Good uphill holes

[Stewart Abramson]

The 2nd holes at Brooksville CC and Ocala Golf Club come mind

Kyle, have they reversed the nines at Brooksville? When I've played there the front 9 was the original flat Wm F Mitchell 9. The hilly  Bobby Weed 9 was the back.

[Sam Morrow]

I'm a little surprised the Cliff Hole at Dornick Hills hasn't been mentioned yet. The first time I played it I laughed so hard I almost cried watching 2 friends hit 3 woods right into the rock and it bouncing back. I remember having a 9 iron or wedge in for my 3rd shot and thinking it was the most intimidating and unique thing I'd ever seen.

[Kyle Harris]

The 2nd holes at Brooksville CC and Ocala Golf Club come mind

Kyle, have they reversed the nines at Brooksville? When I've played there the front 9 was the original flat Wm F Mitchell 9. The hilly  Bobby Weed 9 was the back.

They haven’t. The front nine is a bit hillier than your recollection, however.

[Enno Gerdes]

Another one that hasn't been mentioned yet is this year's Buda host, Gullane. With three courses, each of them going up the hill twice, there must be a number of good and not-so-good holes. For what it's worth, I liked holes 2 and 5 on Gullane 1.

[Niall C]

I've got one that doesn't qualify as a good uphill hole for the sole reason it's an absolutely brilliant one.


Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the 13th at Silloth !


Niall

I’m ashamed I didn’t mention that.  A contender for the best par 5 in the UK

Oh c'mon, the best par 5 in the world, surely ?!

[Mark Kiely]

One I really like is the par-4 13th at DragonRidge CC outside of Las Vegas. It maxes out at 375 yards and features a wide fairway that provides plenty of options off the tee, but then requires an exacting approach across some native desert area to a very small, elevated green.


Tee view:
IMG_5273 by Mark, on Flickr

Closer look at the green complex:
IMG_5271 by Mark, on Flickr

[Chris Hughes]

The 5th hole at Carolina Golf Club in Charlotte is one of my favorite uphill holes.  I'm not certain how much elevation it covers (perhaps Matthew Wharton will see this and chime in), but the rise from tee to green is substantial.  I would guess 50-60 feet of rise, but based on other comments here, I wouldn't be surprised if it is half as much.  423 yards from the tips (377 or 355 from the next two sets forward), the tee shot plays over a modest rise, followed by a dip in the 250-270 range from the back tee.  From the dip, an approach shot of 150-175 yards plays significantly uphill to a green surface that is practically blind. 

The green is pretty large (35+ yards from front left to back right corner) with significant contours creating distinct advantage for being properly positioned.  The hole plays quite differently depending on where on the green the hole is located, with particularly devilish pin positions including on a spine running diagonally through the back left/center and another in the front left corner behind a deep guarding bunker. 

Position from the tee is also quite important for most players.  While the fairway was historically quite wide, one must be center or left in order to have an unobstructed path to the green.  From the right side of the fairway or right rough, you must hit over 2 large bunkers built into the hillside at roughly 90 and 60 yards from the center of the green.  Even when not in play, those two bunkers obstruct the view of the green and a 3rd smaller bunker set just off the front right corner of the green. For many players, the ability to run the ball onto the green is important, as it tends to be a lengthy approach.  This is not really possible from the right side.  Similarly, if you are too far left, the deep greenside bunker becomes a real concern, even though there is a wide (20+ yards) opening at the front of the green. 

For many players, angles do matter on this hole, and that brings me to another interesting aspect of the hole.  From the 423 yard tees, my tee shot normally ended up at the low point on the hole, from which my approach would be at least a full club extra, often more.  From the 377 yard tee, I was able to fly the ball over the low point, partially up the rise, leaving a much shorter and much more visible approach shot.  For this reason, I preferred playing the longer version of the hole (except in club competitions).

Finally, the green, which I partially described above, is quite challenging due to both significant slope and internal contours.  There are several spots where being just off the green on the fringe is preferable to being on the green, but in poor position.  There are some positions from which putting directly to certain hole locations will almost certainly result in rolling off the front of the green. 

It is a brilliant hole, and probably my favorite on the course.  It took quite some time, and many rounds, to arrive at this conclusion, mainly because the course has consistently strong quality throughout, with few holes distinctly better or worse than most.  Carolina has a few other very good uphill holes, but the 5th is the real standout.

What a terrific summary -- brought forward a few wrinkles I had not considered.


Did you notice when the fairway was materially shifted to the right?


For me your analysis here sheds a new light on the real/practical impact of that shift...