Longest 18th holes (Par 5 - 555 to 614 yards)

[JHoulihan]

Longest does not always mean most difficult but I degress. After arriving at the 18th tee today (Wickenburg Ranch AZ) I immediately asked myself - is this the longest finishing hole I have played? I and the other pair I played with answered yes, but I ask you fellow GCA members - what is the longest 18th hole you have played? (Including name of course and location if possible).

Justin

[Peter Flory]

Kapalua- 663

[Jeff Schley]

Kapalua- 663

I was just going to put that in.  Played it from back there in 1999 and then again in 2001 and both times felt like king kong on the roll you get!

[Jeff Schley]

Also 656 for the International Golf Club-Pines Course from the Tiger Tees on the closing hole.  I think this is the longest course in the USA at 8325. 

Par 3's
180, 277, 250, 277

Par 4's
405, 460, 530, 412, 535, 440, 567, 437, 487, 440

Par 5's
674, 715, 590, 656

course rating / slope
81.7 / 155

[Thomas Dai]

Longest imo isn’t just about pure yardage distance, it’s also about how many shots it can take a player to get from tee to holing out. And I don’t mean hacking your way along a hole here, I mean in relation to how far an individual can actually hit a decent shot with a 1:68” ball.

I recall playing a hole of circa 650 yds and partly uphill when I was a young junior. All decent hits with a Driver, fairway wood, fairway wood, fairway wood, fairway wood, iron to the green*.

For a Rory or a Dustin etc that would equate to a hole akin to about 1,500 yds!!

Atb

* As age catches up I fear such times are rapidly re-approaching!

[Andy Stamm]

The Old 9 at Newburgh-on-Ythan plays about 3200 yards. The last (the 18th with the newer 9) is a par 5 of about 550. It's a real beast particularly against the wind. I heard a story that it was once the longest hole in golf. Not sure that that's true, but if it was that long in 1890 it might be. It really sticks out as the rest of the holes aren't particularly long at all.

[Thomas Dai]

The Old 9 at Newburgh-on-Ythan plays about 3200 yards. The last (the 18th with the newer 9) is a par 5 of about 550. It's a real beast particularly against the wind. I heard a story that it was once the longest hole in golf. Not sure that that's true, but if it was that long in 1890 it might be. It really sticks out as the rest of the holes aren't particularly long at all.

Agree Andy, played it many a time years ago, and the hole seemed to go forever. I seem to recall that there was a fence and gorse along the left side plus an evil wee kink to the left up towards the green. Is my recalledtion correct? Has the hole changed at all?
There was always a lovely sense of tranquility at the then 9-holes at Newburgh, especially the holes nearest the estuary. Is there still a footbridge over the stream onto the course from the rear of the Udny ‘Sticky toffee pudding’ Arms?
Atb

[James Brown]

Carnoustie’s 18 into a strong wind is pretty brutal. 

[Tim Martin]

Yale’s finisher is 621 yards located in New Haven, Connecticut.

[Andy Stamm]

The Old 9 at Newburgh-on-Ythan plays about 3200 yards. The last (the 18th with the newer 9) is a par 5 of about 550. It's a real beast particularly against the wind. I heard a story that it was once the longest hole in golf. Not sure that that's true, but if it was that long in 1890 it might be. It really sticks out as the rest of the holes aren't particularly long at all.

Agree Andy, played it many a time years ago, and the hole seemed to go forever. I seem to recall that there was a fence and gorse along the left side plus an evil wee kink to the left up towards the green. Is my recalledtion correct? Has the hole changed at all?
There was always a lovely sense of tranquility at the then 9-holes at Newburgh, especially the holes nearest the estuary. Is there still a footbridge over the stream onto the course from the rear of the Udny ‘Sticky toffee pudding’ Arms?
Atb

That sounds right, although it's been quite awhile since I was there. I remember all the gorse to the right and the bend left. The footbridge was still there less than 10 years ago, so I bet it's there today. The path and the pub lead right to the bus stop, all very convenient for the vagabond golfer!

[Tom_Doak]

When the course opened, the 18th hole at Pacific Dunes had a back tee that measured something like 661, if I remember correctly ... way on top of the dune ridge.  Last time I looked it had been lost to gorse.  We added it after the original professional for the resort, Tim Hval, came out and hit balls around the course to see if it was "long enough" - that was the only hole we thought maybe could use another tee.  It was only intended to be used on windy days in the summer, when the wind is behind you there, and even from 580 yards the hole became reachable in two.


