Things you love about certain golf courses that nobody really talks about

personally, I love courses that have the really thick black and white flagsticks with the skinny bottom like the ones being used at the Qatar Masters this week

post your bizarre likes in this thread

I like benches on the tee boxes.

I like practice putting greens right next to the first tee so you can putt right up until it's time to hit.

I like a golf course that looks like it has been there for a long time ; a patina of history.

Tee boxes and/or tee markers set up with lines that will put you off the fairway if you're not paying proper attention when setting up.

Lot's of risk/ reward shots

Basket flag sticks at Merion and egg sandwiches at Augusta

[quote name='ClarkGrswld4' date='31 January 2010 - 02:41 PM' timestamp='1264948900' post='2216414']
Personally, I love courses that have the really thick black and white flagsticks with the skinny bottom like the ones being used at the Qatar Masters this week.[/quote]

You'd like my home track. We traditionally use fat wooden poles with a thinner, foot long metal 'neck' atop the cup.

For my own part, I like anything that makes you think and which offers several options from the tee. I hate courses that are wide open and simply an exercise in pulling off the driver cover 14 times. I like holes with intelligent fairway bunkering, contouring and shaping; where a long iron or fairway wood can be taken or a driver over or past the trouble depending upon the player and the conditions.

I also like a good clutch of par 3 holes. Ideally, one tough, longer hole, playing a long iron most of the time, a couple of mid length holes - say a 5, 6 or 7 iron - and one nice short one (ideally [i]really[/i] short) that's got an appropriately-sized and well protected green complex. Thankfully, my own course more or less hits the spot in this regard, with a 170 yard third, a short sixth hole at 140 yards or so, a solid par 3 in the 175 yard 11th and a very difficult 18th that plays up to 220 yards.

Another thing I like is a course that wends its way around and changes direction on a fairly regular basis. I like to see variation when it comes to prevailing winds, with not too many consecutive holes running in the same direction. My own course, again, is pretty good in this regard. Muirfield is probably the foremost example.

Short walk from the green to the next tee - very nice when you're walking.

Every course has it's subtle quirks that appeal, or in some cases terrify. The opening hole of many courses is sometimes rather plain, but in some cases can turn the average golfers legs into jelly. Case in point is the opening hole to Wentworth's west course. It's a par 5, but the opening tee shot requires a bit of accuracy - what makes it worse is that you have to shoot over a road while they stop the traffic to allow you to tee off. A few years ago, faced with the nervous opening gambit, a certain Mr Els accompanied with a huge dog also stopped to watch our group tee off the 1st. I bottled it and replaced the driver for a 2-iron. Ernie gave us a wink as we walked off - what a relief. I much prefer the opening hole at Lytham - a 169yard par 3!

Are you playing a lot of golf with ladies mate?

 I like attention getting difficult tight tracks that run.  Makes it easier for me and harder for most others. 

As far as the course itself, I like when there are several holes that have closely mown areas (chipping areas) around the greens. I like when you have options with the short game, rather than just take out the sand/lob wedge and gouge it out.

As far as managing the golf facility, I really like when the golf shop is honest when you call and ask for information. I.e., when the greens were punched, or how busy the course is. I've already written off the golf course closest to me for repeated misinformation. (Bear Creek, I'm looking at you.)

I like when the tee boxes are actually flat, which is apparently a rarity on most public courses. Most courses the tee boxes are either slanted side to side, or there are 2 tiers (from side to side, not front to back). When there are 2 tiers, they have a tendency to put the tee markers where the change is right in the middle of the box, which is pretty stupid. I think it should be a requirement to have a flat surface for a teeing ground.

I also like Benches near the tee boxes when I walk. Too often, waiting on the group ahead, you find yourself just standing there. It would be nice to be able to relax and take a seat.

An outstanding cart girl.

i like courses where marshalls do their job. Sadly marshalls that do their job are about as common as dodo birds.

i walk most of my rounds and i used to love courses that kept water on the course. it kept the weight down on my bag without carrying my own. very few have water now after a few lawsuits.

i also like the black and white flagsticks, I also like the black and white 150 pole right in the middle of the fairway. it would be fine by me if this was the only yardage marker out there.

[quote name='joeswilkins' date='31 January 2010 - 04:00 PM' timestamp='1264975237' post='2217282']
An outstanding cart girl.
[/quote]
As much I like babe cart girls they have an adverse effect on pace of play.  To many doofus guys forget about golf as they are trying to hit on the babes.  

Any very nice courses that I can play a round in 3-3 1/2 hours easily. My home course one of them. They do have hot looking cart gals but they need to come by more often in order to slow down the play.

most golfers are righties, many fade or slice...I like a course design that leaves
room pin high right, off the green. Brings a reasonable chip into play. Makes for a playable and fun day.

I like courses that have a variety of holes in terms of lenght and strategy. Long, medium and short holes with the par of 3,4 and 5.

I dont like courses that have nothing but long 8" rough around the greens,
I
hate cart paths that come into play on every tee shot, they should be out of the way not a hazard to be avoided.

