[Jordan Wall]

What are some better holes that use a split fairway?

If used right, they seem to be great, giving many options off the tee.

At Kapalua #16, there is a great split fairway hole.
To get a good angle to a right pin, the upper fairway and fairway bunker must be challenged.
To left pins, staying on the lower fairway is the best option.

Riviera also has a split fairway.
I hear that is a pretty good hole too.

Why aren't split fairways used more?

[Garland Bayley]

...
Why aren't split fairways used more?

Actually from what I have read, it seems they are over used. I have read that JN uses them on most design. The most commonly seen one is at Castle Pines where the International is played. No one or next to no one uses the short route there. That is the primary reason they aren't used and why they are overused, they don't really provide a choice as everyone chooses the same.

A good one is really difficult to design.

[Bill_McBride]

Good question.  A lot of the examples we see here on gca.com don't work too well because there is no discernable advantage to one side over the other.  The classic of course is something like the Lido hole where you can easily get home in two on a par 5 IF you dare to drive onto the island fairway!

Our new course at Pensacola CC has a split fairway on the second shot on the 510 yard par 5 14th - there is a nasty pot bunker at 150 yards out, with a higher fairway to the right that's protected by a couple of pine tree limbs.  The green sits at a sharp right to left angle, with deep bunkers in front.  The angle from the right side is fairly benign, while the angle from the easier-to-access left fairway is very tough, not much of a firm green to work with.  This is a good example of a split fairway that really works.

Oh yes, there's a pond and fairway bunker on the left side of the fairway that make it difficult to drive into the left or center of the fairway to avoid those pine tree limbs with the second shot.  

So the hole is very well thought out and it offers a definite advantage to those who can drive the ball in the right place AND hit the second shot to the right area safely.

Here's the tee shot with its dangerous left side, and the pot bunker in the distance which you want to miss to the right to get into the best position for the approach:



Here's the pot bunker up close and greenside bunkering ahead:



And here's the green from the right (upper) fairway, looking at the length of the green.  The back part falls away sharply to a lower tier, much like #3 at Alwoodley!  From the lower (left) fairway, there is little room to work with, and the wedge shots are across the deep bunkering.  

[Scott Szabo]

...
Why aren't split fairways used more?

Actually from what I have read, it seems they are over used. I have read that JN uses them on most design. The most commonly seen one is at Castle Pines where the International is played. No one or next to no one uses the short route there. That is the primary reason they aren't used and why they are overused, they don't really provide a choice as everyone chooses the same.

A good one is really difficult to design.

Garland,

You certainly are correct in your statement referring to hole #3 at Castle Pines.  I helped at the International for years, and no one, I mean no one, takes the left side of the fairway off the tee.  It shortens the hole a bit, but the approach to the green is made much more difficult.

Scott

[Doug Wright]

Jordan,

Like many others, this topic has been raised here before (not that there's anything wrong with that... ):

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forums2/index.php?board=1;action=display;threadid=4952;start=0

[Doug Wright]

...
Why aren't split fairways used more?

Actually from what I have read, it seems they are over used. I have read that JN uses them on most design. The most commonly seen one is at Castle Pines where the International is played. No one or next to no one uses the short route there. That is the primary reason they aren't used and why they are overused, they don't really provide a choice as everyone chooses the same.

A good one is really difficult to design.

Garland,

You certainly are correct in your statement referring to hole #3 at Castle Pines.  I helped at the International for years, and no one, I mean no one, takes the left side of the fairway off the tee.  It shortens the hole a bit, but the approach to the green is made much more difficult.

Scott

Scott/Garland.

Have you guys played this hole? For those of us who are merely directionally challenged amateurs, the open left side looks much more inviting from the tee than the narrower right side (I usually aim right at the barranca in the middle assuming my fade/slice will take effect, and other mortals I've played with have gone left). I agree the right side is the preferred play but I think the hole works by making the player at least think about the option.

[Matt_Cohn]

My experience is that many split fairway holes don't work as intended. I usually find that that aggressive route is so risky that it's simply not tempting. Two examples of holes where the aggressive route is a tiny fairway with a hazard on one side and OB on the other:

#18 at Wente Vineyards


#12 at Talking Stick North


They're still good holes, but I just don't think of them as split fairway holes because route #2 isn't really an option.

[Gary Slatter]

why not wide fairways that a golfer can decide which side he prefers.  IMO split fairways mean Nicklaus was here.

[Michael Robin]

Jordan -

The best split that I have seen to date is a new one, the 16th at Colorado Golf Club. Leave it to Ben and Bill to get it so right. It actually looks like they used Thomas' original approach to 8 at Riviera as inspiration only they made one huge and brilliant change in that theirs is a par 5.

A barranca bisects the fairways with the right fairway much smaller and very risky. The reward though is an iron go at the green with a forced carry. The left fairway is safer and looks to be a 3 shot approach, so the right saves you a shot if you can pull off both the tee shot and the approach.

