Old Macdonald's fairways

[Shane Wright]

I have not played Old Mac yet.  I can't wait.  I have read just about everything written on here about it.  I'm straining to figure out when I can get out there.

However, I have to ask the question.  Do the fairways seem too wide?

I absolutely love Pacific Dunes.  I am counting the minutes until Ballyneal.  And I know that I will have a blast at Old Mac.  Fun is the name of the game for me.

 But is it too easy to drive the ball at Old Mac?  Are the ideal routes to the holes such that you really need to focus on one section of the fairway?

I have no idea, just curious.  Sand Hills, Pacific Dunes, Wild Horse, Bandon, etc....all have generous fairways, but I never felt like I could just throw a tee in the ground and swing with my eyes closed.  

Any insight is greatly appreciated.

Thanks

[Brian Stewart]

I didn't feel they were too wide.  The wind can get really bad and it would be tough to make them much smaller and not result in rounds that last forever.  The key with Old Mac is the greens and pin placements.  The course could be almost impossible with the pins set in the "wrong" places.  I feel like they could really test the best players if they wanted and at the same time the normal setup is going to be playable by pretty much everyone.  I felt the lines for the best angles were clear in almost all cases and the downsides were quite evident if you chose to ignore them as well.

All that said, after playing two rounds at Bandon Dunes, two at Pacific Dunes and one at Bandon Trails I didn't think the FWs felt that much wider in my two rounds at Old Mac.  Driving the ball is by far the strength of my game though so it may be a better question for someone that normally struggles with a driver.

[Shane Wright]

All that said, after playing two rounds at Bandon Dunes, two at Pacific Dunes and one at Bandon Trails I didn't think the FWs felt that much wider in my two rounds at Old Mac.  

Brian,great to hear.  And thanks for the answer.  Can't wait to get there again.

[Bill Brightly]

I only got to play it once, in the pre-opening GCA round last Saturday, so it is hard to answer definitively. However, in my one round I noticed that most holes had a preferred side for the best attack, and that line made you deal with bunkers and occasionally, the gorse. There are definitely really wide safe routes and much more challenging lnes for low handicappers.

For example, on the Road Hole, I could have aimed left and never missed the fairway. But I knew I wanted to be on the right side so I did not have to go directly over the Road bunker. (The pin was right behind the bunker.) Unfortunately, it was bad time to hit a block fade, and I lost my only ball of the round in the gorse (which I thought I could carry...excellent deception off the tee...)

If you look at my pics of the par 5 17th on the other Old Macdonald thread, you'll see another tight landing area for the "A" line: right of the center bunkers and left of the rough, and you must carry it 240 to get to this spot. It was maybe 20 yards wide there and narrowed the longer you hit it. This time I hit an excellent power fade off the bunker and was rewarded with a birdie. The safe left line means you are playing it as a three-shotter. I think this hole NAILED Macdonald's design concepts!

[Bill Brightly]

I should add that the wind at Bandon makes wide fairways a must for mid-to-high handicappers. I played an afternoon round at Pac Dunes in very windy conditions with an 18 handicap who started muttering on the back nine that he "hates this course". I was shocked, until I realized that he was a big guy who only could hit a fade and he was not about to start his ball at the ocean on a few shots...I felt bad, this guy did not have the shots to play in those conditions (and was getting crushed by his two buddies in a fairly sizeable bet...)

I think that is critical or the resort's success: average players have to feel like they have a chance.

[Mike Nuzzo]

You'll have to ask Wigler.

There were a lot of similar discussions about Rustic Canyon.
He was one who thought the tee shot didn't matter enough.

[Shane Wright]

Bill - Thanks for the response.  I'm sorry to hear an 18 handicapper was frustrated with Pacific Dunes.  My father is in the 18 handicapper range and when we played Ballybunion together, he thought it was the hardest course he had ever seen yet he still said it was about as awesome of a golf course as he had ever played - and he has been to a few good ones.  I didn't have the heart to tell him that there are about 5 or 6 others that I have played that are quite a bit harder than BB. 

I'm sure the money he (your playing partner) had on the line at PDunes didn't help his cause in liking the course any better. 

Mike N - I guess that is just my main question - Does it challenge the driving enough?  I think Brian has answered this and I'm sure it is a challenge of design where the winds have a really high ceiling

I have played a course or two that have "width" and I felt exactly this - not enough challenge on driving.  But I also have a lot of faith in all the positive feedback from OM thus far.

[Tom_Doak]

Shane:

I don't think a good player will feel "challenged" in driving the ball ... the only holes where it's hard to keep the ball out of a fairway bunker are #9 and #10 and #17.  But on any given day, there are several holes where the angle of approach will change the scoring average by a half stroke or more.  The little par-4 13th and 14th are great examples of that, but nearly every hole has at least one spot on the green where it is very difficult to get an angle to attack the pin.  If we used them all on the same day, no one would think the course was easy.

[Shane Wright]

Thanks Tom -

For me personally, I like to be challenged driving.  While the fairways at PDunes are wide, I felt like I really had to focus on a line and target on about every shot.  There are definitely some tee balls that make you think and I loved that.