The Most Weather Exposed Courses List

[Jim Nelson]

Some of the windiest conditions I've played in:
The Chase at Coyote Springs:  The mountains funnel the wind north of Las Vegas.  Every time I've played there, it has been windy.
Ballyneal:  Depends on time of year, but when I used to play there we would go out in 30-40+ winds.  Surprising playable because of design, but giggle golf at those levels.
Castle Stuart:  I totally melted down.  I've only played there once, but it looks pretty exposed with lots of the course sitting up on the ridge overlooking the firth.

[Niall C]

Friends of mine went through to play at Gullane over the festive season and found the course closed due to the wind. When I think of the winds I've played in at Gullane I've got to think it must have been all but impossible to stand up in to close the course.

Niall

[Bill Crane]

Highland Golf Links on Cape Cod in the town of Truro is the truest links golf course that I have played in the US.

Situated on a dune looking down on the Atlantic Ocean in the Cape Cod National Seashore, parts of the course sit on some of the highest points in the area with 130+ feet of elevation above the beach, featuring views of the Atlantic, Provincetown Harbor and Cape Cod bay nearly to the tip of the Cape - Race Point.  It can be raw and actually play firm and fast and is generally windy.

On a fall golf trip to the Cape friends and I decided to play this short nine hole course since the weather was poor.  After the third hole, an uphill par three, it started raining straight sideways. With no pin, approach shots were difficult to the 5th green sited about 50/60 yards from the cliff edge of the dunes.    When we got to the green it turns out that the pin was laying flat.  We putted out, put the pin in the cup, and the wind BLEW it out of the cup before we left the 6th tee about 40 yards away.    I have just never seen that before or since, and I did not notice that happening at Kapalua in Hawaii this weekend.

Founded in 1892, Highland Links is the oldest golf course on Cape Cod.  It is a beautifully sited course if somewhat rudimentary.   Here is some information from the Town of Truro, Mass:

http://www.truro-ma.gov/html_pages/facilities/golf/golf_history.php

With some connections, fall golf in that part of New England can be fabulous.  We played Agawam Hunt Club in R I on the way up from New Jersey/Pa, and enjoyed the Hyannisport Club and especially Eastward Ho as well.     Make every effort to play the private Kittansett, an excellent William Flynn design on a peninsula jutting into Buzzard Bay just off the Cape. Wind can be a factor at Kittansett as well, but it is primarily a flat course with little elevation above sea level.  Unless you hit a storm, fall golf can be pleasant if usually windy on Cape Cod.

William Flynnfan

[Niall C]

Another Gullane story. One day playing the uphill par 5 14th on No. 3 with a "wind" behind, my friend steps on to the tee and drops his head cover. Immediately the head cover starts turning over and rolling up the hill with the wind. Rather than chase it we figured we'd let it go and we would catch up with it once the wind stopped blowing it. We eventually found it in the quarry behind the green, some 500 yards away. If it wasn't for the quarry I reckon it would still be going yet.

Niall

[Tommy Williamsen]

Three courses have been super windy each and every time I have played there. Old Head, Carnoustie, and King Kamehameha on Maui.  Of the three Kin Kam might be the windiest.

[Greg Tallman]

Diamante - have authored (or attempted) many a 115-20 yard 4 or 5 irons there.

That said the course that eventually go above Diamnate on the cliffs will be far worse... er better. 

[David Kelly]

Desert Dunes in CA surely must be considered on any lit of inland courses.

Ryan,

Desert Dunes can be bad but as you know Rustic Canyon in Santa Anas can be as windy as it gets.

[Wayne_Kozun]

Cape Kidnappers is not as windy as Barnbougle or Bandon on the average day, but when a storm comes in, you had better take cover.

Has their been any erosion at CK recently?  I was there in early October of 2011 and had a tour of the bird nesting grounds by the fellow whose family traditionally farmed that land.  He said that the erosion had been extremely bad in the few years before then - has it continued?

[Sean_A]

I don't really know the answer to the question, but of the courses I know fairly well, Kington and Pennard are the two most effected by weather.  Both are fairly well designed to handle rough weather so often times weather is not really a topic of conversation.  I recall Pests being overwhelmed at Pennard when the wind wasn't more than 20ish on the second day and 15ish on the first day.  It gets much worse and folks play. 

The windiest I have ever played was at Muirfield.  That was proper wind gusting to 60mph and steady at 40mph.  Needless to say, the course was unplayable.  Balls didn't stay put, couldn't reach fairways, balls flew from bunkers back into bunkers etc. etc. -  not much fun. 

Ever since that day, I take GCAer comments about wind strength with a huge pot of salt.  In my experience, folks from the US over-estimate wind strength by as much as 2X.  It seems very common for folks to talk about 30-40 mph wind - I don't believe it most of the time. 

