Kermit_418
Amateur Golfer
Posts: 248
Tour: Challenge Circuit
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Post by Kermit_418 on Nov 11, 2019 22:51:13 GMT -5
Looking for any and all tips on making a split fairway.
Ive read a good bit about making a high risk, high reward option and a safe, but longer option. I made one in my OSPGC beta but most are going the same route...despite a smaller landing zone on a slope.
Im curious what others have learned throughout their builds.
Kurt
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Post by lessthanbread on Nov 12, 2019 14:20:56 GMT -5
I have done one on a par 5. The right side was the risky option with a forced carry over a bunker. If you made it you were set up for a second shot into the green. The left side had a forced lay up that took eagle off the table and added yards to the hole. Both sides had similar width of fairways, it was the forced carry vs forced layup that made the split interesting.
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Post by TannerBronson on Nov 12, 2019 14:29:45 GMT -5
Hey, Kurt!
I love a good split fairway! There is however a right and wrong way to do it and I admit I have made both haha. But what I have learned is that you never make the 2nd fairway unreachable with a driver or make it to where you have to lay up too short to have a 220 yard shot on a par 4. Again, I’m guilty of this and telling you not to do it because I’ve learned from that. Make the split strategic. Give it a reason to split. Like a better angle into a green or make it small but it lets you chew off a corner of a hole. Hope this helps!
Dylan
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Post by linkslover on Nov 13, 2019 2:52:48 GMT -5
I often use one split hole on my courses.
Clayton Wood which I am currently porting had a three split fairway. The middle one is arrow straight but the fairway is only about 10 yards wide and tree lined but leaves the easiest approach shot if you're on the fairway. The left fairway adds about 50 yards, is about 20 yards wide, dog legs right and is again tree lined. The right fairway adds around 130 yards to the hole to make it play about 500 yards par 4, but it's fairway is over 30 yards wide and has fewer trees to contend with, while also giving the worst angle to the green as you're playing along the sloped green.
The Swiss Wall has a split fairway par 5. The right fairway means you can get on in two with two good hits, but the fairway is narrower (about 20 yards wide) and the second shot is blind. The left route is much safer but you won't get on in two.
Angus Bay International has a par 4 that splits into two, playing into two seperate greens, like the 7th at Prestatyn that inspires the hole. The right green borders out of bounds, while the left green has more severe slopes and bunkering. There are two pins on each.
There are many ways you can do it. What is wrong is subjective.
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Kermit_418
Amateur Golfer
Posts: 248
Tour: Challenge Circuit
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Post by Kermit_418 on Nov 13, 2019 4:28:58 GMT -5
Yeah this is what I am working with. My first run at it took the driver out of play hitting low. This forced a long uphill 2nd, vice the same distance on the high route with little elevation change. It didnt make sense to take the bottom. Ive since extended the lower landing zone but surrounded it by bunkers on either side. This is the shortest play but youll have to hit a clean drive and clear a green side bunker to stay out of the beach. The safe, but longer option is the high route. Decent amount of sloping fairway with a clean voew of the green. Thoughts? P.S. Ignore the course name. I posted for a friend to play my minor corrections. Kurt
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Post by TannerBronson on Nov 13, 2019 6:34:15 GMT -5
I think it needs to be closer together to be functional. I would take out the trees and bushes between the fairway and make it more of a cliff.
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Kermit_418
Amateur Golfer
Posts: 248
Tour: Challenge Circuit
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Post by Kermit_418 on Nov 13, 2019 6:56:17 GMT -5
If they were closer they would essentially play the same wouldnt they? Adding the dog leg adds yardage to the second shot with the easier drive.
Did you play it?
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Post by TannerBronson on Nov 13, 2019 7:02:31 GMT -5
I did not but from a technical standpoint, you can still have strategy with the fairways being much closer. Maybe have the green slope toward the second farther fairway so the player can have a better angle into the green. Long story short, there can still be strategy involved. In my opinion it’s you course and if you think that’s great. Have at it. I’m giving you the response other designers might give. I really hope this helps!
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Kermit_418
Amateur Golfer
Posts: 248
Tour: Challenge Circuit
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Post by Kermit_418 on Nov 13, 2019 8:48:00 GMT -5
Here is a view from the tee box. Im looking into option. Potential Cypress influence bringing water into play on the left.
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Post by csugolfer60 on Nov 13, 2019 8:50:18 GMT -5
Kermit, could you post an isometric view of the fairway landing area? I just wanted to see what the landing zones look like.
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Kermit_418
Amateur Golfer
Posts: 248
Tour: Challenge Circuit
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Post by Kermit_418 on Nov 13, 2019 8:53:28 GMT -5
It will have to be tomorrow, but that gives you time to tell me what isometric is haha. I do have these though. (Lower)
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Kermit_418
Amateur Golfer
Posts: 248
Tour: Challenge Circuit
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Post by Kermit_418 on Nov 13, 2019 8:53:44 GMT -5
Upper
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Post by csugolfer60 on Nov 13, 2019 8:58:07 GMT -5
Sorry, I meant more of a "diagonal aerial" so I could get a sense of the scale of each landing area.
My guess would be that while you have 2 fairways, the ball is so easy to hit straight in this game that there is virtually no risk in going for the more dangerous fairway. It's a pretty common thing while trying to design for better players in TGC, because essentially most good players can drop a drive on an area of about 3 x 3 yards with 95% confidence. So, it takes some real risk to make them think twice about how to approach a hole like that. It's just a quirk of designing for a game that is pretty easy on the driving side.
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Post by b101 on Nov 13, 2019 11:20:25 GMT -5
Agree with lots of what TannerBronson has to say here. It's easy to make a split fairway hole. It's far, far harder to do it well and not have it feel contrived. There needs to be a reason as to why the fairway is split (natural-looking hazard, bunkering etc) and enough strategy to make it worthwhile having both. Honestly, it's often worth not doing it, as it's pretty rare that they work all that well. Because it's easiest to cite your own work, here are a couple of examples from what I've done and you should see the difference between the average and the improved lol... More than anything, I guess this tracks how I've developed my understanding of split fairways and ways to emphasise choices/angles that aren't quite so stark. An example of a bad split fairway - Ganglesee 16th: No reason for the two fairways on the right not to join up and the one on the left is SO far removed from the rest of the hole. Yes, it generates angles, but it's island-hopping. You wouldn't design a course like this and it doesn't make a whole lot of sense. I learned so much from this course in terms of why/why not - in this case, the hole is a bit of a mess and needs drastic simplification. A better example - 6th at Greenstone River: High plateau/low plateau as you're going for, with clear rewards for either in terms of angle/elevation into a further elevated green. Maybe a touch forced, but certainly more natural than the first. The bunkers give more of a reason for splitting the fairway than in the example above. Better still: 6 / 8 at Marlette Fells. Both of these aren't really split fairways, but they totally employ the concept and (to me) feel more natural. There's a high side and a low side, with ridges dividing the fairways to force your strategy. The higher area on each offers a different option the the low. In the first screenshot, you'll notice careful hazard placement bottling the fairway, whereas the second is wide, but leaves a tree in the middle to make you think about precision. In my opinion, both of these holes look simpler, but are actually far more challenging than the first two, where the challenge is simply 'pick your fairway'. Hope that is of some use. I think it's a great topic and the theory behind split fairway holes is great - angles/choices and all.
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Post by 15eicheltower9 on Nov 13, 2019 15:53:54 GMT -5
b101 Number 7 on Happy Fun is a good example of how to use a diagonal hazard to split a fairway and create a risk reward, any pictures of that one to share.
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