Design Disasters: 10 Of The Worst Holes In Golf
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Design Disasters: 10 Of The Worst Holes In Golf

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Design Disasters: 10 Of The Worst Holes In Golf

I was scrolling through Instagram when I came across something that grabbed my attention.

The account is called Design Disasters, run by the fine folks at The Fried Egg. If you are an avid MGS reader, you’ve probably seen me write about The Fried Egg’s outstanding podcast and phenomenal YouTube channel (both were included in our top golf podcasts and YouTube golf channel rankings).

Design Disasters is exactly what it sounds like—we’re talking about golf holes that make everyone cringe. The Fried Egg’s Joseph LaMagna hosts short videos highlighting some of the worst holes on the planet. Special guests Brendan Porath, Andy Johnson, Will Knights and Tron Carter (of No Laying Up) have joined to break down what is happening with some of these epically disastrous designs.

After watching a few videos in the series, I am completely hooked. I’ve now been through all 40-plus posts that have been put up since debuting in November. Apparently, I’m not alone, given how more than 20,000 followers have quickly signed up to be updated by the worst golf architecture has to offer.

Why are these videos entertaining?

First, it’s just comical how bad some of these holes are (and strangely a lot of them are in Illinois? What are you guys doing there?). It usually comes down to lack of land or developers trying to shoehorn a hole into a space that shouldn’t have a golf hole.

It’s also a fun part of golf’s shared suffering. When a hole is brutally unfair or strange, it unites golfers in a way that little else can.

In that spirit, I reached out to the Design Disasters team asking if I could highlight a few of the terrible holes they have featured. They agreed so here are 10 of my favorite disastrous designs on the channel.

Please follow them! You can find it here on Instagram and on YouTube.

Also, if you are interested in appreciating good golf course architecture, you can learn more about that here or consult The Fried Egg site which is teeming with excellent videos, newsletters, podcasts and more.

Do you like U-turn holes where going backwards off the tee could be more beneficial than just playing the hole normally?

If that is the case, the par-5 11th at Salt Creek Golf Links in Canada is just what you are hoping for.

The hole starts with a tee shot that asks for a 230-yard drive that is hopefully into the opening where you will be making a sharp turn with your second shot.

The second shot is about 230 yards from the green which has random tree directly in front of it. Behind the green is a creek, just for good measure.

My real question is whether you can punch a tee shot through the trees into one of the other fairways, leaving a shorter second shot. I’m guessing it’s not an option but someone please report back.

9. 9th hole at Hickory Hills Country Club (Hickory Hills, Illinois)

If you’ve seen a Google Earth image of this hole and weren’t not sure what you were looking at, let me help you.

You are looking at a center-line cart path.

The par-4 ninth at Hickory Hills Country Club in Illinois has a cart path that goes directly down the middle of the fairway, leading to a second shot that likely has to fly trees.

Another design disaster awaits you at this course as the parking lot is a few yards directly behind the 18th green.

Don’t park there.

8. 8th hole at Blackmoor Golf Club (Murell’s Inlet, South Carolina)

The par-4 8th hole at Gary Player-designed Blackmoor Golf Club in South Carolina features a risk-reward decision that is no decision at all.

It’s a drivable hole that offers a “chute” for golfers to hit down directly towards the green. The ground in this chute isn’t fairway grass—which is kind of a weird situation—but the distance from the tee to the green is the same yardage as what it would take to hit a proper layup to the left.

Amusingly, the forward tees on this hole have no option to go down the chute because the trees block those players out.

Woof.

7. 4th hole at Skyview Golf Club (Sparta, New Jersey)

While not appearing too egregious at first glance, the par-5 fourth at Skyview Golf Club in New Jersey asks golfers to hit a bizarre sequence of shots.

The hole (nicknamed “The Edge”) starts with a tee shot that needs to find a 25-yard-wide fairway that slopes hard right to left. Anything not on the fairway is bad news.

If you hit the fairway, you are then asked to hit a blind lay-up shot—but only about 150 yards.

The reason for only wanting to hit a short second shot is because the green is 70 feet below the fairway. It is surrounded by rock outcroppings so going for it in two is not really an option.

An AJGA event was held here in 2011 and the average score was a double bogey.

There clearly shouldn’t be a golf hole here. “The Edge” is nightmare fuel for anyone who struggles with accuracy.

6. 2nd hole at Oakland Riverside Golf Course (Oakland, Iowa)

You’ve heard of OB bordering holes—but what about aerial OB?

You have questions. That is fair.

