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Post by grovey31 on Sept 21, 2019 21:06:43 GMT -5
So I have been thinking about this for a while... What are my best or favorite holes I have ever designed and created? It's really tough to remember all of them but I have spent some time reflecting back on my different projects and came up with my best or favorite holes for each par set. I challenge all of you to do the same! What are your best par 3's, 4's, and 5's? Post pictures and/or videos and provide a description as to why you chose each. It will be hard to pick just one for each so feel free to throw in an honorable mention as a 4th favorite if you'd like. I'm very curious and excited to see every ones selections and descriptions! Par 3 This hole is from The Kingdom. It's the par 3 12th which is the longest par three on the course. The lighting is perfect and it really makes the bunker and green complexes pop. What I like about the design is that it gives you a false bailout to the right where the ball kicks further right and the resulting shot is then more difficult than the shot from the bunker. It also has a green with a lot of fun undulations where just because your're on it, that doesn't guarantee a par. Par 4 This was always gong to be the hardest choice strictly due to the number of them I have created. I decided on he 6th hole at Atlantic Dunes. One of my favorite overall designs. Not only does look very good aesthetically but it also uses time tested strategy as well. If you can take our drive further left off of the tee, your approach becomes much simpler. The green undulations can be a bit tricky but not crazy. The location of the green and the surrounds are some of my best sculpting and dunes work which I will admit I am very proud of. Par 5 This was one of my first designs I had posted on here. When first posted I called it Marahute but then changed it to Mara Hiti when transferring it to TGC2019 due to it's inspiration from Tara Iti. The 5th hole is a short par 5 but it plays uphill and has a fairly tough green. The quality of your approach to the green is determined from your tee shot and how far left you can get. It will open up the angle to the green and create even more of a temptation to go for it in two. You might have an iron but depending on the pin, it could play as the most difficult approach of the round. This is one of my favorite design tactics for par 5's. *Honorable Mention Par 3.5 This is from one of my other favorite projects, Ethos Club. It's the short 14th. The green is benched into a little hill creating a small plateau. You can reach the green on your tee shot but do you want to? If you miss it left the ball kicks and rolls further away creating a tricky approach. If you hit it the green, your putt likely won't be easy or short. It's an overall fun and exciting hole so itgets my honorable mention.
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Post by linkslover on Sept 24, 2019 6:41:26 GMT -5
Par 3 16th at The Swiss Wall Simply a beautiful hole. Par 4 18th at The Swiss Wall A driveable green but very little room for error if you miss. Don't look down. (Note the green is not out of bounds, it's the angle of the overhead). Par 5 14th at Angus Bay International A reachable par 5 with out of bounds that borders the fairway, a pond that protects the front left of the green and pot bunkers abound. It's a links course, so it has a very large green with some severe slopes on it. Get the hole right and it's a good chance for eagle. Get it wrong and your score will soon rack up. I don't have a picture of it on imgur or twitter, but here's a link to the TGC Tours course database page for it. It's the third picture of the three. www.tgctours.com/Course/Details/20147?PlayerId=34344
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Post by lessthanbread on Sept 24, 2019 12:16:28 GMT -5
Cool idea for a thread. I do not mind at all bragging about my work Best Par 3: Hole 13 at Kathmandu Valley -Probably the most visually stunning hole on a golf course I designed to be visually stunning. Lighting is perfect here. The elevated landscape of the backdrop provides great rays of sunshine cutting through the trees. Cascading waterfalls come right at you and then cut around the island green with added rapids and splashing mist. Plays as the most difficult hole on the course despite having a large green, not much elevation change, and medium length.
Best Par 4: Hole 4 at Kathmandu Valley -One of the most unique holes I've designed. Short par 4 that plays very much uphill. The tee shot calls for a draw (right-handed) around the face of the mountain to get as close as you can for the daunting approach shot. After arriving to your ball, you will stare straight into the face of a large waterfall. The approach shot plays 80-some feet uphill to the green set on top of the falls that is backed by another huge waterfall that provides the illusion the water travels underneath the green. A very bold design for a golf hole that I feel teeters on the edge of pure fantasy and perhaps realistic, which is right where I want to be with my designs.
