Examples of routing genius.

[John Kavanaugh]

Cypress 15 and 16 no, Pebble #8 doubt it, Augusta 11 - 15 just maybe, Sand Hills 7 and 8, nahhh....what is routing genius? 

[hhuffines]

I'll bite.  I may me wrong but how about Kingsley 2 through 6?

[Ronald Montesano]

The Eisenhower interstate roadway system.

[John Kavanaugh]

I'll bite.  I may me wrong but how about Kingsley 2 through 6?

Never been there.  What's wrong with 1 or 7?

[hhuffines]

Kingsley 1 and 7 are fine par five holes but I don't think they are good as 2 through 6.  You asked for genius...

[Mark Saltzman]

Routing genius is Flynn's use of diagonal features at The Country Club. 

[John Kavanaugh]

Kingsley 1 and 7 are fine par five holes but I don't think they are good as 2 through 6.  You asked for genius...

I can dig it. Par 5's are the perfect transition to routing genius. Does Kingsley have a prominate natural feature to route around?

[Jim Sherma]

Routing genius is Flynn's use of diagonal features at The Country Club. 

I really liked the way Flynn brought the front 9 at Lancaster back to the clubhouse. Walking off of 8's green and seeing where I was on the property without realizing where the walk had led me was really cool.

[Adam Clayman]

Interlachen impressed me. The way it weaves through the center of the property, after the first hole, versus the rote route most archies would've made, utilizing the perimeter of the site.

Anything that's been inspired by the front nine at Crystal, is going to be hard to diss.

Prairie Dunes should be consider extraordinary genius, because of it's melding of two different archies, seamlessly creating a great course.

Jim, I was thinking about Lancaster too. Awesome journey.

[Bill_McBride]

Routing genius is Flynn's use of diagonal features at The Country Club. 

Are diagonal features routing or design?

[Mark Saltzman]

Routing genius is Flynn's use of diagonal features at The Country Club. 

Are diagonal features routing or design?

Bill, they are natural landforms.  I think that is routing.

[Bill_McBride]

Routing genius is Flynn's use of diagonal features at The Country Club. 

Are diagonal features routing or design?

Bill, they are natural landforms.  I think that is routing.

Agreed, sounds cool.   Mackenzie did so much of that with the barranca at Pasatiempo on the all-world back nine, makes me all tingly just thinking about it.   

[Patrick_Mucci]

Seminole's routing is unique, not just because of the use of the two ridges on the East and West edge of the property, but how balanced the overall play of the course is, irrespective of the direction of the wind.

Pure genius

[Ben Sims]

How about Friars Head?  Nice use of par 5's to cover ground.  In fact, Pac Dunes does the same.  I think both of those is pretty solid as far as routing goes.

Crystal Downs front nine is another I like for routing.  Oakmont's another.

[Bill_Yates]

Oakmont 1 through 18.

One of the world's greatest courses built on two pieces of land divided by a railroad and super highway.

[Chip Gaskins]

Fishers Island
St George's Hill
Mid Pines
Pac Dunes
Lahinch

[Patrick_Mucci]

Bill,

It wasn't unusual for older courses to be divided by roadways and/or railroads

NGLA, GCGC, Shinnecock, Winged Foot, Merion are just a few

[Mike_Trenham]

Wannamoisett is a masterful routing that maximized a small site without feeling tight.

Pacific Dunes in how you move towards the ocean, away and back

Lancaster's back nine is a superior routing to me in how he incororporated the high points so well with diagonal playing lines across the slopes

[Bill_Yates]

Pat, so what's your point?

[Mike McGuire]

Routing a course off a topo without ever seeing the site and bing right to me is genius.

Doak at Sebonak, Ross on some of his mail ins?

[Charlie_Bell]

I wouldn't categorize it as genius, perhaps because there are a few clusters of parallel holes, but whenever I play The Orchards I appreciate the variety of holes Ross created, and how his routing naturally leads you through distinctly different sections of the course.  (It meanders a bit like that sentence...)  Every few holes I feel I'm in a somewhat different "room," with a slightly different look and feel from the rest of the place, yet the corridors that connect the "rooms" fit seamlessly into the play of the course.

Also, you face strategic decisions on most of the tees, yet they rarely seem similar.  I credit the routing as well as the design of the holes themselves.

[Doug Siebert]

The Eisenhower interstate roadway system.

It would be easier to create great routing on modern courses if architects had the power of eminent domain.

[Sean_A]

I don't know about genius, but I have always been impressed by Pennard's 10-15.  Its very rugged land on which are some terrific holes, the linchpin of the course.  

I don't know about the routing, but Formby's journey is very enjoyable.  

Another routing which impresses me a ton is Kington's.  Its fantastic how the archie takes the golfer up the hill in increments. Interestingly, he takes us back down rather gently with only two holes being severely downhill.  The are very different though.  

#18, the greatest finishing hole in golf, is a runner hole.  


#15, a longish par 3, is all carry despite the severe drop.  


Ciao

[Patrick_Mucci]

Pat, so what's your point?

That roadways that cut through a property weren't an impediment to superior course routings.
That it was a common occurrence that was easily dealt with by the ODG's

In fact, some of the greatest courses have intervening roadways as a common feature.

[Patrick_Mucci]

The Eisenhower interstate roadway system.

It would be easier to create great routing on modern courses if architects had the power of eminent domain.

Doug,

Isn't that the  challenge and hallmark of a good architect, the ability to provide a superior routing with the site he's given ?

One of the most interesting studies in golf is the comparison of the routings at the CC of York where two pre-eminate architects were presented with the same property.   Ross and Flynn
Both routings are available for comparison.
The same is true of Friars Head and Sebonack, but I don't believe that Fazio's and Nicklaus's routings are available for comparison

I don't know about having the power of ED, the ODG's seemed to do quite well without it