What feature most intimidates a golfer off the tee ?

What feature most intimidates a golfer on their approach ?

What feature most intimidates a golfer on the green ?

A. Trouble left for scratch golfer, trouble right bogie golfer, and no room opposite to bail out.

B. Small greens.

C. 3/6 feet  

1. Forced carry.

2. Forced carry.

3. Severe slope, fast green.

OBJECTION:

Calls for the witness to speculate on someone else's golf or to state they know what's in someone elses head.

As for me: if a certain hole/shot takes to me to a place where I'm intimidated, I better adapt my club selection to the point where something so fearful (yikes) is designed out of the shot. Of course if you have no options, walk off the course.

1.  House Golf  (houses on both sides of the fairway)
2.  House Golf  (houses too close to the green)
3.  Downhill 3-foot putt that could end up off the green.

1 - O     B
2 - H2O
3 - Crowned hole location


Jeff F.

OB is the most severe penalty, and therefore intimidating, but I have never come across a hole with OB on both sides of the fairway.  

Gorse, as a hazard, is similar to OB--if you hit it in gorse off the tee, you might as well tee up another.  And I have played holes with gorse lining both sides of the fairway and to me they are the most intimidating of all tee shots.  Examples include the 7th at Dornoch (and I've heard it used to be even narrower) and the 6th on the New Course at St. Andrews.  When played in any type of wind, keeping your tee shot between those remorseless thorns is a difficult and intimidating proposition.

While writing this, I've thought of an example which combines the two--the 11th at Troon, one of the hardest tee shots I've ever had to play.

Go to Hilton Head.  There is OB left and right on almost every hole.

1) Long bunker shots
2) OB for sure

Fear, nothing is worse than the fear in the mind of a man.

1]  OB.  1a] would be a hidden water hazard

2]  Water over a green (or OB), esp. to a back hole location

3]  A green whose contour could be such that, while the ball may be on the green, the best play is a pitch over the intruding collar.

1) I agree with OB.  At least if you splash one you get to drop.

2) ACR makes an interesting point.  There is a covered patio behind and to the left of the 9th green at Camargo.  You don't have to hit it over by much to put it in there.  If there was a dinner party or anything going on out there, you play a knockdown short and right if you even finish the hole.

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forums2/index.php?board=1;action=display;threadid=2817

#9 is to the left of the tennis courts.

3)  Any putt on a reasonably fast green that has a slope that starts a foot or two past the hole.

OB is the most severe penalty, and therefore intimidating, but I have never come across a hole with OB on both sides of the fairway.  

The first at Pebble has OB left and right ... coupled with the "oh-I-have-a-gallery-watching-me-tee-off-playing-Pebble-for-$350-and-the-first-hole-is-suppose-to-be-the-easiest-on-the-course-and-I-am-too-nervous-to-begin-my-takeaway" intimidation factor ...

I played Dornoch in May 1991, had the gorse been cut back already then or not?  I recall that tee shot being pretty dicey, and even after I successfully kept it straight with my 1 iron, the second shot wasn't a picnic either.  I seem to recall it really closing in to the left and behind the green, but maybe I was just imagining it since my misses are often left or long left.