A split fairway hole I'd like to see

[Rick Shefchik]

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The circle at the top is the green; the circle at the bottom is the tee; the circle in the center is a pond; the parentheses are separate fairways; the dash is some sort of obstacle.

What I'm crudely suggesting here is symmetrical (yet mirror-image) fairways that wrap around a water hazard on both the left and right, with some kind of obstacle -- trees or sand, or maybe a ditch -- at the end of the water hazard, making a carry almost impossible, and ill-advised. The golfer must choose either the left or the right fairway, depending on his or her ball shape, comfort level, wind, etc.

I know land prices tend to make 19 fairways on an 18-hole course an expensive luxury, but I wonder if such a hole exists somewhere, and whether players (would) like it. I've never played a split-fairway hole that I thought offered equally appealing options -- one is always preferable to the other. On a hole like this, I don't think that would be the case. Thoughts?

[Dean Paolucci]

Rick - I have never seen anything like this idea but I think it is great to use mirror images of the hole.  It really does not favor a particular shot shape.  Question: In your mind would the green also have a mirror image by center line or mid line?

DEAN

[Rick Shefchik]

Dean,

In keeping with the premise of the hole, I don't think there should be an advantage to hitting your approach shot from either the left or right fairway. Assuming you chose the left side because your shot shape is a power fade, the green should also be receptive a faded approach. Same with a draw, if you choose to play the right fairway. That might argue for a relatively flat green, with, perhaps, a centerline bunker in front. An upper tier could add a little more interest without favoring an approach from one side or the other.

[Karl Bernetich]

Cobbs Creek ... 6th hole
Not quite a mirror left and right
But the creek running down the center hole.  Split fairway on both sides of the creek.

[Rick Shefchik]

Anybody have a photo of Cobbs Creek #6?

[Karl Bernetich]

Why do my question marks get changed to those stupid smiles (question mark).  The old style had a box to check to not use them.

[Mike_Cirba]

Anybody have a photo of Cobbs Creek #6?

Karl/Rick,

It's the 5th hole at Cobb's Creek.   

Here's a vintage pic;

[Karl Bernetich]

the original post had a question mark after the hole.
I wasn't sure if it was 5 or 6 ...
Stupid smiles !

[Mike_Cirba]

Here's some from the famed Joe Bausch collection;

[Karl Bernetich]

I think I see my golf ball in one of those photos.
They one time my "baby fade" doesn't baby !

[Karl Bernetich]

Yea ... I'm a junior member now.
I'll be quite again ...

[Steven_Biehl]

The 7th hole of the Kampen course and Purdue University is like what you are describing.  At Kampen the water is a bunker running the length of the fairway.  I do not have a picture of it, and the only one I could find on Purdue's website was on the main page as it scrolled through images.  The 7th hole is the second picture that comes up on their website: www.purduegolf.com.

[Karl Bernetich]

Google Maps aerial picture

[Mike_Cirba]

Karl,

I don't think that worked.   Can anyone else see it? 

[Rick Shefchik]

Steven,

It looks like #7 at the Kampen course is very much like I was thinking of (replacing water with sand, but the concept is the same.) I wish we could post the photo from the website, but it's one of those Flash photoshows.

[Dean Paolucci]

Dean,

In keeping with the premise of the hole, I don't think there should be an advantage to hitting your approach shot from either the left or right fairway. Assuming you chose the left side because your shot shape is a power fade, the green should also be receptive a faded approach. Same with a draw, if you choose to play the right fairway. That might argue for a relatively flat green, with, perhaps, a centerline bunker in front. An upper tier could add a little more interest without favoring an approach from one side or the other.

Rick,

Thanks for the reply!  I like the idea of a common front with a back tier.  Really adds an element of interest to the green.

DEAN

[Karl Bernetich]

It's the 5th hole at Cobb's Creek.   

Here's a pic;

[Mike_Cirba]

Good one, Karl...I was out there yesterday tromping around taking pics.

[Rick Shefchik]

Thanks, Karl. Is that the tee just above the green on the lower right?

This hole looks pretty narrow on the right side, especially with the trees. I was envisioning a theoretical hole that didn't need trees on either side -- in fact, the farther right or left you went would simply put you farther from the green, whereas risking a shot closer to the water would reward you with a shorter approach -- almost a double cape. But I'd have to look at the Cobb's Creek hole from the tee to see if it's close to what I'm looking for.

[Kirk Stewart]

Atlanta National's par 5 9th hole. If i knew how to post pics or aerials I would

[Rick Shefchik]

Here's the 7th at Kampen (thanks to Steven Biehl) -- very much what I was thinking of. Even cooler if the waste area/bunker was water, but I think this would be a fun hole to play.

[Karl Bernetich]

I'm on a roll ... overhead of the Boilermaker's course

[John Moore II]

Valhalla GC in Louisville has sort of the same thing on the 18th hole, it just doesn't run all the way down the fairway.

--BTW--anyone able to tell me how to post images from Google Earth?

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