Firestone

[BHoover]

I figured I would be proactive and start the annual "why I hate Firestone" thread.


For the record, I love Firestone. But please, feel free to share your hatred/dislike of the South course.

[BCowan]

Great job, I was thinking of this exact thread a few days ago.

[JESII]

I suspect 99.9% of the hatred is based on images blasted out of the blimp.


The course looks very boring/monotonous from 2,000 feet up.


When the network shows ground level footage there appears to be a great deal of elevation change and some quirky little corners you'd have to deal with...so, to me, I'd bet it's a really good golf course.

[Rob Marshall]

Played Firestone many years ago. Spent the night in the locker room which had a great bar and hotel type rooms. The South course reminded me a lot of Oak Hill. North course was no slouch either. Ton of fun to play. Back then I think it was mostly corporate members. The bartender told me there was very little weekend play.

[Joe Zucker]

Firestone is not all bad.  It can appear on TV like it has a bunch of boring straight holes running back and forth with trees on both sides (definitely see this from the blimp like Jim mentioned).  Some of the greens are pretty interesting (I like #2) and there is definitely more elevation than most would suspect.  The ridge in the middle of the 17th hole is an interesting feature that always confuses me.  You can layup to the bottom of the hill and leave a longer blind approach, or challenge it and potentially see more of the green.  I think there is more strategy than it shows on TV. 


That being said, it's still not in the top 10 in Ohio.  A reasonable comparison would be Dubsdread in Chicago.  Both are long and tough courses made for tour events.  The trees seem to encroach more at Dubsdread and the land is less interesting in my opinion.

[Howard Riefs]

I figured I would be proactive and start the annual "why I hate Firestone" thread.

Always exaggerating. It's every year on average...


2015:   http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,61573.msg1462039

2014:http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,59367.msg

2014:http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,59238.msg

2012:http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,53067.msg

2012:http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,53037.msg

2011:http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,49211.msg

2010:http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,45411.msg

[Wayne_Kozun]

Firestone is not all bad.  It can appear on TV like it has a bunch of boring straight holes running back and forth with trees on both sides (definitely see this from the blimp like Jim mentioned).

Isn't the normal quip on here "a tree-lined bowling alley"?

[BHoover]

I figured I would be proactive and start the annual "why I hate Firestone" thread.

Always exaggerating. It's every year on average...

Wow, has it really been two years since the hate flowed for Firestone? When I'm watching the tournament this weekend, I will take extra joy in knowing that the group generally hates it so much. Each time the blimp shows the tree-lined fairways, I will smile with satisfaction.

[Joe Zucker]

Firestone is not all bad.  It can appear on TV like it has a bunch of boring straight holes running back and forth with trees on both sides (definitely see this from the blimp like Jim mentioned).

Isn't the normal quip on here "a tree-lined bowling alley"?

Yeah it is.  I read through a few of the older threads and that line appears a few times.  I would argue that is not completely accurate.  There are too many trees and they are everywhere, but it's not claustrophobic and the fairways have reasonable width.

[Kalen Braley]

Perhaps a different measure is in order.


If you had to make some effort to get there, (say more than 500 miles away), would it be on your wish list?

[Sean_A]

Perhaps a different measure is in order.


If you had to make some effort to get there, (say more than 500 miles away), would it be on your wish list?

Cha ching.  We all have to make choices and it shouldn't be a problem for anyone if Firestone is not high on the visit list.  I often feel the same about Oakland Hills.  It gets slammed a lot, but with such a great set of greens it has to have something going for it. here is currently a general backlash against 80s style US Open courses..and imo rightfully so because heavy tree planting masks individuality....this is a serious problem for parkland courses in many places.  For the most part they are not in vogue, but for those who have intimate knowledge of sepecific courses it can be a different story.

Ciao

[BHoover]

Perhaps a different measure is in order.


If you had to make some effort to get there, (say more than 500 miles away), would it be on your wish list?

Definitely, especially considering that it's about 15 minutes from my parents and my in-laws. I would absolutely go play there any chance I get.

[Thomas Dai]

Does Firestone have 36-holes?
I recall a PGA Tour event a few decades ago that was played on another course at Firestone. JM Olazabal won by quite a few shots.
Atb

[Steve Fekety]

Does Firestone have 36-holes?
I recall a PGA Tour event a few decades ago that was played on another course at Firestone. JM Olazabal won by quite a few shots.
Atb

54 holes.

