The importance of "Corners" in a golf course

[Philippe Binette]

We all know Amen Corner at Augusta National, a strech of four mighty holes where a round can turn around in a heartbeat. Sadly, few golf possess those kind of corners so many courses are built where there no close relation between holes. Courses like that lack of ambiance and mystique for the game.

 Should golf courses be built with a lot of interaction between the holes so that players live golf, feel golf and appreciate a round better ?

[THuckaby2]

Very interesting question, Philippe.  On the one hand, it takes a very strong golf course to maintain interest for the full 18 is one "corner" stands out significantly.  On the other hand, if you do have a strong "corner" the rest of the round is played with the corner in mind... how one stands going into it, what one needs to do... having survived it or not, what what needs to do afterward....

In the end I do think holes tied together make for interest and fun... there's a course I shall be visiting tomorrow here in California called Fort Ord - Bayonet that has a "combat corner" that while weakened considerably as this course has been bastardized in recent years, is still always the "focus" of the round... it goes from 11-16, all very interesting, very difficult golf holes... you know it's there from the first tee, you know it's gonna be tough to maintain your score through it, the holes all tie together wonderfully... it effects you as you play the very tough, but doable front nine...and if you survive it you can attack 17 and 18.... I do like the concept.

TH  

[ajf]

It would be nice to have that interaction be more common on todays courses.  I think the reality of laying out holes with a close proximity is near impossible with the history of litigation from golf course accidents.  I just heard about a guy playing in a Nike event last year that feel and broke his wrist.  Now he is suing the club with the claim they should have known a dangerous situation existed.  If it was so dangerous, and i don't know the details of it, why was he the only one that got hurt.  

This guy makes a living because of golf, and he turns around and does something to hurt the game.  

You can imagine the care taken to minimize the possiblity of Mr. 28 handicapper hitting one sideways on #11 and embedding a titleist in someones noggin on #12.  Instant law suit.  And it doesn't stop at the club.  The builder, the architect and anyone else involved in building the course gets dragged into it.    

    

[Bill_Overdorf]

Shivas, Years ago when I was involved with an architect by the name of Norman H. Woods in Canada, I became personally involved in the construction of a course located in Stoney Plains, Alberta. The routing design showed a bizarre assembly of two par 4's into a hilltop with a 5 that followed along the backside presenting an awkward dovetailed configuration. I should note that the Par 5 was followed by a very bland Par 3 into a hillside green. We finally got our brains in gear, redid the routing to change the Par 5 and Par 3 to a 3 and a 5 and wound up with a golden opportunity to play three holes into a common area. I should note also that approach yardage on the Par 4 and Par 5 was very short which lessened conflict on adjacent holes. Unique perhaps, but fun to do something that works.

[Rich_Goodale]

I'm with Shivas here.

The charm of Amen "corner" is how all the holes liink together, and constitue a place for the protagonists to see each other and smell each other's fear.  It is the same for the loop at the far end of the Old Course (and the whole Old Course for that matter, which can be seen as just a series of town squares).

There is the alternative Pine Valley school of routing that argues, out of necessity, for the "splendid isolation" theory of hole location and containment.  While I have only experienced weak imitations of this paradigm, I personally prefer the routing that allows me to maintain contact with my fellow competitors.

[TEPaul]

Don't really know whether Phillipe means a course that makes a golfer adjust his game and thinking constantly or one that does that and also is "routed" in such a way that other players on different parts of the course can watch each other going through that!

He probably means a little of both. But again, a golf course that makes a golfer not only adjust his game continuously, but what has been played and what he knows is coming and how that all relates to his own thinking at any time during the round, there is really none better than Merion's "three stretches"! They aren't really "corners" but they are distinct "stretches". At Merion the first stretch (1-6) you sort of try to start well and keep things on an even keel. And the 2nd stretch, 7-13, (the world class "short stretch") you either try to make up for what you may have just lost, or for what you know is coming next, the ultra demanding "last stretch", 14-18! But because of the particular routing of Merion other players on other parts of the course can't see you going through your round that well--although there is plenty of opportunity to sort of signal what's happening to you as the holes go out and turn back past one another!

A lot of actually seeing other players, though, is just a routing thing. The old out and back courses can sure offer that and another type of routing that William Flynn seems to have perfected can do it even better--his so-called "outside"/"inside" nines concept!

[Jeff_McDowell]

I helped a club reroute their entire golf course due to the difficulty of a four hole corner.

The holes were routed on the side of a bluff, and were extremely tight, a lot of fun, but terribly difficult. The problem was that these holes were 4, 5, 6, and 7. So many people would double and triple bogey these holes that they never played the back nine. The got angry and left.

We rerouted the course, and now those holes play 13, 14, 15, and 16. It makes for great mental intimidation. It doesn't matter how good a round you have going or how far ahead of your competitor you are, because you always have those four holes hanging over your head.