if i take people to go play wrightwood, a beast of a course, i tell them to be prepared for serious hiking and MANY tricky shots. its not a beginner course. if my beginner friends want to go, they know what the score is and that bitching will not be tolerated.
as far as safety issues are concerned, im only gonna ding for tee pad conditions and other glaring problems like rusty nails/syringes strewn about the course. im of the mindset that you can get killed walking your doggy and wrightwood (my only 5) is on a ski resort...lots of radical elevation change and places to roll ankles, fall off cliffs, etc. if youre not careful.
good course design and amenities trump beginner-friendliness.
It's a tough call because some of the most beginner friendly courses I know are also some of the worst courses.
For me safety issues are throwing over a crowed picnic area or very busy bike path. Throwing close to busy roads and parking lots is a safety issue I dock for also. Recently I had a car drive 2 feet infront of me while I was preparing for a drive on a tee pad, a foot fault would have sent me to the hospital. Safety Issues like that immediatly hurt the rating. I just wrote a review for Pratt park, an amazing course in Virginia, but 2 poorly designed holes killed the course rating.
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