Golf Club Atlas
GolfClubAtlas.com => Golf Course Architecture => Topic started by: Matt_Cohn on July 29, 2022, 08:21:53 PM
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If there’s already a thread on this, feel free to link – I couldn’t find it myself. Here in the Bay Area, number 6 at Round Hill is about 135 feet uphill, and number 18 at Chabot is about 220 feet downhill. These are both according to Google Earth elevations at the tee and green.
I know there are some crazy downhill ones out there, but it seems like there has to be limit to how much uphill a hole can really be. What are some other standout ones, either uphill or downhill?
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Matt -
Have you ever measured some of the holes at the Presidio? The elevation change from the 16th tee to the 17th green has got to be substantial.
DT
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I remember a couple of VERY downhill holes at Telluride GC.
WW
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No. 1 at Tilden Park in Berkeley is extreme uphill and the only hole I have ever hit a 3 wood off the tee to GAIN yardage.
Also at Chabot no. 9 the par 3 is one of the biggest drop shots I have ever played.
Stonetree in Novato has a long very uphill par 5 and some pretty good changes in elevation.
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[size=78%]#16 at Whitemarsh Valley for uphill. [/size]
[/size][size=78%]#7 Merion East for downhill. [/size]
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Mt. Shasta Resort has a lot of elevation change, mostly on 1,9,10,18 if I remember.
Silvies Valley Ranch Haskins 18 "guarantees" a long drive (unlike me and you hit the mogul jump and the ball rolls back).
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Shoutout to The Ranch Golf Club in Southwick, MA. Two par 5s - 9 and 16 - play down former ski hills.
I think I hit driver-pitching wedge into 16 once. It's a 618-yard hole.
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How could I forget a few holes at Galen Hall?!
The 17th/18th are especially uphill. Most of that is made up by the downhill 2nd.
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"Great Uphill Golf Holes" -
https://www.linksmagazine.com/great-uphill-golf-holes?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=insider7.31.22
Although maybe not the most uphill.
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I have never seen anything more uphill than Craigie Hills 3rd.
(https://www.craigiehill.co.uk/uploads/hole_three.jpg)
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The third hole at Northland is a 380yd par 4 that plays 100' uphill. Even after good drive it is hard to believe how much you have left.
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#1 at Southerndown is pretty steep,.....especially when you send your son/caddie down from the green to the tee and back when you think you've misplaced your pin sheet...later found in back pocket.
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#1 at Painswick. It walks a lot longer than the yardage because you have to tack back and forth.
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I would note that it’s easy to get numbers for these. Just go on Google Earth, click on a point, and it shows the coordinates and also the elevation. :)
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The third hole at Northland is a 380yd par 4 that plays 100' uphill. Even after good drive it is hard to believe how much you have left.
And the fifteenth goes down the same hill at 380 yards. A friend of mine missed an ace by an inch within the last week.
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I don't know the numbers but 18 at Reddish Vale is significantly uphill.
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Not really what the thread is about but Legend Golf and Safari Resort has a par 3 that drops approximately 400 meters. You take a helicopter to get to the tee. It's a gimmick and not part of the regulation 18 but I would assume it's the largest change in elevation from tee to green.
Extreme 19th hole in South Africa is one epic adventure (golfpass.com) (https://www.golfpass.com/travel-advisor/articles/adventure-golf-playing-the-extreme-19th-hole-at-the-legend-golf-safari-resort-in-south-africa)
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The 1st at Sanctuary in Colorado is 245 feet.
The 10th at Augusta is 110 feet meaning your second shot is really awkward.
The question is do most of the holes have landing areas that are flat or are you playing extreme uphill or downhill shots?
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Good call on the Sanctuary. The tee ball just stays in the air forever.
Red Sky Ranch Norman’s 16th 284 yard par three is similar. I’m not sure what the vertical drop is but it is significant. The downside of the hole is that the tee gets backed up because everyone plays the hole from 284 yards.
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The 10th at Alpine has to be the steepest uphill hole from the Golden Age. Myopia Hunt Club has several extreme up and downhill holes that are both fun and extremely exacting in their shot making demands.
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Kelly Blake Moran's par 3 12th at Morgan Hill in Easton,PA drops 150'. The hole commands a great view of the city of Easton and the Delaware River valley.
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The par 5 18th at El Desafio (that will be seeded this coming summer) measures just over 600 yards and will drop 83 meters - 272 feet ).
It is a challenge to build a good golf hole with this extreme terrain. Fortunately a large part of the drop is from tee to first landing area, and the fairway is thus less downslope than the overall average. You also try to shape flat areas for the ball to stop. And dogleg forming elements such a natives and bunkers in our case will create the interesting strategic aspects for the hole to work well.
The bonus will be the impressive views of the Andes from the top, all the way into Chile.
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The Steel Club's Hill-9 #3. According to Google Earth - 387yard straight away par 4. Pretty flat hole for the first 175 yards or so and then... 77 foot rise over the last 200 yards of the hole. Last time I played it I remember hitting a 5-wood from about 165 or so and it was barely enough.
