They don't leave them that way anymore

[Patrick_Mucci]

"Fairways", that is.

I played Somerset Hills not long ago and marveled at how the fairways were left, essentially, unaltered, with bumps and mounds, slopes and contours.

Every lie imaginable confronts the golfer.

I couldn't help but think how that added to the challenge.

Playing a down hill lie to a green well below you.
Playing a side hill lie to a green well below you.
Playing an uphill lie to a green above you.
Playing a sidehill lie to a green above you.

There were a few flat lies in DZ areas, but, not many.

It was a refreshing challenge.

It reminded me of a club I'm fairly familiar with, where a certain fairway has a good deal of movement and the membership, for years, has been clamoring to "level" the fairway to make it "fairer".   YIKES.

What a wonderful, sporty course.

And, the greens are spectacular.

For those who think that Somerset Hills is over rated, think again.
It's deserving of a lofty position in golf and GCA.

What modern courses have left their fairways in their natural or close to natural state ?

[Tom_Doak]

What modern courses have left their fairways in their natural or close to natural state ?

A lot of modern minimalist courses leave the fairways relatively untouched, if we don't have to clear trees from them.  That's one thing the older courses had in their favor ... more of them were built from open farms.

[Patrick_Mucci]

Tom,

I think that was a luxury that few modern courses enjoy.

Old photos seem to reveal an inordinate number of courses that sprung from farm land.

Still, the fairways at SHCC are impressive in their movement.

So much so that AWT incorporated a banked race track into the fairways at SHCC.

[Kevin_D]

Pat, what did you think of the Redan there?  I haven't played the course, but heard it is one of the best (and hardest).

Also, reading this:

Playing a down hill lie to a green well below you.
Playing a side hill lie to a green well below you.
Playing an uphill lie to a green above you.
Playing a sidehill lie to a green above you.

Made me think of Wykagyl.  Not many flat lies on the entire course (18 is the notable exception).

[Patrick_Mucci]

Kevin D,

I think the "cost to level" was an impediment to the ODG's.

I marveled at the movements in the fairways, especially the mounds/humps/spines and general contouring.

It made for challenging lies.

Somerset is unique in that they have a bell on the 4th tee to tell the golfers teeing off of # 1 that the 3rd green is all clear.

There's another hole with a bell, but it escapes me at the moment.

I was very impressed by the playing surfaces at SHCC.
They've made huge strides in course conditions in the last 5-10 years

There's a conscientious effort to maintain ideal playing conditions, one that you don't see at many clubs today.

[Patrick_Mucci]

Kevin,

I love their Redan.

It has different characteristics than most Redans, but, it's really neat and fun to play.
Like many Redans, being long isn't a bad thing.

I also love the hybrid Biarritz on the par 4 13th.
It too is very, very unique.

And, the green on the short par 4 5th hole is a blast.
Two of the fellows I played with ended up in the back right of the green and had to putt away from the hole in order to get their ball within 5 feet of the hole.

Really creative, neat stuff.

The inclusion of the steep, deep banked race track is also neat.

It's a wonderful golf course.

Sporty

Fun to play on a daily basis.

[PThomas]

greetins Patrick

SH is my favorite Tillinghast...some many quality golf holes out there!