[Lou_Duran]

(My attempt to delete a thread which served its purpose.)

Can a great abundance of features, natural or man-made, impact our ability to remember and differentiate individual holes?  I am thinking of the sand hills courses which are dramatic from the first to the 18th hole with no let up vs. those on more normal, sedate sites where perhaps a handful of holes really standout for their unique features.

[RJ_Daley]

Yes Lou, I think for some of us (perhaps most of us) playing courses that are feature intense causes us to 'disremember' many holes after only one or a few plays.  There are folks ( I'm convinced Doak is one of the) who have something of a photographic memory and remember individual hole details only seeing it once.  But, it brings to mind if raters and course critics can offer much when having only played a course one time in the proverrbial "hit and run".

[Patrick_Mucci]

RJ,

I think "hit & run" observations tend to notice the more pronounced, the obvious while missing the subtle or nuanced features.

But, a "one time" review, where the golfer is deliberate and observant, can provide more than sufficient recollection.

Ran Morrissett, idiot-savant that he is, is highly skilled at playing a course one time and drinking in almost everything that there is to be seen.

I think it's a skill that's both inate and acquired.

[Tim Martin]

RJ,

I think "hit & run" observations tend to notice the more pronounced, the obvious while missing the subtle or nuanced features.

But, a "one time" review, where the golfer is deliberate and observant, can provide more than sufficient recollection.

Ran Morrissett, idiot-savant that he is, is highly skilled at playing a course one time and drinking in almost everything that there is to be seen.

I think it's a skill that's both inate and acquired.

I always marvel at guys that appear to have perfect recollection of a golf course after one play and can recount the individual holes months/years later. I think it is more innate than acquired.

[Carl Rogers]

My friend Scott Weersing, on this site, is someone who can recall very well after 1 round.  It takes me 3 to 4 rounds.

For instance, I have played those number of rounds at Tobacco Road, and at this point do not find the course not all that intimidating or difficult (6ish index, I am a somewhat shortish, but straight hitter, hit greens with regularity from 160).  TR has gone from overload to a fun visual experience.  Bye the bye, TR is beginning to have an enforced slow play policy.

Same with Ballyhack.

Have played Mid Pines 3 times.  Can remember every hole now. 7 & 12 are my favorites.  4th hole is a sleeper.  Look forward to more plays.

Southern Pines is a good course & value and if in another neighborhood would be more highly rated.

Need more plays at Dormie & Pine Needles.  I was a bit underwhelmed at PN after 1 round.  I was a bit overloaded by Dormie after 1 round.

[Jud_T]

I too marvel at guys like Doak who have a virtually photographic memory after 1 go.  I still can't help but think even those guys can't possibly see all a course's subtleties without quite a few plays.

[Tom_Doak]

I too marvel at guys like Doak who have a virtually photographic memory after 1 go.  I still can't help but think even those guys can't possibly see all a course's subtleties without quite a few plays.

If the course is engaging, and we aren't too focused on playing, we are probably going to see a lot of the subtleties the first time around.

The only time I played Rustic Canyon, I brought along Jim Urbina and Eric Iverson and Sara Mess, who was a brand-new intern at the time.  We played 18 holes and then dissected the course in the car en route to a meeting at Stone Eagle.  When Eric described the problems from leaving yourself to the right of the 2nd green, Sara asked how he had noticed that, since none of us had played from over there?  We all just shrugged and said, "That's what we do for a living."

I think most of my associates remember the holes just as well as I do, although we all tend to remember different parts of them.

[Steve Lang]

  and nobody knows what to do with a pencil & paper ?  or scorecard or yardage book???

[Tom_Doak]

One of the reasons I dislike fancy modern yardage books is that they appear to make courses more memorable than they really were.

[Steve Lang]

  yep, the Dismal Red setting needs a yardage book to make it more memorable

[Jeff_Brauer]

Lou,

Some of my courses have done "favorite hole" surveys soon after opening.  I am always surprised at the responses, but the basic pattern seems to be that they like the ones with the most dramatic bunkering over the most natural (usually, wooded) holes.  And they remember a hole if it is hard, pretty, or very unusual (usually something like a Biarritz valley)

[Steve Lang]

  Jeff,

I've found its both teeing grounds as well as Giant bunkering footprints...

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