The par-4 second hole at Oakland Riverside Golf Course in Iowa is a 90-degree dogleg right that goes around property not owned by the course.

You could go for the green—it’s only about 160 yards or so as the crow flies—but you are not allowed to do that.

There is an OB stake on the corner of the property. Anything right of that pole, as the ball flies, is considered automatically OB even if the ball lands in bounds.

Imagine the fights over whether a ball crossed the OB or not!

There are two options for how to play the hole. The first is to hit an 150-yard shot and then hit a wedge over trees to a green that has OB a few paces from the right edge. The other option is to hit a longer club around the corner and then hit back to the green.

Either way, I’m not sure what is happening here.

5. 15th hole at Mistwood Golf Club (Romeoville, Illinois)

Mistwood Golf Club’s back nine comes to a crescendo with Kelpie’s Corner, a few brutally difficult holes that wrap around a lake.

The par-3 14th requires a long shot with water short and left with OB right. The par-4 16th has golfers hit to an island of fairway surrounded by water and OB before hitting over the water to a carefully guarded green.

In between is the par-5 15th, a hilariously narrow hole that takes a hard left turn around the corner of the lake. The fairway is about 25 yards wide, guarded by water on the left and OB long.

If you take a more conservative approach off the tee, you are left with a layup into a 13-yard wide fairway that slopes hard right to left. By the way, you still have water left and OB right.

If you squeeze driver into the fairway, you still have to hit a second shot into an area that is about 50 yards wide between the water and OB.

The real “charm” of this hole is that the tee shot is basically OB on both sides because hitting into the water would necessitate a re-tee. Golfers have been known to take big numbers here. You can see why.

If you add in any wind, this terribly designed hole gets even more comical.

4. 3rd hole at Legacy Golf Course (Buford, Georgia)

Lake Lanier in Georgia is known for being haunted.

This golf hole also has some ghosts.

The par-4 third is a great example of when developers just don’t have enough space to put an actual hole.

Your options are to hit a 220-yard shot into a fairway the size of a thimble or you can take a rip at the green about 250 yards away depending on which tee you are playing.

The big issue is that there just isn’t enough room. Anything short is in the water and anything long could easily catch the cart path en route to sailing into the trees. Either option requires a shot that lands into a 25-yard-wide area (at best) with no bailout.

There are also a lot of drunk boaters hanging around so be prepared to hit a great shot.

3. 14th hole at Sheridan Park Golf Club (Tonawanda, New York)

What happens when you design a golf hole that goes around a maintenance complex?

Things get complicated.

The 14th hole at Sheridan Park Golf Club just outside of Buffalo is a par-4 that asks golfers to hit across a creek into a fairway and back across the creek again to the green (just a few yards beyond and to the right of the green is a residential road). That shape to the hole is necessitated by a large maintenance complex.

With the creek being a hazard and the maintenance facility being out of bounds, that led to a lot of confusion. Players were hitting drives that may or may not have found the water or the OB. It was difficult to tell.

After many years of trying to find a solution, the course decided to make everything (including the water) between the two bridges OB so the water is only a normal hazard before the first bridge and after the second bridge. As you can imagine, a lot of golfers go way left in response.

Here is where it gets interesting: Better golfers can carry the maintenance facility with their tee shot. It’s about a 265-yard carry to go over the complex and reach the other side.

Notably, the roof to the maintenance shed near the fairway is flat—so even a slightly shorter drive will still bounce forward.

If you can pull it off, you only have a flip wedge into the green.

Now that is golf course architecture.

2. 9th hole at Ramsey Golf and Country Club (Ramsey, New Jersey)

The par-4 ninth hole at Ramsey Golf and Country Club has a commuter rail, power lines and a traffic cop.

Seriously.

The 423-yard hole requires a perfect tee shot around the corner to a 35-yard-wide corridor between a commuter rail on the right and power lines on the left. Miss in either direction and it’s OB.

If you hit the fairway? You are left with a long-iron approach to a small green … and you have to watch out for people playing another hole that shares the same fairway with the ninth hole.

Due to this design disaster, the club employs a “traffic cop” in a hardhat to signal when players should hit.

How did this happen?

1. 18th hole at Rolling Hills Golf Course (Godfrey, Illinois)

I chose this as my favorite disastrous design for one reason.

Internal out of bounds.

In your own fairway.

You read that correctly.

The 18th hole at Rollings Hills in Godfrey, Ill., is a chicken-wing 250-yard par-4 that was clearly jammed into the property due to a lack of space. The hole requires that you hit a shot 200 or so yards into the fairway and then make a sharp dogleg to the left where you hit through a narrow neck to the green. Everything left off the tee is guarded by tall trees.

