toughest course you've played

[Mike_C]

Probably Spyglass Hill for me. Played in the fall, cool, windy, very tough conditions.

I've played Oakland Hills South, but not from the tips or in a tournament setting with slick greens. I think I shot 80 and played real crappy, it was all in the course set up...The course actually seemed sort of easy that day, if I played well I would have expected about shooting around par..

Maybe the hardest course I remember playing with its set up was its sister course, Oakland Hills North, but this was back around 1980 or so. It was a US Am qualifer. I was playing good, I shot 75 or so at another course in the morning, and another 75 or so and I would have actually made it thru. The course was not long, maybe 6700, but very tight fairways, very long rough, very very fast hard greens, Plus the GAM was known for setting up 18 hard pins, they seemed tucked on every hole... Remember, it was with V grooves. I drove the ball well in the morning, but my first drive was at Oakland Hills North was way off the fairway, zero change of making par from the lie I had. The rest of the day was like that, miss the fairway, bogey or double..... I think I shot 87 finishing in the rain..........not many even broke 80 that day....

[Bobby Uchida]

Toughest tournament course I have played is Robinson Ranch in Santa Clarita California. Slope is 149 and rating is 74.4. Easily the hardest course I have ever played under 7000 yds. Yardage is 6903. Fairways are generally narrow. Little rough. Outside of fairway is either hazard or trees with enormous tree wells. Elevation changes and wind play with your tee ball on certain holes. Holes 9 and 18, the only holes with wide fairways, about 75 yards wide, are both par 5s with a five story drop (not sure exactly but its a big drop) and the fairway is split by a gigantic oak tree making the fairway about fifteen yards wide on either side of the tree. Carrying the tree requires a drive of 310 in the air. On all holes, edges of fairways slope off to the side. Greens stay consistently around 12 on the stimp

[SemperFi91]

I'd have to say "The Shattuck" golf course in Jaffrey, NH.

Has a rating / slope of 73.5 / 153 from the tips. Built on a swampy water land, this course has water hazards, swamp areas, and OB on almost every hole. For those that have played it, I think you'd agree. For those of you in the New England area, it's worth the trip. Check it out.

[url="http://www.sterlinggolf.com/shattuck/description.htm"]http://www.sterlinggolf.com/shattuck/description.htm[/url]

[jackn]

Royal County Down, so punishing and tests every aspect of the game. Have to be accurate off the tee, strike it very well because if you don't even from the fairway you won't hold the green. Bunkers are very deep and greens are so slick. Still havn't cracked it

J

[Connorws]

Augusta

[byw]

+1 Pga West Stadium
So hard
its very visually intimidating with all the huge hazards

[troonnorth]

Golf Vacation to the Pinehurst area last summer. On the way from the airport we stopped off and played Tobacco Road. I forgot what the slop was. Course in great condition. Blind tee shot after blind tee shot from the tips. A par 5 on the back side that the designer must have been on acid when he designed. Golf Digest has it in the top ten toughest in the U.S. Green fee was cheap for the condition and challenge.

[troonnorth]

[quote name='sweatygolfer' post='2073066' date='Nov 19 2009, 12:03 AM']For me, its the Ritz-Carlton golf club at Dove Mountain, WGC Accenture Match Play course. I found it difficult because of its length. 7800 yards stretched all the way from the tips. And the greens are very undulating. Its extremely important to control your distance into those greens so you can get your ball on the correct level, but that becomes hard to do when the shortest club u have into a par 4 is a 6 iron. The fairways are pretty generous, but position is incredibly important. And no matter where you miss the green, it leaves a challenging up and down. Final example of the difficulty of the course is the 5th hole, a 530 yard par 4, yes a par 4, there is no typo.[/quote]


I've played Dove Mtn many times over the past year. The three nines are well designed by Nicklaus. I didn't find the course to be as tough as The Gallary just up the road.

[kyldo]

I've never played any super challenging courses... Dakota Dunes outside Saskatoon, Saskatchewan is probably the toughest.

