Mike Cirba,

I got very excited by the title of your thread, and was disappointed when I entered, to find out that it was about golf.  

The old bait and switch theme.

Your example of # 15 at PV is good.

# 15 at NGLA is called Narrows, with good reason.

It is also one matter to look narrow, it is another for a hole to play narrow, despite its look.

# 17 at Seminole is such a hole, it is far narrower in its play then it looks from the tee, especially with the typical breezes that sweep the hole.

Number 1 at Pacific Dunes, and that's without any wind.

Patrick;

You're incorrigible!  

GOLF, gentlemen, GOLF (and I use the "gentlemen" term very loosely here).  

FOCUS!

What are the strategies on these holes?  

Please explain them?  

Are they all simply vertical strategies where the long, bold shot that stays straight is rewarded while the timid shot leaves a daunting approach?

Though not terribly strategic, being longer simply makes the approach shorter to a very small and tilted green, but my favorite tight hole of the top of my head is the 3rd at Astoria here:



Just pure fun (and the scale is larger than it looks), seeing such a narrow hole down the middle of these two grassed-over parallel sand dunes.  Any tee shot will essentially roll to the middle, thought if it lands on the dune left of the fairway (cartpath), the grass is too thick to bounce down to the fairway.  Grass is not as think on right dune, IIRC.


I was giddy my one time here walking down the fairway on this hole.  The dunes come into play on a number of other holes, but this is the narrowest one.

#3 Cruden Bay

Because it is a reachable par 4 with your drive, but if you hit your tee shot offline you can pay a heavy price in some nasty fescue on extremely sloped hills.

Jeff F.

Scott- The picture you've added looks like a carbon copy of the old first hole at Aptos in Ca.

I respectfully disagreee that this is too narrow. Sure the fairway is, but with the half pipe, it ain't as slim as it looks. Just My O.

The ninth at Butler National comes to mind.  It is simply an unabashed test of laser straightness.  If you had a whole course of holes like this you'd give up golf but like blind shots, once in a while they are OK.  JC

"It seems to me that strategy most often requires width, but isn't there a type of vertical strategy that can be created on a narrow, tight hole?"

MikeC;

If by vertical strategy you mean strictly distance strategy (distance choices down some narrow line) I think that can be every bit as interesting as what some on here seem to think is the only proper and valid strategic set-up--eg strategy utilizing options and choices of direction or multi directions (utilizing width). Stratetgy and often really good strategy does not REQUIRE width to me as much as simply basically UTILIZING width more often or most often.

But some holes that only offer strategy of distance choices and even in a very narrow line can be as good as width oriented direction strategy.

The hole that comes to my mind and fits your description more than any hole I know that offers good distance strategies in an extremely narrow line only would be Redtail's #4. Basically the hole's midsection presents a very narrow treelined section to hit through that couldn't be more than about 75-100yds long (at the midsection).

What are the options? Basically to lay up in a short wide area before the narrow line or blast straight through it to a wide area on the other side. The strategy is not in the slightest width related or multi-direction related but strictly distance related in a very narrow line. Basically you decide on the tee to negotiate this very narrow band with one long accurate shot (driver) or with two accurate shots (of clubs that're presumably you're most accurate)!

Totally the opposite of direction and width related options but very good stuff strategically nonetheless!

I guess it's okay to chime in with a "non-classic" golf course, one which probably only Tom Huckaby and other Northern Calif golfers will recognize and maybe have played.  The course where I learned to play in the middle '50's, Indian Valley GC in Novato, California, the tight hole #5, a 330 yd par 4.

This is another hole where the motif is the tightness of the fairway the closer you get to the green, although it's never all that wide.  This hole runs parallel to the north boundary, so there are literally cow pastures the other side of a barb wire fence.  The right side of the maybe 30 yard wide fairway, which narrows to maybe 20 yards wide directly in front of the green, is a fairly steep hillside which had smallish trees on it in those days.  This fall off continued around the back and right side of the very small green, maybe 2500 sf, with the only bailout a small chipping area left.  No bunkers at all on the hole in those days.

The smart play was of course a cut long iron down the left side, which would roll down within 100 yards of the green due to non-irrigated fairways in those days.  The dumb but fun play was the full blasted driver cut down the left side in an always vain attempt to drive the putting surface.  The bad play was either a duck hook over the fence or a push into those evil trees on the right side hill.

This hole obviously had an impact on me, still relish its challenge.  A par 4 doesn't have to be tightly bunkered and > 450 yards to be a difficult par or birdie.

  The 9th at Bandon Dunes.  (Relative to the possible magnum fairway possible if they were to incorporate the old practice range off to the right into the design of that hole; a la 14th at St.Andrews Old Course.)