5 at The Pit is pretty crazy; like 230 yards to a postage stamp green with a narrow, tree framed entrance.

[Kevin Pallier]

Michael

#11 being the P3 across the causeway ?

#15 at NSW would be up there particulalry given the fact of no H2O

16th at CPC / 17th Sawgrass / 17th TOC

[Michael Taylor]

Mac,

16 at that Quarry place looks insane!

Kevin,

Yes that is it alright.


11 Macquarie Links - The hole is a long par 3 played across a chasm to a wide green, that isn't very deep. There are 2 deep bunkers at the back right, and the green slopes hard back to front, making it very important to leave yourself under the hole. And there is another deep bunker on the LHS complicating it that little bit more.  Easy. 

200m tee (this is the 9th tee, but apparantly is used for 11th in Club Champs for A Graders).



Back tee 175m (195y).



Very deep left hand bunker.



This photo doesn't show it, but it's quite deep and the greens slopes severely away from you.



Looking back.



15 NSW - Uphill Dogleg Right that is 370m long (410y). This hole rated 4.7 in the Australian Open (toughest hole in the Australasian Tour). It's the ultimate penal hole. Hit the fairway or reload. There is nothing in between. 

Pic speaks for itself. 



Don't forget pics people! 

Pup

[Jamie Barber]

In terms of a forced carry with not much bale out, for me it would be the >200 yd par 3 18th on the Arden course at the Forest of Arden in the UK:


I would imagine that lake sees a lot of golf balls.

[Patrick_Mucci]

# 4 PV

# 14 PV

Runner's up (# 2, 7, 13, 15) PV

[Thomas McQuillan]

15 at Portmarnock

[Mike Hamilton]

15 NSW - Uphill Dogleg Right that is 370m long (410y). This hole rated 4.7 in the Australian Open (toughest hole in the Australasian Tour). It's the ultimate penal hole. Hit the fairway or reload. There is nothing in between. 

Pic speaks for itself. 

Definitely intimidating ... but makes we want to reach for a tee.  What a great photo!  Thanks Michael

Of all the holes at Tobacco Road, 18 would not be the one I picked. #1, to me is more intimidating. As is the second shot on #11 if you are hitting towards the green, that bunker is crazy deep. For that matter, I'd say #14 is really intimidating from the very back tees (the ones that are not open anymore). But 18 was not all that intimidating of a hole; the fairway is really wide and that fairway bunker is not all that deep. Not sure what the most intimidating hole I've ever played is though. Would almost have to be a hole at Tot Hill Farm of Tobacco Road, though #5 at The Pit is pretty crazy; like 230 yards to a postage stamp green with a narrow, tree framed entrance.

I agree with you John.  The time I played TR at the 18th I thought my first tee ball was history and hit a second.  Neither tee shot was particularly good but both balls were playable.

The two hills on number 1 are much more in play...and the first shot of the day and TR doesn't allow woods on the driving range. 

Two other Strantz intimidators IMO are Stonehouses fininshing Par 3s #15 and #17.  Both are island like greens (no water, but they are built up out of the surrounding forest).  Learning where to miss helps, but the first time through they look pretty intimidating.

[V. Kmetz]

5th at fishers

[Padraig Dooley]

14th (Calamity) at Royal Portrush, especially when it seems driver won't make the carry and you're thinking about trying to run it along the path on the left!!

[Andrew Summerell]

11 Macquarie Links - The hole is a long par 3 played across a chasm to a wide green,

Call it what it is, Pup - a concrete storm water drain. 

[Michael Taylor]

It very well is that, but from the tee you can't see that part of it. All you see is shrub and the like, hence me calling it a chasm (which it partially is). 

Pup

[Simon Holt]

16th at CPC
17th TOC
2nd drive at Gullane No.1 always gets me.
5th Pine Valley
15th Bethpage Black

Probably has to be 17 TOC of the ones I have played purely as both the tee shot and second shot are intimidating where the others I have mentioned only have one....unless you count second tee shots!

[Scott Warren]

11 Macquarie Links - The hole is a long par 3 played across a chasm to a wide green,

Call it what it is, Pup - a concrete storm water drain. 

I notice they have grown the scrub pretty well to try to hide that! I remember in the early days if you hit one left far enough it would bounce down the concrete a fair way!

