Steep Uphill Holes that Work

[Ally Mcintosh]

I'm interested to hear of steep uphill holes that are good / great and don't just feel like a slog... Examples of Par-3's, 4's and 5's are welcome... I'm particularly interested in hearing the actual elevation changes in each of these holes relative to the length.

Thanks

[Peter Wagner]

Ally,

The par-4 18th at Riviera would be worth studying.  I don't know the exact yardage but I'd guess it's about 420-ish.  The fairway elevation is about 30 feet higher than the tee and you have to carry your drive about 220 yards to make it to the upper deck.  Tough final test on a fun course.

- Peter

[John Shimp]

Number 13 at Palmetto.  Great green complex.  423 yds plays 470.  Not sure of elevation change.

[Craig Van Egmond]

One of my personal favorites is the 4th hole at Dornick Hills.. here is what Chris Clouser had to say about it..

"The next really good hole on the course is the uphill par 3 4th. A 190-yard uphill shot of 40 feet or so is required. Bunkering does not punish the player who comes up short but the player who is erratic with their shot. This same style of hole has been used by Maxwell on a number of courses. It is one of the better par 3s that Maxwell ever laid out."

[Joel_Stewart]

There are a million. 
 
The 18th at Olympic, short par 4.
9th at Crystal Downs, par 3.
6th at Pebble Beach, par 5.

[Ally Mcintosh]

There are a million. 
 
The 18th at Olympic, short par 4.
9th at Crystal Downs, par 3.
6th at Pebble Beach, par 5.

Thanks Joel (and others)... Could you give me some rough elevation changes for these holes?... and if possible suggest why they don't feel like a slog?... e.g. is there a particular architectural feature in the design that makes you forget the burn in your legs?... or is it just the joy of playing such revered courses?

[Greg Krueger]

My favorite is 16 at Royal Dornoch. I am generally not a fan of radically uphill holes, but this one is a classic!!

[Jordan Wall]

Ally,

The sixth at Pebble is the ideal hole for this.

When I stepped onto the sixth tee at Pabble and saw the huge hill I was shocked.  It was a lot steeper then I had imagined.  However, it was definitely a hole that 'worked'.  In fact, I might go as far as to say it could be the best hole on the course.  The second shot was very dramatic - blind, with ocean on the right, bunkers left guarding the best angle, and an undulating fairway.  A shot that goes for the green in two, like mine, is with a long club that barely gets over the crest of the hill.  It makes you hit a high shot with a club not meant to be high, the ultimate test for a good shotmaker.  The lay up is tough because of the blindness, so even a shot with a short iron is difficult.  Quite simply, the huge hill makes the hole great, original, and a blast to play.  It definitely works.

[Phil_the_Author]

One of the great par-fives in the world and possibly Tilly's finest, the 4th hole at Bethpage Black. The championship tee sits some 25+ feet above the regular and original champioship tee, yet still the drive must climb and land on top of a plateau that is 30+ feet (probably more) above the lower tee.

From there the player plays a shot left and to another plateau that is 20+ feet above this first fairway. Finally the green itself sits at the end of a natural sloping rise that is about 10 feet above the level of the front of the plateau.

The 15th hole is another world-class par four that rises some 40+ feet from the fairway to the green.

[Matt_Cohn]

I think #4 at Dornick is the only hole mentioned so far that actually goes uphill the whole way. The rest are  flat or even downhill with one short, steep incline.

[Dan Herrmann]

I think Augusta #8 also works. 

[Kalen Braley]

Pasa #11.  Perhaps the finest, steeply uphill hole that I've ever played.  Lakota Canyon has some good ones too, #18 comes to mind.

[David Stamm]

Pasa #11.  Perhaps the finest, steeply uphill that I've ever played.  

Good call Kalen. I would also second the comments about the 6th at PB. While the tee shot is up hill, the rest of the way to the green at Riviera is very gradual. The 17th at Soule is a good uphiller.

