A Routing Exercise

[Brendan Dolan]

In high school I was fortunate enough to go to a private school that happens to own a 190 acres or so.  During my senior year we had a project in which each student, was to investigate a subject area that interested them.  I choose golf course architecture.  For my presentation, I designed a routing plan for the site, and explained why I choose to place a hole here or there.  

The site is located in southeastern Wisconsin, about 35 minutes or so from Milwaukee.  The property is a mixture of deciduous forest and open prairie.  For the most part the site is rolling, but a huge hill bisects the property into a high and low section.  Views off the site are good for the most part, and the summer winds come mainly from the southwest.

I thought that some of you guys might be interested in seeing what type of course you could route on the property, before I post my own.  Below is a blank topographical map.  Ignore all the buildings, roads, and any other  foreign objects on the topographical map.  The course does not have to have returning nines, but please allot space for a driving range, putting/chipping green, maintenance shop, clubhouse, and parking lot.

The topographical map has 5 foot contour intervals, and I used a scale of 1 inch equals 150 yards.  Hopefully you guys can find a way to print the map out.  If you draw something up please don’t put it online until the 31st so that any one who chooses to draw something up has time to.  Hopefully you guys will enjoy this exercise.

Brendan        

[Brendan Dolan]

The scale I used of 1 inch=150yards, is when the topo. map is printed on a 8 by 11.5 piece of paper.  
Enjoy,
Brendan

[Jim Thompson]

This may help some of you struggling with the topo lines from Brendaan's pic.



Cheers!

JT

[Brendan Dolan]

I was thinking that it would be more effective if people send me a message, with their email address, and then I could attach the image, so anybody who wanted to give it a try could print the topo off.  

Also a little bit more information about the site:

The buildings sit on top of Hawk’s hill, which drops roughly 50 to 60 ft to the soccer fields below.  Besides this ridge line, the property is excellent for golf as it is gently contoured.  There are a number of good drop shot type tee shots, and a number of natural green sites.  I know the property like the back of my hand, as I went to school there for 13 years.  So please feel free to ask questions or send me a message if you would like me to email you the topographical map.

Brendan

[Brendan Dolan]

A while back I started this thread.  I thought people might enjoy getting a little practice with a topographical map.  Here is the routing that I came up with.  



The routing would clearly favor a private course setting, as there is a cross over and the nines do not return to the club house.  The first hole plays to the west, which is a clear flaw.  Also the golfer must back track nearly 150 yards to get from the 5th green to the 6th tees.  Obviously this is not ideal from a flow stand point.  The 7th tee is next to the clubhouse which allows the golfer to stop in for a bite to eat.  The routing is a little cramped around the 15th green and thus the tee shot for 16 is over the fairway of the 15th, which would cause problems on a public course, but would hopefully not be a huge problem on a small private course.  Once again you are near the clubhouse on the 17th tee, as the last two holes loop around with the 18th finishing below the clubhouse.

Back tee yardages are roughly:
Hole #   Yardage   Par
1   510   5
2   490   4
3   385   4
4   335   4
5   140   3
6   295   4
7   435   4
8   590   5
9   185   3
10   425   4
11   395   4
12   575   5
13   225   3
14   375   4
15   330   4
16   195   3
17   445   4
18   455   4
Total
   6785   71

I would love to get some feed back, and please don’t hold back.
Thanks,
Brendan

[Brian Noser]

IMHO which means nothing by the way. number one needs to either be a longer par 5 to make the wait less I hate having a semi reachable par 5 on the first hole. also as you noted number 1 should go the other way. in the form of 7 around the little lake maybe? 15 16 are quirky even for the private club. that area is confusing cause it look like 1 is going over 15 also. that is just me but with out design of the holes i would change those routing some how but i am no body.

[Bruce Katona]

Unless there is a complelling reason, Hole #1 might like to run North to South or East to West, to aviod teeing off into the rising sun in the morning. #18 looks like it plays North-South which avoids the setting sun.

The cross over at 15 & 16 are tough, but that casn be easily reworked.

As your nines don't return to the start, show a location for a halfway house for drinks an d a bathroom break.

How far is the separation between green and the following tee?

If you are promoting walking, they should be fairly cole together (150' max.)

Corridor widths (fairway 1st cut and 2nd cut) are how wide?

Allin all, if this ais a school project, you did quite the job for the first time out.

You may want to tweak the plan slightly to get the yardage up over 6,800.  You can reduce the par to 70 with that length and have a very good layout.