Best Par 5: Hole 7 at Mighty Oak Lodge & Ranch -Another very unique hole. I named this hole Big Fish because when viewed from above it actually looks like a fish. What makes it better is that was completely unintentional. You are met with a difficult choice of the tee as I have placed a large, curving bunker right through the middle of the very wide fairway. The standard play is to go to the right side short of the bunker but the aggressive play is to take on the bunker on the left side of the fairway to get closer. Provided neutral to favorable wind conditions, it is still possible to reach the green in 2 if you choose the right side short of the bunker. The fairway narrows as it approaches the green so choose how close you are willing to get with a lay up 2nd shot. Very complicated and open risk/reward par 5. And yeah, that is a fountain in the middle of a bunker...
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Post by b101 on Sept 26, 2019 14:20:53 GMT -5
Been meaning to get to this for a couple of days. I'm only a few courses into my portfolio, but here's the best I've got (IMO): Par three - Best: 8 at Greenstone River:The very first hole I built on PC and I immediately fell in love with it. It just all sat perfectly and it's got a devilish green to match. I think it'll be a long time before I make something I like as much as this. Runner Up: 7 at Marlette FellsAlthough, this does come pretty close. It captures the essence of what I wanted on this course - lots of holes in close proximity, a tricky green and weaves its way in between the pines. Best par four: 11 at Marlette FellsI loved the setting from when I first built the plot and always had a vision for the hole. It came out even better than I'd have wanted and I love the little forest/beach area off the right hand side. The hole itself is a strategic short par four, with multiple options off the tee that change depending on where the pin is. Maybe not my best, but it's my favourite. Runner Up: 14 at Greenstone RiverA very close runner up. Another short par four (comfortably my favourite holes to build in the game) and another with options, a great setting and pin positions that vary your options. This is also driveable, but with water left if you get it wrong. Just love this hole. Best par five: 15 at Greenstone RiverA hole with garbage lighting, but plays about as well as I can make a par five. EVERYTHING wants you to put the ball in the water and you have to hit two superb shots to find the green, with a bailout right leaving a perilous flop shot. Not the prettiest, but it was so much fun to design. Runner up: 18 at GangleseeMore than anything, this is here because I was so proud of this course and how it did in the CC contest. Sure, there are flaws (giant, low-lit green, slightly punitive tee shot), but the setting is as good as I could have wished it on a PS4 and it plays really well.
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mayday_golf83
TGCT Design Competition Directors
Posts: 2,279
TGCT Name: Jeremy Mayo
Tour: Elite
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Post by mayday_golf83 on Sept 26, 2019 15:34:03 GMT -5
I too have had this thread earmarked, just not a ton of time to put together a response. Here goes: Best Par 3: Hole 13, Hoback Range Sports Club
When it comes to par 3s, a good deal of the strategy is muted because everyone hits from the same spot. The trick is to make that spot look equal parts awe-inspiring and intimidating. To me, the par 3s are and opportunity for showstoppers, a hole to put on a postcard to remember a course by. It's like asking a chef to create a one-bite course for a diner, everything's got to come together for that one bite. The 13th at Hoback is the closest I've come to this, which is a cheeky nod to its IRL inspiration the 12th at Snake River Sporting Club. The premise is the same, however, hitting out into expance of wilderness onto an island that seems to be just a dot on the surrounding landscape. The grass bunker here was somewhat happy accident, but the shadows it cast help add further drama to a short hole where accuracy is critical. Honorable mention: Hole 11, Necedah Pines; Hole 14, Monterey Bay; Hole 12, Avondale American
Best short 4: Hole 5, Necedah Pines
Drivable or not, the best short 4s, in my opinion are about options and angles – the 10th at Riviera being a prime example. Here the player has three distinct options – aggressive line A over the cross bunkers, aggressive line B with a cut that hugs the cross bunkers or lay up … And the best choice changes from round-to-round depending on where the pin is cut on a quasi-lion's mouth green. Honorable mention: Hole 8, Necedah Pines; Hole 5, Hoback Range; Hole 2, Avondale American
Best long 4: Hole 6, Hoback Range Sports Club
