WHAT DO YOU WANT ON THE OPENING HOLE?

[Anthony Gray]

  Do you want an easy par?

  Do you want to be challenged at the start?

  What course has the "ultimate" first hole?....TOC?

  Discuss..............

[Ben Sims]

Dr Gray,

A great question.  One I wish we had discussed before.  I have a few theories about the openings of golf courses.  Namely that they shouldn't be too taxing, not blind, no forced carries, etc. 

The three best openers I played this year included all three.  I liked Pasa's opener, and I like the OC Lake's opener.

But Ballyneal's sets the tone for the golf course better than any opener I've seen yet.  The tee shot is fairly open, but the forgiveness is deceiving.  The second shot is a fairly challenging, and the green overlooks the course to let you know what's in store.

[Kyle Henderson]

A close proximity to Ben's Porch seems to be the best recipe...

[Anthony Gray]

  Ben,

 Thanks for your input. Looking foward to seeing you in a couple weeks.

  Anthony

[Bill_McBride]

Dr Gray,

A great question.  One I wish we had discussed before.  I have a few theories about the openings of golf courses.  Namely that they shouldn't be too taxing, not blind, no forced carries, etc. 

The three best openers I played this year included all three.  I liked Pasa's opener, and I like the OC Lake's opener.

But Ballyneal's sets the tone for the golf course better than any opener I've seen yet.  The tee shot is fairly open, but the forgiveness is deceiving.  The second shot is a fairly challenging, and the green overlooks the course to let you know what's in store.

Ben, if you think #1 at Pasatiempo is "not too taxing," you are a way above average player.  Now that it's a 450 yard par 4 instead of the good Dr Mackenzie's original soft opener par 5, it's a brute - at least for me and most of the guys I've played it with.

[Ben Sims]

Bill,

I think you read me wrong.  I was trying to say that all my theories about opening holes mean precisely bunk because the best ones I played were tough (like Pasa's and OC Lake's) and shouldn't have forced carries (like Ballyneal's does), etc.

Sorry for the confusion.  Did I mention how much I hate using sarcasm on the DG sometimes?

[Anthony Gray]

  Personally I like an easy par................Pinehurst.......TOC........north Berwick..............Pac Dunes.........Carnoustie......Royal Dornach...............Prestwick..............OTHERS?

  AG

[Alex Miller]

It sure seems like a bunch of great courses have first holes that you can ease into.

From my neck of the woods, Riviera gives up some eagles, and then you turn around for the second and make bogey.

NGLA has a great opener as well

[Brent Hutto]

I want to be able to find my ball instead of reloading if my first shot of the day is a bad one.

[David Stamm]

I'll second Bill on his thoughts on Pasa. As it plays now, it is a terribly difficult hole for an opner, but still a good hole nonetheless.


I think Riviera is an ideal opener. It's a half par hole for the long hitters and has one of the coolest greens around. Engineers has a very neat opener,  also mostly due to one the best greens I've ever seen. I like GCGC's because of the possibilites right from the get-go. You can make it as hard as you want it to be.

[Tim Gavrich]

As (I believe) Michael J Fay describes in Golf, As It Was Meant To Be Played, a great first hole ought to be a "firm handshake."  I agree with that sentiment.  I think it's a waste to have a first hole be a "warmup" hole; that's what driving ranges and putting greens are for.

A "firm handshake" hole need not be a long, tough par 4 (although I love that that's how Old White starts); it needs only to introduce the player gallantly to what is to come.  The CC of Farmington (CT) starts with a quirky, charming 285 yard par 4, but the rest of the course is on the quirky/charming side, making it a "firm handshake" of sorts, despite its being a potentially easier hole.

[Bill_McBride]

Bill,

I think you read me wrong.  I was trying to say that all my theories about opening holes mean precisely bunk because the best ones I played were tough (like Pasa's and OC Lake's) and shouldn't have forced carries (like Ballyneal's does), etc.

Sorry for the confusion.  Did I mention how much I hate using sarcasm on the DG sometimes?

You're right, I read it wrong! 

[Kevin_Reilly]

I was trying to say that all my theories about opening holes mean precisely bunk because the best ones I played were tough (like Pasa's and OC Lake's)

Am I reading this correctly that you consider #1 on the Lake course a tough hole?   To me, like SF's #1, it goes into the category of relatively easy starts....which I like.