Sadly this 9 is going away if it is not already. It was built as "The Bethlehem Steel Club" and was one of Donald Ross' last courses. The Hill 9 was the front 9 of the original 18 and was a crazy fun routing up the side of a mountain. The club quickly (within the first 10 years) had the Gordon's build a third 9 that along with the Ross back 9 became the primary routing.
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The course I have played with most uphill and downhill holes is at Salt Fork State Park in Cambridge, Ohio.
It was a fun, very sporty course. Played it on annual get together for about five years in the early/mid 1980s.
Walked it back then. Imagine that would be tough today.
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The course I have played with most uphill and downhill holes is at Salt Fork State Park in Cambridge, Ohio.
It was a fun, very sporty course. Played it on annual get together for about five years in the early/mid 1980s.
Walked it back then. Imagine that would be tough today.
I played Salt Fork probably 30-35 years ago when I was a teenager and I don't remember much apart from it being very hilly.
Not sure it could compete with Shawnee Lookout (NLE) near North Bend Ohio for overall elevation change, but Salt Fork is very hilly.
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I attended a ribbon cutting ceremony at the Greenbrier several years ago where Trevino, Player and Nicklaus unveiled their plans for a new course that Jim Justice said would host a West Virginia US Open some day.
Jack took the lead, and explained that the course would have 3,000 feet of elevation change and only one uphill shot. That’s either the biggest uphill hole in the world or a lot of climbing to get to tees. The course was never built.
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There is a par 3 at Eagle-Vail in Colorado that drops 200ft in 200 yards!
The Country Club of Asheville has a few holes with large elevation changes. The 388 yard 1st falls 90 feet, from the original tee the 345 yard 15th climbs 103 feet, and then the tee shot on the 16th falls 100 feet over the first 350 yards.
At Lakota Canyon the 5th, 8th, and 11th all fall 200ft or more.
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The course I have played with most uphill and downhill holes is at Salt Fork State Park in Cambridge, Ohio.
It was a fun, very sporty course. Played it on annual get together for about five years in the early/mid 1980s.
Walked it back then. Imagine that would be tough today.
I played Salt Fork probably 30-35 years ago when I was a teenager and I don't remember much apart from it being very hilly.
Not sure it could compete with Shawnee Lookout (NLE) near North Bend Ohio for overall elevation change, but Salt Fork is very hilly.
Wow! Delighted to see someone else here has played Salt Fork. Besides how hilly it was, there was one hole on the back side that stood out. It was a downhill tee shot towards a pond and then a big uphill shot to the green. Felt great to par it.
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Wow! Delighted to see someone else here has played Salt Fork. Besides how hilly it was, there was one hole on the back side that stood out. It was a downhill tee shot towards a pond and then a big uphill shot to the green. Felt great to par it.
You don't honestly think there is a course anywhere that somebody else on this website hasn't played???
I grew up in Cincinnati. My parents were self-employed so we mostly took short vacations, four or five days. We went to a bunch of the Ohio State Parks - Mohican, Hueston Woods, Deer Creek, Salt Fork, Maumee Bay, Burr Oak. Probably a few others I'm forgetting. Also places like General Butler and Carter Caves in Kentucky, Pipestem in West Virginia.
I think I played my first nine holes ever at General Butler, but I read that they closed their course a few years ago.
Those little trips weren't fancy but we had fun and I'm sure they weren't too expensive. Sometimes I think my parents did it right!
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The 13th at Yatesville Lake Golf Course (state park) in Lousia, KY plays over 200ft down. The 8 miles of cart path sums up a lot about the terrain.
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Wow! Delighted to see someone else here has played Salt Fork. Besides how hilly it was, there was one hole on the back side that stood out. It was a downhill tee shot towards a pond and then a big uphill shot to the green. Felt great to par it.
You don't honestly think there is a course anywhere that somebody else on this website hasn't played???
I grew up in Cincinnati. My parents were self-employed so we mostly took short vacations, four or five days. We went to a bunch of the Ohio State Parks - Mohican, Hueston Woods, Deer Creek, Salt Fork, Maumee Bay, Burr Oak. Probably a few others I'm forgetting. Also places like General Butler and Carter Caves in Kentucky, Pipestem in West Virginia.
I think I played my first nine holes ever at General Butler, but I read that they closed their course a few years ago.
Those little trips weren't fancy but we had fun and I'm sure they weren't too expensive. Sometimes I think my parents did it right!
Well, you’re that other guy!
FYI, my annual trip was with a group of Sohio colleagues. We were young and didn’t have loads of money. The cost for cabins and green fees at Salt Fork fit everyone’s budget. It was a very enjoyable annual trip.
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Wow! Delighted to see someone else here has played Salt Fork. Besides how hilly it was, there was one hole on the back side that stood out. It was a downhill tee shot towards a pond and then a big uphill shot to the green. Felt great to par it.
You don't honestly think there is a course anywhere that somebody else on this website hasn't played???
Jlhar,
I know so and have done a few course reviews of them in the past. I have another one upcoming in October that I doubt anyone else on this site has played.
