Post by brick on Aug 3, 2019 17:52:44 GMT -5
Hey all,
First time, long time etc etc. I am new to the game and course architecture and am looking for some feedback on my first course. It's called "Headland Hills [beta2]" and I just hit the publish button. Below is a write-up and some pics. I'd recommend/really appreciate it if you played the course and let me know what you think! Thanks!
Brick
For your consideration: Headland Hills [beta2]
7,010/7,310 yards
Par 72
Headland Hills is a remote, nearly-spiritual golf experience. The terrain was designed to look like it was mostly left alone, and the holes “discovered” instead of created (like Coore/Crenshaw and their “constellation” of holes). The planting and water elements were designed in that same natural and rugged vein. It’s just you, a stick, a ball, and an ancient piece of land in the middle of nowhere.
The course has elements of Scottish links classics, Pebble Beach, Sand Hills/Ballyneal, as well as Shoreacres in spots (shared fairways on four and isx both share strategically placed fairway bunkers, short template par-3), and even a bit of Pinehurst #2 in there with turtle-back green elements. There’s some The Buck Club in there as well - double greens with shared tee boxes, tee boxes in fairways, half-pars, etc.
The routing for Headland Hills consists of three six-hole loops, which makes this walking-only gem a little easier on the legs, as well as offering golfers a variety of mix-and-match choices for maximum fun. Local custom calls for a 24-hole round instead of the traditional eighteen, with the winner of the first eighteen holes picking which of the six-hole loops to play for the final go round.
First Six
Hole #1: Par 4, 513 yards.
A long par four welcomes you to the island. The tee box is part of a massive short grass complex that connects the first tee and sixth and eighteenth greens, all sitting below the watchful eyes of the island's lighthouse and the clubhouse patio. The fairway on the first is split by a large hump. Hit it over the aiming post and you'll catch a speed slot, while missing left means a very long approach into the large, subtle green. This is a par 4.5, depending on the wind.
Hole #2: Par 3, 162 yards.
Just off the back of the first green is the teeing ground for the par three second, which is a slightly uphill short par three up and over a river headland. Certain pins offer birdie opportunities. Picturesque.
Hole #3: Par 4, 430 yards.
Downhill tee shot requires a choice of fairways - the left fairway is narrow with water in play, but offers likely only a short iron or a wedge in; while the right fairway is wider, and, while offering a better angle to some pins, it will require a much longer, albeit downhill, approach.
Hole #4: Par 5, 649 yards
Very long three-shot par five. The drive to a wide fairway (in which sits the teeing area for the sixth hole) is relatively straightforward, but is followed by two shots that demand execution and strategic thinking. The best angle into the shallow green for the third shot requires a second shot taking on deep fairway bunkers and a cliff.
Hole #5: Par 5, 576 yards
Reachable par five down the hill. River pinches the fairway in a bit in the driving zone. Green is massive with distinct sections that makes long putts tough. Likely a scoring opportunity.
Hole #6: Par 4, 460 yards
Probably the signature hole. Tee box is in the fairway that the hole shares with the fourth. Drive is into a tight window flanked by two fairway bunkers. The fairway also runs out over a cliff if there is a helping wind. The approach is down towards the lighthouse green/tee complex and across the cove you teed off over on the first hole. Welcome home. The first loop is over.
Second Six
Hole #7: Par 4, 449 yards
Long-ish carry from next to the clubhouse down to a domed fairway flanked by a big natural area bunker on the right and a sunken bunker with a rare tree on the left. Short-mid iron approach into a large and undulating, redan-like green that breaks towards the river.
Hole #8: Par 4, 438 yards
Downhill drive to a wide fairway along the river. Angle of approach with a short iron or wedge is important into a left-right breaking green. Put a good swing on the approach or pay the price.
Hole #9: Par 5, 593 yards
A long-ish par five down the hill that is only reachable in the right wind and with a perfect second. The real protection on this hole is the green complex, which is narrow but long, and offers serious risk on anything but perfectly struck approach shots, whether the player's second or third. The lay up isn't the easiest, either. Demanding for a par five.
Hole #10: Par 4, 280 yards
This uphill driveable par four offers choices, risk, and probably reward. A domed green greets you with runoffs in every direction. Watch the wind. Short game is a premium here.
