16th at Royal Dornoch - High

[Tom Huckaby]

Andrew - this just proves what I've said many times in recent years... that there's nothing we haven't covered before in here.

And yes, there isn't a weak hole on that course.  But you asked for the "worst" and well... that simply must exist... and if you want the worst, then I'll feel very comfortable still - as I was in 2001 - saying 16 is it.

[ForkaB]

Huck and Andrew

I'll stick with everything I said above 2-3 years ago.

"Worst" is not a proper word to use for Dornoch.  "Least great" is more accurate.  I vote #9 for that honor, even though I know at least one archie who thinks it is all-world.  I must add, howqever, that with the back tee now in play for competitions, it is getting much better......

[Tony_Muldoon]

Andrew I would go for 13, and it's also the only poor bit of routing. Who wants to walk off the back of 12 and then have to go back to play 13 when 14 is right in front of you? That's the only real weak link up there for me.

[ForkaB]

13 is a candidate, Tony, and it has been in and out of the routing more than once over the years.  It does have the significant beneift that if you are caught behind a bunch of lethargic and etiquetteless players, you can zip onto the 14th tee and get ahead of them!

Andrew

The front right LZ only matters if the pin is on the front 1/3 of the green.  For any back pin hit it high and with a lot of spin straight at it, but don't deviate right or left, or your ball willl hit one of the punchbowl banks and career through the green.

[Tom Huckaby]

Rich:

"Least great" is a much better way to put it.  And perhaps 13 does deserve that honor... you'd know far better than anyone else here.  Of course that's a damn good hole also.... as is 9... or any other hole one would contemplate!

[AndrewB]

The front right LZ only matters if the pin is on the front 1/3 of the green.  For any back pin hit it high and with a lot of spin straight at it, but don't deviate right or left, or your ball willl hit one of the punchbowl banks and career through the green.

I'm afraid I don't have that shot.  Rather, I won't execute that shot correctly often enough to try it.  If either the wind is up or the course is playing firm, which I'm sure accounts for almost 100% of the time, I'd have to hit that shot (for me usually a smooth 6 iron from the medal tee) really well to get it to either stop on the green and/or not be affected by the wind that high in the air.  And, the further back on the green you land the ball, the area you have to miss the punchbowl banks that you mentioned gets considerably narrower.

For my game, I think trying to land it on the front right portion of the green gives me the best chance of keeping the ball on the green, regardless of where the hole is placed (and more often than not I end up putting from the back of the green towards a front hole location).  If I mishit the shot a bit I'll give the ball room to run out once it lands; if I pull it a bit I have the left half of the green to catch me; and if I push it a bit I might get a good bounce back to the left.

[ForkaB]

Andrew

Thanks.

You can probably hit that shot, but decide otherwise for tactical reasons, whereas I properly hit that shot most often in my dreams, but still try anyway, every time I stand on that tee....  That is just one of the many reasons why you are a multiple Shield winner and I am just an occasional qualifier!

Happy New Year

Rich

[Mark_Rowlinson]

I rather like the 16th with its relentless climb to the sky - not a very typical links hole, perhaps, but the views are worth the climb and distance judgement to the skyline green is tricky.  I'm slightly surprised that nobody has mentioned the 7th as possibly the least interesting hole on the course.  (Perhaps they have and I missed it).  It's a hard hole at 463 yards and there is awful trouble in the gorse and long grass off the firway, but it is fairly unmemorable in comparison with the rest of the course.

[ForkaB]

Mark

The 7th is the standard whipping boy, but the green is one of the best 5 or 6 on the course (which means it is world class), and the new medal tee, at 490 with breathtaking views over almost the entire links, has made this very good golf hole a superb one.  IMHO, of course.....

Rich

[Tony_Muldoon]

My first round at Dornoch was early the morning after this years open.  The 7th didn't so much play firm and fast but more like it was a runway.  I used a 7w off the tee and ran it into the rough on the right where the fairway narrows a bit. Due to the lie I decided to play a 9i layup for safety and the ball ran diagonally accross the fairway and straight towards a large group of Gorse on the right.  So I dropped another ball and hit 9i again in the direction of the flag. The ball came to rest just short of the green about 180 yards later. "Verry interesting..."

