What is the Hardest Golf Course you have ever played and Why

Mattyv · 2016-09-08T23:06:24+00:00

I just got done playing 5 rounds in SoCal/Palm Springs. Courses were Oak Quarry - Riverside, CA 84 D...

raggmann54

Oakmont...because it's Oakmont...nuff said...

PA-PLAYA

On a frequent basis - my home course. It's long, the greens are extremely difficult because they're big and lots of intersecting slopes and undulations have to be factored in, and they're usually quick. The par3's are long, 180-190 yard range with lots of trouble around the greens. The par5's are notoriously difficult, because they require solid tee shots and precise, long second shots, usually leaving mid-irons into the green for the third shots (at least three of them anyway). I might lose a hole to birdie on them 1 of every 10 rounds I play. Usually par5's are looked at as scoring holes, where potential birdies can help salvage a decent scoring round. You hit a bad tee shot - you're not getting home in 3. Hit a bad second shot - you're most likely playing for bogey. The par5's are very challenging there.

I guess as far as an away course - I played the Black at Bethpage on three occasions. It was tough. Played it from 7000 yards. It was primarily the length, on a handful of the long par4's I could rip tee shots, tee up the second shot with driver and still not reach the greens. Throw in the rough and the speed and firmness of the greens - it could quickly become torture.

But... the first time I played it, I took a triple on 17 and a careless bogey on 18 and still shot 80. I played very well that day. But I certainly made up for it the following two times I played it, that course exacted quite the level of revenge.

mikeintopeka

A little background to set up my 'hardest golf course' story. Used to plan trips to Nevada for the first weekend of March Madness. We grew tired of Vegas so we tried Laughlin one year. Play early in the morning and then hit the sports books when we finished and then drink free all day by making bets all day.

There was a course a couple of miles away from our hotel located literally adjacent to the Colorado River. Reviews online were generally good. But, I ignored the one where the guy said he imagined it would be similar to playing golf on the moon.

We grab the first tee time at the crack of dawn, introduce ourselves to the pro, pay our fees, and head to the first tee. We check the card and note the tips are only 6500 yards (iirc) and go back to the blacks. Then here comes the pro in a cart - he tells us unless were are single digit handicaps (I've always been low double digits), we'll have a lot more fun from the white member tees. We moved up and it still was a monster - a ball was reduced to a pinball on any shot that landed even a few yards out of the fairway. They buried elephants under the green so I had more 3 putts than 2 putts. Pars were cherished by our group. Beautiful scenic course with the roar of the river creating the background noise all morning created a lifetime memory.

I'm thinking this thing should be bulldozed as who would find this fun? Planned a return trip to Laughlin and sure enough, a bulldozer and dynamite prepped the land for a new condo complex.

Mattyv

mikeintopeka

We do a Laughlin trip every year. My favorite course there is called Laughlin Ranch. It is beautiful course and pretty hard.

skymarker

Kapalua plantation in Maui.
You cannot miss the fairway or greens by much or you could lose the ball.
But you look around at the scenery and you can't get mad.

hobbit

skymarker Blasphemy! Kapalua Plantation is a must play, freaking lovely, golf-gasm of a course 😃 . Didn't find it difficult, other than paying attention to golf with the views distracting me.

blader

skymarker The days I've played there the fairways were as wide as a typical golf hole is long. You must have played there before they did that.

letthebigdogshunt

The hardest was Mauna Kea on the big island. The course itself was hard as it is a Robert Trent Jones Sr course but we had winds 30mph gusting to 45/50mph. I was hitting up to 5 clubs more than normal on some holes. It was my hardest day on a golf course ever. We were there for two weeks and played six different courses on two different islands and we had some heavy winds but the course kicked my butt despite the fact I was playing probably my best golf in years.

hobbit

The Judge in Prattville, AL. Why - striping a 3 iron straight down the middle of the fairway and never finding the ball. Hitting the fringe of a par 3, softly, and still losing the ball to the swamp. Brutal.

Red Mountain Ranch in Mesa, AZ. Why - Pete FN Dye. Played through a mini haboob. 136 slope... and its Pete FN Dye.

Mattyv

hobbit

I like Red Mountain Ranch. I actually like Pete Dye courses. I am up to 6 that I have played now. PGA West Stadium is y far the hardest. Next to that, I found TPC of Louisiana a hard track for my game.

Weirfan

hobbit

Die Pete Dye

jamez

hobbit The Judge in Prattville, AL.

Definitely the most brutal course I remember.