That is the boring part. There are OB stakes in the fairway that prevent players from cutting the corner (I’m assuming the reason is so players near the green can’t get bombarded with tee shots).

So if you hit a sweeping draw that ends up 40 yards short of the green, perfectly in the fairway, you are re-teeing.

If you were to, say, top one off the tee, the internal OB in the fairway goes away. It’s only for the tee shot. Provocative!

On top of that, the tee shot is made harder by a cart path and trees awaiting golfers who go too far off the tee. But if you go too short, you can be blocked out by trees.

This is a true nightmare. I love it.

What are your design disasters? I’m sure there are some egregious ones out there. Let me know below in the comments!

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Sean Fairholm

Sean Fairholm

Sean Fairholm

Sean is a longtime golf journalist and underachieving 8 handicap who enjoys the game in all forms. If he didn't have an official career writing about golf, Sean would spend most of his free time writing about it anyway. When he isn't playing golf, you can find Sean watching his beloved Florida Panthers hockey team, traveling to a national park or listening to music on his record player. He lives in Nashville with his wife and dog (of course the dog's name is Hogan).

Sean Fairholm

Sean Fairholm

Sean Fairholm

Sean Fairholm

Sean Fairholm

Sean Fairholm





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      Duane Martin

      3 weeks ago

      Obviously you need to play the 13th hole at Qualchan, Spokane Washington.
      Dumbest hole and design in the area.
      It’s a city owned course and a common theme among city owned golf course’s is that, the city doesn’t usually develop golf courses in the best of places.

      Reply

      Jon

      3 weeks ago

      Play a round @ Golden Pheasant Golf Club in Lumberton, NJ for a unique experience. It’s not so much one hole but sections of the layout that can make you go “hmmmm”. Holes 4-7 go up & down a slope with target greens only a cart path width away from neighboring tee boxes. The slope is steep enough to create multiple blind shot scenarios. While not necessarily impossibly difficult, it is affectionately nicknamed the “hard hat zone.” Holes 11 & 12 both have tee shots that go over the entrance driveway while the par-4 11th also has the green border by the local road. The par-4 17th offers it’s own frustrations. While not daunting on the card, the actual terrain disagrees. Hit the blind uphill tree-lined tee shot to a target area that slopes hard left to right. There is 0 room on the right as the course falls down the bank to the creek that snakes through much of the course. Course is public, friendly, and reasonably priced so it’s worth the post-round stories in their 19th hole.

      Reply

      One1

      3 weeks ago

      It’s fitting that the 18th at Rolling Hills is shaped like a question mark. They should name it “WTF”.

      Reply

      Scott

      3 weeks ago

      We have an old private club in Omaha NE (Field Club) that you actually have to hit over a public street not once, not twice but 3 times. The street splits 3 fairways. Pretty fun course actually

      Reply

      Munis & Monsters

      3 weeks ago

      They’re concentrated in Illinois because the Fried Egg guys started out in Chicago and have a heavy readership in that area.

      I played Rolling Hills for the first time last year and while the overhead view and concept of the “pole rule” on the 18th are appalling, it’s not even the worst hole on the course from the ground.

      Reply

      HikingMike

      3 weeks ago

      Hey Munis & Monsters!! I came across your stuff on Instagram. I don’t even use Instagram and I had to read a bunch of your posts. Anyway, I love your posts. I’m also in Illinois, MetroEast STL. So I play some of the courses you’ve talked about.

      Here’s one vote for a Munis & Monsters dedicated article on MyGolfSpy!

      Reply

      Munis & Monsters

      3 weeks ago

      Mike, I can’t begin to express how much I appreciate your kind words. Thank you so much!

      Lots of good golf over in the Metro East. St. Clair CC is the hidden gem of all hidden gems and most of the area’s best publics are on that side of the river!

      HikingMike

      2 weeks ago

      Oh yeah, sure thing. But it’s well deserved. Learning about the courses in your Instagram posts is fantastic, background and history I never knew. I’d love to talk more. I don’t know if you’re on the MGS forum. Or maybe I can get on Instagram a bit. I’ll log in and follow you there anyway. I have not played St. Clair CC, but I do like having all the publics we have here.

