Season 2 Week 35: Harry Colt Pro-Am

[LKeet6]

Week 35 takes us to The Royal Hague Golf Club in Holland for the Harry Colt Pro-Am tournament.

The Royal Hague golf club, as it is known in English, (Koninklijke Haagsche in Dutch) is the oldest golf club in Holland and was founded in 1893 on linksland that was destroyed during World War II. The club’s current course was actually designed by Harry Colt for a wealthy Dutch golfer in 1938, who then sold the layout to the homeless golf club in the late 1940’s.

Despite its location, two miles from the North Sea, Royal Hague is a dramatic big dune course that has a strong seaside feeling with mighty fairways that crash and tumble constantly and feature little shaping or man-made design outside the typically understated green sites. Some holes are almost dizzying in their scale, plunging and rising with dramatic proportions. Giving the layout its teeth are a number of heroic drives over ravines and gullies, plus fierce back tees on holes such as the 6th, 7th, 8th, 13th and 16th.

Course highlights include the short 7th, which is a terrific hole blind over a hill then down to a delicious green nestled beside a large dune. The tumbling and rising 9th is another fine hole as is the more subtle 11th and the wild 15th with its green beside a hill and beyond a frontal mound. The sidehill 16th across a ravine and then a small knoll, and the tree-lined par five finisher are also dynamic golf holes.







(Couldn't find any vids again, sorry!)

[ray]

Very much looking forward to this weeks event. Will be getting R1 done in a few hours, Sam has had it easy on XB the last couple of weeks, although I suspect I’d have struggled to match him anyway. Last two rounds that counted for me were ok, going to try and take that vibe in and build from there.

Huzzah!

[gavlaar124]

Short but tough track with the undulating fairways and sloped greens played very well first round and not so well second round

[ray]

+2 first round. Greens killed me. Haven’t played anything fast in a month. Had 3 bogies early with 2 birds to turn at +1, birdied 11 then had a 3m almost straight uphill putt for par on 13. Missed it. Missed the downhiller coming back for bogey. Over read the uphill putt for double and walked off with a big fat 7.

Gav’s cheating. Everyone has to buy an XB 😆

*nice shooting sir. Far from shiiiiiiiiit 👌🏻

[artvandelay]

Unlike others I am quite pleased with +4 in those round 1 conditions.  Of course I stink at this game too, so this score is just a bit less stinky.

Onward!

[polekatt/josia]

 I may decide to sit out this week.      I really really hate courses like this.    greens so fast and slopey that when you hit what you think is a decent shot or putt, it keeps rolling, or rolls all the way backwards to you, and  it ends up completely off the green.   Had 4 or 5 of these happen already in my first round.      

I know a lot of you love this kind of challenge, but not me.  I couldn't even finish the first round, was so frustrated.  

[paddyjk19]

-1 in round one and loved the course, really tough but also fair - could have done with a practice round! The old designs have slopes that were created when the greens were 6 on the stimp but after the first play through you will know where they are and you can play your approach accordingly. You still get this with older US courses like Oakmont too. It's a fun test!

[gavlaar124]

Well round 3 what can I say??!!! Forgot to grab my scorecard but had 6 birdies 7 bogies and a double for a +3 ... Green speeds were far too fast for the pin positions almost every putt that didn't go in rolled off the green. I genuinely thought I played well for that score couldn't have done much else with the settings we play! Anyway on to round 4

[LKeet6]

Mar 16, 2020 18:37:12 GMT gavlaar124 said:

Well round 3 what can I say??!!! Forgot to grab my scorecard but had 6 birdies 7 bogies and a double for a +3 ... Green speeds were far too fast for the pin positions almost every putt that didn't go in rolled off the green. I genuinely thought I played well for that score couldn't have done much else with the settings we play! Anyway on to round 4

I playtested on very fast, and some putts (and chips) were defo insane. Sounds like default IS very fast. So pin 3 was particularly tough, compared to 1 and 2 in that regard?

[gavlaar124]

Mar 16, 2020 18:58:37 GMT LKeet6 said:

Mar 16, 2020 18:37:12 GMT gavlaar124 said:

Well round 3 what can I say??!!! Forgot to grab my scorecard but had 6 birdies 7 bogies and a double for a +3 ... Green speeds were far too fast for the pin positions almost every putt that didn't go in rolled off the green. I genuinely thought I played well for that score couldn't have done much else with the settings we play! Anyway on to round 4

I playtested on very fast, and some putts (and chips) were defo insane. Sounds like default IS very fast. So pin 3 was particularly tough, compared to 1 and 2 in that regard?

I'd say so yes but the designer needs to give his head a wobble if the default speed for these greens is 187 that's bad design imo

[gavlaar124]

Anyway onto round 4 and all I can say is thank God I'm a very good chipper! Must have chipped in at least 5 times and also hit the pin with a flop to save a par from the junk. Remembered my scorecard this time as well

So -13 overall again this won't win but it's a target for everyone else to shoot for! Good luck boys and girls you'll need it out there on them greens!!

[paddyjk19]

Is it bad I’m looking forward to rd 3?

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😄