What are the Quirkiest Courses in the United States?

[PCCraig]

Blind shots, wild greens, undulating fairways, "half par" holes, odd hole/par disbursement, unique traditions....what are the "quirkiest" courses in the United States?

[Dan Kelly]

A course you might have heard of -- Town & Country Club, in St. Paul (Minnesota's oldest golf course) -- has to be on your list somewhere.

Two 3s in a row.
Three 5s in a row.
Par-3 18th.

Dramatic hills and valleys, leading to numerous blind shots both up and down.

And, if you haven't already, wait till you see how difficult those greens are when they're running fast. Holy cow!

[jonathan_becker]

Mayfield in Cleveland

[PCCraig]

Mayfield in Cleveland

Why is that Jonathan?

[Garland Bayley]

Astoria CC

[Carl Rogers]

Tobacco Road
Royal New Kent

[Melvyn Morrow]

TOC - as there are a lot of Americans over here

[Bruce Wellmon]

Tobacco Road
Royal New Kent

Tot Hill Farm
http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,36085.0.html

[PCCraig]

Explanations and pictures welcome. 

[Matthew Petersen]

Quirkiest course I have ever played is the one now known as Arizona Grande, though it's been through many names in the past (Pointe South Mountain, Phantom Horse, etc). Designed by our own Forrest Richardson, though I don't know how much input he's hand on the tinkering done over the years.

First hole now tees off from what was originally the island 18th green. Blind tee shot up over a ridge.

Fifth hole plays up a steep hill with houses right and a road on the left. Hole is a par 5. Uphill, semi-blind drive to a fairway that runs out then climbs a very steep hill to the second-shot landing area. A pole at the top of the hill serves as your aiming point for second shots, but there's no reference for where the green is, how far to hit it, what's safe, etc. Green is offset to the right a bit from the preferred second shot line.

Ninth hole plays as a big swinging dogleg left. Homes encroach on all sides of the hole, discouraging any real cutting the corner, but playing straight away from the tee could put you in someone's backyard even with a shot of just 200 yards or so. Probably more safety nets on this hole than any other I've seen. Hole has a neat green set low against a wash. A mesquite tree overhangs the right side of the green. Green wraps around mesquite tree on back right and is still maintained as green though I cannot imagine they would ever put the hole back there.

10th hole is a short par 4 with a mostly blind tee shot.

11th is a par 5 with fairway running out in the area where many would hit driver.

13th is a par 5 that wraps left around a steep hill. Landing area for a well-hit drive is blind around the hill. Second shot reveals a steep slope with stairstep bunkers that you either can carry or lay up short of. As seen in this photo that many have probably seen on book covers and many promo shots:



17 is a short par 4 uphill. A lay-up drive is essentially blind though a long player can go directly at the green (but tee shot will have to clear some home, probably). Green is very long and skinny with 3 distinct tiers.

18th hole is now an extreme drop shot par 3.

[Bill Seitz]

odd hole/par disbursement

I've brought it up before, but our home course during my senior year of college was the Victoria Club in Riverside.  The back nine starts off with a par four, par three, and par four.  That 12th hole is the last par four you play.  It closes 3, 5, 5, 3, 5, 5.  Though with today's technology, 17 may play more like a par four.  You also tee off over a street on holes 7 and 18.  It was probably only about 6,100 yards, but had a really fun set of greens.  

[Jason Topp]

I'm not sure I would recommend any of these courses but if you have the right spirit, they make for a memorable and fun day.  I have played each of them many times with the exception of Kino Springs which I have played twice.

Kino Springs - Nogales, AZ  http://kinospringsgc.com/play.html
 280 yard hole with a choice of laying up 120 yards off the tee to a downhill lie or trying to drive the green.  I can't recall the rest of the course real well but remember the location as one of my favorite golf course setting I have experienced - a former ranch in the middle of nowhere with mountains all around.  Combine it with a breakfast in Nogales featuring Chorizo and you will have a memorable day.

Fred Enke - Tucson, AZ - http://www.tucsoncitygolf.com/enke.html
 - Has softened over the years but the course contains blind layups all over the place, several incredibly narrow holes through the desert and is surrounded by a graveyard of old military airplanes.

Westwood Municipal - Newton, IA - http://www.westwoodgolfcourse.com/course.html
 Hole 2 – up and over a hill with a sideslope, completely blind approach.  Actually is pretty fun once you know how to play the hole.
Holes 4, 5, 7, 8, 9 – down and back up the same valley with a tiny creek at the bottom. 
- Hole 11 - creek down the middle, options off the tee include a driver to the right between the creek, ob and another creek that sneaks in off the right or an iron to the left that results almost always in a need to hook a mid iron around trees and over water to a green that has a creek that crosses in front and wraps around in back.
- Hole 12 – dogleg right around a creek that turns at about 160 yards off the tee and has the entire course to the left.  Bailing out leaves a long approach.
- Hole 14 – choice of a 7 iron off the tee or a 235 yard carry over a crossing creek that must either hit a relatively narrow fairway or else stop before a pond on the right and the creek on the left.