      Mike Hegyes

      3 weeks ago

      I have one for someone to check out. Fore Sister’s Golf in Rawlings Maryland. Unfortunately I don’t have exact spec’s, but the 8th hole is a 493 yard par 5. You tee off over a small pond to a reasonable width fairway. Trees left, cliff into the woods right. Actually have to climb steps to get to fairway from cart path on right. If you hit your drive 260 or less you have to lay up in same fairway with about a 90 shot as the fairway ends. At end of fairway there is a right-hand dogleg with about a 100′ drop on a steep grade of untrimmed grass. When you hit your 3rd down that hill there is an over 90° dogleg left. You’ll have about 100 yards in to a small green with a giant tree to the left front of green with branches “protecting” left 2/3 of green. You technically can’t cut corner from upper fairway as that same tree keeps you from getting to the green without a whole seasons worth of good bounces (We tried it for fun). As a side note this same course used to have about a 700 yard par 6. When we played it was a 568 yard par 5, but the old tee boxes were still there but untrimmed. Nothing spectacular. Just long and straight.

      Reply

      Paul Rosetti

      3 weeks ago

      Sean, You are so right about #7 at Skyview. My friends and I have bemoaned that miserable excuse of a hole for years. We instituted a “7 max” rule on the hole to avoid blowing up yet another round. It is appropriate that the green sits in what can best be described as a toilet bowl. The rest of the course is a pleasure with fun holes and great views. Thanks for the list.

      Reply

      Fast Eddie

      3 weeks ago

      Hole 15 Zig Zag Par 5 at Barren River State Park in Lucas Ky. Tree lined hole until you get to the green. Tee shot from the tips is 200-220 from an elevated tee, just past the fairway is cart path, then woods. So hit to the “corner” then the hole dog legs right & then left (boomer rang) up a hill to a blind second shot (can only hit it 150-160 otherwise the landing area is down hill with a drop off into a ravine/pond. So if you successfully avoid trees and find the landing area you now have anywhere from 100-150 over a large ravine/pond with heather grass on otherside that you have to land on a green that is 50 yds wide, but maybe 15 deep or shorter depending on where the flag is. Trees right of green hazard, heather grass behind green hazard, cart path left, heather grass short hazard. The same could be said for the hole before it too (Hole 14). Look them up, you’ll be surprised ;)

      Reply

      OpMan

      3 weeks ago

      Riviera CC Hole 6, the Par 3 with the bunker in the middle of the green.
      I played it when the pin was deep back right, and I pulled my shot to the left over the bunker. It must have just caught the hill and it rolled back down the left side all the way to the bottom left.
      I had no choice but to take my wedge and try to hit it over the bunker and make it check. I took out my wedge, and the entire group and caddy frowned at me – I said why? – they said well……
      there are no rules in golf that doesn’t allow you to take a massive rib-eye steak sized divot out of the green’s surface to make a shot happen. That’s the only way to execute that shot to get me the spin I want.
      If you can’t let people do that, don’t design a stupid green like that with a ski slope and a bunker in the middle of it

      Reply

      FakeRichGuy

      3 weeks ago

      Our local executive course has a 70 yard par 3 and the tee box for the next hole is just past the green. It’s just a weird distance, and it always gets in my head, especially with someone on the next tee.

      Reply

      Patrick

      3 weeks ago

      The 18th hole at sycamore creek,if you hit it right off the tee you can hit oncoming cars on the road right next to the hole

      Reply

      Paul

      3 weeks ago

      Lol, if I remember correctly I think there is a hole at Scottsdale cc with on coming traffic/ob on the right. I hit it out there one time and was nervously waiting to hear a pile up:(

      Reply

      OpMan

      3 weeks ago

      You can also do that at Wilshire CC in LA, and there is no tall fence there either. It plays as Hole 15 during the tournament

      Scott S

      3 weeks ago

      Take a look at Alderbrook Golf & Yacht Club in Union, WA. The #8 par 5 is a tightly tree-lined, zig-zag hole that requires a 150-220 yard drive (tee dependent) (if for some reason you don’t carry 100-160 off the tee you CANNOT make a second shot around the 1st corner and have to lay-up to that original 220 before making any real progress), second shot is about 80-120 yard to the right, if you can shape your second shot you face a 120-180 yard uphill approach. Anything that is on the wrong side of the fairway on any shot is blocked out for the next shot. It looks ridiculous from the satellite view, wait until you see it from the ground and then try to play it.

      Reply

      JRDuck40

      3 weeks ago

      The 18th at Kettle Hills GC – Valley 18 / RIchfield, WI is a very close to making this list as well. 90* dog leg left and a massive bunker at the end of the fairway. It also cuts very close to the first hole and there are persons constantly hitting their drives into the 18th fairway. I’ve had quite a few close calls while hitting my approach shot on this hole.

