Reverse Cambered fairways at Olympic

[Tommy Williamsen]

Reverse camber, where the fairway slopes toward the outside of the dogleg, makes it difficult to hold the fairway unless you shape your shot against the contour of the hole. So, to keep it in the fairway you must shape the shot into the slope running the risk of overdoing it and bring the trouble on the inside of the dogleg into play. I think it is a good defense once or twice a round. It makes you shape the shot. It is used a lot at Olympic. On my one and only play there I found it difficult to hit some of the fairways. What say ye?

[Tom_Doak]

On a wide-open site, that would maybe be fair game, although today's equipment makes it harder to shape the shots as you want.


Olympic is not a wide-open site.  It's not as tough as when I first saw it and you had to try to curve the ball out of a narrow chute of trees off most tees, but there is not a lot of room.

[Tim Passalacqua]

Reverse camber, where the fairway slopes toward the outside of the dogleg, makes it difficult to hold the fairway unless you shape your shot against the contour of the hole. So, to keep it in the fairway you must shape the shot into the slope running the risk of overdoing it and bring the trouble on the inside of the dogleg into play. I think it is a good defense once or twice a round. It makes you shape the shot. It is used a lot at Olympic. On my one and only play there I found it difficult to hit some of the fairways. What say ye?

It’s hyped up during the Open.  The fairways are so firm, the pros encounter conditions never seen in normal conditions.  Realistically, 4,5, and 9 are the holes that can get you.  If you hammer a draw down the left side of 5 & 9....it’s rolling into the rough.  4 is not as hard to hit.  The fairway is probably 60 yards wide during regular play.  I have never hit a drive on 17 that rolls all the way down to the rough line.  A drive usually sits quickly, as it is uphill and into the wind.  The reverse camber is a great, unique feature, but it’s obviously more challenging in Open conditions.

[Tim Passalacqua]

Also, there are plenty of holes where the fairway slopes the same way as the dogleg.  1, 6, 10, 11, 14, 16 are all examples.  Straighter holes would be 7, 12, 18.  Actually, I wouldn’t really call 11 or 17 doglegs. 

[Kevin_Reilly]

Tommy, it has been years since I played there, but IIRC on the Lake course there is a slight RC on the 2nd (hole has the slightest left to right bend with a hillside that goes right to left), and then the extreme example on 4, a medium amount on 5, and a good amount on 9.


17 is a pretty straight hole with a fairway that slopes from left to right, but I don't think that fits the definition of a reverse camber....it is a wide open, straight hole that has an extremely sloped fairway.

[mike_beene]

I can’t think of any fairway bunkers at Olympic. Is that because of the reverse camber? Not sure why that would matter?

[Tommy Williamsen]

Interesting although I don’t know the answer. I believe there is a bunker off the tee on six and a bunker the can catch the secon shot on 17.

[Kevin_Reilly]

Just one on the 6th.  There were more decades earlier, but RTJ removed some.  Will be interesting to see what Hanse & Co come up with down the road.  They are working on the entire property, but the Lake course work will be a later priority after the Ocean course.

[David_Tepper]

#4 and #5 are probably the two holes where the reverse camber is most in play. In addition to the fairways sloping in the opposite direction of the doglegs, the wind off the ocean (which is the predominant wind for 9-10 months of the year) pushes the ball further in the direction of the downhill slope of the fairways.

In the group I was with this afternoon, the tee shots of all 3 players on #5 finished in the left rough of the dogleg-right hole due to the fairway sloping to the left and the wind pushing the balls further in that direction. From there no one could come close to reaching the green with their 2nd shot. 

[Tim Passalacqua]

I can’t think of any fairway bunkers at Olympic. Is that because of the reverse camber? Not sure why that would matter?

Sam Whiting had fairway bunkers originally.  I really hope Gil brings them back.  From what I could tell on an old aerial:


4 - bunker left side, at the high point of the hill
9- left side
11 & 14 - right side, both fairways were wider to the right and shared a fairway bunker....cool feature
14 - left and right (shared with 11)
17 - 3 bunkers down right side of driving zone and 1 on the left
18 - left and right side


There could be more, but that’s what I could definitely see from the photo.

[Josh Bills]

Here is the 1941 Aerial. 18 appears much wider for sure, and has two fairway bunkers as Tim stated. 

[Jeff_Brauer]

Only a few memories of Oly.  I have played it twice and watch the US Open there.  I was a pretty straight driver back in the day and could hold me tee shot line to the high side of the fw pretty well, so it was always a nice round for me.  My first time was set up by fellow ASGCA member Bob Graves, and they invited me to lunch after.  My hosts were accountants, and I got a good lesson on taxes...."It's all legal until they catch you!"  LOL.


I remember Jim Colbert talking about the 17th in that Open.  Basically, it's the US Open so no one complains because they want to be the US Open champ.  But 17, in particular, wouldn't hold any tee shot that week, but since they all ended up in the right rough, he felt it was no harm no foul.


But, he felt that the players should have the courses set up the way they wanted to on the regular tour, because it's for them to show off their skills on a weekly basis, and entertain crowds.

[Tim Passalacqua]

Here is the 1941 Aerial. 18 appears much wider for sure, and has two fairway bunkers as Tim stated. 

Also, I think I see a couple bunkers 50 yards short and left of 3 green!

[Bill Gayne]

18 is a really narrow stripe of fairway. Was it that narrow for the men?

[Kevin_Reilly]

It's not that narrow.

[Bill Gayne]

Maybe it was the camera angle from the tee box.

[David_Tepper]

Bill Gayne -

You are welcome to read my comments about the 18th hole on this thread:

https://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,69792.0.html

I think the tall trees that line the playing corridors of the holes at Olympic make the holes look far narrower than they really are in TV camera shots from behind the tee boxes.

I was "inside the ropes" on the course as a walking scorer on Thursday afternoon. I was surprised at how wide the fairways really were.

DT

[Tommy Williamsen]

I played a course in Kauai where a few of the holes went left to right the land went right to left and the prevailing wind came of the right. It was impossible to keep the ball on the firm fairways.

[Bill Gayne]

Bill Gayne -

You are welcome to read my comments about the 18th hole on this thread:

https://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,69792.0.html

I think the tall trees that line the playing corridors of the holes at Olympic make the holes look far narrower than they really are in TV camera shots from behind the tee boxes.

I was "inside the ropes" on the course as a walking scorer on Thursday afternoon. I was surprised at how wide the fairways really were.

DT

David and Kevin,


Thanks for the replies and the link to the other thread. As usual, I see stuff on TV and just post isn't the best way to go.


Bill