But sure if you live in St. Andrews that's a tough ask. ;)
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Redlands Mesa has a number of steep drops 2,5,6,10,11,17. And a couple steep climbs, however the climbs are mostly to get to the next tee! In light western Colorado air, the ball goes a long way!
Recent US Am host Chambers Bay also has several steep drops, especially from the back tees. Several holes there are also steeply uphill, 7 and 12 in particular.
Speaking of Chambers, I am wondering why no one here remarked about the way it showed on TV. I went up for the Saturday matches. The course may well be at its all time best right now. It is a fantastic match play course. Birdies and bogeys abound. Wonderful place.
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The course that always comes to mind in terms of up and downhill holes is one that no longer exists, Eagle's Nest in Silverthorne, CO. I believe it was a Dick Phelps design. It closed and a new course was built, was a new routing by Hurdzan-Fry (it is now called Raven at Three Peaks).
The 18th hole on the old course (I think it is now #9 on the Raven) was a par 4 playing dramatically downhill, about 195 feet from tee to green. They more or less kept that hole in the routing.
But the real reason Eagle's Nest sticks in my mind is it had one hole that fit both the downhill and uphill question. It was a par 4 that doglegged severely left, almost 90 degrees. You hit a drive straight downhill, nearly 100 feet down to the bottom of a hill where the fairway bottomed out. The hole then turned hard left around a thick grove of trees (no way you were cutting the corner here) and played straight back up the hill at least 75-80 feet to the green. It was the most steeply uphill shot I've ever encountered and one of the most ridiculous holes I've ever seen.
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Jlhar,
I know so and have done a few course reviews of them in the past. I have another one upcoming in October that I doubt anyone else on this site has played.
But sure if you live in St. Andrews that's a tough ask. ;)
We're getting off the subject of uphill and downhill holes, but we could start a fun new thread. Have we ever had this one before? "Courses you've played that no one else on GCA has"
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I’ll bite. Albermarle in Newton, Mass.
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Hunter's Station GC in NW Pennsylvania has a par 3 with a SERIOUS ~300 foot drop. The cart ride down is downright scary! I hit the green and the ball plugged so far in that it was almost even with the green!
(https://i.redd.it/bw8r6ngbvs771.jpg)
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Without doubt the nine hole Realp golf course in Andermatt, Switzerland. Located more than 1500m above sea level, just below the St Gotthard pass and built by locals, including the Olympic champion skier Bernhard Russia, for pennies. Uniquely in my experience, the tee boards include not only the length of the hole, but also the elevation change. The second hole (iirc) is about 280m (306 yards) and climbs 55m (180 feet). No carts. Hard work!
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Hunter's Station GC in NW Pennsylvania has a par 3 with a SERIOUS ~300 foot drop. The cart ride down is downright scary! I hit the green and the ball plugged so far in that it was almost even with the green!
300ft for a par 3 would be absolutely insane, so I had to take a look for myself. Google earth suggest its only 148 ft downhill.
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/g-MvHzbekwBDHlxeVCMutDXcRAZ-oNHgeuyQ9YukkSbwLXJ8Y5IN644BoSWMyx5JAyZZ3LgEgkKFVlsefFrDzadWL1MeLdClD88qeL69dhaIzDY1sooQuNVd5j71k4feqzzYtVHz9mA=w2400)
Even at Waterfall, where it feels like you're playing off a cliff (https://www.thewaterfallclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Golf1.jpg), the hole only falls 224 feet.
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/ZaEPZqw1NmT3MKmxwzG8dFjPqc2SwJli4ayzud_eJYus_DtfaXaU5wGoOH0ZDY8BNdobxbrOV9w9iJtwGrvl4gTaaeNCHnLVv-eojWgLb72HcEOXhnb9qRIyyG2MFVMTVOyVr1mnF88=w2400)
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The course that always comes to mind in terms of up and downhill holes is one that no longer exists, Eagle's Nest in Silverthorne, CO. I believe it was a Dick Phelps design. It closed and a new course was built, was a new routing by Hurdzan-Fry (it is now called Raven at Three Peaks).
The 18th hole on the old course (I think it is now #9 on the Raven) was a par 4 playing dramatically downhill, about 195 feet from tee to green. They more or less kept that hole in the routing.
But the real reason Eagle's Nest sticks in my mind is it had one hole that fit both the downhill and uphill question. It was a par 4 that doglegged severely left, almost 90 degrees. You hit a drive straight downhill, nearly 100 feet down to the bottom of a hill where the fairway bottomed out. The hole then turned hard left around a thick grove of trees (no way you were cutting the corner here) and played straight back up the hill at least 75-80 feet to the green. It was the most steeply uphill shot I've ever encountered and one of the most ridiculous holes I've ever seen.
Eagle's Nest is the exact course I thought of when I read the title of this thread. My Dad and I played there when I was in high school. It was unlike anything we had ever seen, compounded by the fact that we played it our first day at elevation. I recall some ridiculously fun shots and some really frustrating ones. Extremely memorable experience.