Unsung Heroes - Great Holes on less known courses

[Ally Mcintosh]

Firstly, this is not a thread for just listing a bunch of holes. Each post should include a nomination of one hole only... with a full description... preferably - but not necessarily - with photos.

My nomination, just played and never heard of it: 18th at Nairn Dunbar

I was a little underwhelmed by Nairn Dunbar. There is some great stuff going on, particularly in the first half. The second nine starts strongly as well, if in a little more of a parkland setting. But then the course peters out from 13 onwards - just a little bland... Until number 18...

This is a shortish par-5 with a relatively straight forward drive towards the clubhouse over flat but micro-rumpled ground:



But it comes alive on the 2nd shot choice with a tremendous, diagonal ridge laid across the fairway on the approach... The decision needs to be taken whether to lay-up. You can do this to the right side of the fairway and get up quite close to the green but of course, it narrows up there. Laying up shorter leaves you the full width but a longer approach... Or you can take on the ridge... Go directly at the green and it's carry all the way... Bail to the left (which also flirts with OB) and you get a nice offset 60 yard approach fairway at the higher level that also helpfully feeds slightly towards the green.



So this ridge creates what is in essence a split fairway for the last 60 yards... Low and right with a semi-blind pitch or high and left which runs in to the green... And what a green - one of the very best I saw on the trip, the front half being essentially a large roll on the same diagonal that falls over in to a lower, punchbowl style back portion that collects the ball... And all with the big danger of the OB fence close at hand... Beautiful... And a great and unexpected finish to a very good course:



This is a GREAT second shot Par-5....

[Sean_A]

I can't believe it, an archie saying a hole is great without a bunker in sight    The hole does look very good.  Does the club get a lot of shots going into the road?

I'll give you a very cool hole.  Seascale, under the shadows of the hulking Sellafield Power Station, is a course of little reknown.  Even the connoisseur Pests skipped it while enjoying the delights of Silloth back in 2012.  To be fair, the course is rather a hit and miss affair, but it does feature some outstanding holes.  The third is the first of these class acts, using an adjacent field superbly to create the action off the tee and for the approach. 


If one doesn't take on the OOB on the drive, he must to one degree or another do so on the second.


These bunkers await the cowardly play away from the field and bull.  Further up, there is a hidden centre-line greenside bunker...just for good measure.    


I freely admit to being a sucker for well used boundary elements.  This is a great example of using the OOB to great effect in sharpening the strategy of the hole.

Ciao

[Tony_Muldoon]

Nice idea


From my tour of this lovely ‘unknown’ course, one of my favourite holes ANYWHERE.

tour http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,27344.msg518347/topicseen.html#msg518347

12 is the celebrated hole here. Henry Longhurst once picked it for a composite best 18.  Photos cannot do justice to this most remarkable topography.  It’s a dog leg right with the fairway sweeping round in a beautiful arc and falling so severely it looks like a banked track. You feel if you could get the ball running here it would go all the way to the green.  The green itself is tiny and the back of it has one of the steepest slopes I’ve seen anywhere.






Will try and get back this August.

[Mark Pearce]

Sean,

A number of pests played Seascale on the way to Silloth.  The reason we didn't include it on the main rota was that it's more than an hour on narrow country lanes from Silloth and the chances of everyone completing the journey without hitting something seemed slim, given our previous record on narrow country lanes......

[Sean_A]

Sean,

A number of pests played Seascale on the way to Silloth.  The reason we didn't include it on the main rota was that it's more than an hour on narrow country lanes from Silloth and the chances of everyone completing the journey without hitting something seemed slim, given our previous record on narrow country lanes......

 

Ciao

[David Davis]

I freely admit to being a sucker for well used boundary elements.  This is a great example of using the OOB to great effect in sharpening the strategy of the hole.

Ciao

Sean,

You must of loved the hole we played at Skegness (Seacroft) last year with the slightly elevated tee where you had to play to the left of the road running through the right side of the hole which was OB. Yet, clear best line of approach to the green was by hugging the road as left was completely blind and a poor angle.

I think that hole would also qualify here but I don't have a photo of it and for the me the course is not known and I wish I didn't know the town.

[Sean_A]

I freely admit to being a sucker for well used boundary elements.  This is a great example of using the OOB to great effect in sharpening the strategy of the hole.

Ciao

Sean,

You must of loved the hole we played at Skegness (Seacroft) last year with the slightly elevated tee where you had to play to the left of the road running through the right side of the hole which was OB. Yet, clear best line of approach to the green was by hugging the road as left was completely blind and a poor angle.