Woodland Hills – Des Moines, IA  http://golfwoodlandhills.com/course/
Built in the 20’s or earlier.  Greens are so small they are almost impossible to hit.  Approach on 16 is down a steep hill, blind to a green that slopes away and a barbed wire fence marking ob behind the hole. 

[jonathan_becker]

There's a lot of elevation change in NE Ohio and the great courses in the area (for the most part) have the holes routed to minimize some of the land extremes.

Mayfield, however, has holes that throw away some conventional thinking.  The first hole tees off of a huge elevation drop while the second hole tees off with a huge hill right in your face.  And this happens more than a few other times throughout the round.

The fairways have huge undulations and movement on some holes....almost like someone threw a green carpet over a junkyard.

The greens are undulating and wild in spots.  Also, a few of the greens are blind and are situated in more of the bolder parts of the property relative to the land movement.  Some misses result in death (hazard lines).

Back to back par 3s occur on the second 9 and they couldn't be more different.  Once again, due to the elevation.

All in all, compared to everything else in Cleveland, Mayfield is pretty wild.  Nevertheless, it's a very enjoyable round and the course make you feel like you took a step back in time in a good way.

I wish I had some photos but I didn't bring my camera that day

[Anthony Gray]

 Tabacco Road is the only one I've played.

[Jason Connor]

Pacific Grove starts par 3, 3, 4, 4, 5, 5.  That's pretty quirky.

And if memory serves the par 5s run parallel and when I played there was internal OB I think on 6 'on the way back in'.  But it didn't play as OB from 5.  A definite quirk.

And it's also quirky because the 18 hole course is really two old 9 hollers that were combined.  So the front and the back are quite different (inland vs. ocean).  The back I think used to be an old Coast Guard course.


I'm curious to what makes Mayfield quirky? I've never played it, but lived near there for a bit in grad school and new some members.

[Doug Wright]

One of the quirky courses is The Mad Russian GC north of Denver. Hard to believe it's been 10 years since Slag Bandoon and I played it. Home-made, with crossing holes and some weird greens. Here is a link to a GCA thread and the course history.

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,33287.msg663186.html#msg663186
http://www.madrussiangolf.com/our-history.html
 

[Bruce Wellmon]

One of the quirky courses is The Mad Russian GC north of Denver. Hard to believe it's been 10 years since Slag Bandoon and I played it. Home-made, with crossing holes and some weird greens. Here is a link to a GCA thread and the course history.

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,33287.msg663186.html#msg663186
http://www.madrussiangolf.com/our-history.html
 

Am I the only one who just looked on their website to see the Mad Russian GC logo ?

[Dave Herrick]

Hanover (NH) CC -
-Two consecutive par 3s and no par 5s on the front 9, with the back 9 finishing 5-4-5-5
-Depending on the tee box chosen the 17th can play as a par 3, par 4 or par 5
-Walkers pick up a golf cart between 16 & 17 fairway while playing 16, then use to drive from 16 green to 17, returning cart mid-play of 17.
-The 6th hole and the 18th cross
-One of the back 9 holes used to be on the outrun of the NLE ski jump
-Course used for sleep-outs by amorous couples on certain spring coed weekends back in the day

[Michael George]

I would concur with Jonathan.  Mayfield is quirky, but fun.  I think most in this group would enjoy it.  Not in the class of Kirtland, Canterbury or Country Club (PP), but good. 

Congress Lake in between Akron and Canton is similarly quirky and fun to play (although not as hilly) - again, no comparison to Brookside, but plenty of hills and swales and fun greens.

[PThomas]

White Bear Yacht

Eastward Ho!

and ......I forget the third that came to mind

[Jud_T]

Blind shots, wild greens, undulating fairways, "half par" holes, odd hole/par disbursement, unique traditions...

This sounds like an advertisement for Kingsley...

[PThomas]

White Bear Yacht

Eastward Ho!

and ......I forget the third that came to mind

and Lookout Mountain!  all 3 are terrific golf courses

[PCCraig]

Blind shots, wild greens, undulating fairways, "half par" holes, odd hole/par disbursement, unique traditions...

This sounds like an advertisement for Kingsley...

Jud,

I've yet to have the pleasure of playing Kingsley. How many blind shots are there? How is par dispersed?

[Sven Nilsen]

Jud:

I'd put Kingsley on the quirky list.  Add in Paxon Hollow, Bayside and Teddy Rhodes in Nashville.

To me quirky isn't a function of how the holes run together, rather a combination of the types of shots you have to play and holes that look like nothing you'd find on the quintessential country club course.

[Wade Schueneman]

How about Little Merion or Rochester in Mass.?  Both are little courses squeezed onto property.  Rochester was originally a nine holer and the lack of land led to a very short and exacting par four (#3) and a near ninety degree dogleg right (bending at about 140 yards out) where the green is driveable, but the large net tight to the tee box forces you to use a 4 or 5 iron if you really try to cut the dogleg (and there are OB stakes between the 10th and 12 fairways if you try the bold shot and do not hit it far enough).  Little Merion has some fun little blind shots and an old wall running right through the middle of half of the holes.