toughest course you've played

[BubblerGolf]

Hershey Country Club West Course, from the tips. In a local junior tour event to make sure my small school didn't come in last place in the standings (was only player on my team to play in tournament, and where all the private schools had their entire teams in it.

[satch10]

Victoria National...Evansville, Indiana

[nitram]

Karsten Creek - Stillwater, OK. 77.2/152 from the orange tees (tips)

When the wind is blowing (and it almost always is) it plays alot longer than the 7400+ yards.

Each shot is a challenge and the penalties are unmerciful. Tom Fazio at his sadistic best.

[MacMia]

Any course set up for pro conditions... Played Muirfield the Monday after the Memorial from the tips, same cups etc. Hit 14 greens and shot 80- and it felt like 65... Totally different game...

[Sean2]

My home course. Narrow fairway, hardly any rough...and then hazards. Very small greens surrounded by trouble.

[78blades]

I haven't traveled out of the Northwest for golf, but within the area Tetherow in Bend Or is the toughest, in my mind that i've played. Its basically Bandon Dunes in central Oregon. Lots of elevated tee's & greens and without a forecaddy for the 1st 4 or 5 times it will just beat the crap out of you. AND I LOVE IT

I really like Chambers Bay with a nice 20-30 mph wind off of the sound, which makes that place pretty dang tough.

For regular courses Ocean Dunes in Florence Or; narrow fairways and lots of blind shots. Get the wind going and it puts another demension on the game. Unfortunetyly its not kept up like its neighbor, Sandpines.

[jtmagic]

Firestone South the week after this year's Bridgestone event...back tees, wet, in the rain, brutal rough, etc.

[kg92lefty]

[quote name='MacMia' timestamp='1315570064' post='3552697']
Any course set up for pro conditions... Played Muirfield the Monday after the Memorial from the tips, same cups etc. Hit 14 greens and shot 80- and it felt like 65... Totally different game...
[/quote]

putting practice for you?

[BkgolferNH]

True Blue in Pawley's Island, SC. It's just south of Myrtle Beach and I went and played 18 with my cousin in the July mid-day heat. It was brutal. Not only was it 105 in the shade with no wind and it was my very first experience with waste bunkers. I couldn't get over the fact that you actually drive through the bunkeres and theres no cart paths. There was a ton of water and the greens were the biggest I have ever seen especially since I play up north where my kitch table is bigger than some of the greens at my home course. I don't shoot over 82 at the course I play usually and I shot 91 at this place and was so excited. We played the almost back tees, so it was like 6,700 yards and thats when the course gets too long for a guy like me. I hit driver 270ish so I can usually try and overpower some courses and I can reach my fair share of par 5s in two but I didn't find a single one the entire round. It was pretty rough.

It was a blast but if youre a junior in Myrtle Beach like I was this summer it is tough to play golf when theres girls all over the place. I was there for 8 days on a "golf vacation" and played one time in between chasing a bunch of tail.

Oh, and 78blades, I "know" the guy who owns Tetherow. I don't actually know him but his sister owns the place my dad works at and she used to play on the LPGA tour and his mom was a member at my home course. The three of them are all very good players. His mom, who I was very friendly with was between 70 and 75ish and she shot a 74 in the ladies club championship. I couldn't believe my eyes.

[Facetious]

Toughest I have played:

PGA National Champions course. When the wind really gets going the Bear Trap is nearly impossible to get through in scathed.

Bethpage Black. 7500 par 70 from the tips and it seems as though every hole is uphill. Without a doubt the toughest I have ever played. Take narrow fairways put 10 yards of six inch rough on each side and then waist high fescue after that. Bring your A game or a hay sickle.

[Laneo]

Played Warwick Hills here in Grand Blanc for a AJGA event. It's funny that it was one of the tour's favorite courses, as most players would demolish it. If you cannot find the fairways, it's extremely difficult, especially when the wind picked up on the second and third rounds. Even for a shorter hitter, 245-260, you can struggle with 4i's into greens.

