Treadwell Heights Club

[CiB0RG]

Thanks for the pointers, everyone!

Yes it very much is a "Par 4.5" hole.

It does have a landing zone where you can roll onto the green, however, it also has quite a few intimidating bunkers leading up to the green complex including one in the middle of the fairway that you have to carry in order to get to shot to roll onto the green. Maybe I will post a picture later to show what I mean.

All things considered I've playtested it many times and I think it's a fair hole. It's also a hole that could produce a wide variety of scores in a tournament. I plan on the pins being relatively easy to go at so accuracy will be rewarded but wayward shots could be punishing.

[coggin66]

I'd only go par 4 if it is mostly reachable in 2 with Standard clubs i.e. all players. I've started to take a different view on these holes. Trying to protect par is a waste of time. Most players play for fun and will come off much happier with par or birdie than with bogey or par.

[CiB0RG]

I figure most players understand the game well enough that if they want a better chance at scoring they can play from the members tees. I think the championship tees should present a challenge. The best players will still tear it up but the intermediate players should find it a fun challenge.

If "average players" aren't happy being challenged then they can go play Little Brook Manor from the tips to feel good about themselves.

[coggin66]

I think it is easy on this site to get a distorted view of how good the average player really is. I'd love to see some stats from HB (or TGCT) but I reckon the split would be something like 50:40:10 for Standard:Player:Tour clubs.

I also think making these holes a par 5 brings in more strategy than a par 4 to the average player. A par 4 makes you go for it regardless.

[CiB0RG]

I wouldn't design a course just to cater to the casual scrub. I'm not too concerned about the demographic skill levels that play this game. I don't design to get plays and I don't care if someone using standard clubs thinks my course is too hard.

I'd rather have 5 good players play my course and feel like they had a good challenge than have 1000 bad players play a course I made easy for them and all shoot under par for the first time ever.

[CiB0RG]

Update:

After taking nearly 1.5 months break from the designer I am gaining some momentum on this thing once again.

So far I have 9 playable holes. Macro sculpted but haven't gotten into much micro sculpting yet. As they are right now the front nine is a lot of fun to play. This course has lots of elevation changes. I'm sending you up hill, down hill, down then up, up then down, and everything in between! The layout right now seems very links-ish but not with traditional links bunkers. The bunkers are relatively shallow but some have high mounding around them. There are LOTS of bunkers. Some tee shots you will have to be very careful with... others you can grip and rip! My goal is to have a variety of challenge. Birdie holes will be out there... but some holes you will be happy taking a par.

When I get more detailed sculpting done I'll post some pictures. The course right now is very plain compared to others in this contest who have been polishing for weeks already.

[CiB0RG]

I was running short on time so I did not get a chance to post pics.

I suppose there is no sense to add any spoiler pictures at this point. All I can say is that it is not a typical style course. I hope people enjoy the unique environment that I've put together. The course will be out Thursday night (July12th) or Friday morning (13th). I will leave it mysterious until then and anyone interested can check it out this weekend.

Book your tee times Folks! We open in just a few short days!

[CiB0RG]

The course is in great shape today! We open in less than 24 hours!!! Not quite sure yet when I will pull the publish trigger. I've got some eye candy to add.

Keep an eye on the completed courses board. We'll be up there soon!