Ciao

[Mark Pearce]

Sean,

Like you, I'm also very dubious about people's estimates of wind speeds.  This is an old hobby horse of mine but I used to work in wind tunnels and know that it is impossible to stand upright in 50mph winds.  It would be impossible to make a swing in 40 mph wind.  That said, I think the second day at Pennard was a bit windier than 20mph.

Also, you played Muirfield in silly wind?  Please tell me that's not your only time playing there.  I can't see how anyone could form a fair view of a golf course playing in that sort of wind.

[David Kelly]

Ever since that day, I take GCAer comments about wind strength with a huge pot of salt.  In my experience, folks from the US over-estimate wind strength by as much as 2X.  It seems very common for folks to talk about 30-40 mph wind - I don't believe it most of the time. 

Sean,

When we say how strong the winds get at Rustic Canyon in the winter we don't exaggerate:

SANTA ANA CHARACTERISTICS:

The north-easterly wind heats the air at about 5.4 Fahrenheit degrees per 1000 feet, all the while dropping relative humidity values, often to less than 15%. Meanwhile the mercury is rising. Air temperatures under Santa Ana wind events can heat to over 100 F. Only on occasion, when the air has traveled from polar or sub-polar regions, is the Santa Ana wind cold.

The local N.W.S. will usually wait until winds speeds exceed 28 mph, before calling them Santa Ana. Forcing the air through mountain gaps commonly increases the wind speed to 40 mph sustained with gusts of 70 mph, reaching 115 mph at times. With these conditions in place the N.W.S., more often than not will issue a “Red Flag Alert” for high fire danger.

http://moorpark.patch.com/articles/wind-gusts-could-reach-65-mph-nsw-says-96a4a01d
http://www.santapaulatimes.com/news/archivestory.php/aid/24115/Winds:_Row_of_telephone_poles_fall_to_Santa_Ana_winds.html
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/11/high-winds-could-wreak-havoic-on-los-angeles-wednesday-night-.html

[Sean_A]

Sean,

Like you, I'm also very dubious about people's estimates of wind speeds.  This is an old hobby horse of mine but I used to work in wind tunnels and know that it is impossible to stand upright in 50mph winds.  It would be impossible to make a swing in 40 mph wind.  That said, I think the second day at Pennard was a bit windier than 20mph.

Also, you played Muirfield in silly wind?  Please tell me that's not your only time playing there.  I can't see how anyone could form a fair view of a golf course playing in that sort of wind.

Mark, nah, I visited Muirfield a few times.  I would like to go back, but won't pay the price.  The green fee has rocketed since I first paid £80 for  a game - which was bloody expensive at the time.  I am not sure what it is, but I lost interest when the fee hit ~£150. 

You are right about trying to swing in 40mph.  Part of the reason we couldn't reach fairways was because the swings were so short.  Anything close to a normal swing led to nearly falling over.  Even downwind was difficult to swing.  It was a brutal day, but what could we do?  Muirfield had our money and would not refund it.  That left a sour taste so far as return visits are concerned.   

Ciao

[Mark Chaplin]

Sean I was knocked down here when Western Gailies said the same and according to their own wind gauge the wind was a steady 55-60mph and the strongest gust went from 82 to 88mph while we we there. The berk of a past secretary said "many of our visitors like the challenge of the wind". The new secretary has given us a replay but the previous one didn't back down even though Prestwick airport closed and police advice was not to drive.

Saturday week ago at Deal it was 25-30mph with gusts to 50. Walking was difficult at times and whilst the ball only moved once on a green, 5s and 6s were winning holes. I hit a lovely 4 iron on the first from 155yds and it stopped a yard short of the burn, I hit it no more than 125 yards.

[Mark Pearce]

Chappers,

Thank heaven the first was playing downwind. 

[Jud_T]

The strongest wind I've ever encountered was at Turnberry.  Blowing a steady 35-40 with gusts up to 60, but that might have been a one off storm.  The steadiest strong wind is easily at Bandon in mid summer in my experience.

[Phil McDade]

The ancient Balcomie course at Crail is pretty darn exposed, as is the under-rated Inverallochy links north of Cruden Bay in Scotland.

[Mark Pearce]

Phil,

The Crail club is ancient (1786) but the Balcomie course less so (1895).  And yes, it can be pretty breezy on top of the hill.  I agree with Sean, though, both Kington and Pennard sprung to mind as being pretty exposed.  Can anyone comment on Askernish?  I'd expect the west coast of Uist to be pretty open to the elements.

[Adam Lawrence]

Phil,

The Crail club is ancient (1786) but the Balcomie course less so (1895).  And yes, it can be pretty breezy on top of the hill.  I agree with Sean, though, both Kington and Pennard sprung to mind as being pretty exposed.  Can anyone comment on Askernish?  I'd expect the west coast of Uist to be pretty open to the elements.