I love a short downhill par 3, preferably with some trouble near by, a short par 5 that is very reachable but with trouble abound.

I like fairways that run fast but with trouble looming if you run it the wrong way.


I like it when there are plenty of liquid refreshemnts available, especially when it is hot.

I like hot cart girls to serve me the beverages.

I like a cozy clubhouse to have a drink at when finished, dark with free snacks and cold beer, and a good place to play cards.

I like the first hole to be relativley easy and the 18th to be difficult.

I like a mix of dogleg rights and lefts.

I like long par 4's to have big greens with and open path to the front of the green and no trouble in front.

I like short par 4's and 5's to have small greens or tiered greens with small target areas that require precision short iron approaches.

I like fast greens

I like firm sand, hate the fluffy stuff

I like it when the "ladies tees" are moved forward enough that the ladies can actually reach most of the holes in regulation and dont have to play every hole as a 4 shoter before they reach the green.

I like it when the slow players on the course arent buddies with the starter and go off first in the morning.

I like it when all the sprinkler heads are marked with yardage and you arent constantly looking for it.

I like it when it is only 20 yards to the next tee not 200 yards.

I like it when the staff actually acts like they appriciate your business

I like it when they have a driving range close to the first tee, or at least have one.

I like it when they have a practice area for bunkers and chipping, and I really like it when there is a practice bunker on the range.

I play a course that has a 19th hole, a real one measuring 180 yards, to finish off any unsettled bets when finished. Sweet.


I like it when the nicer courses have good twilight rates so you dont feel like you are mortaging the house to play it every now and again after work.

I like it when the rough is a manageable length so you dont spend all day looking for a ball that missed the fairway by two yards.


I like it when houses streets and cars are not in play off of the tee, unless your really really hit a bad shot.

Is all this really too much to ask for?

1 - Free range balls with a purchased round of golf are always a nice touch.
2 - Chipping greens with actual cups, instead of sticks in the ground to practice up and downs.\
3 - Marshalls that tell you how the course is playing before teeing off, rather than simply calling your group and sending you off.

[quote name='Samps' date='31 January 2010 - 06:18 PM' timestamp='1264983483' post='2217570']

i also like the black and white flagsticks, I also like the black and white 150 pole right in the middle of the fairway. it would be fine by me if this was the only yardage marker out there.
[/quote]

There is a local course, that is lighted for play at night, that has sticks at 125. For the first 1/2 dozen or so rounds, I didnt know this, and couldnt understand why I was flying the greens so frequently (this was right after I had started playing). Once I found out, it made that course much more enjoyable.

drinking water on the course. On hot summer days I sweat like a 700 pounder in a sauna.

[quote name='Samps' date='31 January 2010 - 04:18 PM' timestamp='1264983483' post='2217570']
i walk most of my rounds and i used to love courses that kept water on the course. it kept the weight down on my bag without carrying my own. very few have water now after a few lawsuits.
[/quote]


What caused the lawsuits? people messing with the water?

[quote name='Fyrrwin' date='02 February 2010 - 02:15 PM' timestamp='1265138127' post='2222505']
What caused the lawsuits? people messing with the water?
[/quote]

On July 19, 2002, Nils Beeman died on his 15th birthday after drinking contaminated water while playing in a junior golf tournament in Phoenix. The coroner’s report showed that Beeman choked on his own vomit after contracting a Norwalk virus that inflicted 84 golfers during the tournament. Officials believe the virus spread through contaminated drinking water and ice from golf course water coolers, but the medical examiner’s office could not trace the virus to a specific source.

The victim’s parents filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Thunderbirds Golf Club and its management company, Western Golf Properties. Eventually they received a settlement of $3 million.

I like courses that actually have markings on the sprinklers, yardage books, and that pass out tee sheets before you tee off. I am sick of courses relying on GPS so much. IMO part of the fun is walking a course and figuring out your yardage and the type of shot you need to hit. Yes I might misjudge some pins and distances but I have found that I play 3 strokes better per round.

Living in Florida has really made me hate polo golf....drive up, grab a club, whack the ball, repeat....

Give me good greens where the ball runs true and I'm happy

[quote name='Fyrrwin' date='02 February 2010 - 01:15 PM' timestamp='1265138127' post='2222505']
[quote name='Samps' date='31 January 2010 - 04:18 PM' timestamp='1264983483' post='2217570']
i walk most of my rounds and i used to love courses that kept water on the course. it kept the weight down on my bag without carrying my own. very few have water now after a few lawsuits.
[/quote]


What caused the lawsuits? people messing with the water?
[/quote]

Bacteria and other things in the water (from irregular cleaning of the jugs) that people in N. America no longer have immunity from due to our germaphobic lifestyle. A few people got sick and got lawyers and now you rarely find water jugs at a course in N.A. Course owners also figured out that if you remove the free water people have to buy beverages from them.

Level Tee boxes
Holes requiring shaped shots through out
Manicured greens that are quick
Multiple tee boxes for change
quality practice facility, many targets, great chipping and bunker areas
great service on and off the course