7300 from the tips, rock hard greens that are lightning fast. Links style course though; zero water or trees, and usually pretty windy.

[OneBowTie]

I have had the pleasure- if thats what you want to call it- of playing many of golf digest's hardest ranked courses......some have lived up to that reputation and others didn't for whatever reason....

Of course, if you catch any course on the right or wrong day- depending on how you view your golfing experience.....meaning wind, rain, drought or excess heat....can cause any course to have to alter its true setup.....

I have played the Tobacco Road and Tot Hill Farm courses on more then one occasion...... and while they definitely have teeth to them..... I just haven't found them to be nearly as difficult as some other courses played from the tips.....

the five hardest courses I have played

1) Black Wolf Run- River Course- Kolher WI- played this from the tips and it was ridiculous..... most of the group couldnt clear hazards on a few holes from the tee.....and if you got out of the fairway-forget it....go check this website out for some of the distances on holes

2) Kiawah- Ocean Course - again from the tips.... good luck.... and that is if its not windy.....If it is windy, forget it...simply move up and only lose a dozen balls

3) Black Forest-Gaylord Michigan- another one of those if you play the tips....you must have PGA length

4) Linville Golf Club- Linville NC- This is a old, old, Donald Ross course....yardage is not long by any means.... but the course is in the mountains and course does require shot placement.....and the greens are off the charts fast....at least when we played it this year....

5) Pinehurst #2 - when they let the rough grow some..... most of the time the rough is tame when no big tourney is coming to town.....its a whole different beast when they rough is....ROUGH....

[littleprov1x]

36 tournament holes in 40+ mph winds at La Purisima in Lompoc, CA. It's 7105 from the tips and plays every bit and more. There is not a flat hole on the course. Shot 77-78.

I should note, I've played a lot harder courses, however the whole combo of tournament/wind puts this one over the top.

[cubiclegolfer]

widows walk in scituate, ma. 18 holes of fairways lined on both sides by environmental hazards.

[zblowfish]

Mill Creek Golf and Country Club in washington, not only is it the hardest, i hate it the most.

OB both sides of every single hole and there are some simply stupid holes out there, not only is there ob everywhere, it is by far the narrowest course. The annoying ugly houses make me mad, therefore I do even worse.

[seanindetroit]

kapalua plantation was pretty hard, playin 7300 yards and with the wind cranked up, pretty tough...pebble beach was much easier than this

[elrey23]

PGA West, Stadium. It's visually intimidating.

[foxinsocks1]

[quote name='cubiclegolfer' post='2158245' date='Jan 3 2010, 12:49 PM']widows walk in scituate, ma. 18 holes of fairways lined on both sides by environmental hazards.[/quote]

While not the toughest course I have ever played +1 for Widow's Walk being ridiculous. Some of the tee shots are borderline unfair like 9, the landing area is 10 yards wide and if you miss it either way your in the hazard what a joke. The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island is my vote. Runner up Bethpage Black, the last day you could play it before it closed for the open...aka before the monsoon.

[Biskit72]

The judge in pratville
The slope and rating are as follows: Judge: Purple - 77.8/144; Orange - 72.6/132; White - 69.3/129; Teal - 68.3/121
JUDGE
HOLE
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 OUT 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 IN TOTAL
PAR
4 4 3 5 4 3 5 4 4 36 5 4 3 4 4 5 3 4 4 36 72
Purple
415 459 187 617 423 229 675 466 424 3,895 711 478 231 424 469 552 256 430 348 3,899 7,794
Orange
400 371 155 514 386 190 586 420 387 3,409 563 394 179 373 424 500 223 384 321 3,361 6,770
White
379 350 129 486 335 148 575 395 362 3,160 543 340 160 313 377 478 170 364 293 3,038 6,198
Teal
296 297 104 402 273 128 351 344 271 2,466 421 268 98 278 352 413 126 286 247 2,489 4,955

Has anyone else played here?

[pinhigh27]

Sleepy Hollow, richfield ohio.
Very tough in my opinion, yardages play every bit as long as stated then some.

