What are you a sucker for?

[Tim Gavrich]

I could be wrong, but I would imagine that a lot of golfers--even the enlightened folks who frequent this here site!--have one aspect of a golf course that almost automatically will inspire an affinity for said course.  It might be something about the architecture of the course (nasty bunkers?), or it could be something more about the experience (the fish tacos?).  If you're so inclined, give your single example here.  I'll start.

I, Tim Gavrich, am a sucker for sideboards and backboards on greens--the ability to hit a putt in the shape of a horseshoe into a hole.

[Sean_A]

I am a sucker for two things:

Central hazards (hazards meaning anything which causes concern for the golfer - not the tired USGA concept of hazard).

Seemingly flat or otherwise useless looking land (so far as golf is concerned) turned into cracking holes without much shaping of the land.

Ciao

[Matthew Runde]

My name is Matthew, and I'm a sucker for undulating greens.

[Phil McDade]

Short par 4s with multiple ways to approach playing them.

[Scott Warren]

Central hazards (hazards meaning anything which causes concern for the golfer - not the tired USGA concept of hazard).

Amen brother. If there is an official fan club it should hold its meetings at Huntercombe!

[Brent Hutto]

Well aside from the obvious affinity for a course where I happen to play well (for instance, if I ever manage to break 80 that course will become my instant favorite)...

Any green complex that provides an advantage to playing deliberately long of the green, rather than short. Easiest way to do that is to pitch the back of the green away from the fairway and put trouble like a deep bunker in front. Of course an opportunity like this can be ruined by putting another bunker or thick rough behing the green! It works best if the shot coming in is longish, i.e. on a medium-long Par 4.

There's one such green on the "third nine" of my home course. There's one at Pine Needles although I do not recall exactly what is in front of the green. There was one at my previous club that was unfortunately ruined by having behind the green a slope leading down into a swamp.

[PCCraig]

Water...ponds, creeks, island greens, fountains, etc...

[Keith OHalloran]

A puncbowl green.

A risk reward par five reachable in two.

[Thomas McQuillan]

Par fours with a various options off the tee- Hit 4 iron off tee and another four iron or cut the corner with driver and leave yourself with a short iron. The dispersion between the two shots could be about 100 yards and the way you play the hole would change with the wind. I know its a very detailed description but I just love a bit of a dilemma off the tee.

[Ben Voelker]

Short par 4s with multiple ways to approach playing them.

I couldn't agree more Phil.  I LOVE short par 4's with interesting driving angles, multiple options, etc, especially those with some "can't miss it there" hazard of some sort (bunker, gorse, creek, etc).

[Ken Moum]

Wide fairways with fast turf.....  Bunkers in the fairway... and lots of short grass around the greens no rought to keep balls from rolling away or into greenside bunkers.


I can't help it, I'm a short and crooked driver with a good short game.

K

[cary lichtenstein]

eye candy

canyon walls

biaritz green like Yales 9th

very elevated tees

undulating greens

deep bunkers

quirk

[Adam Clayman]

I'm a sucker being suckered. Then figuring out how and why I got suckered so it don't happen again. I believe this can only happen on a thoughtful design. So, I'm a sucker for them.

[Jim_Kennedy]

 I a sucker for situations that bring out the 'we didn't come here to lay-up' mentality in players.

[Jim Colton]

I am a sucker for a sneak peak early in the round of a pin placement you'll need to know for later in the round.

[Ryan Farrow]

A visually perfect hole. You look out from the tee and every bunker just looks like it is perfectly placed, its all in harmony.






You can add a picture of 18 at Oakmont, 16 at Rock Creek, and A bunch of William Flynn holes. I think Flynn was the master at setting up bunkers.

[JR Potts]

I'm a sucker for big, stately golf courses.

I'm also a sucker for grand entrances and winding arrivals.

[Mark McKeever]

Im a sucker for wild green contours.  Makes chipping and putting a lot of fun!
Mark

[Steve Salmen]

Stone walls that run through golf courses and affect play.  They just look really cool.  The ones I can think of off the top of my head are at Crail, North Berwick, and Renaissance.  I'm sure there are a lot more that I'm not thinking of.

[Brad Tufts]

I'm a sucker for deep grass-faced bunkers that look like they are from the Golden Age.

I'm a sucker for anything built before 1950.

[Peter Pallotta]

Lanky brunettes with wicked jaws. Always have been.

An opening hole that makes sense - a broad/expansive and simple Par 4 with no tricks or severe twists and turns (which twists make me think the hole was an afterthought, or merely the quickest route away from the club house). And then if I can walk off the first green and see the 2nd tee nearby, I know I'm going to like the course well enough (especially if the 2nd hole is not a Par 5).

Shivas' bunkers on the inside of doglegs that can (sometimes) be carried - very good. Classic, sensible, not-trying-too-hard kind of architecture. A Midwest kind of architecture - honest as the day is long.

Peter

[Doug Ralston]

That well placed tree in the fairway, with all those options it presents.

Doug

[TEPaul]

I'm a sucker for a type of hole----generally a very old fashioned type of hole that a fairly large number of golfers might deem vaguely unfair.

I just came back from Myopia and that annual tournament I play in there and by my count Myopia has up to seven holes like that. I love those holes more and more every time I see them. They are all old fashioned and just so challenging really if you make even the slighest mistake, no matter how good you are.

They are the types of hole that even given their particular natural landforms I doubt a handful of architects today would dare actually copy if they found the same landforms.

I do admit, however, that given various aspects of modern maintenance and maintenance practices these types of hole have become more intense, and sometimes far more intense in various ways than they ever have been before. But even to that I say----so what? 

[Cliff Hamm]

Many of my favorites have been mentioned, but I will add chipping areas around greens.  Preferably the green is a bit elevated so you are chipping uphill with the option of putting.  So much more fun than hacking it out of the rough.

[John Shimony]

I'm a sucker for any hole featuring a hazard or bunker that actually needs to be challenged in order to get the best angle to the green.  Preferably not a pond or lake but I guess they qualify.

[Tags:]

Tags: