Thanks to all who have read my first post - I appreciate all of the feedback I received here and other places (even got into a debate on another course and which hole was worst...got to love the never ending GCA debate!). These next posts will dive a bit deeper into the redesign hole by hole. Feel free to keep reading, or skip around to the holes that interest you the most from the routing (I think all the posts will have cool holes, but my favorite are 3, 12, and 18). Someone said that the the first post was detailed (I would say it was thought out), but we are only scratching the surface.
Now to take a step back before I jump in, I think it might make sense to discuss why I am doing this now. Every winter, I get really bored with being unable to play golf and tend to the city block lawn I have. With this free time, I typically pick up a hobby then proceed to drop it when the weather will break (around March or April here in Ohio - even earlier with this el Niño year). This year, I wanted to be more purposeful and engaging in my hobby, since I would have even more down time since my wife gave birth to our first child, a son, in December 2023. This has created a bit more stationary time in my life, which is why I wanted to write and do this mental exercise. I do want to talk about the redesign more, talking about it hole by hole, and do it in three hole sprints. So below are the first three holes.
Hole 1: Par 5 - 510 Yards
I mostly really kept this hole the same. This is the classic George Thomasesque 4.5 Par hole as it stands today, to where you can cold top a three wood from the fairway and still somehow be able to two putt for par (I have done it, on more than one occasion).
Hole 1 as it stands today
Keeping with this ethos, I wanted to make a couple of updates to the hole. First off the way the hole is presented now, you should try and hit it hard over the bunker, with little to no penalty to being in that left rough. There is some tiered bunker protection to prevent a precise green approach, but nothing else to deter that area.
Note: In actually doing this exercise, my updated play is as left as possible on this hole going forward.
I also do like the green. The classic two tiered green does require some precision, especially if you want to start with a big bird. This hole would need a little face lift, but nothing too crazy to really change. See below for my rendition.
As you can see, especially if you do a side by side, I did not change too much with this, really I added a couple of things:
1 - Added different teeing areas, especially with the tips being on that knob. I like that the different teeing areas will enable everyone to try and take on that bunker no matter what ability.
Note: That black tee will never be built since a good shank will take out a couple of windshields.
2 - I decided to push that bunker about 10 yards to the left, and extend that fairway out to the left. This will encourage the player to hit it over the bunker, but they have to consider that runout bunker about 260 from the tee. The tee will also be oriented a bit to the left to encourage the player to do that. The ideal route to play the hole is still the same as before hit a cut over that bunker (for the right handed player), but it is giving multiple options for the golfer. But, ideal placement enables a potential Damon Green dance, what's a better way to start your round?
3 - I did update the mowing lines and extend it out a more on the right, just to ease a player into the round. I am all for having more fairway.
For this update to happen, the cart path would have to be ripped up and moved. I have no problem with this and for those who care about where the CP will be, I think it would make sense to be on the right side, further encouraging the left shot.
Hole 2: Par 3 - 200 Yards
This is where I start to deviate from the previous routing, due to my disdain of the first three holes. At the end of the opener, there is a 200 yard walk from green to tee, passing through the 8th tee boxes. I am usually not a fan of these long walks, but I think this will help stretch out the pace of play and prevent the initial congestion at Raymond. It also does a good job of enticing the player to see the 7th green and 8th tee, which I love the anticipation and knowledge of seeing the green complexes and pin locations before I play them, making me a more informed golfer.
Walk from 1 green to 2 tee
Changing the old 4th hole to the 2nd hole starts eliminating the harsh doglegs that this course has, and having this be a 200 yard hole keeps the integrity of the shot into this green. A wayward tee shot right may be striking siding or shingles, requiring a retee, with a big pull left will succeeded by an uphill shot with a green sloping away from you (that tee box on the top will cease to exist (see next hole).
This will be a hard shot for the regular golfer, however the green is receptive to a decently struck shot, and that bunker in the front left will collect poorly struck shots.
Now most people would say to remove all of those trees on the North side of the hole, and I do think you can thin the ones closer to the green, but it makes sense to keep the ones near the tee for safety purposes from the 5th hole (current 7th).
Ready for my rendition? Not too much changing, but fun to draw!
Now this green will encourage you to hit the front and have it roll up, with a backstop stopping all running shots and keeping them on the green. This set up makes the pin in the front the hardest to hit. I did elect to move the bunker up on the left side, and keep the bunker on the right side (yes there is a bunker there its covered by the trees in the pictures above).
This is one occurrence where there is a bunker left bunker right , but this calls for a "players shot" to compliment the easy Par 5 1st hole, giving a good one two punch opener, and leading to the Par 4 3rd.
Hole 3: Par 4 - 334 Yards
As stated before, there is this dipped valley in the northeast side of the property. Currently this site is the site of the Par 3 5th hole, containing it's two sets of tee boxes and greens. This portion of the property, with its natural amphitheater, is bordered by houses and and a train track. This area has the potential to have identity, like the 17th at Chambers Bay, where it feels like you are by yourself on the course and about to play an iconic hole.
To take full advantage of the land, I felt that a short par 4 should go here. I think that the short par 4 will be a good palate cleanser from the appetizer of 1st and 2nd hole. The existing elevated tee boxes will be removed and returned to a naturalized landscape, with the tee box behind the 2nd green. One thing that I think can be adjusted is making sure there is adequate room for that tee. My measurements did put enough from the center of that green, but it could be an safety issue like the back tee on #15 at Pinehurst 4 really rolling back from the 14th green.
Additionally, I have not really seen the drainage be an issue in this area, so I think having the valley be a playing area will not be an issue.
Full transparency, and also with a bit of bias, I love this hole. Actual yardage is shorter than the scorecard, with the direct line to the middle being 315/290/270. This downhill shot creates a decision for the golfer playing from the proper tees. You could play over and over again, with the pin location really driving the deciding factor on how to play the hole:
-If the pin is on that upper right shelf or in the front, its a green light special.
-If that pin is in the back or in the back left, you may want to try and carry that cross bunker, but pushing it well and maybe even in the top part of that fairway to make the wedge shot easier.
For the golfer who is the most risk adverse, there is room left of the bunker, but overall you still have to address the lion's mouth bunker in the front. Overall, this asks the question, can you hit the shot? If so, maybe you are putting for eagle, but mess up your lay up, the bogeyman is calling.
So there is 1/6 of the golf course redesign, with the golfer trekking to the north east side of the property as quickly as possible, seeing a strategic, penial, and heroic hole while it will get people talking and hooked for the remainder of the round.
4,5,6 are next. These holes are updated versions of the existing 6-8 holes, with updates.
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