I can't believe I haven't commented here before. The Bear is the first thing that popped into my head as well.
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Hardest Course Ever
- Thread starter bikinjack
- Start date
LOL.....every time I get out there, I seem to forget how tough of a run that course is. Hope all is well, man.
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- Jul 29, 2009
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Have to agree with this. Handyman Ace Hardware was a butt whooping, too.
Spencer Davis at Ozark Mtn (RIP'D) annihilated me. Iffy Hollers (RIP'd) made me holler, too. Spectacular courses, but they really are challenging.
Thrembo mentioned Addison Oaks (or as some call it: Adding Some Strokes... to which I say hmmmm. It doesn't look that tough and I can't put it in with the others I listed, but whenever I play it, I just seem to go from bad lie to bad lie, because for some reason, I just don't play smart golf there.
Toboggan is the most physically demanding course I've played, and the lines you have to hit are trickier the more worn down you are.
At least you didn't have to give anyone mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. :|
Spencer Davis was so grueling when I played it in the summer that at one point I just laid down to die. I had played it in the winter before, but once I got out there on a hot and humid day it was the most horrible, exhausting round I ever played. By the end I think there was just some part of my reptilian brain still functioning that was making my feet shuffle forward, otherwise I would have just died out there.
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MHaas
Par Member
Addy is the one that comes to mind for me too and I feel the same way, it doesn't feel like it should be that difficult but for some reason really is. Case in point, played out there on Saturday and threw probably the best drive I've ever had on #6. The result? Me thinking, 'well that'll be an easy up and down'. Birdie wasn't even in the picture. Ended up feeling pretty good about my round at +8.
The flip side is that Addy is the only course where I've aced multiple holes though (in spite of countless rounds at Firefighters). There's a reason why it's my favorite course in the area I guess...
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Good thing Paul and you never actually stopped breathing... not sure I was ready to lock lips with either of you. :|
Toboggan's a workout (just ask Simon) but Spencer Davis took more out of me.
All the really great courses are so far beyond my skill set, it gets kinda hard rank their diffuculty.
But I know a great course when I see it.
Secret to Nevin is throwing mids off the tee.
I played most of that round using a Comet and a Storm off the tee, and did reasonably well.
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- Oct 21, 2019
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Waller Mill DGC Williamsburg, Va from the Short tees to long blue basket. It's a heavily wooded ravine course with 14 of the 18 long baskets either rollers or death putts into a lake. Approach or long putts to those baskets is a hold your breath moment. I've donated 5 discs into the lake. I have no birdies from the shorts. The long tees have more narrow gaps, but the par jumps up 12 strokes with six par 5's. I've picked up some birdies on the par 5's only.
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- Jun 8, 2009
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- 2,692
thanks for the reminder. i can't remember which 2 courses i played the same day at an event up there but it's the most tired i've ever been throwing discs.
Spencer Davis has to be my final answer for this thread, so far.
Nick Pacific
Eagle Member
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- Jan 18, 2013
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- 992
Timber Ridge is right there with the Toboggan in terms of difficulty and physical demand. Bummer it can't be at least partially open for some of the summer though. Not enough demand? I guess it's just too far out of the metro Detroit region to get enough traffic to demand it.
One thing this site has done for me is make me realize my travels are limited as is my knowledge of courses, but in the sample I've played I run across a lot of longer holes where I can throw to the "danger zone" where the hole is designed to trip me up with a driver, but I throw under it with a mid and set up a pretty simple second shot. I'm not that accurate with the driver so I can throw a little farther and end up with no second shot. It happens a lot; usually the first time I play the hole I throw the driver and get into trouble, the second time I look at the hole more closely and find the safe play with a mid. On harder courses once I take that mindset I honestly struggle more with the shorter holes; they generally don't have any safe spots to aim for.
Ozark Mountain was a fun place. The original course (the one that was called Ozark Mountain) fits into the original conversation of this thread, it was just challenging. Long and punishing with lines you had to hit, it was just a hard, hard course to play.
Favorite Three Putt Ozark Mountain quote: "I don't know why they call this hole five hyzers. I've already thrown seven hyzers and I still can't see the ****ing basket." :|
Akita's Run was the second course, and I don't think it got credit for what it was. Akita's Run was probably the most challenging Par 3 course there ever was. The extreme elevation used in that course made it a handful. The shots were there at distances you could hit, but Good Golly Miss Molly that thing was tough. Usually around hole 13-14 my legs would just turn to rubber.
