Brian S:
I have heard courses being described as greater than the sum of their individual parts - could there be an argument that Deal is less than the combination of its individually great holes due to an unbalanced out and back routing? I see what you're saying, James, in that the course needs that long par 3 to provide overall balance (as the front nine is far easier to score on), but after coming off a drubbing at 12 and 13, one is a bit weary standing on the 14th faced with that shot...in an ideal world, there would be one long difficult par 3 on the front 9 with 14 being the breather. I guess you could call 16 and 17 breathers but they don't feel that way with a stiff breeze in your face standing on the tee! But then I am working on the assumption that the prevailing wind is in your face on those holes - others say differently...
Now that you're a member, I hope you'll head down frequently, year-round and in doing so discover the myth of the wind always blowing into you on the back nine is just that - a myth.
As Mark says, when the wind blows from that general direction it more often than not is more into you approaching 9 and 11 than approaching the holes on the run home.
On 13, in two years I was cautious of driving into the cross bunkers more often than I was worried about having a long iron approach shot.
On 15, I can count on one hand the times I hit more than a 6i in provided I found at l;east the semi-rough, and often I reckon that near vertical slope on the dune in the middle of the fairway prevented that being an 8i.
On 17, again, maybe twice in 40-odd rounds I hit more than a 9i in there, and generally I was taking a bit off a driver so I didn't risk my tee shot going into the cross bunkers.
The other myth is that all of those holes play in the exact same direction and that the wind will blow from the same direction for the entire back nine.
I never knew the wind at Deal to remain even in direction or intensity for more than half an hour at a time.
As for the direction of the holes, if you consider the lines on the map below showing the shot angles from 12-18, you're hardly playing in exactly the same direction, shot after shot, for seven holes. Add in the fact the wind is going to shift during that 90-minute stretch, the sheer quality and exhileration of the approaches to (and recovery shots around the greens at) 12, 15, 16 and 17 coupled with the great challenge of 14 and 18 and I am convinced anyone who wants to quible about the closing stretch at Deal is simply trying to find something to criticise.
14-18 is one of the finest closing stretches in all of golf.