I think that hole would also qualify here but I don't have a photo of it and for the me the course is not known and I wish I didn't know the town.

David

That is the 8th - wonderful hole. 

We now come to one of the best holes I seen in quite some time; perhaps the brightest star of Seacroft.  This hole goes a long way to encapsulating the biggest difference between modern and classic design.  Often times design of 100+ years ago highlighted non-golf related man-made features.  The road here is a perfect example and great use of OOB.  Hug tight to the road and one is rewarded with a view of the flag and a good angle of approach.  The safe left side leaves a blind and awkward second because a mound shy of the green must be dealt with.  This is a very simple design construct, but highly effective.  The road gives the added element of satisfaction to the player who gambles successfully. 

Ciao

[Mark McKeever]

Hole 3 at Bala is a great hole that never gets any discussion.  There are options off the tee that can make your second shot easier, or the player can be in a really bad spot if he tries to be aggressive and cannot pull it off.  The conservative line is up at the top of the far hill, but the player can try to fit a drive down close to the creek if he wants to challenge the right side.  Either second shot is tough regardless as the hole crosses the creek to a tiny green.

The movement in the fairway is simply terrific.

[Matthew Sander]

Ally,

I really appreciate this thread. I hope it sticks around on the front page for awhile. Possibly my favorite function of this board is to shine some light on lesser known, architecturally interesting courses. Obviously there is plenty to learn fom TOC, Royal Melbourne, or NGLA, but finding admirable holes on the courses that go largely unnoticed can be a joy.

When I return home next week I'll dig around in my picture files and try to find a good hole to post...

[Dónal Ó Ceallaigh]

I'll nominate the 16th at Dunfanaghy, but I could pick from 4-5 holes on that course that are nearly as good.

HOLE 16: Catherine's Isle, 500 MTRS, PAR 5, S.I. 8.

There is a real sting in the tail at Dunfanaghy, as the final three holes is as tough a stretch of holes as there is on the course. All three are potential card wreakers.

The count down begins with a terrific par five. Although Dunfanaghy has only one par five, in a duel to determine the best hole on the course, the 16th would certainly be in with a shout, along with the 17th. It may well be one of the best par fives in the county.

This hole curves gently to the right and is a real test indeed. If one wishes to get home in two, the drive should be positioned down the right side of the fairway. The second shot will then need to be an all-carry strike - most likely into the wind - of 220 mtrs plus, over some of the nastiest rough on the course, to a raised green, with OB just a few mtrs off the back edge.



Yet again, a drain crosses the fairway just a little short of where the players are positioned. One might get the impression that the course is awash with drains, but there are just three.



Not another drain! The green is located just beyond where the person on the right is standing.



After safely negotiating the drain with the tee shot, the player now has to decide if he should go for the green or take a more cautious line. All that the player will see is the top of the flag and some of the finest rough Dunfanaghy has to offer in between.



Laying up is no pushover either. The fairway gradually narrows as we approach the turn, and the approach from the lay up area will be partially or totally blind. This is the view from just past the road.



A view from just in front of the fairway bunker on the inside of the dogleg.



The task presented to the golfer after taking quite a conservative lay up line. The flag is just visible, but the visiting golfer has no idea that a hollow lies just short of the green.



Notice the proximity of the OB stakes to the rear of the green. What's not clear in this photograph is the hollow that the ball is lying in. The ground leading up the the green rises and dips and rises again, only to finally fall just before the green. Balls landing onto the downslope a few mtrs short of the green, may very well end up in rough behind the green, or worse, OB.



A look back down the "as-the-crow-flies" line to the tee which is located to the left in the distance.

[Thomas Dai]

Donal,

An excellent choice and as you say a course where several holes could be selected for this thread. The 16th is the hole I must admit I was pondering selecting myself but I'll now have to find another, and, as there are several at Dunfanaghy to select from, I shall pick for my choice the next hole on the course -

the fabulous 17th at Dunfanaghy, 200 yd par-3

A terrific par-3. The tee sits directly above the beach. With the tee shot it is necessary to carry a rough strewn hollow that commences in front of the tee and runs on a straight line to within 20 feet of the green. The green itself is angled to the direct line of play and is a slight raised plateau generally sloping downwards from front to the rear. There is OB right and behind the green. A bunker sits left centre of the green. This bunker, although of good links depth, is in many ways a 'friend' on this hole and is not at all a bad place from which to be playing your second shot. Wide left of the bunker towards the 18th tee however, is not a good place to be playing your second from..