Every once in a while, it's OK to throw your 100 mph heat at the golfer and say, “Here's my toughest, what are you going to do with it?” The 6th at Hoback is about as narrow and intimidating as any tee shot I've made, and a stark counterpoint to the previous hole, which is a short 4 that rivals the 5th at Necedah in terms of confounding golfers with width and angles. Even here, however, there's some subtle strategy in terms of where you place your tee ball. The right side is more open than it appears from the tee, but hitting a fade and shying away from the creek that runs down the entire left hand side of the hole creates a tougher angle in to a green that slopes right to left. An aggressive line flirting with the creek on the left provides the best angle. Either way par is a solid score and it takes two great shots to set up a birdie chance. I'm asking if you're up to the challenge. Honorable mention: Hole 13, Necedah Pines
Best short 5: Hole 12, Hoback Range Sports Club
All the shorter par 5s that I like really have the same premise, as reaching the green in two will require a risk-reward shot off the tee, into the green – or on both. The 12th at Hoback probably takes this to the extreme, making the golfer commit right away to crossing the slough off the tee to the left fairway to provide any chance at getting home, and the second shot it virtually all force carry to an island green. Any slip up here can quickly change a chance at eagle to playing for bogey or worse. Of course, the golfer can avoid this all together by playing to the right of the slough off the tee and making it a true three-shot hole. The paradox of choice rests with the player. Honorable mention: Hole 18, Necedah Pines; Hole 9, Monterey Bay
Best long 5: Hole 13, Monterey Bay
While not a hard-fast rule, I believe every course should have a true 3-shot par 5 if the routing allows. The 13th at Monterey is this, and a bit of a nod to the “Long” hole template, a la the 14th at St. Andrews. The trick is when/how to navigate the bunkers and how best to set yourself up for a third shot into a dastardly green, that's truly designed to cater to a short iron or wedge. Honorable mention: Hole 16, Necedah Pines; Hole 4, Avondale American
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Post by staypuft39 on Sept 26, 2019 15:42:14 GMT -5
mayday_golf83 may I nominate #4 at Cali Tour Club for par 4 and #11 for long 5 (I GUESS it's long)? Great idea for a thread. May have to put something together later. Was fun reading everyone's.
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Post by gregfordyce on Sept 27, 2019 14:57:54 GMT -5
Fantastic idea for a thread! Enjoying reading the responses from the designers. Will have to put something together myself this weekend.
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Post by joegolferg on Oct 4, 2019 7:01:32 GMT -5
Excellent read from the designers perspective.
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Post by ohheycat on Oct 13, 2019 10:53:25 GMT -5
Hey guys just wanted to invite you to join the inaugural unofficial TGCT lido contest. Check the thread out, the rules allow for past publishes to be entered and collabs on new hole designs so you may be able to use these awesome holes if you so desire or pair up to blow the competition away
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Post by jwtexan on Oct 23, 2019 10:50:35 GMT -5
Par 3: Tantallon 17 My first design in TGC. I leaned a lot on things I liked in template courses, but formed them into a non-geometric/boxy/straight line course. For example, the redan. This one is pretty straight forward as far as strategy goes. it is a hero shot onto a penisula where you have a choice to fight the redan and fade into it, or use it for the roll on further back pins. Par 4: Far Water 14 Of course I had to give one last look at the winner for "most self-indulgent bridge" (thanks again to b101 for running the pre-results award show) so that is why this hole was born. But it ended up being, strategy wise, another chance to be a hero on the back 9 and take on the water/bunkers/skinny fairway, or lay back and have a much longer approach shot into a very elevated green. So elevated that you really need a 8 iron or lower to hold it properly. Be a hero. Par 5: Far Water 17 The idea behind this hole is that it would probably be terrifying in real life to stand on this tee, see a narrow strip of fairway fading away from you across the ravine/cliff. In the game itself, you can really blast this tee shot down the hill just fine, but the strategy comes in how to attack the undulated green that feeds back down to the village area. Visually, I like this one a lot, challenge wise though it is definitely a chance to get a birdie on the board coming home, or an eagle that could make the difference here in match play. Honorable mention: Tantallon 14 It is overall silly, but I think some of the best of Scottish golf is wild like that. When I visited Scotland and visited Tantallon I thought it would be incredible to build a golf course around the old ruins. So when I found out about TGC2019 soon after returning from my trip, that was the first course I knew I wanted to give a shot. The par 5 14th tees off across the coast line, then your second shot plays over the small outer wall, and you have to avoid the old structure that still stands today that was once the pigeon house that I placed right in front of the green. Silly. Fun. Scottish.
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