Michael T: For some reason 11 at ML doesn't phase me. There is enough sand around the green - those bunkers aren't that deep - and the green is big enough that with only a mid-long iron in hand, elevated as far as you are, that doesn't scream to me "intimidation". In fact, I'd say I feel more intimidated on the second shot to #12 (if going for the green) owing to how narrow it is and the tee shot on #15.

Funny story re: that hole. My dad used to take me to lots of corporate days when I was younger. He's not a very good golfer so he liked playing with me because he wouldn't get nervous, plus it meant he would (ambrose or twoball) post an alright score.

We were playing in one at Mac Links one day and by 11 we were in the hole pretty bad in a better ball match. I put it in the back left bunker and proceeded to make 6.

"I don't know what I'm doing so wrong," I told him. "Can you give me something?"

"Sure," he said. "I'll give you something. If you play like shit, there's no point inviting you to these things. How's that?"

I went birdie, par, birdie, par, birdie, par, par and we won the match 1up

[JNC Lyon]

8th at Addington--see Ran's profile.

Every tee shot on the East Course at Oak Hill.

1 at Prestwick, especially for the first swing of the day.

[Sean_A]

The 14th at The Island.  Its the only hole I have played in which I was tempted to hit putter off the tee.  Its a short two-shotter with water all the way down the right, horrible rough left and a fairway/green looking like a pencil.  The kicker is that both the drive and approach are lethal.

Ciao

[Michael Taylor]

Pics people! 

Nice story Scott. What were you playing off when you got on that run?

BTW 11 ML does make me sweat a little, especially when it was playing downwind. I mean, you wanna stay below the hole for an uphill putt, but doing so is very tough because of the chasm/dam/water drain/whatever you wanna call it, and you don't want to play "too safe" and go over the back (death).

And whenever I've played there, the 11th has been my 2nd hole. And a 4-6i isn't something I want to be hitting for one of my first shots of the day.

Simon,

Is 15 BPB actually intimidating? With my limited knowledge of the course, there isn't really anything to grab your attention and make you think "fuck". 

If you disagree with me, then in your opinion, what makes it visually intimidating?

Pup

[Tim Martin]

#9 at Bald Head Island Club. Water left,water right,water long. 444 from the blues and 412 from the whites. Sheer terror.

[Tim Gavrich]

#13, Pawleys Plantation CC; Pawleys Island, SC; 145 yards from the back tees.

[Brian_Sleeman]

#5 Greywalls Course - Marquette Golf Club - 290 Yards

It's just a long iron to that 100 yard marker you see peaking back at you from the fairway, but it's terrifying.

[Jaeger Kovich]

Simon,

Is 15 BPB actually intimidating? With my limited knowledge of the course, there isn't really anything to grab your attention and make you think "fuck". 

If you disagree with me, then in your opinion, what makes it visually intimidating?

Pup

Pup, I'm on your side. 15 at BPB isn't an intimidating hole. It is a hard hole, but there is no scary visual here. It is a long hole, and plays uphill to a steep with a forced carry, but there are no fairway bunkers, and you cant see the putting surface on your approach shot to be scared of the steep green. The only thing intimidating hole is knowing that it plays the hardest in the open.

If any hole at BPB would be considered intimidating I would say it would have to be the tee shot on #5... but I would consider that more exciting than intimidating.... actually the most intimidating thing about bpb is the sign on the first tee!!

[Tim Nugent]

Alot of posts about intimidating golf shots but for me the  most imtimidating golf HOLE is #18 at Ko'olauon Oahu.  The double carry  on a long par 4 over a ravine so deep (on the right off the tee and left on the approach) your plying over the tree tops.  Or the 300 yds blind route over a jungle, is something I'm thinking about from the 1st tee.

John, best shot I hit at the Pit was a 3-iron to #5 (although no way I could get it to stop and it rolled long) but just hitting the green was MAJOR satisfying.

[Matthew Petersen]

#6 and #17 at PGA West Stadium.

6 is the 250 yard par 3, all carry over water. Sure, you can "bail out" left but it's still a helluva shot to the "safe" area. 17 is somewhat downhill to an island green and at 160 is one of the longer island holes I've played.

#12 at Manele Bay. Just a bit over 200 yards but you're playing across 200 foot cliffs with the ocean below. Seems like forever across there.

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