Below two photos taken from the tee



Below the tee on the edge of the beach


Below from 30 yds short and left of the green


Below two photos taken from the left side



Below two photos from the rear of the green - the tee can be seen above the beach line in the distance



Below zoomed in from the footpath 100 yds behind the green - nicely positioned bench on which to sit and see some hopefully good shots into the green


Dunfanaghy GC (and village) are lovely. Tranquil and serene and golf wise more taxing than I'd anticipated. A (w)hole bunch of fine holes in a wonderful location and in first class condition. I was tempted for this thread to perhaps pick the par-5 16th or the longish par-4 6th or the lovely short par-3 9th, all of which have splendid green sites but the 17th is my choice.

atb

[Paul Gray]

Since I've never seen it mentioned on the site, I'll suggest the entire back nine at Woodbridge. I was working in the area recently and had the pleasure of playing the course for the first time. After a pleasant but unspectacular front nine I was expecting more of the same. The pick, for me at least, was probably the 14th. Highly recommended to anyone that finds him or herself in the Ipswich area.

[Joe Bausch]

In an earlier thread I called the 11th at Lebanon CC (Lebanon, PA) the "Findlay alps" hole.  It is my 'unsung hero' for this fine thread.

The Lebanon alps hole is an uphill drive on a 407 yard par 4, then a typically completely blind second shot over the hill to a green maybe 125 yards from the crest.  Here is a Google aerial of the hole:



The green is at top of the figure (the 10th green at the bottom right), with the tree-lined course boundary (OB) road on the left.

Tee shot view, where the fairway narrows at the crest (by the rock formations) to about 25 yards; my guess would be minimum the last bare tree of those along the right should be removed to improve the playability:



With leaves on the trees, the effective width may be much less than 25 yards.

A view as you begin the walk up the hill, not a steep grade, but constant:



I think removal of many of those trees along the right edge above would improve the hole; it is the number 1 stroke hole, and probably well deserved.

If somebody is gutsy with the driver, a big drive with a little cut can scale the hill (about 280 yard carry) to leave a downhill approach shot:



From just short of the green:



There are no sand bunkers on the hole, but plenty of humps and hollows and grass bunkers.

From left of the green looking back up the hill; the front of the green kicks shots forward, so no front right pins here:



From near the back of the green:



It is one of my favorite holes in the Delaware Valley.

[Jud_T]

15th at Harrison Hills.  This picture hardly does justice to just how steep and deep these bunkers actually are on this wonderful short 4.  It really has to be seen to be believed.  Photo is from Ran's course profile.

[Howard Riefs]

15th at Harrison Hills.  This picture hardly does justice to just how steep and deep these bunkers actually are on this wonderful short 4.  It really has to be seen to be believed.  Photo is from Ran's course profile.

A few more photos of #15 from a visit to HH.

[Grant Saunders]

Here is a hole which I covered in a thread a while ago.

New Zealand isnt blessed with an abundance of architecturally significant courses as most have evolved out of volunteer labour, a can do attitude and some available land. There is however some great fun courses to be found and as long as expectations are realistic, some very good golf to be played.

I suppose the law of averages dictate that in essence, by accident, there will be some reasonable courses created and logically some very good holes stumbled upon.

One such example of a very good courses that has "happened" is Waihi Golf Club. Within this very good course is a hole that for me stands out not just as a notable hole on this course but one that  holds itself comparably to holes  on some of our more esteemed courses.

For a full tour, check out the following link http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,55383.0.html

The 17th at Waihi golf club is in my opinion one of the best short par 4's in New Zealand.  At 300 metres (330 yards), the hole offers up challenge yet playability to all levels of golfers.
 

The Tee shot: The slight uphill nature of the initial 220 metres of the hole serves to create some blindness and mystery without unduly lengthening how the hole plays. The left hand side is out of bounds  but far enough to the side to not dominate the thought process when selecting how to play the hole. The right hand side features a scattering of trees but a particularly large pine hanging slightly in to the fairway does exert strategic influence. A right to left pitch is a feature of the fairway and becomes more pronounced the further up the hole your shot lands. A slight left to right dogleg is determined primarily by the large pine but supported by the other trees.

The options off the tee include:
- laying up to a distance of approximately 200 metres while trying to keep the ball as far right as possible without having to deal with the tree for your second.
- Driver with a left to right flight following the curvature of the hole.
- A low driver played straight down the right edge of the fairway kept low under the overhanging tree.

The risk with driver is pulling it OOB, hitting it straight where the slope will kick it to the left or overcompensating and hitting too far right into the trees.



