[Richard Choi]

Philip, is that really true for normal conditions at Bethpage? I don't think I lost more than 1 or 2 balls per round that I have played there. Most rough is low enough that you can find it.

The course where I lost a fair amount is the North Course at Reserve Vineyard (sorry, Pete). They have random "ponds" of tall grass placed every and which way around the fairways. You have no idea when you are going to hit in to one. I think I lost 6 or 7, most of which just trickled in (but no way you can find it). I was ready to walk off after about 12 holes.

[Mark Pearce]

The Old Course is not a friend of the banana ball...

?
I can't think of a top course where it would be harder to lose a ball playing badly (I've never played ANGC).  In fact playing it last summer I made a birdie on 6 having missed the fairway by a conservative 80 yards.  TOC does not belong in this thread.

[Pat Burke]

Played in 5 AT&T pro ams
Had handicaps from 4 through 15 as partners.
There were tons of balls lost almost every player at Pebble.
4,6,7,8,9,15 (yup 15), and 18.
I never saw an unconscious person on the beach, but there had to be at least one!

[Jaeger Kovich]

The Old Course is not a friend of the banana ball...

?
I can't think of a top course where it would be harder to lose a ball playing badly (I've never played ANGC).  In fact playing it last summer I made a birdie on 6 having missed the fairway by a conservative 80 yards.  TOC does not belong in this thread.

I lost at least 3 balls before I made it to#6 in gorse on the right hand side! The old course hotel stole another one. AND I NEVER SLICE, but I did that day!

[Bill Rocco]

Sandwich Hollows, a little known course in Massachusetts. The fairways are thin, there is little rough and the woods are not cleaned out.

Notice the line saying 'At which of the Top 100 Courses....

Top 100... ? I was referring to the top 100 in Massachusetts 

[Kevin Pallier]

RCD = for the amount of blind drives

TPC Sawgrass and Pebble Beach = hazards

NSW = vegetation

[Jeff Tang]

Blackwolf Run River.

[Sven Nilsen]

The European Club, the combination of rough, pinched fairways, wind and guiness makes for a long day.

[Mark Molyneux]

Torrey Pines comes to mind, especially when the wind is blowing out to sea.

[Richard Phinney]

For the UK and Ireland, I would second County Down's nomination.  Last time I played Carnoustie its rough was benign in comparison.

[Andrew Brown]

NSW = vegetation

Kevin,

If I remember correctly, the total for lost ball and unplayable lie penalty strokes on the 15th at NSWGC at last year's Aussie Open was 66...for the first 2 rounds.

Andrew

[Tim Leahy]

Spyglass Hill and Pebble.

[Matthew Petersen]

I played a lot of golf growing up at a tree-lined muni in Coloraod and come autumn when the trees would drop leaves, I lost many a ball even in the middle of the fairway!

[jonathan_becker]

When the wind picks up, you can lose more than a few balls at the East 9 of Sawgrass CC.

[Tim Martin]

Every hole at Yale except for 5 and 15 are potential lost ball holes.

[Matt_Ward]

This is an interesting discussion -- I'd submit that domestically in the States that the new Dye course at Pound Ridge in NY would have to be one of the leading contenders. Just brutal.

On the foreign side of things -- play Dunluce at Portrush with any significant wind and if the fairways are kept narrow with hay-like grass flanking the short grass -- then it's likely you will need no less than a dozen balls to complete the round and should you experience a military type round (left / right / left) then all bets are off.

[David Kelly]

Last August and September the rough at Cruden Bay was extremely green and lush and I probably lost more balls in one round there than the rest of my trip combined.

[Dan Herrmann]

I've never played (walked it a few times), but I'd guess that you could lose a couple of sleeves at Pine Valley.  Heck - the tee shot on #5 could claim 2-3 alone.

[Sean Leary]

Dan,

PV is actually hard to lose balls, number 5 excepted. Especially since the caddies forecaddie often and kick your ball out trouble

[Mark Pritchett]

Wolf Run swallows Titleists pretty good. 

[Eric Smith]

Hawk Hollow (Lost Ballow) in Bath, MI.  The horror...

Renaissance Vinoy Resort and Golf Club in St. Petersburg, FL.  I played a tournament there and made two 10's (#9 & #18).  High winds and water down both sides made it rough on my ball supply.

[Anthony Gray]

  My wife went to the mail box and came back with ten golf balls with my face on them.

  Anthony

[Michael Taylor]

NSW = vegetation

I have to give another vote to NSWGC. 

It's the vegetation that makes you lose the ball, but not knowing where to hit on the blind shots is the main factor. There are about 8 blind shots on the course.

[Sean_A]

This is an interesting discussion -- I'd submit that domestically in the States that the new Dye course at Pound Ridge in NY would have to be one of the leading contenders. Just brutal.

On the foreign side of things -- play Dunluce at Portrush with any significant wind and if the fairways are kept narrow with hay-like grass flanking the short grass -- then it's likely you will need no less than a dozen balls to complete the round and should you experience a military type round (left / right / left) then all bets are off.

Matty

"..you will need no less than a dozen balls..."

Does everything need to be blown out of size for you to get the point across?  I agree the rough is a major drawback of Portrush and will probably keep me from ever returning.  But it shouldn't take anything like 12 balls to get around. We had a guy in our party whos cap is so high he can't have a cap.  It was tough for him, but I think it was only a two sleeve day. 

Muirfield is also very harsh, but its fairways don't snake nearly as much as Portrush's and I think the fairways are probably wider. 

Another too high to have a cap mate of mine had a rough time at Co Down - I think he lost close to 15 balls.  I didn't think it was that bad, but still not a pleasant experience being in the rough. 

Lets face it, in high season practically all links have issues with rough.  Its a shame that high season coincides with the peak tourist time of June through July/August.  I think this is why fairways used to be so much wider - to accommodate the summer growth which combined with the odd bad wind day can make a course a waste of time to play.  Now, for championship links, add in all the bunkers which have narrowed courses even further and its a recipe for what we have been experiencing for the last decade or so.  Now add in the effects of in-expertly applied artificial watering and its easy to see how we got to where we are today.  Bring back the width, cut the water, and things would be much better.   

The one big name course which I think stands out from the crowd as consistently keeping its rough down is North Berwick.  I know many poo poo the course as too easy and having a handful of uninteresting holes (I disagree with this sentiment), but I think the playability of the course is endearing as the funk and a reason many love the course.

Ciao 

[Richard Phinney]

Sean makes a good point about the rough in summer.  I played Carnoustie in the fall the day after the Dunhill in the fall and you could hit it anywhere.  It was a bit of an eye opener really because this extra width (even though you weren't in the fairway you could still have a go at the green) made you realise what interesting greensites Carnoustie has. There were all sorts of wierd and wonderful angles and obstacles (I wasn't driving very well) that came into play and made the approach very difficult and interesting even if you had a good lie (which I invariably did).  None of this you would encounter, of course, when you are simply chipping it into the fairway and then making the approach from there. 

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