Most difficult course you have played?

[buckeyevalley]

What is the most difficult course you have played (slope, course rating, etc)? Played over the weekend at a course with a 152 slope. I believe 155 slope is the maximum, so it might be safe to say that was the most difficult I have ever played. And yes, the course did eat me up.

[larrybud]

My home course is 76.7/148 from the tips at 7250 yards.

I generally shoot 81-83 there. Oddly I don't shoot a big number. It's just too long.

[titleistprov1man]

Might not be the toughest as far as slope (par 71, 7100 yards, 75.6 rating, 147 slope), but Harbour Town was one of the toughest rounds I have ever played. We played early in the day and the weather was lousy. Low 50s, misty rain, steady 25 mph gusting to 40 winds. Course is tight enough and greens are already small enough without a 3 club wind.

Highest slope as rating I have played would have to be the Ocean Course, 155 slope, 79.6 rating. Oddly played pretty well there but it was really hit and dry an the winds were very low.

[italianstallion]

Two hardest I've played were Bethpage (76.6/144) and TPC Sawgrass Stadium (76.8/155). Not even looking at the course rating and slope, the Stadium course is definitely a tougher golf course than Bethpage. Bethpage is long and has thick rough, but its greens are flat, which means a good player can take advantage. I've found that the course can be overpowered if you've got the length to do it.

Sawgrass on the other hand cannot be overpowered, which is why you see tour players hitting hybrids and 3 woods off every tee. You have to lay back off the tee, even on the long par 4's, which means you've got longer shots into hard, fast, undulating postage-stamp greens. You have to pick your spots and plot your way around Sawgrass. It can be maddening but at the same time very rewarding when you pull it off.

[vbb]

Royal New Kent in central Virginia. It's consistently ranked among the various golf magazine's top 100 public courses, but it is stupid hard. The tips are a shade over 7300yds and the rating/slope is 76.5/147. From the tees that I play it's still a 73.1/141. If it is the first time you've played the course and you don't really know the layout, forget about it. If you're a mid-high capper, there are so many blind shots and trouble you can't really see that you're lucky if you don't lose 10 balls.

Everyone in my group was at least 10 strokes over their normal score at our various home courses.

[Ballgofarboy]

I have played a number of very severe courses but I think the most difficult was the Kampen Course at Purdue University in West Laffayette, IN. I was dumb enough in my prime to play the back tees on this course. It measures 7465 yds, slope was over 142 and the rating was around 76. I had a career round and shot 76 with several chip ins. I do not think I would be silly enough to ever try that again. It is a Pete Dye course, a lot a blind tee shots and from the back tees all you see are waste areas everywhere you look.

If you ever want to get your butt kicked, this would be a good starting off point.

[bigblue]

I am not sure of the slope but the hardest I have played is Carnoustie. It is not only a hard course but it is visually intimidating as well. A lot of the other difficult courses seem to have a couple of holes where you can take a breath. I felt at Carnoustie that every hole made you play as well as you can play. On my trip I also played The Old Course and Turnberry as well as some others but I was never intimidated on any of them like I was at Carnoustie.

[JLTD63]

Not sure about ratings/slope, but taking course conditions and/or weather into account I've played some BRUTAL tournament rounds at places like The Fort GC in Indianapolis, Katke-Cousins GC in Rochester, MI, and Diablo Grande in Patterson, CA.

A big, nasty rating/slope number can be intimidating, but at least IMO they aren't always necessary for a course to play really difficult.

[RJRJRJ]

I just looked up Kapalua, and at 71.7/130 from the regular tees that I played, apparently its not ranked too hard. But as a first time player, there are a ton of blind shots, crazy amounts of wind, lots of OB, huge elevation changes, and rock hard greens with confusing ocean breaks.

[Holy Moses]

Camp Creek back tees 152
Echelon gold tees 150
Medinah Country Club #3 silver tees 147

[Mitchell]

Three years ago, played the tips on Ocean Course @ Kiawah when winds were up in late afternoon. Proshop almost did not let myself and partner go out due to late time of day, stated pace of play was normally horrible in those conditions. When we both returned in a little over four hours with scores of 75 and 77, staff seemed very impressed.

[JWells]

This small course in San Antionio when I was visiting names canyon springs. Super fast greens. And blind fairways. I felt like I was going crazy playing there

[italianstallion]

[quote name='RJRJRJ' timestamp='1382482455' post='8042283']
I just looked up Kapalua, and at 71.7/130 from the regular tees that I played, apparently its not ranked too hard. But as a first time player, there are a ton of blind shots, crazy amounts of wind, lots of OB, huge elevation changes, and rock hard greens with confusing ocean breaks.
[/quote]

I actually agree with that assessment. First lap around that course will make you question the validity of your handicap

[Thinking_Man]

Bethpage Black!!! 76.6/148 7366 yards. It is the toughest course to walk. Can't seem to break 85 on this course. It just really kicks my butt. It's no fun to play.

[knarfgnourt]

TPC Stadium at PGA West which is 76.1/150, 7300 from the tips. Played one up and ended up shooting around 100. Two in the water on Alcatraz (Hole 17). Played the next day at a 72.8/133 and shot 78, which was way better than my handicap at the time. Pete Dye takes my lunch money every time.

[MtlJeff]

nothing too crazy, my course from the tips (one of the 18's) is 74.5/140 or something like that. I feel it should probably be a bit tougher but that's just because driving has been a weakness this year and it's got a lot of OB.

