Hello All,
As so many have already done, I want to thank Alex, the judges, and everyone else on setting this up. It's a learning process for all of us and as someone who does hope to do this one day, it's a great place to start. I've designed golf holes, but never with a topo map, and this process was a great learning experience. I wish I had been more of a participant (specifically voting), but the end of this competition and the start of voting was during finals and the start of spring break, and I don't feel like I could have selected the 5 best routings out of the bunch.
Since I want to do this some day, I'd love to hear what you would have changed or thought was a little off. Like I mentioned, this is a learning experience, and how critical you are of the design will teach me more about what to look for in the future.
I think it's worth starting out with some problems I ran into, which since you will inevitably be mentioning/looking for some of these, I'll get them out of the way:
- I had noticed that a few of the green to tee transitions were a little off. After the designs were submitted, I actually edited a few of these things and think the course is better off because of it. The two maps are below and marked
- I had originally done the on an 8.5x11 piece of paper to get the routing, and had 18 facing more to the north. I wanted to be able to use that hillside as a diagonal hazard, and when doing the final version of the routing on an 11x17 piece of paper, I couldn't get the 18th tee to the original location. I figured it's slightly NW direction would be enough for golf in the summers, presumably when members would be playing their most golf. Otherwise at a club this remote, a group could easily tee off on the 10th and play the back 9 first with little chance of an interruption.
- It's too long for my liking. I would like to be designing courses that are shorter, and I found it a challenge to use all of the features of the property. I'm thinking I'm going to take another crack at the property and see if I can do a shorter version (with a little help from everyone else's designs
Now, to the design. Below I have attached a sheet which included green sites I found, my 8.5x11 routing (which touched on the basic ideas of my design), the design that was submitted, and lastly the slight changes I made after submitting the design (these changes are minimal). After that is a hole by hole description. The intention was to have two "members tee-box" that moved around each day similar to Prestwick. What can I say, I'm an idealist
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Potential Green Locations
Small Sheet Simple Routing
Original Entry
Edited, Final Drawing
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 IN
595 400 200 490 400 215 395 480 465 3640
10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 OUT
475 520 455 475 125 430 485 165 590 3720
I envisioned a club that had a membership which was less concerned with the rating and slope of the golf course, that wasn’t concerned with par, and wanted to see a new course every day. They wanted to be able to have a challenge when playing the golf course. So the yardages may list the maximum of each hole, but with two members sets of tees (one for men, one for women) being moved around, the golfer would play the hole at a different yardage each day.
Hooker Golf Club is similar to Prestwick in this sense, and a return to some of the origins of the game. No par, no definite yardages, and no ratings. There is no second cut of rough, just fairway, green, and the fescue/marram grass that covers the sand hills. Golfers can play short loops in a form of “sunset golf” if they are pressed on time or have already played a round and want to fit a few more holes. A 3 hole loop can be played off the front 9, while a 7 hole loop can be played off of the back. Similarly, a group that starts later in the day would ideally tee off on 10 and play the back 9 first so that he finishes facing away from the sun.
Hole Descriptions
Hole 1: A long hole to start the round and get the juices flowing. The closer you take on the bunkers the better of an angle into the green you can have for your second and 3rd. 2 good drives make this hole reachable. A central fairway bunker short of the green dictates where to lay up.
Hole 2: Similar to Riviera’s 10th with a little more length, the hole is downhill and can be played a myriad of ways. When the tees are moved up this hole is drivable, but the green is hard to hold and getting up and down from the fronting bunker or the short grass area behind (sitting below the green complex) is a difficult task.
Hole 3: A redan built into the peninsula on the hillside.
Hole 4: Dogleg right played up and over the hill. The further the drive carries left over the bunkers, the bigger a kick it gets over the hill.
Hole 5: Downhill played to a horseshoe green. The best angle is dependent on the pin position.
Hole 6: Longer one-shotter played back toward the clubhouse. The slope to the right can be used to play into the green, and the bunker behind is not as intimidating a it seems, placed into the hillside. The toughest position to play from is short and left of the green, where a depression in the ground swallows up balls and leaves a particularly difficult up and down.
Hole 7: A two shotter played up the hill, the ideal position is on the right side of the fairway after the tee shot. While the bunkers seem to have no effect on the golf shot, the slopes can bring the ball to them, and the golfer who is unaware of this may make a tragic mistake.
Hole 8: A split-fairway long hole that provides plenty of options. Playing up the left fairway may make the hole a bit longer, but leaves a much better angle into this elongated green. Playing up the right side leaves a more difficult approach but possibly a shorter one.
Hole 9: An alps hole with the green set in a valley. Playing up the left side can leave a view into the green, but the fairway narrows the more it continues on. The green is largely unprotected, but a series of swales in the large green can make putting a difficult task.
Hole 10: Fairly straightaway two shotter, with the better angle coming from the left side. The bunker that guards the right side of the green is particularly penal.
Hole 11: The best angle is afforded from the left side along the hole, but playing up the right leaves the possibility of reaching this green in 2. The edge of the property guards the left side of the 2nd half of this hole and plays OB.
Hole 12: A hole that plays over the crest of a hill, then down and back up to the green. Getting up and down from the front is difficult, and the best approach to the green is from the left.
Hole 13: A hole based on the original Lido hole by Alister MacKenzie. The island leaves both the best angle and the shortest route, but has the biggest risk associated with it.
Hole 14: A short hole played to a blind green, but the pin is visible. The green mimics MacKenzie’s famed version at Sitwell Park
Hole 15: A slight cape hole where the golfer can cut off as much as he wants. Ideally the golfer can play it a bit more safe, playing up the right side of the fairway and leaving a good angle into the green.
Hole 16: A dogleg left, bunkers protect the inside of the dogleg. The green has contours similar to that of 8 at Augusta National, with mounds guarding each side of the green as the golfer turns into more severe terrain.
Hole 17: An S shaped green, which can be played into many ways. A slope that turns the ball right in the middle can be used to play to a mid-right pin, as well as hitting a low runner to a back pin position.
Hole 18: A long hole to finish using deep bunkers on the hillside. The longer hitter may be able to carry these bunkers off the tee and reach the green in two. Once around the bunkers this is the widest fairway on the golf course.