[ForkaB]

My first round at Dornoch was early the morning after this years open.  The 7th didn't so much play firm and fast but more like it was a runway.  I used a 7w off the tee and ran it into the rough on the right where the fairway narrows a bit. Due to the lie I decided to play a 9i layup for safety and the ball ran diagonally accross the fairway and straight towards a large group of Gorse on the right.  So I dropped another ball and hit 9i again in the direction of the flag. The ball came to rest just short of the green about 180 yards later. "Verry interesting..."

Tony

In my experience, a shank followed by a dead pull followed by a flier can make any golf hole "verry interesting..."

[Bill_McBride]

My first round at Dornoch was early the morning after this years open.  The 7th didn't so much play firm and fast but more like it was a runway.  I used a 7w off the tee and ran it into the rough on the right where the fairway narrows a bit. Due to the lie I decided to play a 9i layup for safety and the ball ran diagonally accross the fairway and straight towards a large group of Gorse on the right.  So I dropped another ball and hit 9i again in the direction of the flag. The ball came to rest just short of the green about 180 yards later. "Verry interesting..."

Tony

In my experience, a shank followed by a dead pull followed by a flier can make any golf hole "verry interesting..."

Rich, as a man who's been there (referring to myself), is it possible a skull was involved?

[Tommy Williamsen]

I don't know if this means anything, but I have not player RD in ten years and can still remember fifteen holes.  Sixteen is a complete blank.  Even when I look at the pictures I took.

[Walter Bart]

 Thanks for the expanded discussion on Dornoch, guys.

   IMHO #16 further makes the point about Dornoch's greatness- an interesting, severe, uphill par 4 on a links course with a fantastic ocean view! True, the green complex does suffer in comparison to the other greens.

        Regarding the "worst" hole, I could never vote for #13, as that tee shot, with or without a three club wind, is very intimidating.   For a mid handicapper, that hole can be a make- or- break one.  How did it come to be the #18 hcp. hole?

        I might opt for #9 if it were not for the wonderful feel of the ocean there.  Number one, as Andrew  has pointed out, has many options, although perhaps  thinking less about them would be beneficial  in this case. ( I eagled it from 70 yards in August, in a non -competitive round, of course) .

        Sorry, I can't pick the bottom of the barrel here.
       

[Ally Mcintosh]

So I've finally just played my first ever two rounds at Dornoch and this looks like one of the most interesting threads to reignite...

First round played in beautiful conditions as guest of the very accommodating David Tepper, in which I played well... Second round in dreadful rain and wind (headwind out, tailwind back) in which I just about held it together.

I will be contemplating these rounds many times over the coming days and weeks but some initial thoughts, primarily on the specific holes being discussed on this thread...

Like Rich, I could very well nominate the 4th as the best hole on the course. I would also agree with him that the 7th (a usual whipping boy as he calls it) has a great green. However, what slightly irked me about that hole was the uniform avenue of gorse so I certainly can't count it as a favourite...

The 9th I thought a great hole and not weak in the slightest...

The 13th I thought an excellent par-3 and if we are looking for the weakest hole, then I may nominate the 10th ahead of it... I think I'd need to play them both many more times before really knowing...

The 1st is a fine hole without being standout in any shape or form.

And so to the 16th... I liked the drive a lot and thought it nice that there was an uphill hole to throw in to the mix, especially with that diagonal ridge that can pull balls left if you go for and don't carry... The approach is fine to what is certainly a green that is without as much character as most / all of the others, and there are those little, hairy mounds to the right which aren't that appealing... But certainly not a weak hole - in fact a very good one...

In short, first impressions of Dornoch are that it met and exceeded expectations and really is one of a handful of links courses I've played that could - on any given day - be called "The best"... I must get back and play it a whole bunch of times more... Those greens really are something else. I can't think of a better set I've played....