[Mike Hendren]

10th at Wild Dunes

[Ed Oden]

Number 13 at Palmetto.  Great green complex.  423 yds plays 470.  Not sure of elevation change.

John, good example.  The 13th definitely "works".  Here is a picture from behind the green.  As you know, the tees are down by the sliver of cart path just to the right of the flagstick.  It looks like the green is about level with the tops of the trees by the tee.  How tall do you think those trees are, maybe 50-60 feet? 

[Brad Tufts]

Just in Beantown....

#12 at Tedesco....370 to a shelf green on a steep hillside, killer for high h'cappers.  It's 240 fro the tee to the flat spot to shoot up to the green.
#6 at Tedesco....277 uphill to our most undulating green.
#7 at Salem CC....410 uphill to a very wide and undulating green.
#18 at Salem CC...430 uphill to hard back to front green
#13 at Myopia...360...second shot is straight uphill to a very shallow target...near impossible to hit and hold in mid-summer.
#1 at Myopia...274 to a flat green with steep falloff to the left
#11 at Essex CC...175...one of DJR's best par 3s to heavily sloping green
#17 at Essex CC...340, fun uphill par four with blind wedge to great small green
#16 at Brae Burn...uphill and blind, try to keep a ball on this fairway!
#5 at Woodland CC...three-tiered green
#5 at Charles River...a VERY tough back to front green
#16 at Charles River...medium-length par five made longer by being very uphill
#3 at Beverly G&T....blind par three of 160 STRAIGHT uphill
#18 at Dedham....sweeping dogleg left par 4 to a shelf green
#6 at The Country Club...short par 4 uphill to a small, sloping green flanked by bunkers.

They generally all "work."

[Mark Bourgeois]

Donald Ross could retire this category.

[Dan_Callahan]

The 10th at Yale is one of my all-time favorite uphill holes. Although the tee shot is downhill (but kind of looks uphill because it is over a ridge), the approach is about as blind and uphill as it gets. No way anyone would build that hole today, but it is terrific. When I was coaching, I used to love listening to my players bitch about how unfair the design was. Because you pass it on the way into the course, it pretty much gets into your head before you ever stick a tee in the ground on 1.

[Richard Choi]

What is the criteria on "steep"? Seems to me, many of the holes listed here may be uphill, but I wouldn't quite label them "steep".

[Jim Nugent]

18 at ANGC is a real famous uphill hole. 

Joel: doesn't Olympic have some other good uphill holes?  Numbers 4 and 11 (I think it's 11) come to mind. 

[Kevin_Reilly]

Joel: doesn't Olympic have some other good uphill holes?  Numbers 4 and 11 (I think it's 11) come to mind. 

11 has an elevated green, but I wouldn't call it uphill.  7 is a bit uphill, and 17 is uphill.

[George Pazin]

The 9th at Oakmont.

I would also have said the 13th at Oakmont, but I got shouted down - and deservedly so, after someone Googled the elevation change - that it's not very uphill.

The 17th at Oakmont is one of the great short par 4s and it is very uphill. (Don't anyone Google me wrong on this one or I'm going in for Lasiks tomorrow.)

Oakmont is the poster child for excellent usage of some difficult terrain.

[Jim Nugent]

Joel: doesn't Olympic have some other good uphill holes?  Numbers 4 and 11 (I think it's 11) come to mind. 

11 has an elevated green, but I wouldn't call it uphill.  7 is a bit uphill, and 17 is uphill.

When I attended the Tour Championship at Olympic, in 1993 and 1994, I thought 7 was a spectacular hole, and 17 a really good one.

[JSlonis]

One of the best in Philly has to be the 18th hole at Huntingdon Valley.  Uphill teeshot to an angled fairway above a ridge followed by a steep uphill second shot to the green.  It is one of my favorite finishing holes anywhere.

[Mark Bourgeois]

Richard

The hole pictured in my earlier post is less than 300 yards and, according to Google, rises about 90 feet, or 1 yard for every 10 yards.

Seems steep to me!

Mark