Total Obfuscation

[Doug Wright]

One thought leads to another...I was thinking about the importance of confusing the golfer in connection with the "Split Fairway" thread, then I saw Rich Goodale's tongue in cheek remark  "Rich! Rich! You're aiming at the wrong hole!" on the Slow Play thread and this occurred to me:  Have any of you had the feeling on a hole that you had No Earthly Idea where in the hell you were going? I distinctly remember three such instances, and two happened on the same course! These two were at Prestwick, where my group was off early (even before the caddies showed up) and we got to the tee of the third ("Cardinal") and looked at each other saying  "Where in the hell do we go?"  That Cardinal bunker really played with our heads! Then we go two more holes, walk off the fourth green and over to the tee box on the fifth ("Himalayas"), and see nothing--we can't even tell which way to tee up the ball.   Fortunately, and very mysteriously, an old fellow walking his dog seems to materialize out of  nowhere, points to a white rock on a hill directly in front of us, and says "Ye hit 'er there laddies!"  The third such incident happened at a Hidden Gem in nowhere northwestern Pa. near Warren called Blueberry Hill, where I hit a great drive on the 9th hole to a left fairway bisected by a stand of trees. Unfortunately, it turned out to be the fairway for the 18th hole, and I had no shot whatsoever...

Of course this should only happen the first time you see a course (As Tommy Armour said re blind shots, "It's only blind once!") and then only if you don't have anyone around to help but I could imagine it happening at some other places like Lahinch and others in the the British Isles. Have any of you experienced this, the ultimate in obfuscation?

[Rich_Goodale]

Doug

Tommy Armour is right, for most normal people.  As for me, however, I've hit my second shot to the 3rd at Prestwick straight at the 16th(?) green, on purpose, more than once.....

I also wandered about the valley of the Klondyke hole at Lahinch for at least 15 minutes looking for the green (that was my 1st time on the course!).

There is also the true story of the group of visiting Americans who set off to play Murcar, took a wrong turn somewhere out on the course, finally reached the clubhouse after having played 23 holes, couldn't find their car in the parking lot until someone to whom they related their plight informed them that they had finished thier round at Royal Aberdeen!

[Doug Wright]

Rich,

Now THAT's what I'm talkin' about!  

All The Best,

[TEPaul]

You see that remark Rich made there?

"I also wandered about the Valley of the Klondyke hole....looking for the green....."

That sounds positively Biblical to me! Unfortunately the little parable might mean Total Obfuscation!

Just keep reading Rich, just keep reading...and one day you'll get back to those sunlit uplands, and you might find the Way, the Path and the Truth!

[David Wigler]

Doug,

Not all such experiences are positive.  I got up really early to play the Great White Course at Doral before the five + hour resort rounds started.  I stood on the second tee box totally confused by two greens that looked to be equal distance from the tee (200 yard par three).  I finally looked at the course map and chose the one on the right.  Hit a great shot that I felt had a chance to go in.  When I got to the green, I had hit the ball to within eight feet of the hole on the chipping green and was nowhere near the real green.  They apparently use the same height and color flags for their chipping green and it is right in the middle of the golf course.

[Peter Galea]

David, did you make the putt?

Don't feel bad, Trevino did it at some "Old Course."
And, he played it before!

[David Wigler]

Pete,

No - It was worse.  I was gambling with my wife.  From the Women's tee it was obvious that the green on the left was the correct green.  She hit it to the fringe.  I, of course, begged for a mulligan based on the stupidity of the design and the inability to determine.  She reminded me that I had the option to drive up first and I had to play it as it lay.  I then bladed a sandwedge into the water behind the green(Because I was concerned about taking a divot out of the practice green) and conceded the hole.

[Gib_Papazian]

Sometimes having a caddy guide you around the course doesn't work out.  

Many years ago, when first joined Olympic, there was a group of Japanese diplomats out on the course who did not speak a word of English.

They putted out on the 5th hole of the Lake Course and instead of going up the hill to the right, they walked left to the 12th tee and hit away, not noticing the sign. It is actually is easy to do if you don't know the course.

Well, the caddies - who were sent out with them by our head pro Kyle Burton to make sure everything went smoothly - just decided to go with it. They had been at Olympic for 20 years and were the two best  guys in the shack.

None of the Japanese diplomats ever looked at a scorecard or noticed the signs. They came to the 18th hole . . . . much confusion.  They figured that the golf course had less than a full 18 holes and tipped the caddies and left.

The next day, a representative from the Japanese Consulate called to thank the pro for allowing them to play their world famous golf course.

Kyle suggested that perhaps "they might like to play the other 18 next time."

"Oh," said the rep, "your other course has 18 holes?"

"Why yes," said Kyle, "we have two 18 hole courses here."

 . . . . . . much loss of face. Very angry officials . . . .embarassed apologies from the club.

Those two caddies found a new home at S.F. Club.

[Doug Wright]

Great story Gib...

All The Best,

[Anthony Gray]

bump

[Ronald Montesano]

Two addenda:

1.  Doug, you must have been on the championship tee on the 9th at Blueberry Hill, as that is the one that can go either 9 or 18.  Great opening stretch at that course, then you cross the path and go to another funky twelve holes.  I agree that it is a hidden gem.  Deserves a thread...I'll have to get back there and shoot more images, but these might do for now:
http://s46.photobucket.com/albums/f140/buffalogolfer/Blueberry%20Hill/

2.  I ran a high school tournament last year for the first time at Rockway Glen in Ontario last Spring.  A foursome went from 12 green to 18 tee as seen here:  http://www.rockwayglen.com/content.php?a=detail&f=1&p=10 and gummed up the works...something about crossing roads that doesn't sit well with people.  Not the same as the "where does this hole go?" element; maybe a junior varsity version.