From a lay up in the centre of the fairway, the green is for the most part hidden from view so their is a large element of feel and trust with the approach. From where this photo is taken, you would be playing directly up the axis of the green. Ideally, a little further right would be preferable. The approach of the hole slopes gently towards the green allowing a shot played short a confident run up.



This photo demonstrates the long narrow nature of this green complex. Slopes to the left of the green feed a ball onto the surface yet the right hand side the contours direct the ball away down the bank. This green definitely has elements of the 16th at Paraparaumu Beach or even the postage stamp at Troon though I would be doubtful if either was considered as inspiration when this hole created. This angle shown is what the player would be faced with after a good drive with a left to right shape or having run under the pine tree on the right hand side. The bunker to the left is possibly not really required but its presence doesnt offend too greatly.

As you can picture now seeing the green, shots approached from the left of the fairway are being played at an angle with no supporting form. Even a short pitch to this green from the left can be extremely difficult and the challenge is further enhanced by the left to right slope of the green. The straight drive from the tee will often run left (with the slope as seen in previous photos) and the player is then faced with this difficult shot. The further right the approach is played from the more helpful the surrounding counters become. People who are big fans of short green to tee walks will note the 18th tee markers a mere 10 metres from the green off to the left.

Everything from birdies to doubles (or worse) are to be found on this hole. Admittedly, a couple of plays are required to really understand the lines but the first timer would be wise to play to where they can see their ball come to rest by laying up. Its position in the round lends itself as both a defining matchplay hole and a chance to pick up a birdie late in the round.

I find this hole to be a great example of working with the land and the result is something that I am not sure anyone would actively create or build. 

[Matthew Lloyd]

wanted to bump this thread back onto the first page... i don't have any great examples to share unfortunately, but am hoping others do...

[Ally Mcintosh]

OK,

I’ll give another:

The 17th at Hollingbury Park, Sussex.

We had a small trip to Brighton last year playing West Sussex, Addington & Royal Ashdown Forest. I needed a fourth low budget and local option and opted for Hollingbury Park which is a long municipal course on the downland that once upon a time held Open qualifying and had a little design pedigree, I think being a Harry Vardon design from 1907.

It’s municipal shoddy but there are some cool holes and things going on, more worthy of classic courses we know. The 17th is a short par-4 of about 330 yards, slightly downhill and when downwind is drivable. From a strategic point of view it is perfectly bunkered and more worthy of a bunker scheme found on a Macdonald course in the States… You can see from this Google Earth image:



There are more choices from this tee than almost any other two shotter I can think of in the UK… It has the classic centreline bunker ‘A’ with the tight side guarded by bunker’s ‘B’ and ‘C’ being the easiest in to the green… It has classic diagonal bunkering in the A,B,C cluster and D and E duo, the latter strip bunker itself on a diagonal… It has the perfect catchment bunkers in ‘F’ and G’ for those that want to take on the gap between ‘D’ and ‘E’ and try to drive the green: The land slopes in to these two bunkers and they gather… Bunker ‘D’ is in the perfect position for those bombers that just get up and hit…  And it has a lot of deception going on from the tee in picking out the lines and distances of these bunkers… All of our fourball tried something different to the others… A really cool hole that shows that great bunker schemes can make or break a course… Though not the most aesthetically pleasing hole, pointing out to the English Channel does also offer another element…

[Duncan Cheslett]

Pleasington is a lovely course with a strong reputaion regionally, but almost unknown further afield. If it was in the South East instead of on the outskirts of Blackburn we would all know of it.

The 7th is one of those completely mad holes which you never forget. A 200 yard fairway stretches out from the tee - what you can't see is that it then plunges down a 150 foot precipice to the right to a second fairway in the valley below. I've no photos but the club website explains it reasonably well.

http://www.pleasington-golf.co.uk/course/hole-seven-mill

Apparantly a weel placed drive can find the lower fairway; I've seen many try but none succeed. It's a cracking hole.

[Mac Plumart]

I wish I had time to post pictures and do write ups on all of these, but I don't.

Nevertheless, I like these holes...

2 at Rivermont
16 at Southhampton
5 at Aiken
12 at Askernish (one of the best par 5's in the world)
The entire run of 15-18 at Canterbury
13 at  Crail Bailcomie
Royal New Kent 5, 10, 13, and 17
And Tallgrass has some good ones, but I can't remember the precise hole numbers of the ones I like.   

[Thomas Dai]

I'd like to nominate a further hole - the 8th at Tadmarton Heath, a short on the card but rather nice sand based heathland course, with plenty of gorse, located not too far north of Oxford.

