Most Difficult Opening Hole

[Robert E. Lee]

Top100-
You and your lame alter egos should give some serious
thought into seceding from GCA and heading back to your Brittney Spears discussion group. Do you wash the grass clippings off the carts at Secession or something?

[Jonathan Cummings]

REE

Secession is a walking only club.  There are no carts.  If you blow your knee out, you give up your membership.

I spent time in Scotland last summer with one of Secession's architects - Bob Walton.  We talked about the design.  Bob feels that the first hole was simply a mistake.

As for difficulty, even with the forced carry it is simply too short a par 4 to be considered in a 'most difficult' category.

As an alternate consider Koolau's opening hole on Oahu.  Something like 600yds, a screeming downhill banked plunge, littered with 20-some bunkers, culminating in an elevated highly sloped green, all surrounded by inpenetrable jungle in which you lose your ball if you go 6 inches into.  I'll bet the average stroke score at this #1 exceeds par more than the average stroke score at Secession's #1 exceeds par.

Koolau's slope from the back is 162!  The USGA caps a slope at a max 155.  Koolau's opening hole may be the most difficult in the world, followed by 17 more in the same category!

USG

[Tim Weiman]

Jonathan:

Thanks for the note regarding Bob Walton. The tough thing for him and the club is that there isn't a real easy fix. Permitting wise I doubt you can change it. I also don't see a real easy way to re-route the course to push this hole later in the round.

Difficulty on the first hole is okay, but a forced carry opening tee shot that many people can't handle just isn't a good concept. PGA West, for example, was built to be a very tough golf course, but you don't see anything like that on the first hole. Pete takes him time to exact his punishment.

[Jonathan Cummings]

BTW,

If you buy a cap from the pro shop at Koolau you'll have a nice logo embossed on the front and printed on the back is, "The World's Most Difficult Golf Course".  Even leaving their opinion out, you would still have to seriously consider in "most difficult" discussions.

JC

[A_Clay_Man]

Jonathan- I realize this is nit picky but is Koolau a walkable golf course. If not the term "golf course" could be conscrewed as opinion.

[Jonathan Cummings]

Clay - I'm pretty sure it is, but don't hold me to that.  It is way too hilly for me to walk, but I think the locals do.  It is not a great course by any means as the forced carries start from the parking lot!  But it is 18 of the hardest holes and worthy of mention under this posting topic.  JC

[Scott_Burroughs]

I will concur with Bob H. on Princeville (Prince)'s opener as being sheerly intimidating, even with a 3-wood in hand off the tee.

Koolau's opener is tough, and though it is long, 3-wood unfortunately is the play off the tee due to bunkering and pinched fairways further out.

My vote has to go to my club's opening hole, though.  #1 at Wake Forest GC in WF, NC, is a 711 yard par 5.  The drive is 300 yards downhill, but the final 150 is straight uphill.  The drive has trees on both sides, with lateral hazards way right, so spraying isn't good.  Even if you hit a good drive, most will have to lay up with a mid-to-long iron, because of the creek that crosses at 200 yards from the green.  This is actually why it is not a good hole from the tips, the forced layup on a brutally long hole.  Take out the creek, and it isn't so bad.

Then you have 200+ way uphill to a difficult, two-tiered green, with a bunker front left and another on the right side of the green.  From 150 in, O.B. is way right, but gets closer in the closer to the green you go.  Doesn't help that the cartpath is on the right side for any pushed/sliced approaches.

Yes, it is the #1 handicap hole.  Par is terrific from the tips, and my one birdie ever from there is one of my highlights.  3-wood from 215 (way uphill), one-putt.

The hole is much better from the next up tees, at 622 yards.  A decent drive (downhill still) leaves a good chance to clear the creek with a mid-to-long iron, leaving approxiamtely 150 uphill yards in.

[Jonathan Cummings]

Scott - that hole does sound like a bear.  JC

[Jeff Shelman]

Scott,

As someone who used to live in Raleigh, I agree with your assessment of Wake Forest. While others may argue that it might not be as difficult as some holes it is certainly a hole you don't want to face if you're running a short on time and scrambling to the first tee without time to warm up.

I think the creek is what makes the hole so difficult. Depending on conditions (wind, wet), you have to hit a great tee ball just to have a chance to get over the creek in two. And there's nothing more demoralizing than having to lay up your second shot on a 711 yard par five.

[buckeye_bob]

Crystal Downs #1/474 yds, directional face wind, to an elevated sloping green;however,two(2) tee balls  are provided by the club charter!  

[Doug Siebert]

How about the first at Troon's Portland course?  Over 460 yards, uphill, into the prevailing wind, with OB all the way down the left side, angling behind the green as well.  Yes, par 4, if that matters.  The Portland is the ladies' course, for those who don't know, but don't be fooled into thinking it isn't a stern test for anyone -- it is perhaps 900 yards shorter than the championship course, but yard for yard more difficult, IMHO.  A lot of those yards it gives away go into building several short 4s and 5s that lead you into temptation.  And unlike the grass on the championship course where you can find your ball and make some kind of play on it, the Portland is filled with gorse, where you may see your ball, but you probably can't retrieve it and definitely can't play it.

While I'm not sure I'd argue for the Portland's first against some of the holes others have suggested here, I'd sure argue for it against that 711 yarder at WF.  It doesn't sound like it requires or even encourages you to bring your best game to the tee, unless you plan to challenge that creek with your second.  Even if you challenge it it isn't as though you are rewarded with an easy shot leaving a good birdie opportunity like most par 5s, it is so long you still have work left to do for a 5.  For that I'm risking trees on both sides and a lateral hazard off the tee with a driver and a fairly long carry over a creek on my second?  No thanks, I'll lay up and take my chances with that uphill 210 yard third, but once I do that I don't need driver off the tee and really have no pressure to even make particularly good swings at my first two shots so long as I keep them in play.  Sounds like a hole that has its risk/reward equation all messed up.