Hole #11: Par 3, 94 yards
A very downhill par three is a short version of the "short" template hole, and modeled after Seth Raynor's 12th at Shoreacres. The elevation change is hard to judge, especially with some wind, and the green has some tricky internal slope.
Hole #12: Par 4, 437 yards
A natural area and bunker splits the fairway, leaving you a choice off the elevated tee - try the narrower right side for a level shot into the green (and even the possibility of catching a speed slot) or take the safer route left of the split, which leaves an uphill approach. Green slopes right to left and back to front pretty severely. Your second loop ends here with a hole that is beautiful, interesting, and, more often than not, frustrating.
Third Six
Hole #13: Par 3, 262 yards
The final loop starts with a long par three down the hill from the clubhouse. The hole offers two green areas to pin, one above the other, which are divided by a massive natural area/bunker and a rare tree, the second of only three on the property.
Hole #14: Par 4, 439 yards
One of the tougher driving holes on the course, the fairway is narrow and protected by a set of three church-pew-like bunkers. The uphill approach with a wedge or short iron is into a two-tiered green with some dramatic slope in spots. Precision is key from the tee to the green.
Hole #15: Par 4, 427 yards
Less than driver may be the choice here, unless the player wants to be bold and take on the very narrow fairway and large, deep, and punitive natural area (including the course's final tree) in the driving zone. The choice is more difficult considering the approach is into a relatively small green featuring a bunker in the center of it.
Hole #16: Par 5, 557 yards
The course's final par five is protected by a center line bunker in the driving zone and by the domed and elevated green surrounded by bunkers and a cliff off the back. Laying up, while blasphemous, could be the right call depending on the wind.
Hole #17: Par 3, 205 yards
A shallow green protects the hole here, and anything poorly struck will be punished. Demanding tee ball.
Hole #18: Par 4, 337 yards
A final risk-reward option brings you home for the third loop, as you play along the coast. Lay up on top of the hill and hit a pitch or wedge down to the massive shared green below. Or be bold and hit driver down across the side of the hill. But don't miss. The sea is on the right, and the hill on the left will kick the ball god knows where. You made it back and home for the third time. Grab a pint, count 'em up, and go back out for one more six hole loop.
First time, long time etc etc. I am new to the game and course architecture and am looking for some feedback on my first course. It's called "Headland Hills [beta2]" and I just hit the publish button. Below is a write-up and some pics. I'd recommend/really appreciate it if you played the course and let me know what you think! Thanks!
Brick
For your consideration: Headland Hills [beta2]
7,010/7,310 yards
Par 72
Headland Hills is a remote, nearly-spiritual golf experience. The terrain was designed to look like it was mostly left alone, and the holes “discovered” instead of created (like Coore/Crenshaw and their “constellation” of holes). The planting and water elements were designed in that same natural and rugged vein. It’s just you, a stick, a ball, and an ancient piece of land in the middle of nowhere.
The course has elements of Scottish links classics, Pebble Beach, Sand Hills/Ballyneal, as well as Shoreacres in spots (shared fairways on four and isx both share strategically placed fairway bunkers, short template par-3), and even a bit of Pinehurst #2 in there with turtle-back green elements. There’s some The Buck Club in there as well - double greens with shared tee boxes, tee boxes in fairways, half-pars, etc.
The routing for Headland Hills consists of three six-hole loops, which makes this walking-only gem a little easier on the legs, as well as offering golfers a variety of mix-and-match choices for maximum fun. Local custom calls for a 24-hole round instead of the traditional eighteen, with the winner of the first eighteen holes picking which of the six-hole loops to play for the final go round.
First Six
Hole #1: Par 4, 513 yards.
A long par four welcomes you to the island. The tee box is part of a massive short grass complex that connects the first tee and sixth and eighteenth greens, all sitting below the watchful eyes of the island's lighthouse and the clubhouse patio. The fairway on the first is split by a large hump. Hit it over the aiming post and you'll catch a speed slot, while missing left means a very long approach into the large, subtle green. This is a par 4.5, depending on the wind.
Hole #2: Par 3, 162 yards.
Just off the back of the first green is the teeing ground for the par three second, which is a slightly uphill short par three up and over a river headland. Certain pins offer birdie opportunities. Picturesque.
Hole #3: Par 4, 430 yards.