The current problem with Riviera's split is that the right side does not have enough risk to go with its 2 club shorter approach reward, and the left side is tree-lined with an intimidating bunker that does not at all intice you as a safer route, in fact the shorter right side seems to be the only smart way to go. Thomas' original design had no trees along the barranca and the right fairway was more of an island and risky.

[archie_struthers]

 


Jordan, as much as this post will get replies, from my perspective, I have yet to see a good one!

Nor do I think I will!

[Scott Szabo]

Doug,

I haven't had the opportunity to play the course as of yet.  I walked with groups as a scoring observer for six years, so I got to see the hole played numerous ways during the pro-am.

From what I recall, the real narrow point on the right side occurs if you drive it up by the trees on the right, which is out of the reach of most of us.  I thought the area short of the pinch was large enough to entice most golfers to the right, leaving a much easier approach than from the left fairway.

I didn't look up the left side very often, but from what I recall, that tee shot wasn't the easiest either.  The only nice thing about taking that route was that the golfer didn't have the forced carry over the barrance that would be faced if you chose the right side off the tee.  

Also, choosing the left side meant you would have to face the barranca and bunker on your approach, which looked a little more intimidating than facing it off the tee.  

You mentioned aiming at the barrance in the middle and letting your fade take place.  Unless you are a lefy, wouldn't this take you toward the right, more difficult, side that you are referring to?

I agree, it does give you an option off the tee.  But I think the difficulty of the second shot remaining from the left side far outweighs the difficulty of the tee shot to the right side.  

For many amateurs, hitting one into the barranca on the second shot, then dropping and having to hit over it again, would be a daunting task (I witnessed this on more than one occasion in the pro-ams).

Maybe if I played it I would feel differently

[Chris Cupit]

#8 at NGLA although I've never seen anyone intentionally up the left side.

[M. Shea Sweeney]

Chris-

First time I played the National, I played intentionally up the left side. This was the only way to get the angle on the flag.

all about the angles.

[Chris Parker]

Jordan,

I recommend checking out Ian Andrew's fairly recent blog entry on split fairways:
http://thecaddyshack.blogspot.com/2006/12/5-ideas-that-make-for-bad-holes-1-split.html

[Jeff_Mingay]

Chris,

On that note, I don't consider 16 at Kapalua-Plantation a split fairway hole.

[Jordan Wall]

I dont see the big deal with split fairways.

How do they not provide strategic options?

At least at Kapalua, the split fairway makes for a good, interesting, and diverse hole.
I like the fact that each fairway gives its advantages.
And, to really get a good angle into middle and right pins the bunkers need to be challenged.  To gain the best angle into a left pin, the closer to the bunkers on the right fairway, the better.  I do not understand how a hole like this does not provide options, and good options at that.

[Dick Kirkpatrick]

The only reason to build a split fairway hole is that there is too much land and too little imagination available, either in the routing or the strategy of the design.

[Bill Gayne]

On most split fairways that I've seen on public or resort courses one side has been eliminated. The reasons: less grass to maintain, one side was clearly favored over the other, and routing of carts. If it's divided by a creek and you have a cart path on one or both sides and the players in the same cart are on opposite sides, what's one to do?

[JBergan]

Chris,

On that note, I don't consider 16 at Kapalua-Plantation a split fairway hole.

Is there a pin position on 16 green which would make going left of the bunkers the better play off the tee?  I can't think of one.

[Garland Bayley]

OK, what about a walking only course. Can ongoing development of a split fairway hole be done to make players consider the two routes to be about the same? The 8th at Riviera has been mentioned as having been changed from a hole with two attractive options to a hole with only one attractive option. Who was it that did the remodel that did that? Can a remodel be done to the opposite effect, i.e., to level out the choice to more like 50-50?

[Jim Sweeney]

Double Eagle in near Columbus, OH has a split fairway that I think works pretty well, since the right side option is a risk/reward shot to a reachable green.

[Jordan Wall]

My only pics of Kapalua #16.
You can tell how the angle to right pins isn't exactly ideal from the right side of the fairway.

[Rick Shefchik]

I sure won't be sorry to see cargo shorts fall out of favor...

[Michael Robin]

Some pics of the 8th at Riviera from the tee:



The Left Fairway



The Right Fairway



Garland - The Fazio group did the work on this hole. The intention to put the right fairway back after about 70 years was a noble one. I just think that the choice to go right could be made much more risky.

[John Kirk]

Jordan,

2, 4, 9, and 11 at Kinloch GC in Virginia.  9 is featured as a split fairway that doesn't work in Ian's blog.  I dunno.  There are options galore, and it's very difficult.  The long hitter has a big advantage, but if you can hit a powerful slice or a really high drive, you can play the right side and save 30-40 yards.  Members play it all kinds of different ways.

You can check out www.kinlochclub.com to see a picture of each hole.  Go to The Course > Scorecard.

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