[Carl Nichols]

There are a couple of places at RCD where the tee shots are so blind that I wouldn't have had any idea where to hit my tee shot if we didn't have caddies.  That was during our first round.  During our afternoon round, the weather was so bad, and the groups ahead of us so slow, that we decided to skip around a little bit, and between skipping holes and not wanting to pick my head up b/c of the rain and wind, on at least two tee boxes I couldn't remember which way we were going. 

[TEPaul]

"Have any of you had the feeling on a hole that you had No Earthly Idea where in the hell you were going?"


Sure I have, and ironically on courses as diverse as North Berwick to an Arnold Palmer course north of Pittsburgh. The more things change the more they stay the same, I guess.  

And finally, that type of thing doesn't really bother me at all; I find it interesting----not to even mention "obfuscation" is an immensely cool word particularly when used to describe golf course architecture. And I now know via North Berwick's 14th that one apparently must have himself totally obfuscated by a golf hole before it can cast him into "Perdition."


Carl Nichols:

RCD really is sort of the King of all blind teeshot golf courses but if I had my way I would remove those little white directional rocks and make the place really obfuscational.

[Mike Cirba]

Well…there’s obfuscation and then there’s OBFUSCATION as seen on these pics Richard Hetzel posted of the par three third hole at Pocono Manor.   From the tee, here’s all you can see, although the green is about 180 yards away.



It’s not until you get up on it that you realize the (sadly shrunken) green sits down in this little bowl.  

[TEPaul]

Mike:

I don't call that real obfuscation simply because if you stand on that tee for the first time even if you can't see the green where in the hell else could it possibly be on that particular hole?  

That reminds me of a few at my club who recently have lobbied to take some trees down on the left of #5 so you can see the entire green so you can tell from the tee where the pin is. The entire right side and more of the green has always been visible from the tee so I just told them if the pin isn't on the right side where in the Holy Hell do they think it is? 

[Wayne Wiggins, Jr.]

When we played Royal Porthcawl in 2008, the 12th hole - a par 5 - had recently been lengthened with the green shifting about, i don't know, maybe 40-50 yards to the left.  The trouble is, we had no caddies, no course map, and no freaking idea where we were going... i hit a great 5 wood which i figured would put me on the green in two putting for eagle... alas i was in knee-high fescue about 60 yards away... and maybe bogie.

[TEPaul]

By the way, Michael Cirba, what schlock architect would design a hole like that at Pocono Manor-----Donald Ross?   

[Mike Cirba]

By the way, Michael Cirba, what schlock architect would design a hole like that at Pocono Manor-----Donald Ross?   

Hey....it's obviously not William Flynn based on the drawing.   

[TEPaul]

Another type of obfuscation dilemma isn't even blindness at all, it can be where the wrong thing is all too obvious, and for apparently some who have never been there before a good example of that is the 5th green from the 15th tee at Merion West.

I remember coming up to the 15th tee while officiating the Pennsylvania Mid-Amateur championship as there was a group on the 15th tee waiting with no one on the 15th green because here comes the group ahead of them trudging back up the hill from the 5th green to the 15th tee to play to the actual 15th green this time. One of the players was particularly pissed because he had just made a 2 on the 5th green from the 15th tee.  

I told him not to worry about it and that I was pretty sure we could give him a skin for that one.

[TEPaul]

MikeC:

As you know I'm getting pretty old and addled and forgetful but one time long ago I was playing alone somewhere (that I can't recall exactly where right now) and not only did I play the wrong next hole but it wasn't even on the same golf course. Now that is pretty much TOTAL OBFUSCATION!!!

But what if I'd actually just kept playing and when I got to the 18th I said to myself: "What the hell's going on here? In less than four hours it looks like they completely and totally remodeled the whole danged clubhouse."

[Carl Nichols]

Tom:
I hear you on the white stones, but not once did our caddies tell us to actually hit it over the stone; instead, they'd say "the ideal shot is 15 yards right of the stone," or "that stone is about as far right as  you want to go." So maybe the stones are part of the obfuscation.

[TEPaul]

Personally I suspect it's all Tom Fazio's or Rees Jones's fault because when they redesigned those holes by moving the tees they forgot to move the white stones. And even if they weren't directly involved I suspect it's still their fault or at least it must be the USGA's fault somehow.

[Anthony Gray]

Well…there’s obfuscation and then there’s OBFUSCATION as seen on these pics Richard Hetzel posted of the par three third hole at Pocono Manor.   From the tee, here’s all you can see, although the green is about 180 yards away.



It’s not until you get up on it that you realize the (sadly shrunken) green sits down in this little bowl.  

  The reason I bumped this was because I first thought obfuscation was misspeled, but I do remember playing a place where all 4 players tee ball were hit at the wrong green It has been driving me crazy trying to remember where I was. Love the hole above. It's only blind once.

  Anthony

[Doug Wright]

Two addenda:

1.  Doug, you must have been on the championship tee on the 9th at Blueberry Hill, as that is the one that can go either 9 or 18.  Great opening stretch at that course, then you cross the path and go to another funky twelve holes.  I agree that it is a hidden gem.  Deserves a thread...I'll have to get back there and shoot more images, but these might do for now:
http://s46.photobucket.com/albums/f140/buffalogolfer/Blueberry%20Hill/

Ron that's correct. The thing was, it wasn't even the first time I'd played the course!

I really like Blueberry Hill. A neat little down home course that reminds me of the out of the way courses in GB&I. 

[archie_struthers]

 

how about this for total "O"  

walkiing together in our 5 pm ten holer  , swapping lies and golf stories as we often do four guys hit  from the eighth tee...the fifth player forgot, so caught up in the conversation....boy was he "obfussed" when we got to our tee shots....and proceeded to argue about where his had landed ...he never found it   lol!