[LUgolfer]

I participated in last years US Amateur at Southern Hills. Unbelievably hard course when under the USGA set up. Greens ran around 14 with insain amounts of slope. Fairways were an average of only 25-30 yards wide so accuracy was a key. All in all an amazing course

[dan360]

[quote name='sosinsurr' post='1811193' date='Jul 10 2009, 08:42 PM']Some local ones that come to mind:

- Bandon Dunes when the wind is howling
- Eugene Country Club, Eugene Oregon
- Sahalee Country Club, Sammamish Washington...again tight tree lined fairways that if you miss, bogey is a good score
- The Home Course, DuPont Washington...a cheaper Chambers Bay. Played both and the wind always blew when I was at The Home Course so it made it a b*tch from tips
- The Plateau Club, Sammamish Washington...rated as the states toughest course. Rating of 76.3/152 at just under 7200 yards
-[/quote]
I haven't played Eugene CC but agree with all the rest....actually Sahalee was the first one I thought of when reading the thread title.




Pebble Beach was the most difficult for me. The wind off the ocean is something that can't really be described. I don't think any of the fairways are level, and some of the approach shots are just scary looking.

I can't even imagine playing it in U.S. Open conditions. Can't wait to see Chambers Bay with it's fightin' clothes on.

[MJBGOLFPRO]

The Shattuck GC, jaffery, nh . toughest short course! Hold course record 65!

[oceanofwar]

Winged Foot right after the US Amateur...killer rough and lightning fast greens...slope of 145

[oceanofwar]

Winged Foot right after the US Amateur...killer rough and lightning fast greens...slope of 145

[moonshine]

The Judge here in Prattville, AL. Almost 7800 from the back and 77.8/144. Water everywhere, huge undulated putting surfaces. Funny enough, the easiest hole on that course is number 18!

Oh yeah, Inverness in Toledo...from the back you are hitting 3,4,5 irons into postage stamps for greens! Northern Ohio has many old Ross courses that are awesome and nobody has heard of them. Most are private, which is a bummer.

[vwgolfer]

[quote name='dubbie' date='21 June 2009 - 08:01 AM' timestamp='1245585673' post='1769742']
Wolf Run in Indianapolis when it first opened. If you didn't hit it in the narrow fairways it was gone. Most penal course I have ever played. They have since made it a bit more friendly, so it isn't nearly as difficult, but it isn't easy by any stretch of the imagination.
[/quote]


[quote name='armydiver' date='10 July 2009 - 07:27 PM' timestamp='1247268459' post='1810957']
Koolau on Oahu, Hawaii. Its pretty beastly from the tips. Every shot has the potential for disaster if you spray the ball. Plus the greens are so damn grainy.
[/quote]


[quote name='mikpga' date='10 July 2009 - 07:19 PM' timestamp='1247267969' post='1811418']
Just played the two toughest rated courses in Indiana...

Purgatory & Wolf Run...

Purgatory was 7700, but I thought it was quite fair and a great track!

Wolf Run is by far the hardest course I have ever played...

It didn't help playing Purgatory in the morning! I thought Wolf Run was very penalizing...

Very tight, very few bail out areas into the greens, played about 7200...

Very difficult...
[/quote]


[quote name='dong4ce' date='27 July 2009 - 12:39 AM' timestamp='1248669575' post='1845197']
Bandon Dunes

the wind was terrifying
[/quote]


[quote name='Borthwick' date='20 November 2009 - 10:26 AM' timestamp='1258727210' post='2075270']
I'll throw in a vote for PGA West Stadium. Toughest I have played.
[/quote]


these are the ones I have played in some sort of order from hardest to easier. whatever that means.

1.Wolf Run-tricky shots required, played it once probably would get easier if I knew where I was going and with a 85 yrd par 3 and a 250 par 3 on the same track GOOFY.

2. Pacific Dunes or Bandon- in the wind, crazy golf. FUN to hit a 120 yd 5 iron and still be short of the green...

3. Bethpage Black- played it hundreds of times. It gets easier only because you start playing the Par 4's as Par 5's. at least the greens are huge.