[BHoover]

Does Firestone have 36-holes?
I recall a PGA Tour event a few decades ago that was played on another course at Firestone. JM Olazabal won by quite a few shots.
Atb

In 1994, the greens were lost on the South course a few weeks before the tournament. So the Tour moved across the street to the North course. As you stated, Olazabal won that year (following up his win in 1990, when he was absolutely dominant on the South course).

[Mark_Fine]

Of course Firestone is worth playing. It is a very good "test of golf".  Does it inspire me like a Pine Valley or a old Scottish links course, maybe not so much.  But the beauty of golf is that the playing fields are ALL different and most of them are worth playing at least once. 

[Kalen Braley]

Of course Firestone is worth playing. It is a very good "test of golf".  Does it inspire me like a Pine Valley or a old Scottish links course, maybe not so much.  But the beauty of golf is that the playing fields are ALL different and most of them are worth playing at least once.

Mark,


Most of the worlds courses fall between 1 and 3 on the DS.  Are you suggesting these are worth seeking out?


If you live within 20-30 miles, I guess that makes sense...

[BHoover]

Most of the worlds courses fall between 1 and 3 on the DS.  Are you suggesting these are worth seeking out?

If you live within 20-30 miles, I guess that makes sense...

If Firestone is a 1-3 on the DS, then I call BS on the DS.

[Jeff Churchill]

I had the opportunity to play both the North and South courses.
Well conditioned but without coffee I had no reason to stay awake.

Perhaps If I could elevate my 5 wood into the par 4 approaches and stickum the experience would have been sublime.
Unfortunately the challenge was redundant and not worth a trip to Ohio.

Loved Scioto and Muirfield though.
Played 18 on each course on the same day in less than 7 hours with a caddie.
Now that was a memorable day!!

[Mark_Fine]

Kalen,
I am spoiled having seen what I have seen and played where I have played but some of my most enjoyable rounds were on very ordinary golf courses.  Do I "seek out" the 1-3s - no, but Firestone is far above that grade.  Yes it is well worth playing if for no other reason than it being a course you get to watch on TV and see what the pros do to it then you get to go experience it yourself and realize what they can do to a very challenging design.  That in itself is worth one time around the place 😊

[Mike Sweeney]

Seriously, what is the initiation fee?

[Chris Pearson]

Worst course on Tour by far.


Slightly offline drives are massively penalized by the rough and prodigious length of the never-ending stream of par 4s on this tree-choked layout.


Birdie opportunities are practically non-existent unless you happen to hit a good wedge on one of the two unreachable par 5s.


And good luck with the par 3s if the greens are super firm (like they were in 2016, when Firestone played as by far the toughest Tour stop).


Firestone would be partially redeemable if recovery possibilities were more realistic and legitimate, but even then, the course would still be a bunch of long, straight par 4s with zero imagination or whimsy.


Hard pass.

[Criss Titschinger]

If you had to make some effort to get there, (say more than 500 miles away), would it be on your wish list?

I live about 242 miles away in Cincinnati. I can say that while I would have no problem traveling that far to play it, I can think of quite a few courses I would travel to NE Ohio to play instead of Firestone South. I feel I could comfortably rattle off at least 15, and one of those would include Firestone North.


That being said, I'm going to stop any further bashing of the South until I see it with my own eyes. I have a feeling it's better than I'm giving it credit for.

[James Brown]

Out of fashion today.  But some day back in fashion perhaps.  Immaculate fairways and brutal unrelenting toughness were at one time considered "in" in golf.  Not my kinda ideal golf, but Firestone occupies a certain place in US Golf history and in the minds of many golfers.  Worth acknowledging that, I think.

[Chris DeToro]

Harsh words for Firestone.  I've played it a handful of times and have enjoyed it every time.  Yes, there is a stretch of holes that feels like it's just back and forth "bowling alleys".  But the land certainly isn't flat and there are some interesting holes out there, like 16 which gets all the fanfare. 


That being said, I do think the North is more enjoyable than the South.  I haven't played the West course, but the North/South combo is quite good. 


I wonder if there were ever plans to build an East course...