Golf holes with "no target" (Blind shots)

[PCCraig]

Does it present a safety hazard? Is play slowed down?

Thanks for the reply Tyler.

As you might remember from playing T&C, it sits on a very small piece of property (around 95 acres) so the holes are close together. While it makes for a easy walking course, it can also be a bit hair raising if you have a player behind you that sprays the ball. 

In the 2nd shot discussed above, it's a blind shot that enters into a tight part of the property. In the far northeast corner of the property sits (from left to right) #12 green, #13 tee, #6 green, and #7 tee:


I personally haven't seen an approach missed poorly enough to reach one of the two tees shown, but I can imagine it's possible. The regional USGA agronomist wrote in a somewhat recent report that he had never seen so many greens and tees in such a small area.

As for a pace of play, 90% of the time the course is quiet enough that it doesn't matter, but there are times when you need to walk up the hill in order to see if the group ahead of you is still on the green. On a Saturday morning usually one guy or caddie walks up waves the group up to hit.

[PCCraig]

Neither photo depicts an enticing blind shot.  Both look a bit tight with trees considering the blindness, but they also provide a very obvious target line. 

Ciao

Maybe I've just driven it too well on that hole (emoticon omitted), but I don't recall ever feeling that the trees were at all in the way.

Dan,

In my opinion, the 9th hole is over-treed on the right side. Trees have been planted over the years to "protect" the 9th hole from the driving range, which sits at the bottom of the hill. If I block out my tee shot a bit to the right it's far too easy to be blocked out by trees.

The trees (the two big ones short, right in the picture) will be coming out soon as they are infected with EAB. That should open the hole up a bit as well as open up a vista towards downtown Minneapolis and the Mississippi.

[Dan Kelly]

I mentioned that if a target was really needed for most members, that you could put a bullseye on a pole behind the green. That was quickly dismissed as "something they do in Scotland."

Now THAT'S funny, in a very dark way.

(At least the guy has heard of Scotland. That's a start!)

[David Bartman]

I find both of those shots to be well defined by the background.  Perhaps the differing reactions are caused by the fact that one is downhill on a medium length hole and the other is uphill on a very long hole?

I struggle to think of great courses in the US that feature blind approached, except as a cost of being out of position.  There are tons of great links courses with blind shots but I suspect those examples would not be persuasive for your purposes. 

Jason:

Pebble Beach is usually considered one the better courses around, and it has a totally blind approach to the 6th green, I believe.

The 2nd to a par 5 6th hole is blind, the third isn't if one is playing the hole as the architect intended with a short iron third shot.

Just being informative not judging.