[chipkluchi]

I was looking at the photos of the courses where you like the view. I started thinking how we all play the same game, but in very different venues. What type of course do you favor? Links, parkland, desert courses or even resort courses? I play parkland most often, but prefer the older more traditional ones. I'm not a fan of target golf.

[Lhtfajba]

I love playing links style courses. They can be kind of tight at points though, with more of the high native grasses than your regular courses, which I guess you call parkland (where holes run next to each other a lot?). Tend to lose more balls on links style, but I still like it.

[bitymnmictada]

I like classic and links. I hit 'em short and straight (mostly), so those cater to my game.

[chipkluchi]

Smallie - I've only played a links course once. I agree - I lost a lot of balls, but had a lot of fun.

[Lhtfajba]

I've played one once where you actually did not come back til the 18th hole. There was a building/shack between the 9th and tenth hole. I'm thinking it was here in KC up in Smithville (I know they have a links course there but I can't remember if it was that place or not). Most I have played have the courses that go out and come back, but still come to the clubhouse after each nine. IMO a real links course goes out and comes back on 18. I guess that's why they call them links STYLE, and not just links courses.

[chipkluchi]

How can you have a links course inland?

[Lhtfajba]

Lakes.

It's also links STYLE, not just links.

[drgshmcm]

I LOVE to go for desert/target style courses where you must plan your tee shot well so it sets you up for you approach/lay-up that is best to hit at the green. Also these courses tend to not have much, if any rough, it is either fairway or club-breaking desert. Plus I cut my "teeth" on them in AZ and got hooked. Punishing or not I like feeling like I earned my 75 or my 92!

I like these because they play tough from every tee box and involve lots of carry so I do not get to "cheat", even off the whites, just cause I can hit it longer. Instead I must seriously think about what club I need to hit from the tee to get in line into the green for optimum approach. Instead of driver 8,9,PW,GW for most of the par 4's. It also forces me to lay up and work on getting chip's tight on most par 5's instead of banging away with the 3W or 2 iron and either getting lucky or having a little 20 ft chip.

[grosqueneen]

I like links and link-styled courses as well as parkland courses (older ones).

I like any course where I have a bump and run option most of the time. Flying the ball everywhere (target courses) gets boring for me very quickly and I see it as rather one-dimensional. I also like a course to fit its surroundings rather than to have a lot of landscaping, rock constructs, waterfalls and other "pretty" gimmicks to try to "Augusta-ize" it.


-JP

[Loonerisav]

Heavily wooded with ravines & lots of elevation changes.

[fgfblog]

I like links courses I seem to play better on them. Here is a link for a great view.

http://www.yourgolftravel.com/19th-h...ingsbarns1.jpg

[moopogyOvenny]

I enjoy the more traditional, natural courses vs. Links courses. It seems there is a trend nowadays to let rough grow 12"-15" tall in an effort to be viewed as a "Links" course, or bring some aspect of links golf into some older, established courses.

[Sydneyfonzi]

anything with some water flowing through it and big, mature trees. haven't had the pleasure of seeing desert-type courses yet but would love to experience that soon

[mGUuZRyA]

I cut my teeth on courses in hilly terrain, parkland style courses and I still love the feeling of standing on that first tee with the leaves changing and the course sweeping away before me, but I have lived in Arizona for a while and I also like the desert, target style courses as well. Arkansas had one "links-style" course that I was not fond of, but I believe it was more a matter of the geography not lending itself to the style, rather than a dislike of the type of layout. Links courses are not supposed to have foot high, thick bermuda rough off every fairway. One wrong bounce and you lost the ball.

[viagradiscounttt]

I really don't care about the course as long as I get to play.

I can say I don't like short, gimmiky, target golf, type courses. I want a course where I have to use every club and not be able to hit 4-iron/wedge on the majority of par 4s. I want to have to hit a driver to have a chance. I want to have to hit a 5-iron over a creek to reach the green. Basically, I want to have a challenge on every hole, and not just the challenge of hitting the ball short and straight.

[F1grandprix]

I'm not picky at all... Short, long, tight, open, hard or easy makes no difference to me. Just like to play golf.

[griddle]

I like a good traditional, hilly, wooded course as well as links style. I have not played much desert golf but the few times I have I enjoyed it.

A good resort course isn’t bad every once in a while but often they are built to be very friendly, with very wide fairways, etc which cuts down on the need for precision.

[Lhtfajba]

A good resort course isn’t bad every once in a while but often they are built to be very friendly, with very wide fairways, etc which cuts down on the need for precision.

Maybe I should start playing resort courses!

[griddle]

Touché Smalls. That’s why I said I don’t mind playing them occasionally because they often give you a boost of confidence. Then I get brought back to reality when I play my home course again.

[jhfsdhf]

I like most courses. I guess if there is anything that I'm NOT a fan of, it's a course which seems to be composed of a string of islands with water and out of bounds everywhere. I just don't enjoy playing where every missed shot is a penalty. I don't mean that I dislike hazards, only that they shouldn't be in play on every shot, or if so then there should be some sort of bailout area for most of those shots.

Target golf just isn't much fun for me because it forces one to play the same game as the course architect played, and it often turns into playing the same shots on the same holes every time I play the course. I like a course that provides the player with options, but not one that turns every poor decision into a 2 or 3 stroke penalty. Maybe one day my driver isn't working well, so I want to use my 3W on most tee shots. A well designed course should allow that, leaving longer second shots, but not making such a choice impossible. There should be a mix of holes, some less forgiving than others, but you should at least be able to catch your breath on an occasional easier hole.

My home course, a parkland style course, has remained my most played course for more than 25 years simply because it seems to be different every time I play it. It's a course which rewards good shots, and punishes poor ones in a varying degree depending on the severity of the error. Missing the fairway may or may not give you a good shot depending on whether you are in the native rough (requires a bad miss, and can punish you severely), in the primary mowed rough (quite playable, but often with some degree of tree trouble), the first cut (just slightly deeper than fairway, usually leaves a decent shot). Escaping the rough can test your imagination, and that is one of my favorite things in golf.

There is also an irrigation ditch that winds through the course and comes into play on several holes. It can be played around and avoided with a little bit of course management, but it's amazing to me how many balls an 8 foot wide ditch can catch. There are also a few ponds on some of the harder holes, and these can obviously cause problems. Only 7 holes have water that actually comes into play.