      Reply

      FakeRichGuy

      3 weeks ago

      So for the Hickory Hills, you intentionally hit the cart path and hope to bounce it up to the green, right?

      Reply

      Karl

      3 weeks ago

      I can imagine that those holes are very entertaining to play. The score? I am a pretty bad old golf player and I would play 3, 4 or 5 over par (or more). Truthfully, who gives a f* as long as have good fun with friends out there?

      Reply

      League Golfer

      3 weeks ago

      Seems like there are a bunch of crabby, complaining golfer who don’t like doglegs that require you to hit a shot an approximate distance into a general area before you try your second shot on the hole. Not every par 4 or 5 hole on every course has to be a driver tee shot. If you can’t enjoy wacky golf holes and doglegs, then take up bowling. Every lane is straight. Oh wait, then these guys will complain about gutters on BOTH sides. Man up you complainers.

      Reply

      Karl

      2 weeks ago

      @League Golfer: If you had read my post carefully you would have realized that I was not complaining at all. On the contrary.

      ChuckZ

      3 weeks ago

      Charleston Municipal Golf Course in recent years underwent renovation and number #14 became a real challenge. Over water onto elevated horseshoe green surrounded by sandtraps on all sides. Sandtraps are flat and hitting up to 6′ elevated green. Completely exposed to wind and elements. All depends on pin placements. Front will bring ball back onto water calling for drop and hitting third shot if bit short. Course ranked #19 by Golf.com of top 50 municipal golf courses in US. Ranked top golf course in SC by SCGA in 2024.

      Reply

      Bryan Reynolds

      3 weeks ago

      These are bad! I’m going to load them up on my sim to see what they look like. LOL! Probably one of the worst local holes is Fairways of Canton (GA) #15. Par 5 plays 440-470 depending on your tees. Its a double right dogleg with a narrow fairway between a rocky hillside and a creek. The trees come in so tight on the right that you really can’t take a line that would allow you to hit driver even if you think you might be accurate enough. You are forced to hit about 200 yards to a 15 yard wide fairway between the rocks and the creek where you still won’t be able to see the green because of the second dogleg. Second shot is another layup of about 150 yards to a narrow fairway. Don’t be too far right or you’ll be blocked out again. Execute this and it leaves you with the first normal shot on the hole – about 100 yards to the relatively flat green. Like you said – just not enough room for a hole. On the plus side, it is absolutely beautiful with the creek especially when the mountain laurels and azaleas are blooming. Just enjoy the scenery and don’t look at the scorecard.

      Reply

      Clay Nicolsen

      3 weeks ago

      I was a member of Mistwood GC for several years. Those holes mentioned in the article are not NEARLY as difficult to play as you made it seem. As a mid-handicapper they were not tricked-up at all. They are, however, enormously fun to play. I was also a member of the Chicago District Golf Association course rating team. When we rated Mistwood (as a member of the club I was not involved in the rating process, I was only there as an observer and to answer questions), as the rating team walked the course to make their assessments, there were indeed comments about “tricky and difficult”. However, when we played the course after lunch, everyone was saying: “Wow, what a fun course to play!”. And beautiful as well. The property was originally a private fishing reserve, and the course routes around the lake. The course is gorgeous, the clubhouse, restaurant, and practice facilities are world class. Seriously, if you’re ever in the Chicago area, it’s a must play.

      Reply

      ST

      3 weeks ago

      I completely agree with this. Mistwood is super fun and those holes are great!

      Reply

      Jeff

      3 weeks ago

      Blue Heron, in Medina Oh, which closed after the crooks at Troon North sold all the real estate, was one of the worst overall designs ever. All the long holes had forced carries, the shorter holes had forced layups. A great hilly property with ravines and water, became a joke course there was one par 4 that was a 5 iron layup and another 5 iron into the green from the back tees, I could only imagine the regular tees being an 8 iron 5 iron. It was all risk no reward. PS I played Thunder Hill in Madison Oh that had 72 lakes, and it was a better course than Blue Heron.

      Reply

      Will

      3 weeks ago

      I can’t remember the name of the course, but I played one once that had a par 4 or 5 where the tee boxes were in an extremely narrow gap lined by very tall pine trees, with the back two tee boxes literally around a curve and blocked out from even seeing anything past the front tees. All you could really do was hit a wedge up to the front tees, and the rest of the hole was dead straight. It’s the only place I’ve ever seen a tee box come with an automatic 1 stroke penalty for playing from it.

      Reply

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