Something about Forrest Richardson's idea just seemed really cool to me, so I did my own. It was a really fun exercise, I have to say.
A few notes:
- I happened to use a map that had a lot of rivers, which made things a lot more challenging.
- I used the Washington, D.C. area for the clubhouse because it seemed right, as in Forrest's. It's certainly not the easiest location to route a course around.
- I did my best with the illustrations, so I hope you call can make out the Rockies, Sierras, Appalachians, desert vs. trees, etc.
-Par is 33-37=70
So here is my design, with hole descriptions below.
1. Par 5 from a shared tee with #12. Super wide fairway downhill from the Appalachians, but the rivers necessitate some thinking.
2. Mid-length downhill par 3 from the Rockies into New Mexico.
3. Please pardon my messy edits to this hole and the next as I had a late epiphany about a much better way to build them. Number 3 is a long par 4 where a bold tee shot left has a better view of the green, and a weak one to the right leaves an awkward lie and/or view with interference from the Sierras. I know my Sierras are too close to the shore but this hole and 5 actually both improve with the mountains shifted to their more proper location.
4. A short but dangerous par 3, nearly an island green.
5. Very long par 4 with several routes from the tee. Second shot is a grand carry over the Grand Canyon.
6. Mid-length par 3. Given the salt deposits just behind the green, we might plant this one in paspalum.
7. Shortish par 4 with two greens - almost two different holes really. The shorter one is straight ahead and drivable but narrow with a river left of the green. The longer one suggests a tee shot over the river and a short iron approach.
8. Loooong par 3 with a run up opportunity.
9. Medium-long par 4 with two greens. The left green is nestled between trees and the Appalachian foothils. The right green presents an Alps shot over the Appalachians.
10. Drivable but dangerous par 4, like the ones on the front nine but this time with the Atlantic on the right.
11. A shortish par 3 but trouble everywhere.
12. A long par 5 playing from upstate New York to Colorado. Several ways to navigate around the waterways.
13. Medium-long par 4, one of the toughest on the course. A good drive and then an approach to the LP of Michigan.
14. The longest par 5, from the UP of Michigan to the northern Wyoming/Idaho area. The third shot is an Alps-type approach over the Rockies, but with lots of room short of the green.
15. A pretty mid-length par 3 to a green backed up against the Rockies.
16. Long par 4 downhill off the Rockies to southern Texas. A huge fairway, but a much tighter approach.
17. Par 5. The last two holes are quite similar to Forrest's but I took the questionable step of placing the 17th green all the way at the tip of Florida, hoping nobody on the 18th tee will get pelted from afar.
18. Mid-length par 4. If you place the clubhouse in Washington, D.C., this is the only really obvious finishing hole.
Comments and questions welcomed!!!
Matt