What are you pet peeves in course design?

[Sean_A]

...extremely elevated tees to a diagonal fairway...

Most of these PPs sound reasonable.  Now, I don't know what "extremely" means, but Joe, talk to me about this PP.

Ciao

[Tony Ristola]

Rock outcroppings in play. Having played a fair amount of golf in Scandinavia, this feature pops up often. Yuck.

[Dónal Ó Ceallaigh]

Rock outcroppings in play. Having played a fair amount of golf in Scandinavia, this feature pops up often. Yuck.

Is this what you mean Tony? These pics are from the par 5 fifth hole at Sala in Sweden. They are huge

[Mark Saltzman]

...extremely elevated tees to a diagonal fairway...

Most of these PPs sound reasonable.  Now, I don't know what "extremely" means, but Joe, talk to me about this PP.

Ciao

Sean,

I'll give it a go.

Diagonal fairways often require a forced carry over some sort of hazard and require the player to judge both the line and distance correctly.  Getting this right is a very difficult task.  When you add to this both (1) the uncertainty in how far you will hit a tee shot from an elevated tee, and (2) the ease at which elevated tee shots can get off-line, then the combination of elevated tee + diagonal fairway can be seen as unappealing.

[Dónal Ó Ceallaigh]

Another one for you Tony. The 414 mtr par 4 sixth at Bro Hof (Castle Course), also in Sweden.

[Philippe Binette]

Copy and paste designs... you play one course by an architect, play another course 40 miles away by the same architect... it's the same course.

Very frequent in Quebec

[jeffwarne]

Another one for you Tony. The 414 mtr par 4 sixth at Bro Hof (Castle Course), also in Sweden.

Donal,
I think those make pretty cool hazards.
Be cool to see the wild caroms, you wouldn't lose the ball, the outcome would be quite random, and you'd have a chance of recovery.
You definitely would avoid them, although some of those on the earlier pictures might require helmets

[Lou_Duran]

Rock outcroppings in play. Having played a fair amount of golf in Scandinavia, this feature pops up often. Yuck.

Some are kind of cool, particularly when not in the direct line of play and can be used for alignment or reference.  Importing and placing bolders for "strategic" purposes would be objectionable.

Reverse camber holes with a hazard or high rough on the low side aren't cool,  e.g. Muirfield Village #18, Olypmic #17 (to a lesser extent).

To the extent that the irrigation plan is part of course design, I hate sprinkler heads close to the fronts (or even the sides) of the greens.

[Sean_A]

...extremely elevated tees to a diagonal fairway...

Most of these PPs sound reasonable.  Now, I don't know what "extremely" means, but Joe, talk to me about this PP.

Ciao

Sean,

I'll give it a go.

Diagonal fairways often require a forced carry over some sort of hazard and require the player to judge both the line and distance correctly.  Getting this right is a very difficult task.  When you add to this both (1) the uncertainty in how far you will hit a tee shot from an elevated tee, and (2) the ease at which elevated tee shots can get off-line, then the combination of elevated tee + diagonal fairway can be seen as unappealing.

Mark

These go in search of tee shots strike me as very appealing.




Ciao

[Howard Riefs]

Rock outcroppings in play. Having played a fair amount of golf in Scandinavia, this feature pops up often. Yuck.

Is this what you mean Tony? These pics are from the par 5 fifth hole at Sala in Sweden. They are huge

That's tame compared to these monstrosities on the 12th hole at Fossil Trace outside Denver. 

Golf Digest called it one of the "most fun holes you can play in America." I'd have another descriptor. http://www.golfdigest.com/golf-courses/2011-01/photos-18-most-fun-holes#slide=12

[Tony Ristola]

Rock outcroppings in play. Having played a fair amount of golf in Scandinavia, this feature pops up often. Yuck.

Is this what you mean Tony? These pics are from the par 5 fifth hole at Sala in Sweden. They are huge

Donal... Oh Fy fan!

Yes... but they don't even have to be large like those you posted, and the problem with many of the Scandinavian courses is their corridors aren't wide enough to account for the solid menace.

Jeff,
You can enjoy Ricochet Golf... not my cup 'o tea. I'd have covered those rocks or blasted 'em. But watch, one day I'll I'll incorporate rocks too. Will say this though, I did see some photo's of Le Geant (sic?) 10+ years ago and thought the use of rock wasn't too bad. I think it was far enough out of the way, left exposed around tee areas, and otherwise decently integrated.

Howard.
Ugh.

Lou,
So long as they're not in play... and that means an allowance for being damn wild.