The Cotugno Par-3 Golf Course By Jason J. Cotugno Aka HOLYMAN THE COURSE CONCEPT: This par three course is what I should have started off my designing career with. It is by far the best work that I have come up with since I began golf course design. I think that when I began this course I was hard pressed to improve my skills since my last two courses. The first course: THE COTUGNO COUNTRY CLUB; was my maiden voyage into the field of course design. It is lengthy but has many faults to it. Visually it is nice but needs far too much work to be anywhere near where I am now with course design. To myself, I found it to be a designing nightmare. The second course: ALBANY MUNICIPAL; was a better effort in course design. I found that I became much more aware of what the designing package had to offer. This course was well rounded and interesting to play, but like the first course it had it's faults. I found that when I played the course the green were unnatural. This is something that I may go back and rebuild, but not before I get more knowledge with course design. OBJECTIVE: To create eighteen holes of interesting and challenging golf. My stress was to make a course that helps a golfer improve their approach game. Of all the parts that makes up a golfers game the approach shot is the most overlooked part. With this eighteen holes I hope to stress the need to control your irons game. Accuracy plays a vital role on this course as well. Some of the greens here are tricky depending on the pin placement. If the course is dry then you are truly put to the test. Every tee shot will determine how good your round will be. There is no question that if a majority of your putts are over 30 feet there will be problems to make birdies. To get the tee shot close to the pin is my goal. PREDICTIONS ON WEATHER CONDITIONS: The course will be very difficult if the course is dry. On certain holes where water is involved there is going to be a great deal of pressure placed on you to perform. With wet conditions the course to give a chance to set a course record. I find that good conditions are not the most favorable. If you play with a wet course the score can be much better. The winds for this course come out of the southwest with some force. This too must be taken into consideration when choosing a plan of attack. SPECIAL THANKS: I must thank all of the other designers that make up this great BBS system. All of the courses that I have downloaded have helped me decide how to make this par three. I think that the greatest thanks must go to Scott Chesney, Ted Maiden and Jay Johnson. All of these guys set the pace by which the rest of us follow. If you haven't got any of their work I strongly suggest that you quickly get some of them and learn. There is a lot of great stuff that they offer the rest of us. RESPONSE TO THE COTUGNO PAR-3 GOLF COURSE: Input is the most important part to improving your product. That is why I would like to hear from all of you who have taken this course. My only request is that you try to be specific about the problems that you see with this course. I want to know what I am doing wrong or what I am doing right. You can drop me a line on the BBS or write to me: JASON COTUGNO 340 LEEDALE STREET ALBANY, NEW YORK 12209 ON THE BBS: HOLYMAN ===> THE FOLLOWING SECTION COVERS THE YARD MARKINGS AND COMMENTS ON THE HOLES. HOLE 1 240 YARDS Water shelters the green like a blanket. To carry the tee shot right to the pin is a true test of a golfers control with the woods. Only people who can say that they are marksmen with the woods will find birdies. This hole is tough but after a couple of rounds you will know how to improve your chances. The green is a little tricky but manageable. HOLE 2 170 YARDS This green is tighter than hole number one. If you don't hit the green, pars are the only thing that you can work for here. The hills blanket the course but make it look very attractive. The putter is your best friend here. Don't squander the chance to lower your score. Short shots are not welcome here. HOLE 3 189 YARDS A nice rounded green that has water in the front. Most people will find themselves going hard off the tee to reach the green. Use you head and reach the green. Leaving it long or short can make pars and bogeys but not birds. HOLE 4 245 YARDS This plush hole has to be my favorite of all eighteen holes. First, there is a test with the driver. Second, there is a test with the putter. This can be tough if you get carried away with your tee shot. Playing safe will cause problems. HOLE 5 290 YARDS This is the longest hole on the course and gives you a very hard time to reach it in one. Take all the club that you can must if you wish to make a birdie. HOLE 6 162 YARDS The only difficulty with this hole is the elevated green. On the average I think that this can be a very easy birdie hole. Most golfers should be able to drop their shot on the green with some level of consistancy. HOLE 7 250 YARDS It is the second longest hole on this course. The only major problem that can be seen on this hole is the bunker that protect the front portion of the green. If your tee shot is short, the bunker will eat it up graciously. HOLE 8 130 YARDS The first real hole that offers you the chance at a hole in one. All of this is pending upon your marksmanship with the eight iron. Take your time here this is truly the only simple hole on the entire course. HOLE 9 226 YARDS May be rather flat with limited detail, but this can be one of those holes where you fall asleep at the wheel! Make sure that this is not the hole where you decide not to get close to the pin. HOLE 10 221 YARDS This hole is like a couple of the other in which I placed a dogleg that added to the lenght of the hole. Unfortunately, when you play this hole the dogleg give you an incorrect reading. Try to scale you shot with the overhead map as you play. HOLE 11 178 YARDS Most of the green is open and ready to welcome birdie opportunities. Overshoot this green and you are going to be asking for trouble. The wind gauge here is the key for a birdie attempt. Never take this hole for granted. HOLE 12 208 YARDS A steady an accurate tee shot makes this hole easy to play. A golf with nerves of steel and an agressive style can find that he or she will be rewarded for taking a chance here. HOLE 13 202 YARDS This hole has one big open vast area but most golfers should not worry about taking their shots into that territory. A very open green offers tee shots to land within feet of the cup. HOLE 14 154 YARDS I would like to say that this hole is a memory gobbler, but the bottom line is that it make this elevated hole look nice. The valley that separates the tees from the green is deep but should not be a concern of yours. HOLE 15 176 YARDS A small embankment slightly blocks your view of the green from the left but the right side is rather open. If you decide to approach this hole with a hook shot. Then put the shot as close to the pin as you can. HOLE 16 149 YARDS A nice little pitch and putt from the tees. Everybody who can conquor the course conditions and the winds should find that they can pick any spot on this green and hit it with a high level of consistancy. HOLE 17 208 YARDS Another I hole that I view will be the host for many hole in one opportunites. The key here is to be extremely aggressive and never let up. Afterall if you are well above par or just plain want to improve your score than this is the place to do it. HOLE 18 210 YARDS Water encompasses the green from top to bottom. If the winds become a problem for you then maybe the smart money would be to lay up and pitch on the green for par. Most of you will find your tee shots within 20 feet of the pin. FRONT 9 BACK 9 1. 240 10. 221 2. 170 11. 178 3. 189 12. 208 4. 245 13. 202 5. 290 14. 154 6. 162 15. 176 7. 250 16. 149 8. 130 17. 208 9. 226 18. 210 ------------ ------------ 1902 1706 3608 yards 54 par ONCE AGAIN BEST OF LUCK AND ENJOY YOUR ROUND