[mjv7]

Oakmont!!! Bunkers, greens... Windy tough, tough, tough... Remember US 07 open look at winning score...

[BrooklynGolfer]

Bethpage Black, I was in the sand so often it was like spending a day at the beach.

[Swisstrader98]

Hands down, Bandon Dunes. Take your current handicap and add 10-12 strokes...EASILY!!

[pinsucker]

you must be bad I played my hcp at carnoustie in strong winds and putting like garbage because my lags were crap greens were way faster then what i'm used to

[Swisstrader98]

[quote name='pinsucker' timestamp='1315942150' post='3561861']
you must be bad I played my hcp at carnoustie in strong winds and putting like garbage because my lags were crap greens were way faster then what i'm used to
[/quote]

You must be an amazing golfer and perhaps better than most pros because the pros consistently voted Carnoustie as one of the Top 10 most difficult golf courses in the world. Ever hear the expression "Carnasty"??

And you "putted like garbage" but played to your handicap in high winds?? Another amazing yet implausible feat.

Oh wait, are you playing the new Tiger Woods PGA Tour video game? That might explain things.

[oscarpepper]

North Pole National can't get those putts to stop on those ice greens. Rolling about a 100 on the stemp meter.

[pinsucker]

swisstrader you just need to accept taking bogeys when plying links that's it I'm just pointing out that you're exagerating the added stokes for bandon dunes and yes I shot 78 at carnoustie with 36 puts in a 30 mph wind but not from the tips I played the second longest tips are crazy over there I agree

[lowballbomber]

I have played Beth Page Black, and Torrey Pines South. However, without a doubt... the toughest course I have ever played.... by a long shot... was "The Links at Fancourt" in South Africa, where they played the President's Cup a couple of years ago. I shot 2 under 70 2 days before playing the Links. Feeling brave, I decided to play the back tees at Links. Walked off 91 strokes later, only to find out that they don't even play pro events from the back markers. Brutal.

[scratchgolf95]

i played kiawah island when it was 60 out and crazy winds and it was brutal. Was the weirdest day too was pitch black and on one hole it would pour rain and then stop but the wind was always there.

[Swisstrader98]

[quote name='pinsucker' timestamp='1316023330' post='3564052']
swisstrader you just need to accept taking bogeys when plying links that's it I'm just pointing out that you're exagerating the added stokes for bandon dunes and yes I shot 78 at carnoustie with 36 puts in a 30 mph wind but not from the tips I played the second longest tips are crazy over there I agree
[/quote]

The general rule with Carnoustie is to use this formula to predict your score: Double your handicap, then add three strokes. Good luck. You'll need it.

Dean Knuth, former head of USGA handicapping system, the pope of slope and the guy who designed the slope system and the editors of ESPN rated Carnoustie the toughest course on the planet:

From Knuth:

I joined Carnoustie Golf Club as an overseas member in 1980 and have played it plenty of times. I've also played the Old Course at St. Andrews a lot, all the other Open rota courses, all the U.S. Open venues, as well as most of the highest Slope-rated courses in America. On my scale of difficulty, when the wind blows, Carnoustie is the hardest golf course in the world. My best score at St. Andrews is 73. My best at Carnoustie is 91.
Consider these points:

• Carnoustie has a Course Rating of 75.1 and a Slope Rating of 145 from the regular (yellow) tees, making it officially the hardest course in Scotland. (St. Andrews, by comparison, is 72.1/129, Royal Troon is 73.2/134, Muirfield is 73.0/133 and Turnberry is 75.3/133.)

• The last time the British Amateur Championship was played at Carnoustie, in 1992, there were 283 competitors. On the first day of stroke play -- in August -- only two players broke 80 (they both shot 79). The wind was blowing at 50 to 60 mph.

