Yesterday someone asked me for my toughest courses. They were surprised when I named my home course which measures 5500yds as one of them. Truth is if you hit the ball above average distance then length is much less of a value of course difficulty. Recently I played a course off the black tees which measured just shy of 7100yds. The course had wide fairways and huge greens which meant accuracy was not at a premium, provided you can putt. Also long courses generally have 4 or 5 par fives, which most will be reachable. Ashridge for example has 5 par fives all of which reachable with hybrid or lower (5 very good birdie chances). Shorter courses usually have less of these holes. Plus at Chartridge we have narrow fairways, small undulating greens which puts a massive premium on accuracy and distance control. The greens are surrounded by small bunkers which mean hitting a bunker can often leave you an uneven lie. The course is such that although you are hitting wedges on a lot of holes these wedges need to be pinpoint accurate to allow good scoring as the undulating greens make for some tough 30 footers.
I'm not saying all short courses are tough or long courses easy, what I am saying is that people make judgements of a course based on looking at the scorecard or course guide. I think people often choose a course to play or join based on ego rather than reality. Length isn't everything!!
Tomorrow I'm playing at Langley Park in Beckenham this course is just 6400yds but only par 69, promises to be a real challenge. Maybe this will make my toughest list.
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