Aldarra an easy course? Ask the 90 or so amateurs that played in the qualifier for the US AM. No one broke par in good weather. It may not be extra hard from the shorter tees, but it is a beast from the back.
No, not easy.
Just easier than the slope and rating indicate.
From the reputation it has from the way people that talk about it, the course is much less of a bear then some may think, imo.
But, I've never tipped it out. However, all the holes are reasonable from the back tee markers, at 6800 yards. I mean, severe misses are definitely punished a lot, but with the fairways providing ample width there is room to miss as well.
I wonder if Sean (either one) has tipped it out?
Does it really play that much harder?
I know I have tipped out 16 once, for fun, with a second ball, and the hole was a ton harder. Maybe its that much harder on most holes?
When I played with Reehoorn a couple months ago I dont think he had any more than a 7-iron into any green, except the par threes, from the 6800 set.
But no matter the difficulty of the course, I love it and it is one of my favorite places to play in the PNW. Sometimes I am probably over critical of courses, but if I'm being honest Aldarra is one of my two favorite courses to play in the state. I dont know if it's one of the two best courses in the state, but I've never had a round there I haven't enjoyed, even when playing poorly.