[Mike Hendren]

In thumbing through my lovely wife's newest addition to my golf architecture library - The Architectural Side Of Golf, I ran across the above caption to a hole rendering.  

This leads me to ask:  Aside from sheer length, what notable golf holes offer protection against today's hot golf balls?  Obvious answers might include the 8th at Pebble Beach, the 7th at Sand Hills, the 9th at Cypress Point Club, the 1st at The Old Course or the 8th at French Lick's Hill Course, just to name a few.

Others?

[Brian_Gracely]

7th at Pine Valley
13th at Oak Hill (East)
3rd at ANGC
17th at Prestwick
18th at CPC

I wish that some of these weren't bounded by water hazzards.  

I think #3 at ANGC is a great example because the complexity of that green is evident from 50-150 yards out.  

[ed_getka]

Mike,
  How do those holes defeat the hot balls? Other than running out of landing room on #8 Pebble I don't see how you came up with those examples. #9 CPC strategy doesn't change in any way that I can think of. #7 SH just requires less club with a longer ball. Of course, most of the time you still have to figure out how to get up and down for birdie, which is the brilliance of that hole.

BTW, is that the Grant reprint or an orig. Arch. Side of Golf? Either way your wife scores points in my book.

[Jeff Fortson]

#16 Pasatiempo


Jeff F.

[Steve Lang]

 

#1-18 at Putt Putt

[Mike Hendren]

Mike,
  How do those holes defeat the hot balls? Other than running out of landing room on #8 Pebble I don't see how you came up with those examples. #9 CPC strategy doesn't change in any way that I can think of. #7 SH just requires less club with a longer ball. Of course, most of the time you still have to figure out how to get up and down for birdie, which is the brilliance of that hole.

BTW, is that the Grant reprint or an orig. Arch. Side of Golf? Either way your wife scores points in my book.

Relax Ed - it's a re-print from Classics of Golf.  As for SH #7, you answered your own question.  Both it and #9 at CPC present the same risk/reward regardless of whether one can now pull a 3-wood off the tee instead of the driver.  Should the ball get longer, I don't see either hole being easier with a 2-iron from the tee, for example.  The risk/reward from the tee on both holes is timeless.  

Hmmm.  That leads me to wonder:  Is it the shorter hole that more easily defeats the ingenuity of the ball-maker as opposed to the longer hole?  With the exception of the 8th at PB, all of my examples are drive and pitch holes.

Regards,

Mike

[A_Clay_Man]

The par 3 hole stands up. For those who want to make some money in the business, a par 3 course is no doubt the wave of the future.

[tonyt]

Even #8 at Pebble is affected.

Once a daring drive to get as far up as possible so the player can get home or close to home in two with three wood.

Now a positioned tee shot to a point allowing for a mid to long iron. Lay back too far? Never mind. Can still get home with that three wood.

[Norbert P]

 Any course with hard and fast greens.  Undulating fairways and green surrounds.  Windy holes. Deep bunkers in the fairways - and bunkers on the target line. Courses with cheap beer and loose cart girls. Gorse.

 If I have to choose one... Foxy at Royal Dornoch comes to mind.

[Doug Siebert]

Slag,

Are you saying short tight holes aren't made easier by a longer straighter ball?  If a short hole used to be a drive and a wedge, maybe now it is a long iron and a wedge.  I'm not only hitting a ball that curves less and is less affected by wind, I'm making things even easier for myself off the tee by keeping the driver in the bag.

The improved ball isn't going to mean I can suddenly get the better of all the world's difficult short holes.  You still gotta hit the shots.  But even a 10% greater chance of keeping it safe where I want it to be off the tee makes the hole play easier, takes some of the uncertainty out of the tee shot, particularly against the wind.

I gotta go with Steve Lang on this.  No course that plays to a par much over 36 can defeat the ingenuity of the ball makers.  And that 12 hole pitch n putt on the front lawn of Turnberry is still safe

[texsport]

Any short to mid range par 4 that plays with a prevailing tail wind.

Any hole with a short dogleg and trouble through the fairway.

Any 250 yard+ par 3.

Any "unreachable" par 5.

Any U.S.Open hole.

Texsport

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