Certainly the 18th at Yale PLAYS longer than the 18th at Kapalua.  I have seen a few other very long finishers, but those were the first that came to mind.

[Jim Nugent]

Can long-ball hitters reach Yale 18 in two?

[Phil Carlucci]

Longest does not always mean most difficult but I degress. After arriving at the 18th tee today (Wickenburg Ranch AZ) I immediately asked myself - is this the longest finishing hole I have played? I and the other pair I played with answered yes, but I ask you fellow GCA members - what is the longest 18th hole you have played? (Including name of course and location if possible).

Justin

Farmstead Golf Links on the NC/SC border -- the 18th is a par-6 that maxes out at 767 yards.  You tee off in SC and putt out in NC.

[Colin Sheehan]

Yale's 18th remains basically unreachable because of the terrain. I've heard of stories from the old days before fairway irrigation, back in the 1960s, that people could chase their second shot down the hill all the way near the green during summer/drought conditions . And there is a legend that John Daly was the first to ever reach it in two back in the Ben Hogan Tour events in 1990 or 1991.


The only time I've ever seen the green hit in two from the back tee was Brandon Matthews from Temple during the 2015 NCAA Regionals. And he was the longest college golfer I've ever seen.


Tomorrow is the Yale Spring Invitational, a 36 hole event with Virginia and Tennessee among others in the field and it is safe to say no one will be near the green in two, even though it is quite firm right now.

[Adrian_Stiff]

860yards 18th at Crondon Park off the very back...think its over 600 from the normal tee. I think the 860 tee was to get free press. It worked.

[Kalen Braley]

Lake Chabot, CA


650 yards, par 6.  One of the craziest holes I've ever played...

[Matthew Petersen]

18 at Green Valley Ranch in Denver (just south of the airport) is 635. It's at altitude, but it's not downhill.

[Matthew Petersen]

Longest does not always mean most difficult but I degress. After arriving at the 18th tee today (Wickenburg Ranch AZ) I immediately asked myself - is this the longest finishing hole I have played? I and the other pair I played with answered yes, but I ask you fellow GCA members - what is the longest 18th hole you have played? (Including name of course and location if possible).

Justin

I went to look up what the blue tee yardage was for 18 at Big Wick and was surprised to find that 555 is the blue tee yardage. The hole is listed at 614 from the black tees.


I have never played the black tees at Wickenburg Ranch, but I have played the blue tees and from there this hole is actually reachable with a good drive (I'm certainly not the longest guy ever either, definitely not normally thinking about going for it on 550+ holes with a was in front of the green). So long as you can get your drive over that bunker at the left corner, it cuts some length off the hole. If you have to play out around that bunker, which is probably how they measure it, that definitely lengthens the hole.

[Peter Pallotta]

This thread reminds me why the 8th at Crystal Downs is the only Par 5 I've ever loved. Besides being elegant, interesting (on *every* shot), challenging and true to the site, it also honours and reflects the fact that the 'concept of par' is never more real and impactful than on a Par 5. If a Par 5 doesn't offer the realistic possibility of *either* an eagle or a bogey, then it doesn't offer much of anything at all. IMHO

[Matthew Rose]

18 at Kapalua and I also played the Open Course at Moonah Links in Australia which is 582 metres (637 yards?).

[Tommy Williamsen]

Prospect Bay CC eastern shore of MD: 626 yards.  Third shot is over water to a peninsula green. Not a great hole but it does get you attention.

[James Boon]

When Notts Hollinwell opened in 1901, the 18th that Willie Park Junior had designed was 555yds long as a bogey 6.


Its slightly downhill, but into the prevailing wind, so back then with the technology of the time it must have been a brute. When Tom Williamson redesigned the course in 1912 it changed to the 460 yard par 4 it is today (which often plays more like a par 5 into the wind!)


Cheers,


James

[Mike Wagner]

Erin Hills - 663

[J_ Crisham]

Beverly has a strong finisher at 585 yds. It is a dogleg right that has a very large oak guarding the  inside corner of the dogleg at about 275 yds off the tee. The second shot usually plays downwind which allows the young and strong a go at it. The green complex is pretty strong as well with 3 putts in play due to the severity of slope in the green. One of the better 18th holes in Chicago.

[Dave Taylor]

Prospect Bay CC eastern shore of MD: 626 yards.  Third shot is over water to a peninsula green. Not a great hole but it does get you attention.

It's a better hole from the white tees at 535 yards because the long hitter has a tough decision to make on his second shot.