[Ed Oden]

What value is an easy par if the hole isn't otherwise of interest?  Personally, I expect no more or less from a first hole than any other.  Just make it a good one that sets the tone for the rest of the course.  Whether that means easy, hard, subtle or severe is irrelevant in my mind.

Ed

[John Kirk]

I'll answer in terms of what I don't want.  I don't want a prohibitively difficult tee shot, one that yields a significant percentage of two stroke penalties, for instance.  I think you don't want a player to become demoralized on the first or last hole.  Of course this is a general statement.

[Kyle Henderson]

I'll answer in terms of what I don't want.  I don't want a prohibitively difficult tee shot, one that yields a significant percentage of two stroke penalties, for instance.  I think you don't want a player to become demoralized on the first or last hole.  Of course this is a general statement.

This, to me, is the greatest fault with the current version of Pasatiempo's opener. Someone trying to hit a hard drive might tug their tee shot a bit left and end up O.B. thanks to the driving range that is now wedged in on the left. Or worse, the foursome may spend 5 minutes trying to find the sift through a sea of range balls to find the one in play.

So, to once again answer the question posed by Mr. Gray, none of that...

[Sean_A]

I want a well designed hole, preferably a bit on the short side for a par 4, but if its an eye opener, I don't mind.  I don't really like starting out with a lay-up par 4/5.   I want to swing away on the opening shot even if its a par 3.


Ciao

[Cristian]

How about Colt's principle?; the first hole should be fairly long and fairly easy; It gives the player who is not a low handicapper the chance to make amends of an indifferent drive of the first tee, but it also presents the possiblility of a birdie for the player out on the range early!
(Or a good par; I do not think it is relevant whether we are talking 430 meter par 4 or 431 meter par 5).

Examples in this neck of the woods:

1. De Pan
1. Koninklijke Haagsche
1. Royal Zoute

[Mike Wagner]

I prefer a par 4 that has a bit of give on the drive and is not overly long - mainly for pace of play.

Favorite would have to be Bandon Dunes.  I LOVE that hole and think it's underrated -

[Bill_McBride]

As (I believe) Michael J Fay describes in Golf, As It Was Meant To Be Played, a great first hole ought to be a "firm handshake."  I agree with that sentiment.  I think it's a waste to have a first hole be a "warmup" hole; that's what driving ranges and putting greens are for.

Tim, a lot of Golden Age courses didn't have driving ranges -- this may derive from the general lack of these  in the UK! -- and the first was a relatively easy par 5.   Mackenzie in particular did this at some of his courses (Crystal Downs and Cypress Point being two definite exceptions!).  Valley Club, Pasatiempo, the Meadow Club all start with shortish par 5s.  George Thomas' Riviera does as well.

[Mark Pritchett]

Cuscowilla - a short par 4 that quickly let's you know your opponent's style of play and/or state of mind... he is either going to blast his opener over the bunkers for an easy/short approach to the green or play safe to the right and face an uphill shot over the greenside bunker. You can learn a lot on that hole. -Mike Whitaker

Mike Whitaker said the above in a thread about opening holes and I agree.  A great opening hole!

[Steve Salmen]

Withouth intending to hijack Anthony's thread,  is there anyone who enjoys starting on a long difficult hole with trouble left and trouble right?

Unfortunately my favorite course, Muirfield, begins this way.  I understand Oakmont also has a beast of an opener.  I find it a little demoralizing starting with a triple but I'm worrying about score less and less with age.

I do like #1 at Machrihanish because first, it's spectacular.  Second, there is room right to bail.  In the absence of wind, a well struck drive can finish anywhere from 200yds (if you bail right) to less than 100 (if you nut it and turn it over) from the green.  The approach also gives you the option of flying it in or running it a long way.

[Jim Thornton]

Ultimate first hole...

Merion. 

Everything else is a distant second.

[Kevin_Reilly]

Tim, a lot of Golden Age courses didn't have driving ranges -- this may derive from the general lack of these  in the UK! -- and the first was a relatively easy par 5.   Mackenzie in particular did this at some of his courses (Crystal Downs and Cypress Point being two definite exceptions!).  Valley Club, Pasatiempo, the Meadow Club all start with shortish par 5s.  George Thomas' Riviera does as well.

Lake Course, SFGC, and Stanfurd GC are three others that come to mind.

[Richard Choi]

To me, the first holes should be like a good introduction section in a symphony; it should expose the golfer to the dominant design theme for the entire golf course in a gentle manner that eases the golfer into the more dynamic challenges ahead.