Whats the hardest course you have ever played?

[davep043]

On 8/25/2022 at 1:36 PM, Dpadman said:

Looks like Ko'olau Golf Club is permanently closed?  Bummer. 

IT was borderline unplayable.  Off the fairway was a Lost Ball, and apparently it was really wet about 98% of the time, due to its location on the windward side of the island.  Great views, fun of you can hit it straight, but even the smallest mistakes were severely punished.

[hwwong]

Torrey Pines - South.  Food poisoning and thinking I could play with just a mini driver added to the difficulty. 

[James the Hogan Fan]

The Espoon Golfseura course in Espoo Finland is 74.5/145 from the tips, but those tips are only 6800 yards. Yard for yard it is the hardest course I know. A Gumböle creek is in play on every hole save the 2nd and 3rd; the 3rd also being the only hole without out of bounds or an automatic lost ball opportunity (deep grass) (but makes up for it by being a 215 yard par 3). I have had to reload a tee shot on every hole at some point in my playing there. 

 

Every green is small, elevated, and severely sloped, with short typically the only acceptable miss... if there is an acceptable miss at all. On the nineth I once took a 17, and on occasion I find myself hitting 5 off the tee. 

 

Regardless, the course is a lot of fun to play and I have more rounds there than any other course. I haven't been able to play there in over a year now but I'd really like to go back.

[zer0]

Highland Park Country Club before they thankfully closed it down.   30 yard wide fairways surrounded by countless mature trees on both sides.   Not fun.

[shellback]

As at least 2 others mentioned I vote for the Judge. Difficult is one thing. Couple that with unfair and it just is not a lot of fun to play. 

[Shipwreck]

Torrey South while they were prepping it for the US Open in 2008. Greens like glass and rough that was just insane. 
 

Whistling Straits. One box up from the tips. So brutal. 

[golfday]

Oakmont, by far.

 

Other courses are very hard with caveats, e.g. the ocean course if there's wind, carnoustie if the year has been wet/the rough is thick, etc. But Oakmont is that hard every single day. You can have perfect weather on a beautiful spring day and it will eat your lunch. The rough is deep, the course is long and sloped, everything runs firm and fast, there are bunkers everywhere. A typical day at Oakmont makes a typical day at Bethpage or the Ocean Course feel like a cake walk.

[Golferpaul]

On 9/1/2022 at 5:18 PM, golfday said:

Oakmont, by far.

 

Other courses are very hard with caveats, e.g. the ocean course if there's wind, carnoustie if the year has been wet/the rough is thick, etc. But Oakmont is that hard every single day. You can have perfect weather on a beautiful spring day and it will eat your lunch. The rough is deep, the course is long and sloped, everything runs firm and fast, there are bunkers everywhere. A typical day at Oakmont makes a typical day at Bethpage or the Ocean Course feel like a cake walk.

That doesn't sound like fun.   

[golfday]

On 9/4/2022 at 5:48 PM, Golferpaul said:

That doesn't sound like fun.   

It was fun once. Probably fun a few times a year. However, if I had the money and could join any club in the Pittsburgh area I'm not sure that would be my choice.

[soberD]

On 1/3/2022 at 11:18 AM, thechief16 said:

Another vote here for Whistling Straits.  I've played tougher conditions (Doonbeg in 25mph and rain before they did work to soften it, or Baltusrol 3 weeks before the PGA with rough up and greens fast), but I found the Straits, as a course itself, just brutal due especially to the tiny bunkers all over the place that frequently didn't give you even a decent chance to advance the ball in the direction of the hole (either from the fairway or around the greens).    

 

I haven't played the straits but the Irish course kicked my a**.  Tried the tips on a few holes and almost quit golf.  

[PixlPutterman]

BUMP for some more good answers!

 

Outside of course rating, what makes a course hard for you...?

For me its an abundance of uneven lies....

[Chanceman]

It’s the bunkers, sunshine. The more bunkers the more trouble for me. And the deeper the bunkers the worse it is.  So a you have to hit straight enough to avoid them or  b you have to be able hit high and long enough to go over them. Both an and b become an issue for me and I am sure others at various times. 

[ronnbee]

On 9/1/2022 at 6:18 PM, golfday said:

Oakmont, by far.