[Mike Nuzzo]

Personally I like the short 5 opener (not the direction).  It forces a good separation of tee times.  The waiting group shouldn't tee off until the previous group is on the tee.  I've enjoyed playing with Brian before, but I'll know in the future to not play in front of him...  
I disagree with adding 15 yards also.
I say shrink up a few...  Bruce is correct as at least 17 & 18 look a little close.

You can change the tee angle for #1 depending on the season.

3 & 12 tees look in the line of fire.

What I like least are #s 14 & 18.  Those are both tough to pull off reverse camber uphill holes.  But Seminole has one...

It is hard to see the golf holes, I suggest pretting up those a bit - hint - that is a fun part.

Best

Mike

[Brian Noser]

Come on now Mike, what is that supposed to mean?

You know better then me, it is just my prefrence not to be standing on the first tee and see a guy standing at 280 to the green on a hole, where he just hit it 240 from a tee with a driver, waiting to hit his 3 wood second shot to a green that he has no chance of reaching, I prefer to see it later in the round that way I have less holes to be mad.

[Tyler Kearns]

Brendan,

Assuming your turning points are located approximately 250 yards from the tee, the second shot into #14 is going to be blind and fighting the natural slope of the landscape for anybody whose drive does not "get out there". If #14 simply was swung westward, and hugged the hill with the green situated near the road to the west of the existing site, then #15 could be a short uphill two-shotter finishing in close proximity to the #16 tee, eliminating the criss-cross of holes.

Is there any special topographical features that required you to locate #5 and/or #6 where they are? Having to backtrack down #5 to get to the 6th tee disrupts the flow of the routing, poses some safety risk, and slows down play. However given the amount of land available in the NW corner of the property, a little tinkering could resolve these issues.

It's a good start.

TK

[Tyler Kearns]

Brendan,

Mike is right regarding the tees being in danger at #3 and #12. It is not a good idea to have a tee on the inside of a dogleg, because people are prone to taking the shortest route to the hole.

TK

[Kyle Harris]

I'll take a stab at this. Post tomorrow or later tonight.  

[Brendan Dolan]

Thanks guys for the comments.  I have to go some where right now but will get back to you later tonight.

Brendan  

[Brendan Dolan]

Thanks again for the constructive criticism.  The reason I chose the par 5 as an opener is, because the other two holes that start at the clubhouse have severely down hill tee shots, which usually means a bad swing will result in a the ball ending even further off line.  They are also long par fours which could certainly yield big scores from the get go.  

Tyler the turning points are some what random as I put the hole numbers, but originally I routed the course with 300 yards as the turning points, from the back tees.  

I agree with the tees being close to the line of play on both 3 and 12.  Eliminating the back tee on three and adding a new front tee would take care of that problem.  The 12th is a little bit more problematic, but when I first did the routing I drew a couple of trees into the area before the tee to eliminate this issue.  I think some large prairie type bushes could be used to hide and protect the tee  from drives on 11.

The reason I decided to place the 5th where I did was because there is a great natural plateau that would make an excellent all or nothing pitch  par 3.  I’ve driven past that green site hundreds of times and I always think to my self what a scary little shot that would be.  If the golfer hit’s the green they could leave their bag next to the 6th tee and walk to the green and putt out and then return  for the next shot.  It is not ideal, but feel that it was best place to find a natural short par 3.  

Originally I had the 15th green directly left of the 16th tees, but I thought it looked like an awkward squeezed in hole.  Although the hole and the area is still some what cramped I feel that it has a unique setting and felt that for a private course it was a better overall hole.  The first tee shot from the back tees also crosses over the 15th green, but the tees could be shifted over to the left, but it would be my hope that only low handicappers would play the back tees.  

14 and 18 both present awkward tee shots.  In the drawing I have some trees on the right side of 14, which I would probably eliminate as it would make the 12th green an awesome skyline, and might make 14 more visible.  The slope in the 18th fairway will help the approach shot as I envision  a redan styled green complex.  

I feel that overall the routing is quite conducive to walking.  Most of the walks are minimal maybe 30 yards or so.  I would hopefully not need to place a halfway house as the golfer returns to the clubhouse on multiple occasions.  Another interesting aspect of routing is that there is a way to have two returning nines if desired.  One would play the first two holes and then play 10 through 16 for the front nine.  For the back nine the golfer would start on the 7th and play to the current 9th.  Then he would precede to the 3rd tee and play to six, and then finish up on 17 and 18.  From the middle tees the course plays to a total yardage of 6175, and the front tees measure 5140.  

Thanks again for the comments.

Brendan