What are your favorite courses with low slopes?

[Matt Schoolfield]

I'm back in Austin for Thanksgiving, and I played Lions this afternoon. The slope from the whites there is 118, which is pretty low for my normal rounds. I had a good time with plenty of room for recovery in one direction on every hole. It was really fun. What are some other good low slope courses? Let's say "low slope" means less than 120, but ideally less than 110.

Here's a random photo from under one of the largest live oak trees on the course:

[Kalen Braley]

Pacific Grove, 110 from the Whites.
Gamble Sands, 109 from Green (middle tees)

[Tom_Doak]

There are lots of good courses with a Slope under 120 - I think The Loop qualifies from the white tees.  But to get under 110 it has to be pretty short.

[Tony_Muldoon]

Brora, White Tees 110.


The system doesn't understand links golf and has led to many new bunkers to toughen the courses up. Thankfully Brora has rejected this, but if grazing is finished here the course will play tougher in future with no change to slope. The recent rainfall pattern in the UK has also made links rough brutal for extensive periods, again with no effect on the ratings.

[Doug Bolls]

Lake Arlington in Arlington, TX is a fun course with a varied layout.  Blue slope = 118.  White slope = 115.  Designed by Ralph Plummer in 1963, the course follows the lay of the land quite well.  Front 9 terrain is basically flat and very walkable.  Any bunkering is around the greens.  Every green is open from the front and accessable by chipping/putting.  Water on the sides of #2,3,4 as you approach the green.  No forced carries.  Fairways are tree lined with generous width.
Back 9 has elevation changes - very different from the front.  12 has a blind landing area downhill,  then up to the green.  13 is uphill and dogleg left.  14 par 4 about 60 feet downhill.
15 plays below the dam of Lake Arlington with a forced carry over a water outlet from the dam.  Again, all greens accessable from the front.  Bunkering only around the greens.
It's a good muni and priced ($25.75 + $19 cart) well.

[Simon Barrington]

There is a persistent (and incorrect IMHO) fascination across our game with distance as a measure of skill, and it has so many detrimental effects.One thing that intrigues me is the apparent misuderstanding of Slope. (Please do correct me if I am wrong as I am yet to complete a single WHS scorecard, as the card & pencil mentality is not how I enjoy playing golf)

Most golfers seem to champion a course with a high Rating and steep Slope as being a measure of a good/difficult course.

However if one considers Sunningdale Heath (which Dai & I both played recently) it has a Slope of 93 from the regular Silver Tees (Par 58 & Rating 58) from the Silver Posts it's Slope is 98 (Par 58 & Rating 60).

So a Scratch Player is relatively more challenged to match his Index than the Bogey Player who is less impacted.

Low players find it very hard to beat their index as the lack of their driving advantage is palpable with 14 Par 3's and many of these with decent length, so they are tested through the bag. Bogey players seem to find it far easier to match their Index.

That seems to be the right way round to me for maximum enjoyment, and challenge at the top end of ability too.

Perhaps that is the way to go? Design to create courses with a shallower slope?

As so often in Golf it is the opposites that prevail...

P.S.
Painswick from the White Tees is Slope 110 (Par 67 Rating 64.8 and from the Yellow Tees Slope 105 (Par 67 Rating 63.9)

[Sean_A]

Kington is my favourite course. Yellow tee slope is 117.

Ciao

[Andy Shulman]

I'll nominate the Blue Course at East Potomac Golf Links. The scorecard says the slope from the White tees is 111, but when I post my scores, it's a 107(!) despite its 6,200-yard length. The course is as flat as Talking Stick with minimal trouble, but does have a few challenging greens, most notably #s 5, 9 and 17. Ultimately, it presents us mid-handicappers who reside in the city with an excellent opportunity to go low close to home.


Tom will be overseeing a rehabilitation/renovation that I understand may include making the course reversible like it was when it first opened. The National Links Trust, which operates the course, holds an annual Reversible Day fundraising event.

[Sean_A]

Eagle Springs is 113 from the back tees.

Of my 10 favourite I could only find two courses showing the slope with a cursory look. Many clubs in the UK still don't publish their slopes.

Ciao

[David_Tepper]

Lincoln Park in San Francisco is 110 from the blues and 108 from the whites. While those slopes are low, the actual slopes on the course are pretty steep.