Funneling Fairways

[Jason Thurman]

We've all played holes where every tee shot seems to end up in the same spot, whether it's on one side of the fairway or a certain bowl in the landing zone. When does this feature work, and when does it not?

[BHoover]

I think it works on longer holes when you're left with a longer club into the green. But on short holes where you're hitting short iron or wedge, the divots pile up.

[Ben Hollerbach]

The only time's I've ever seen this work effectively is when it helps to equalize length off of the tee. If one player lands the ball in a flat of a hollow, which can't chase up the hill, the shorter player lands the ball on the downslope and it kicked to the bottom.

What seems to be most important is what does the next shot look like that leads to every player playing from that location. If the next shot is over penal, but there is no way around it, the funnel didn't work.