Stowe Mountain in Vermont is the weirdest course i've played. 141 slope, tiny greens, a lot of elevation changes. Short course but you can lose a ton of balls

[Fyparr]

The Ranch in San Jose. Only ~6700 yards and rated 73, but a slope of 152. Shortest set of par 3s I've ever seen. Rest of the course consists of a lot of elevation change, hazards, and quite a few forced (but not scary long) carries from the tee and into greens - visual intimidation with big numbers lurking. Off the tee, club selection and line are crucial. Most fairways are generous, but if you miss you'll be taking a drop. Bad bounces aplenty. Have played it a handful of times and am still figuring it out, a rangefinder with slope would really help me eliminate a lot of guesswork off the tee.

[Nick6771]

No slopes on this side of the pond but Celtic Manor's 2010 Course was v difficult, not a course I'd want to play every week.

[jldavis73]

Purgatory Golf Links in Noblesville, Indiana. 7754 yards from the "Purgatory" tees, 78.1/142. Most fun I've had while getting my rear-end handed to me.

[rufus mangler]

1st. Crappy Par 3 near Deer Island outside Orlando. Tiny, rock hard, dead greens, dirt and pebbles in the bunkers, and 4" tall bahia rough on hardpan everywhere else.

Nearly impossible to score. After 3 holes, you didn't even want to score due to demoralization! Eagle Greens or something. It's long gone.

2nd. Isleworth set up for Masters practice and club championship. Greens were shaved down to within a 1/16" of their lives.

[tagman79]

Karsten Creek in Stillwater Oklahoma..greens are so fast if you run a put three foot by and catch a down slope or not get it over a ridge your ball could easily end up off the green. Tee shots are all optical illusions, if you don't play there much you can't possibly know where a safe place to aim is, and there is like fairway,y 10 yards of rough, after that your ball is in rattlesnake infested forest that you would be crazy to enter.
Cimarron national in Guthrie Oklahoma, a creek runs through the entire golf course and they make you hit 5 iron of every tee with a 3 wood for a second shot into small greens surrounded by evergreen trees.

[dtowngolf]

Kiawah Island Ocean Course was by far the toughest I've ever played. Second day of tournament involved 3 rain delays before the round and one during it, It was overall just crazy to play in the rain in wind on a course that even in calm conditions is scary tough.

[Conrad283]

Bethpage black is the most difficult course I've ever played. I played shortly after the 2002 US Open and the course was in "tournament shape" so the slope and rating were probably a bit "low" for how the course truly played

[Dasenergi]

The Prince course in Princeville on Kuai it's a beast from any of the back 2 tee boxes. I thought they were kidding when they told our group full of single digit handicaps to play up. I highly recommend it to keep your mental game grounded. 76.2/140, 7400 yards that plays like 9000 with the wind.

[TheBoomer]

Beth Page Black from the Tips

[rybo]

The toughest courses I've played are Bethpage Black and the back 9 on Kiawah. Even with no wind blowing Kiawah's back 9 is insane. With the wind blowing it will make you look like a fool!

However, there is a local course here ranked in the top 100 that has an event known as The Extreme Open. The already difficult course is set up in well, an extreme manner. I have no idea how fast the greens were last year but 15 or 16 stimp would probably be about right. Putting off the green is very common and expected! The pin on every green is placed in a spot that is near impossible to even putt to. Every tee is one step from the rear edge of the tee box. Here is a great statistic, 1,296 holes were played and there were 21 birdies! Now we are talking low handicap players, mini tour pros, club pros, ringers from the east coast, hell ringers from all over the county, even current pga tour pros played in this. 21 birdies for the day!

[richard t]

TPC at Avenel. Played as a guest one Monday after the old Kemper Open. Course was set up/left set up just as it had been on Sunday's final round. Lightening fast greens, loooooong par 4s, one was 460 yds. Scratch to 10 hdcps were struggling to break 80. A lot in the mid 80s, 90s too. Long day, but fun to see what it really is like. Now when someone says, " I could..." I just laugh and think about that Monday.

[jabrch]

Whistling Straits

151 - 76.6 from the tips. Now add in a whipping wind and 50 degree temps.

[ptjn1201]

[quote name='italianstallion' timestamp='1382470795' post='8041285']
Two hardest I've played were Bethpage (76.6/144) and TPC Sawgrass Stadium (76.8/155). Not even looking at the course rating and slope, the Stadium course is definitely a tougher golf course than Bethpage. Bethpage is long and has thick rough, but its greens are flat, which means a good player can take advantage. I've found that the course can be overpowered if you've got the length to do it.

Sawgrass on the other hand cannot be overpowered, which is why you see tour players hitting hybrids and 3 woods off every tee. You have to lay back off the tee, even on the long par 4's, which means you've got longer shots into hard, fast, undulating postage-stamp greens. You have to pick your spots and plot your way around Sawgrass. It can be maddening but at the same time very rewarding when you pull it off.
[/quote]

I agree about Bethpage Black -- it's long and hard, but all the trouble is in front of you, the greens aren't roller coasters, and there are few blind shots. If you have an upright swing plane and can hack it out of the rough decently, and can deal with the sand around the greens, it's playable. I played from the tips the year before the first Open there and was pretty pleased with how I played. The Pit down in Pinehurst -- now that was a rugged track. I never got to Tobacco Road.

[Argonne69]

[quote name='italianstallion' timestamp='1382470795' post='8041285']
Sawgrass on the other hand cannot be overpowered, which is why you see tour players hitting hybrids and 3 woods off every tee. You have to lay back off the tee, even on the long par 4's, which means you've got longer shots into hard, fast, undulating postage-stamp greens. You have to pick your spots and plot your way around Sawgrass. It can be maddening but at the same time very rewarding when you pull it off.
[/quote]

'Very typical of a Pete Dye course. Rarely a flat lie, risk/reward on just about every shot, crazy greens, and oh, and odd pot bunker and railroad tie, or two.