Downhill tee shot requires a choice of fairways - the left fairway is narrow with water in play, but offers likely only a short iron or a wedge in; while the right fairway is wider, and, while offering a better angle to some pins, it will require a much longer, albeit downhill, approach.
Hole #4: Par 5, 649 yards
Very long three-shot par five. The drive to a wide fairway (in which sits the teeing area for the sixth hole) is relatively straightforward, but is followed by two shots that demand execution and strategic thinking. The best angle into the shallow green for the third shot requires a second shot taking on deep fairway bunkers and a cliff.
Hole #5: Par 5, 576 yards
Reachable par five down the hill. River pinches the fairway in a bit in the driving zone. Green is massive with distinct sections that makes long putts tough. Likely a scoring opportunity.
Hole #6: Par 4, 460 yards
Probably the signature hole. Tee box is in the fairway that the hole shares with the fourth. Drive is into a tight window flanked by two fairway bunkers. The fairway also runs out over a cliff if there is a helping wind. The approach is down towards the lighthouse green/tee complex and across the cove you teed off over on the first hole. Welcome home. The first loop is over.
Second Six
Hole #7: Par 4, 449 yards
Long-ish carry from next to the clubhouse down to a domed fairway flanked by a big natural area bunker on the right and a sunken bunker with a rare tree on the left. Short-mid iron approach into a large and undulating, redan-like green that breaks towards the river.
Hole #8: Par 4, 438 yards
Downhill drive to a wide fairway along the river. Angle of approach with a short iron or wedge is important into a left-right breaking green. Put a good swing on the approach or pay the price.
Hole #9: Par 5, 593 yards
A long-ish par five down the hill that is only reachable in the right wind and with a perfect second. The real protection on this hole is the green complex, which is narrow but long, and offers serious risk on anything but perfectly struck approach shots, whether the player's second or third. The lay up isn't the easiest, either. Demanding for a par five.
Hole #10: Par 4, 280 yards
This uphill driveable par four offers choices, risk, and probably reward. A domed green greets you with runoffs in every direction. Watch the wind. Short game is a premium here.
Hole #11: Par 3, 94 yards
A very downhill par three is a short version of the "short" template hole, and modeled after Seth Raynor's 12th at Shoreacres. The elevation change is hard to judge, especially with some wind, and the green has some tricky internal slope.
Hole #12: Par 4, 437 yards
A natural area and bunker splits the fairway, leaving you a choice off the elevated tee - try the narrower right side for a level shot into the green (and even the possibility of catching a speed slot) or take the safer route left of the split, which leaves an uphill approach. Green slopes right to left and back to front pretty severely. Your second loop ends here with a hole that is beautiful, interesting, and, more often than not, frustrating.
Third Six
Hole #13: Par 3, 262 yards
The final loop starts with a long par three down the hill from the clubhouse. The hole offers two green areas to pin, one above the other, which are divided by a massive natural area/bunker and a rare tree, the second of only three on the property.
Hole #14: Par 4, 439 yards
One of the tougher driving holes on the course, the fairway is narrow and protected by a set of three church-pew-like bunkers. The uphill approach with a wedge or short iron is into a two-tiered green with some dramatic slope in spots. Precision is key from the tee to the green.
Hole #15: Par 4, 427 yards
Less than driver may be the choice here, unless the player wants to be bold and take on the very narrow fairway and large, deep, and punitive natural area (including the course's final tree) in the driving zone. The choice is more difficult considering the approach is into a relatively small green featuring a bunker in the center of it.
Hole #16: Par 5, 557 yards
The course's final par five is protected by a center line bunker in the driving zone and by the domed and elevated green surrounded by bunkers and a cliff off the back. Laying up, while blasphemous, could be the right call depending on the wind.
Hole #17: Par 3, 205 yards
A shallow green protects the hole here, and anything poorly struck will be punished. Demanding tee ball.
Hole #18: Par 4, 337 yards
A final risk-reward option brings you home for the third loop, as you play along the coast. Lay up on top of the hill and hit a pitch or wedge down to the massive shared green below. Or be bold and hit driver down across the side of the hill. But don't miss. The sea is on the right, and the hill on the left will kick the ball god knows where. You made it back and home for the third time. Grab a pint, count 'em up, and go back out for one more six hole loop.