4. Koolau is probably the hardest but it was so wet I have to give it some negative points. Hard to play when your ball gets lost in the fairway cause the ground is so soft..where did it go?? Oh underground.

5.Purgatory- any course that can stretch to 7700 yds is tough but other than that it ain't so tough.

6. PGA West. Some of the bunkers are so deep you could drive one of those cheesy Palm Springs golf carts into them and lose it. Plus the row of condos around some of the holes is stupidly distracting.

7.Whistling Straits- ok tough but really some of the holes are nothing to write your grandma about. and 18 is stupid.

8.Muirfield. Ohio.- Tough yes. you can score here if you bomb it.

[ronstars]

Been playing for about three years now and the toughest for me thus far has been Spanish Bay...Just punishing if you don't have the control and straight drives.

[stevopagolf]

PIne Valley, Pine Valley, NJ
Whistling Straights, Kohler, Wi
TPC Sawgrass, Ponte Vedra, FL
Kiawah Ocean, Kiawah SC
Stone Harbor Golf Club, Stone Harbor NJ
Tradition at Royal New Kent, VA

All very tough, long, high slope....

Pine Valley is the toughest. Miss the rough and forget it. Miss the par 3's on the wrong side and you can't keep a chip on the green. Even the short par 4's are tough because of the small greens. Very fun to play if you are hitting it at all otherwise forget it....

[rblmp32]

[quote name='troonnorth' date='25 November 2009 - 05:05 PM' timestamp='1259183127' post='2084856']
Golf Vacation to the Pinehurst area last summer. On the way from the airport we stopped off and played Tobacco Road. I forgot what the slop was. Course in great condition. Blind tee shot after blind tee shot from the tips. A par 5 on the back side that the designer must have been on acid when he designed. Golf Digest has it in the top ten toughest in the U.S. Green fee was cheap for the condition and challenge.
[/quote]


Tobacco Road is a b**** the first time. But after that, it's honestly one of the easiest courses to play. It's short, and when you know where to hit it you can shred it. Alot of birdies to be made out there.

[crtssxc]

[quote name='690cb' date='21 June 2009 - 01:05 AM' timestamp='1245560749' post='1769532']
The Peninsula CC in Selbyville Delaware
Jack Nicklaus design 7450yds
some form of water hazard on each hole
generous landing zones off the tee
treacherous greens that are lightning fast
the back tee box on the first hole is located on the back portion of the putting green..enough said.
[/quote]

I played this about a year ago and it was a beast. However, I played Bethpage from the back tees a bit after the open was there last year and so that has to be the hardest course I have ever played by a good bit. And an honorable mention to Tobacco Road near Pinehurst NC. It is a pretty short course by most standards (not sure of exact yardage) but you cannot see the fairway from most tees and almost can never see the putting surface on your approach shots which are either elevated or have a drop off. I am sure if you play there often you can turn it into a driver/wedge type course for the most part but only playing it one time it was quite a challenge.

[KWP]

[b]Carnoustie[/b]- By a long shot it is not even close. I think that it is the hardest course in the world in the wind. I grew up playing in the wind in Texas and so it is second nature to me but that course is brutally violent. I've played the Kiawah Ocean Course at 7300 yards in 20-30 mph wind multiple times and I've played Pinehurst 2 and 7, Tobbaco Road, Spyglass and Pebble, Bandon Dunes, Sawgrass, Bethpage Black, PGA West, and St. Andrews; all of these more than a dozen times each and let me say...

Carnoustie spanks all of them.

I don't know what the slope is but if I had to guess it would be 145 not the highest by any means but when it blows and that is often it has no equal. You think that your a scratch golfer and that your pretty little high fade-draw is great-bring that weak crap to Carnoustie and it will chew you up. You have to be creative and Golf your ball. It demands almost every type of shot out side of that paradigm and is just a different type of golf. Low boring shots, punch shots, knock downs, bump-n-runs, 1/2 hit 7 irons from 60 yds that stay under the wind and stop quick or run up the green. You have to have game and you have to have almost ever shot in the game and do it well.