Hardest setup you've ever played?

[PGertner]

This is easy.

Pine Valley.  Crump Cup. 1983 or 1984.  First round.
Greens were 12+
3 Green pin was front right.  A spot that was too sloped for normal speed greens.  

Players who didnt walk off were 5 and 6 putting.

[Bill_McBride]

Just to show how vital putting is to scoring, the toughest set up I've played in years was a couple of weeks ago at Rustic Canyon in California (Gil Hanse, Jim Hansen and Geoff Shackleford's new design).  After the round I e-mailed comments to Geoff about the course, which I loved.  The set up was tough, very tough, because at least 12 pins were on knobs and the edge of shelves where it was really impossible to get close no matter what you were hitting, long iron, short iron, wedge or putter!  The staff there doesn't seem to understand that the greens average 6,000 and there lots of good pinnable locations.  Since putting is 40-50% of the game, the quickest way to create a very difficult set up is to put the pins on fast greens in very difficult locations.
By the way, Rustic Canyon is a terrific course worth a trip from just about anywhere.

[archie struthers]

Pat Gert is correct, Bators' revenge at Pine Valley, of which I have previously commented. However, we did not play only witnessed the crucifiction of many great players.

Personally, same year, caddy tournament, PVGC. Bators' prelude to above. Pins in impossible spots, tees tipped out, greens not so nasty, maybe 10.5-11 on stimp!

Example of pins #1 far back right, #2, In the six foot ridge, front middle right near three tee.  It had to be seen to be believed, however we all enjoyed it immensely, Leo Glutting, semi famous caddy & recluse shot 76, which was an unbelievable round to win easy!

Back to above, Crump Cup was almost unplayable, and it has never to my knowledge even approached those conditions since!

[TEPaul]

Archie:

The Crump setup that year was over the top, plain and simple. Pine Valley doesn't need that kind of setup and it doesn't deserve it either!

[Tom MacWood (Guest)]

I had the good fortune of playing Shinnecock Hills shortly after the US Open - from the Open tees. It goes without saying the set up was brutal, however once on the greens there was normally an opportunity to catch your breath. Unlike Oakmont which I would have to say was the most difficult set up I have encountered and it wasn't 'set up'. The hazards are punishing of course, but the greens never let up. For example my playing partner hit a 5-wood to within 6 or 7 feet on the 230 yard 16th, which features a startling small green surrounded by sand. His birdie putt, which I would not characterize has bold, barely missed and he was left with 10 foot putt for par, three putts later he had a 5. I hate to see a grown men cry.

[TEPaul]

Tom:

#16 Oakmont is not a particularly small green at all, just a very well angled green (sort of reverse redanish) with certainly some slope to it very much exaggerated by greenspeed. It's also not surrounded by sand, although it does have some bunkering greenside like front right particularly.

However, whatever our differences are of observation about it, it certainly can make a grown man cry!

[Tom MacWood (Guest)]

TE
My mistake it was #13. I recall standing on the tee looking at the green and thinking that is one small target.

[TEPaul]

Tom:

Right--that one certainly is surrounded by bunkers and although playing maybe up to 190 obviously plays a bit longer as it's slightly uphill which seems to deceive golfers. Did you notice that ridge that forms at the face of the back right bunker and runs well into the green very much segmenting that green? A very cool feature and a very architecturally natural looking one!

[Bill_McBride]

the 13th green looks small because you can't see much of it from the tee down below.  And it's not as big as the 12th you just walked off, but it's still probably 5,000 SF.

[Launch_Director]

La Purisima a couple days before Q school, in the afternoon (with the typical winds the area gets), from the tips. The LPGA played there one year and said "no mas" after they came to the realization that they couldn't make any birdies.