Great to see the concept of a reversible course being used in NA, and especially by TD.
Interesting to see that Tom has warmed up to the concept of reversibility since we last discussed it here on GCA in 2012:
it's not inevitable that playing the course in one direction has to be better than the other. But, if they're really equal, it is most likely because you compromised somewhere ... letting one of the best holes be played backwards on the "forward" course so that the forward course wouldn't be clearly superior. So, if you are trying to make the course as great as it can be, it's hard to take this approach ... it's really only for somewhere that you can't try to make a high-ranked course. A nine-hole project seems like an excellent place to try it.
Frank:
I have been kicking the idea around for 25-30 years, ever since I read the appendix to Tom Simpson's book.
As I said before, the issue was always to find the right site [relatively flat and sandy], and the right client [not overly focused on making the "best" possible course]. When we worked on The Sheep Ranch, our client Mr. Friedman kept asking what would be the "ideal" routing, when to my view, sorting out an ideal routing would limit the possibilities there.
At Forest Dunes, the goal is to get people to stay there and play multiple rounds. Most people see a ranked course as the means to that end -- they already have one -- but we are trying a different avenue. It may well preclude the possibility of getting the course ranked -- how would GOLF DIGEST panelists break down the Shot Values? Plus we'll get low points in Memorability because it will be difficult to remember the clockwise routing from the counter-clockwise. Nevertheless, I am excited to build a project I've spent many years doodling on.