I mentioned Askernish earlier. The wind comes straight from Newfoundland. Nuff said.

[Jason Topp]

Ever since that day, I take GCAer comments about wind strength with a huge pot of salt.  In my experience, folks from the US over-estimate wind strength by as much as 2X.  It seems very common for folks to talk about 30-40 mph wind - I don't believe it most of the time. 
Ciao

I agree that most people overestimate the wind.  I've learned to look up the official record after a windy day. The day I played Barnbougle was probably the strongest wind I have experienced.  I was getting sandblasted by beach sand on one of the final holes.  I could not decipher where the sand was coming from for a period of time.  According to the records, the wind speed at the Launceston airport was 29 mph with gusts to 49.  I am not sure how well those speeds would translate to Bridport. 

[Mark Chaplin]

Thank you Mr Pearce!

By and large the east coast courses are less wind affected than those on the west coast. However a winter northerly would be pretty miserable in Fife, East Lothian, north Norfolk and Kent.

[Mark Pearce]

Thank you Mr Pearce!

By and large the east coast courses are less wind affected than those on the west coast. However a winter northerly would be pretty miserable in Fife, East Lothian, north Norfolk and Kent.

A pleasure.

A winter North wind (or worse, a north east wind) isn't much fun in Newcastle either...

[Phil McDade]

Phil,

The Crail club is ancient (1786) but the Balcomie course less so (1895).  And yes, it can be pretty breezy on top of the hill.  I agree with Sean, though, both Kington and Pennard sprung to mind as being pretty exposed.  Can anyone comment on Askernish?  I'd expect the west coast of Uist to be pretty open to the elements.

Ancient, to distinguish from the newer course at Crail.....

[Dave McCollum]

I agree about the Santa Anas in SoCal.  Once we played Oak Quarry south of Riverside when it was blowing steadily 30 to 40 mph with gusts over 60.  The first tee was directly into the blow.  There was a forced carry over the native of about 100 yards.  We watched two groups tee off ahead of ours.  Nobody found the fairway.  Most didn’t make the carry.  The few that did had enough side spin on their drives that they were blown off the course.  The course sits high on a hill exposed to the pass through the mountains to the desert.  We would have bagged it except the course was wise enough to let us play for something like 25 bucks with cart.

There is a good picture of the first tee on the Oak Quarry thread.

I’d second the votes for anywhere in Ireland.  We played during official gale warnings of 50+ mph.  First day at Lahinch.  The next day at the Euro Club.  Didn’t seem to make much difference which coast we were on.  I’m a geezer and hit 40 yards shorter than good, young players.  On the uphill par-5 Klondike at Lahinch I made a birdie hitting driver, 8-iron, to the green, just to illustrate how hard it was blowing downwind.  I should add it raining heavily sideways, a combination of rain and salt water blowing off the sea.  At the EC when the rain came, we ran out of ammo and walked in (where we were graciously entertained by Mr. Ruddy).  It was so brutal, I left thinking I couldn’t play that course on a calm day.

[Niall C]

I don't really know the answer to the question, but of the courses I know fairly well, Kington and Pennard are the two most effected by weather.  Both are fairly well designed to handle rough weather so often times weather is not really a topic of conversation.  I recall Pests being overwhelmed at Pennard when the wind wasn't more than 20ish on the second day and 15ish on the first day.  It gets much worse and folks play. 

The windiest I have ever played was at Muirfield.  That was proper wind gusting to 60mph and steady at 40mph.  Needless to say, the course was unplayable.  Balls didn't stay put, couldn't reach fairways, balls flew from bunkers back into bunkers etc. etc. -  not much fun. 

Ever since that day, I take GCAer comments about wind strength with a huge pot of salt.  In my experience, folks from the US over-estimate wind strength by as much as 2X.  It seems very common for folks to talk about 30-40 mph wind - I don't believe it most of the time. 

Ciao

Sean

Funnily enough, I've also played Muirfield in one of those winds where balls were blown off greens and golf trolleys blown over. Great fun but not the way to appreciate the architectural merit of a course.

Niall

[Gib_Papazian]

Bodega Harbour Golf Links, on the north coast above the Golden Gate, has the fiercest weather I've experienced in the states. A wall of wind and fog will suddenly rise up, race across the icy water and cascade over the bluffs far up the hillside like an enormous breaking wave.

The summer wind in Bandon can be fierce, but there are many respites as the routings tend to move in and out of exposed areas. Even late in the afternoon with the breeze screaming off the ocean, I've never felt the same damp, penetrating cold endemic to the north coast here. The wind and water seem deeper, angrier and more violent to me.