Taken together, they were the all-day test. Ozark Mountain would wear out your arm and Akita's Run would wear out your legs. They made a great day of really challenging golf.
Then they added Spencer-Davis. Spencer-Davis was a hybrid of the two; it had longer shots with the punishing terrain of Akita's Run. It wore out your arm AND your legs all in one shot. To me there was no "let's play Spencer-Davis and one other course" trips to OMO; Spencer-Davis was a one and done course.
Of course you could push yourself and play more. I know people who said they played all three in one day. I doubt anyone who did was happy with how they played; it would have been grueling golf overload. That was always my gripe with Spencer-Davis; Ozark Mountain and Akita's Run both shoved me down and took my lunch money, but I couldn't wait to go back and let them do it again. The challenging/beautiful/grueling/fun ratio's were spot on with those two courses. Spencer-Davis had to be endured; the grueling part of that course was too much IMO.
Some folks are into that, though.
Different strokes for different folks and so on and so on and scoobie doobie doobie...My opinion of that complex is that Ozark Mountain always was the most challenging of the three courses in terms of the shots. Spencer-Davis was the most physically grueling of the three to play. Which one was "harder" kinda depends on how you define that.
I miss Akita's Run more than the other two, though. Par 3 golf is highly underrated.
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- Dec 28, 2009
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The old longer Lemon Lake Gold course was probably the hardest I've played. Honorable mentions to Leila Arboretum and Leviathan from the black tees. Sky High was also a difficult play, but due to elevation more than actual course design.
- Joined
- Jun 8, 2009
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- 2,692
One thing this site has done for me is make me realize my travels are limited as is my knowledge of courses, but in the sample I've played I run across a lot of longer holes where I can throw to the "danger zone" where the hole is designed to trip me up with a driver, but I throw under it with a mid and set up a pretty simple second shot. I'm not that accurate with the driver so I can throw a little farther and end up with no second shot. It happens a lot; usually the first time I play the hole I throw the driver and get into trouble, the second time I look at the hole more closely and find the safe play with a mid. On harder courses once I take that mindset I honestly struggle more with the shorter holes; they generally don't have any safe spots to aim for.
Ozark Mountain was a fun place. The original course (the one that was called Ozark Mountain) fits into the original conversation of this thread, it was just challenging. Long and punishing with lines you had to hit, it was just a hard, hard course to play.
Favorite Three Putt Ozark Mountain quote: "I don't know why they call this hole five hyzers. I've already thrown seven hyzers and I still can't see the ****ing basket." :|
Akita's Run was the second course, and I don't think it got credit for what it was. Akita's Run was probably the most challenging Par 3 course there ever was. The extreme elevation used in that course made it a handful. The shots were there at distances you could hit, but Good Golly Miss Molly that thing was tough. Usually around hole 13-14 my legs would just turn to rubber.
Taken together, they were the all-day test. Ozark Mountain would wear out your arm and Akita's Run would wear out your legs. They made a great day of really challenging golf.
Then they added Spencer-Davis. Spencer-Davis was a hybrid of the two; it had longer shots with the punishing terrain of Akita's Run. It wore out your arm AND your legs all in one shot. To me there was no "let's play Spencer-Davis and one other course" trips to OMO; Spencer-Davis was a one and done course.
Of course you could push yourself and play more. I know people who said they played all three in one day. I doubt anyone who did was happy with how they played; it would have been grueling golf overload. That was always my gripe with Spencer-Davis; Ozark Mountain and Akita's Run both shoved me down and took my lunch money, but I couldn't wait to go back and let them do it again. The challenging/beautiful/grueling/fun ratio's were spot on with those two courses. Spencer-Davis had to be endured; the grueling part of that course was too much IMO.
Some folks are into that, though.
My opinion of that complex is that Ozark Mountain always was the most challenging of the three courses in terms of the shots. Spencer-Davis was the most physically grueling of the three to play. Which one was "harder" kinda depends on how you define that.
I miss Akita's Run more than the other two, though. Par 3 golf is highly underrated.
great rundown, thanks!
i especially agree with the last line. the elevation on Akita's Run was a blast. that one shot that goes straight down like 100ft was so fun to try to dial in. it took me at least 4 tries to not overshoot the green, never had that problem before.
