Course Layout - Likes/Dislikes
 

par 5's for me are birdie opportunities http://www.thehackersparadise.com/fo...es/biggrin.png
so a good way to close a round, tho i think a par 5 + a par 4 would be mor fitting http://www.thehackersparadise.com/fo...es/biggrin.png

It was for the men.

I don't care where they put the par-5s but I don't think they should put two in a row! I wouldn't want to see two par-3s in a row either. And I don't think a par-3 should open or end a 'nine'.

I tend to agree. Usually by the time that I get to the 17th and 18th holes, I might be a little tired, especially mentally. It's always nice to have the last two holes to be interesting in order to help keep me focused to/thru the end. Give me "something"---water, elevated greens, sharp doglegs---something instead of flat landscape. To me the 17th should ideally be a par 3 of moderate distance (say, 157) and the last hole a par 5. But that's just me...

For me finishing up with two par 5s would not be an issue. If I have any dislikes on finishing par it would probably be a finishing par 3, if I am not playing well that day. Par is just a number.....on a piece of paper. What I write down is my own doing regardless of par.

Now in professional tournaments, I like to see the last three, finishing holes to be set up tough, par wise. I don't like to see par 5s in the last three holes of professional tournament. A run of pars 3-4-3 makes for good drama especially on Sunday with 4 or more golfers still in contention. Add a long carry over water, off the tee box, and I will watch that finish more often than not.

I played a course in Indiana that opened with a tight par-4 peninsula from tee to green with even a tighter peninsula green with water on 3-sides of the green. I like to "ease into" a round with a fairly lenient fairway on the first hole.

*** I heard this course alternates the front and back nine often so that the staff can tend to half the course for a couple extra hours on certain mornings, so it is possible that I played the true 10th hole to open.

It seems to be common but I really do hate a par 3 on the 17th. It always seems to blow my round when im on fire. I do like a par 5 on the 18th though.

We have a course here (Tomahawk Hills), that ends both nines with a Par 3 over a cliff. Pretty cool holes, and not such a bad way to end the nines.

Pacific Grove Municipal in California starts with two Par threes, which I wasn't thrilled about, but overall was one of my favorite courses I have ever played.

You would hate Dell Urich. Not only is 17 a par 3, it is a par 3 all water carry that can wreck a perfectly good card in a couple of bad swings.

I have no preference except I don't like the 2nd hole to be a par 3. This particular configuration seems to slow down the first few holes. I don't think there should be a par 3 until after the first par 5.

I like to start with a par 5 since most people don't sit and wait because they are going for the green in two. If a group gets off to a decent start, I think it can put a bit of space between them and the group behind. I think #10 should be a par 5 as well, since I have seen so many courses back up at the turn. I like both nines to end with par fours.

I have no preference as I don't think the order of the holes makes a big difference. If I had a choice I would rather get the par 3s out of the way as they seem to be my crux lately.

I don't like holes with blind shots, especially on a course I've never played before.

http://www.thehackersparadise.com/fo...es/biggrin.png check out my twitter for some pics of Darley in Troon which i played on saturday for the first time. (i like to twitter the round when i visit somewhere nice)

lots of blind shots, lots of hidden bunkers, and a par 3 hidden green.

made for some interesting club choices, and a lot of trust in the yardage. and some silly scores.

but with regards course layout, I dont mind what starts or finishes any run of holes, i just like the course to keep my interest. a run of holes which all look and feel the same is what i dislike.

Sounds like that course does like my home course and makes a couple of longer par 4 holes into par 5 for the ladies instead of building a shorter tee box. The back 9 on my home course has 2 par 5 holes for the guys, but 4 of them for the ladies (11, 12, 16, and 18). I'm not a huge fan of that sort of corner cutting. They are in the slow process of redoing the tee boxes at the rate of a couple each year, but it takes a while, and I don't even know if they plan to shorten 12 and 18 to make them play as difficult par 4's for the women like they do now for the men.

As it is, for the guys the 18th is a great finishing hole.... a long (420+ yards), difficult par 4 with sand, water and trees all very much in play. 17 is a fairly easy par 3, and 16 is a long par 5, the longest hole on the course at 551 yards from the back tees... typically about 520-530 from the whites. The 16th is a nearly impossible par 5 for most women... even after shortening it, it's still two good shots and a layup to the 100 yard markers for most women. They can't even take the risk of trying to sneak up closer because a hazard (8' wide irrigation ditch) angles across the hole from the 150 marker to the 100 marker, with a cross bunker about 50 yards short of the green. It's a great hole for the men, but a tough one for the women.

Not sure what you mean by alternate tee box. When set up properly, a course can only have one teeing area on each hole for each tee color. See the definition for teeing ground. There is no allowance for an alternate teeing ground. If the course you played was set up differently, then it isn't covered under the Rules of Golf, so there is no correct answer for your question. http://www.thehackersparadise.com/fo.../confused2.gif

There was one teeing area and next to it was a sign saying there was an alternate teeing area for the forward tees. It wasn't a drop area and I had never seen anything like that. It was a rather long par 5 so perhaps they wanted to provide an option for people who weren't worried about entering a score?

We have two holes where there is two separate tee boxes , #1 (a par 5) and #17 (a par 3). It's set up so there are five different tee boxes (on most of the other holes, there are 4 tee boxes - some of the par threes have only three distinct tee boxes), and on the scorecard it shows the regular tees with two different yardages (so those tees can be up or back). from time to time I have seen the "senior" tees moved back from their normal spot onto that tee box.

I can't say I've seen an alternate tee box up a hill.