The hole measures only 329 from the back tees but it's a bit subtle, a bit sneaky, a bit rascal like.

The prevailing wind is from the left, the fairway slopes left-to-right quite severely, the Club's entry road is to the right and the right side of the hole has fairway bunkers. The fairway bunkers, even though deep, are more of the 'friend' not 'foe' variety as they'll stop a ball going OB, which is what happens if a shot goes over the roadway.

The approach shot to the green needs thought. Everything about the wind direction and the land and the hole say feed the ball in from the left, but there's a cunning ridge at left front that kicks the ball futher away from the green and, as the green slopes severely from both left-to-right and downhill from front-to-rear going left means a good chance of a bogey/double. Best miss is the bunkers to the right side. Landing and staying on the green is an achievement, as is a par-4.

Below - picture extracted from SA's nice photo-tour. Photo probably taken from about 70 yds short of the green.


Below - photographed from over the green.


A subtle and thought provoking hole is the 8th.

See - http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,26579.0.html - for the full photo tour of Tadmarton Heath GC.

atb

[Cristian]

Great Topic!

Recently I have played following hole. For now I will keep the name of the course to myself as it is in a perhaps unexpected location. The course plays fast and firm; it is a links course with considerable quirk,  yet you won't find it in any ranking.

I was encouraged to play this course several years ago, and I am glad I remembered. The 6th hole was the best hole on the course for me:



Not only is the hole very beautiful it is also very clever. The hole is only 340 yards in length, with a slight dogleg left to right, or rather with the green angled that way. For long hitters, with a helping wind the hole can be drivable, although this brings into the equation considerable risk with 2 bunkers short and greenside left a bunker short right and oob all along the right side of the hole (cliff edge).

The alternative to lay up to a short pitch is delicate as there is a centre line bunker some 80 yards from the green. It is not very big, but the surrounding fairway slopes towards the bunker from all directions. This bunker is also in play for a shorter drive or a drive upwind.

The shorter layup is guarded by a bunker and OOB on the right and two short bunkers on the left tempting the player to go passed them for a save shot from the left side of the hole. However this will leave an aproach with the ball beneath the feet for the right handed player as the fairway slopes left to right in this area. Also this play will lengthen the hole and leaves the trickiest line into the green, which has a false front and slopes back left to front right.





The hole is fully exposed to the wind, which can mean that a driver and a long iron are requested, or when the prevailing wind (against) is not blowing a driver can get you close to the hole. Both on approach shots and Tee balls it is essential to estimate the length of shot. If this is accomplished the hole is quite playable even in a headwind and net birdie's are quite possible.




I will let people wonder for a while where this hole is before providing a link to the club website.

Edit: This is the 6th Hole at Dinard GC in Brittany France. dinardgolf.com

PS Love the hole in reply#2!

[Bill_McBride]

I can't believe it, an archie saying a hole is great without a bunker in sight    The hole does look very good.  Does the club get a lot of shots going into the road?

I'll give you a very cool hole.  Seascale, under the shadows of the hulking Sellafield Power Station, is a course of little reknown.  Even the connoisseur Pests skipped it while enjoying the delights of Silloth back in 2012.  To be fair, the course is rather a hit and miss affair, but it does feature some outstanding holes.  The third is the first of these class acts, using an adjacent field superbly to create the action off the tee and for the approach. 


If one doesn't take on the OOB on the drive, he must to one degree or another do so on the second.


These bunkers await the cowardly play away from the field and bull.  Further up, there is a hidden centre-line greenside bunker...just for good measure.    


I freely admit to being a sucker for well used boundary elements.  This is a great example of using the OOB to great effect in sharpening the strategy of the hole.

Ciao

That second photo is quite Liverpudlian. 

[Jud_T]

Don't have the pictures handy, but a few of the template holes at Tamarack CC (Banks) in Greenwich, CT are really good.  The punchbowl par 4 11th is unlike any I've seen and the biarritz 12th might be the best I've seen this side of Yale.  The course doesn't get that much outside play, but is well worth seeking out for fans of the style.

[Matthew Petersen]

Hole 3 at Bala is a great hole that never gets any discussion.  There are options off the tee that can make your second shot easier, or the player can be in a really bad spot if he tries to be aggressive and cannot pull it off.  The conservative line is up at the top of the far hill, but the player can try to fit a drive down close to the creek if he wants to challenge the right side.  Either second shot is tough regardless as the hole crosses the creek to a tiny green.

The movement in the fairway is simply terrific.

Maybe the worst cart path placement I've ever seen.