Ridiculous Difficult Golf Courses

I saw a recent article on espn.com called “The Most Diabolical Links In The Country“.  It reminded me of some of the crazy courses I have played over my golfing years.  And there was one in particular that really stands out.  This particular course (I’ll talk more about it in a moment) was, at the time, the #2 or #3 handicap course in the country.  So it was basically the 2nd or 3rd hardest golf course in the United States at the time.  I didn’t play it because of that distinction, we just happened to be staying in the area at the time and decided to play it.

This particular course was the main golf course at the Marriott Bay Point in Panama City, Florida.  We were on a family vacation in the area and some buddies and I decided to hit the links.  I didn’t know anything about that particular course, but it was at a Marriott resort so I figured we couldn’t go too wrong.

Once we checked in at the pro shop and I looked at the card, I thought “Oh no, we may have gotten more than we bargained for”.  Reading about the course’s status, I was thinking that we were going to have to just “man up” and play this course, tough handicap or not.

So out we go and it started early and stayed the same…..ridiculous!  I don’t mind a difficult course.  I don’t mind a course that is longer than most.  I don’t even mind one that is long and difficult, but this course looked like it was  designed by a deranged three year old.

It appeared that they designed the course purely to get that high handicap.  But they did it in the most ridiculous ways.   Let me share a few examples.

One of the early holes had these deep grass bunkers right in the middle of the fairway AND right in the landing area for your tee shots.  And the way that they were laid it, it was only pure chance whether your tee shot missed them or not.  And these were all deep enough that on your second shot, you only had a chance to move the ball about 50 yards up the fairway.

I’m not going to continue to rant about the other crazy things that they had done, I won’t bore you with all of that.  But let me just say this.  That golf course was ridiculous and I vowed never to go back there again.

Now I am not familiar with many of the courses on the list in the espn.com article above. But I just hope that they are nothing like what I experienced that day in Panama City.  Difficult golf is part of the game, that is why they have the handicap system.  But to put things in the middle of a beautiful golf course that really belong at the local putt putt is just wrong.

Happy New Year and I hope all of your golf is great this year!