What's wrong with the 1st hole at North Berwick

[Philippe Binette]

In the discussion about 10s, people were like...

I don't like the first hole at NB...
1st hole at NB is a weak hole etc...

I think it's a very fun and strategic hole. the further right you play (close to the OB) the better the angle is with the slope and visibility... but if you play right, your approach is all carry, if you play left, the slope is severe but you have more surface to land the ball

What's wrong with the hole??

[Anthony Gray]

  I love that hole. Easy opening tee shot which is agreat way to start. High on the quirk scale. And .....location...location...location...look at the view from the tee.   

[jeffwarne]

It's too far from my office

[Sean Leary]

How far is it to carry the hill with the tee shot?

[Mike Hendren]

Big hitter, The Leary.

[Rich Goodale]

It's goofy.

Regardless of what you hit off the tee and how well you hit it you are completely guessing on the second shot in terms of both line and length, even if you decide to hold up the rest of the course by walking up the hill to see where the pin is.  It's great fun if you are just playing a bounce game, but if you are playing any sort of serious golf it is not a serious golf hole, just goofy.

Rich

[Kalen Braley]

Pics, pics, pics please!! 

Even the opener at CPC has a hedge with a semi-blind tee shot over cars driving by and the driving range in play. And that doesn't seem to hold it back. 

[Mike Hendren]

The hole sets the tone early and it is brilliant routing to get the player to the panoramic view from the first green as quickly as possible - one of the great smile-inducing places in golf.

Mike

[Rich Goodale]

Kalen.

The 1st at CPC is even worse that the 1st at NB.  When Jimmy Demaret called CPC the greatest 17 hole course in the world, he was probably eliminating the 1st rather than the 18th but got the holes mixed up due to excessive flask architectural analysis.....

rich

[Kalen Braley]

Richard,

I'm not going to make any judgements like that...but I think a few pics of NB #1 would help the rest of us to see the alleged dilemma.

[Deucie Bies]

The first is quirky, but so is much of the rest of the course.  Regardless, it is different and an enjoyable course to play.  My memory of the first is not great, but I didn't think it was a hard hole to make par.

[Rich Goodale]

Kalen

I'm sure there are many pictures of the 1st at NB on this site.  Just use the crack search engine.  Essentially you hit the ball 200 or so yards towards a hill and then pitch up over that hill to a a large hidden green that slopes front to back, left to right.  Sort of a "Nader" in miniature, except you have no visibility of the pin.  It's cute but lacking substance.  Kinda like Sarah Palin......

Rich

[Sean Leary]

Mike,

That made me laugh. Not at all, by game is just plain terrible right now.

I played it only once, from the white tees, and the caddy had me hit like a 6 iron or so.I was just curious if the hill was scalable, so to speak.

[Kalen Braley]

No such luck Sir Richard,

Did find a couple of old threads by Tommy but all the links are broken.  I'm sure someone will save the day with a few pics from one of thier visits.

[Tom Huckaby]

Kalen:

Remember Rich is like 5 foot 2.  Most tiny mounds make holes blind for him.  So of course he hates CPC 1 and NB 1 and man he ought not to go to Santa Teresa, the false fronts on a few holes would drive him batty.

 

I'm with those who find #1NB to be a weird but very fun golf hole.  Tee shot to base of hill then blind shot over it.. and you can see where the green, and the pin, is from the tee... you just have to use some memory skills to get the proper line.  In the end, heck if one dislikes this goofy hole than one must dislike hundreds of others in the UK and Ireland.  Blind shots or odd layups are not exactly uncommon.

TH

[Rich Goodale]

Tom

If I'm 5' 2" these days, you must be 4' 11" since I was taller than you last time we met 10 years ago and you were signifcantly more subject to gravitational forces then than was I.....

Rich

[Anthony Gray]

  My memory of the first is not great, but I didn't think it was a hard hole to make par.

   Exactly!!!!!!!  I prefer the opening hole to be an easy par.

[Tom Huckaby]

Tom

If I'm 5' 2" these days, you must be 4' 11" since I was taller than you last time we met 10 years ago and you were signifcantly more subject to gravitational forces then than was I.....

Rich

LOL
Your memory remains interesting.  You're taller than me like you're taller than Shaq.  

I do have higher gravitational forces, though - good call there.

BTW, love the use of the word eschatology.  

TH

ps - has it really been 10 years?  Man time flies.  And we need to fix that however long it's been.

[Rich Goodale]

Tom

As I remember, last time we played you were wearing those "Tall Joys" with the 4" Cuban heels.  I was amazed how you were able to make a full turn without falling over.  Great to see you've finally had that growth spurt that you missed in adolescence.

Rich

[TX Golf]

Can the first at N. Berwick come anywhere close to matching the quirk factor of the first at Prestwick??

[Tom Huckaby]

Tom

As I remember, last time we played you were wearing those "Tall Joys" with the 4" Cuban heels.  I was amazed how you were able to make a full turn without falling over.  Great to see you've finally had that growth spurt that you missed in adolescence.

Rich

Touche... and serious audible yuks.

I should have known better than to shit a master shitter.

 

[Jason Topp]

Can the first at N. Berwick come anywhere close to matching the quirk factor of the first at Prestwick??

They are actually pretty similar holes. 

The green at NB is much bigger but the approach is blind.  I'm also not sure there is much of an angle advantage to playing right off the tee.

Here is a picture I found on the web of the first tee.  The people in the fairway are about 160-180 off the tee and hitting blind pitches towards the green which is to the right and over the hill.

[Rich Goodale]

Can the first at N. Berwick come anywhere close to matching the quirk factor of the first at Prestwick??

They are actually pretty similar holes. 

The green at NB is much bigger but the approach is blind.  I'm also not sure there is much of an angle advantage to playing right off the tee.

Here is a picture I found on the web of the first tee.  The people in the fairway are about 160-180 off the tee and hitting blind pitches towards the green which is to the right and over the hill.

Thanks, Jason

Rich

PS--is that Huckaby in the foreground with his 4" Cuban wheels?

rfg

[Tom Huckaby]

Yeah, that's me.   

Question - my recollection of the hole isn't that great, and this pic helps.. so thanks Jason for sure!

But isn't the advantage of going right to get a view of the green? I thought if you hugged the seawall you could see the green.. only if you went left of center would it be totally blind.

Note I am not saying it's a great play - I don't fear the blindness and don't think it's worth it to risk going into the sea just for a clear view - I just thought that at least that advantage would be gained.

No?

[Chip Gaskins]

Can the first at N. Berwick come anywhere close to matching the quirk factor of the first at Prestwick??

My opinion #1 N. Berwick is much more quirky than #1 at Prestwick.