 

Other courses are very hard with caveats, e.g. the ocean course if there's wind, carnoustie if the year has been wet/the rough is thick, etc. But Oakmont is that hard every single day. You can have perfect weather on a beautiful spring day and it will eat your lunch. The rough is deep, the course is long and sloped, everything runs firm and fast, there are bunkers everywhere. A typical day at Oakmont makes a typical day at Bethpage or the Ocean Course feel like a cake walk.

 

[Golferpaul]

I have always been amused by the magazine course raters.  They usually give courses a higher rating if they are difficult to play.  But anybody can make any course difficult.  And I don't think that makes it a better course.

[Evanwill10]

The Cliffs. Back 9 “going for it” is miserable.

[bcjim]

On 9/1/2022 at 12:08 PM, shellback said:

As at least 2 others mentioned I vote for the Judge. Difficult is one thing. Couple that with unfair and it just is not a lot of fun to play. 

Agree.  Of course,  I haven't played many listed here but the judge was not much fun.  The other 2 courses there are very nice though. 

[sabram]

On 11/23/2022 at 3:52 PM, PixlPutterman said:

BUMP for some more good answers!

 

Outside of course rating, what makes a course hard for you...?

For me its an abundance of uneven lies....

Very narrow fairways bordered by water. Water next to the fairways wrecks a score faster than bunkers

[lazyjc4]

Merion East, circa 2008-2012.  Played it five Memorial Days in a row and it took me until the final time to break 80 (I was a 3-ish index back then).  The rough, though not excessively long, was brutal.  Easily a half shot penalty if you missed the fairway (which are not wide).  More times than not, you're wedging out of a too thick lie.  Also, for a guy who grew up on bent greens, they were easily the hardest to read I've ever seen.  I never took grain into much account on bent greens, but you needed to know exactly what it was doing at Merion.  Uphill putts that were down grain were fast.  Downhill putts back into the grain were slow.  Sloped putts where the grain grew into the slope didn't break, flat putts with the grain going one direction broke a ton.  Unlike anything I'd ever experienced. 

I have no idea how/if the re-do's of the course over the past decade have effected its difficulty.  It looked great at the Curtis Cup, I hope to get to tackle it again some day. 

[Chanceman]

How is a course unfair? Its just a golf course sitting there waiting for you to hit your ball around it in the least strokes you can manage.

[hammergolf]

23 hours ago, Chanceman said:

How is a course unfair? Its just a golf course sitting there waiting for you to hit your ball around it in the least strokes you can manage.

Exactly, all one needs to do is hit it the right distance and direction. Doesn’t sound that hard right??

[SE Gamer]

Haven't played many big name, marquee courses. So I'd say Thunder Hill. Middle of nowhere Ohio. Lot of water. 7,500 from the tips. 78.2 rating with a slope of 152. 

[ALIF]

Pinehurst #2

[st1800e]

TLDR, The Monster, Kiamesha Lake.  NY.  8000 yards , the tour played there back in the 50’s. Lots of pictures of the old tour pros in the clubhouse. 

Edited January 1, 2023 by st1800e

[dmbolp]

Bay Hill 2 weeks before the tourney; rough was ridiculous

[AntLockyer]

How about courses that are hard for the wrong reasons?

 

Played a tournament at a course here at the height of summer, the back 9 was tight and undulating and one hole, a dog leg left had such a severe right to left slope you basically had to hit into the right rough, hope your ball bounced and then be playing your next from the left rough, blocked out by trees.

 

I bet its a great course to play around September. 

[sratacik]

Pinehurst #2 from the Open tees...had a bit of windy day it was impossible to hold those greens. 

[vandyfan]

On 9/1/2022 at 11:08 AM, shellback said:

As at least 2 others mentioned I vote for the Judge. Difficult is one thing. Couple that with unfair and it just is not a lot of fun to play. 

 

Just looked up the Judge on Google Earth Pro and I don't think I would play that course for free. From the opening tee shot it looks like such a slog. 

[PixlPutterman]

Anyone watch Birkshire play these insane courses from the tips and play under par? 

 

Humbling........

[cassel191919]

I played Oakland Hills South a week or so before the US Am and the rough seemed to be about a foot deep in spots and anything above the hole was hard to keep on the green, was quite the experience.

[Pepperturbo]

On 9/13/2021 at 3:08 PM, Fairway14 said:

 

La Purisma holds an annual Impossible Open golf tournament including tee blocks as far back as possible, grown up rough, hole locations on slopes etc...

I know it well... 🙂  played there many times, maybe in that tournament or something similar.