It may be difficult in some cases as you mention to transform existing 27 layouts into the 18/9 dual tee format. I'm primarily suggesting a better way to consider doing it from the beginning if you had space to build a 27. Transforming a 9 into a pseudo 18 using the dual tee approach has been shown to work if you have enough interesting terrain already on the course.
You want that record back, don't you?
Druid is listed as three separate courses on here, two 18's - Legacy(the OG 18) and Forrest Drive(old x-holes and nx holes), and the current 12 of the future 18 on Hillway.
I guess you don't consider course rating part of marketing. Course ratings go up with extra holes vs being separated courses.
Course ratings here might matter for travelers but not for the local market who has to determine whether to repeat play a pay to play course. Even as a traveler, I'm more likely to play and 18/9 versus a 27 independent of ratings. think players would like two total scores rather than one after playing 27 holes. Even 18 holers are better with front 9 and back 9. I haven't seen too many 27s break up the scores into three 9s on their scorecards versus a 27 total.
Travelers not as important as retaining your local crowd. And with regard to ratings, think of the top ranked 18-hole layouts with other courses on site like Selah or Highbridge. Additional courses there likely enhance their 18-hole ratings. That might be an interesting thing to look at to see if there's a halo effect due to multiple courses on a site.
I think it depends on the courses. I went to Tom Bass in Houston for exactly the reasons you suggest. No one else did.
There is "magic" to 18 holes because like it or not, it's become the de facto definition of a "round" of golf whether ball or disc golf. It's the unit of record for the way many official stats are kept. The hole scores in sudden death are not retained or added to the 18-hole scores for example. When rounds are different from 18 in DG, the stats are adjusted to an 18-hole equivalent whether you're talking scoring averages, handicaps or ratings. Playing 9 holes either feels like practice or just half a round. That's why I believe 9 hole layouts designed with dual tees numbered from 1 thru 18 has become a more satisfying way to play a course with just 9 baskets - you're playing a regular round. When you play 24 or 27, while it's bonus disc golf, I can't get away from feeling like I'm in an overtime game, overtime is still official but not really the same as a "regulation" round. It's also tougher to have a really hot round on 27 versus 18 holes because with more holes your overall performance has a natural tendency to move toward your average skill level.