Moeman

Ocean course. Kiawah.
How the pros play from where those tees are, Idk!
Wind was only bout 15 that day. Just shot after shot was tough. Beautiful place though.

PA-PLAYA

Moeman

I've heard that about the Ocean Course. I've had some friends play there and they are low single-digit players, good players. They each said that it was a humbling experience.

Interestingly enough, the book "War on the Shore" by Curt Sampson talked quite a bit about how Hurricane Hugo impacted Dye's efforts during the initial construction of the course, as it was obviously smack dab in the middle of the impacted landfall area.

It was interesting to me for another reason - my engineering unit in Ft. Benning was deployed for disaster relief and emergency cleanup for three weeks after the storm. I'll never forget the devastation I saw over those three weeks. Needless to say - the storm was a huge setback in the early stages of constructing the Ocean Course, but also provided Dye some opportunities to work around the typical red tape involved with dealing with government oversight. The local government was obviously distracted with the relief effort for quite a while after the storm hit, and "new construction" items (especially golf courses) weren't on their oversight radar. I'm guessing he was able to avoid quite a bit of government regulation that fall because of what happened.

DancesWithGolf

The Ranch in San Jose, CA. Golfers wet their pants when you mention the name.

Mattyv

darpar
I have played big Rec twice now. Both times they were punching the greens during my round. I do a similar trip every year and play in LB the Tuesday after Labor Day. I will pick a different course next year. I like the course, just not with that much maintenance going on when I play.

darpar

Mattyv
You should Lakewood or El Dorado then,both only about 20mins away from Rec Park.

Typhoon

Mattyv

Played Laughlin Ranch when I was out there for the PEDC a few years back. Great place!

Bankshot

Oakland Hills South. Played it a few months before the 35th Ryder Cup. Narrow fairways, deep thick rough and lightening fast, severely undulating greens. Great experience, though.

lambo

The Legends at Bay Point in Panama City. The course was one of the most difficult in the USA prior to being redone. Today it is the Nicklaus at Bay Point, still a challenging course at 7,000 yds., with wind off the gulf, a number of shots that require a long carry, some really difficult greens, etc. But, the redo was to make the course more playable to the resort guests.

Sparky

Oak Quarry is my favorite course. Really cool layout, and routing through the rock formations is spectacular.

This is the wrong time to play Stadium, they let it grow at the end of summer to get ready for the fall rush. I only have played it once, 15 years ago, shot 74, declared victory and haven't gone back. Nearly went back there on Monday, but someone told me about the condition so I went to Silverrock instead - great track.

Trump National LA will give you the highest scores, as any wayward shot is lost in the junk. When you do get on a green, you have to navigate elephant humps. It is a borderline stupid course, just forget about the score and enjoy the amazing location and great facility.

But for a great, fair, hard course I'll go with Mission Viejo Country Club. Great course, beautiful conditions, fair but just plain difficult.

Release

Besides the little goat patch where I learned to play golf when I was just started to play...
Spyglass Hill G. Cse., Pebble Beach
One of my bro had done some computer work for the pros and got comp a tee time to play the golf course. We drove from the South Bay area to the golf course and before seeing the whole layout I saw the smallish greens it offered. The tight fairway and the wind also played a lot between our ears, think I shot over triple digit that day.
Pretty sure I could get close to low 80's or even high 70's if given some practice to get local knowledge.

Alas, the price tag is out of my range to get to know the golf course , even if it's at a discount from the big sister Pebble Beach.

rsvman

Probably Bayonet in Monterrey, CA. I was stationed at Fort Ord for three years and at the time that was one of the Army base's courses. So I could play it for like 10 bucks.

But dang that course was tough. Long, narrow, windy, greens were impossible.

They used to play Tour Qualifying School rounds out there every year. Never failed that I'd see somebody 4-putt the 14th green. Some of these guys would put up big numbers on that course, too.

I played the front nine at the Ocean Course on Kiawah and honestly it seemed pretty simple when compared with Bayonet.

JIMENGAZ1

rsvman I hear bayonet te is brutal

mcavoy

rsvman I've played both Blackhorse and Bayonet and for me its a tossup on which is harder. Bunkering on Blackhorse is brutal. Thing about it is they are not so hard that you think you can't play them. After getting your ass kicked for four hours you find yourself saying "I know I can play this thing". And they keep drawing you back. Best golf values in the Monterey peninsula IMO.

livegolf

rsvman

Bayonet was like looking down a tunnel of trees on every hole. Once was enough lol