• In July 1996, the month before he won his third U.S. Amateur and turned pro, Tiger Woods played in the Scottish Open at Carnoustie. He shot 81-75 to miss the cut.

• There were so many horror stories from the last British Open at Carnoustie, in 1999. The first-round leader, with a 71, was Rod Pampling. The next day he missed the cut after an 86. Phil Mickelson went 79-76, missed cut; Vijay Singh, 77-84. Perhaps the week was best symbolized by Sergio Garcia, then 19 years old: He opened with a triple-bogey, shot 89, then sobbed on his mother's shoulder.

[broth518]

Carnasty in Scotland during May of 2005

It must have be 40 degrees and it was driving and I mean driving rain and wind. I was drinking tea like it was water trying to get feeling in my hands, but I did some how ended up paring the last 4 holes and taking 50 pounds from my buddies.

I wouldn't trade that round with anything as it showed me that I can play in the terrible weather and play a game I wasn't used to in the states...

[Shwagin1066]

Bethpage Black, no need to explain why

[pinsucker]

carnousty is tought o go par or sub par but shooting 78 is okay if you lay up on par 4's from time to time and take a bogey hogan's alley is real cool, but I'm just wondering if people who played real links how did you like chambers bay because I've got an uncle in seattle and I'd like to know if it's worth the $$$$$$$$$

[barosborough]

Regarding Chambers Bay. I been lucky enough to play some of the best links courses Carnoustie, Old Course, Kingsbarns, The Castle Course at St Andrews, Bandon Dunes (and Pacific Dunes), and Chambers bay. I live in Portland, Oregon so Chambers is only about 3-4 hours drive away. Bandon is only 4-5 hours drive away. With that said the only way I'd go back to Chambers Bay is if I was in town for another reason and people wanted to go. If I was going purely for golf I'd go to Bandon every time.

Staying on topic. Toughest I've played was Carnoustie. Shot 90.
[quote name='pinsucker' timestamp='1316548379' post='3577941']
carnousty is tought o go par or sub par but shooting 78 is okay if you lay up on par 4's from time to time and take a bogey hogan's alley is real cool, but I'm just wondering if people who played real links how did you like chambers bay because I've got an uncle in seattle and I'd like to know if it's worth the $$$$$
[/quote]

[Full Tilt]

Monarch Dunes Nipomo, CA. [quote name='TexasTBag' timestamp='1280327494' post='2603909']
PGA West, Stadium. Can make you want to quit the game of golf. If you have a hangover or your game is a little shakey, you would have a lot more fun driving over and playing Indian Springs.

Broadmoor East, the setup they had for the Senior Open last year was pretty brutal. Some of the toughest greens I have putted on.
[/quote]

[I_HATE_SNOW]

I just got done with Kokopelli near St. George Utah. I thought it was harder than Wolf Creek! Fun course, took lots of pictures and had a great time, just lost a lot of balls. $40 green fee that included lunch, my 4some played for less than a single at Wolf Creek before the overseed.

[Dr. Shankenstein]

I havent played a whole lot of epic courses and the measure that I use to determine how hard a course is by how many balls i lose. So with that as the barometer, the course where I lost most balls is Paa Ko Ridge in NM. I played 27 holes and lost over 18 balls. Good thing they were just Noodles. So if you are at PaaKo and see a bunch of Noodles in the Pinions, they were probably mine.

[creecool]

[quote name='dufusinseattle' timestamp='1316646231' post='3580905']
I havent played a whole lot of epic courses and the measure that I use to determine how hard a course is by how many balls i lose. So with that as the barometer, the course where I lost most balls is Paa Ko Ridge in NM. I played 27 holes and lost over 18 balls. Good thing they were just Noodles. So if you are at PaaKo and see a bunch of Noodles in the Pinions, they were probably mine.
[/quote]
No question it was the Ocean Course....lots of forced carries over sand and scrub...extreme length...breezes off the atlantic....wow what a course....

[dgould91]

Kapalua...those greens are just plain tough