Cgkdisc
.:Hall of Fame Member:.
It's been my experience that for a course that starts and ends at the same elevation, 500 feet from highest to lowest point on the course is about as much as players can handle when walking 18 holes. It's even tougher at high elevation like Snowbowl when we played that at Pro Worlds in 2003. The course ranged between 9500 to 10,000 feet. The elevation difference was pretty brutal let alone the thin air.
It's not too hard to get 500 feet differential in many eastern locations but I would never recommend that for a public course if you want it to be played regularly. Granite Ridge is a workout and the lowest point is only about 125 feet lower than the start of the course. Toboggan may be less than that. People complain in the Twin Cities playing HSSA which is in the neighborhood of 125 feet vertical.
My point is that western mountains aren't necessarily ideal as terrain for fun, hilly courses EXCEPT for courses that start at the highest point, play mostly downhill and you take a shuttle or chairlift back to the top when done.
It's not too hard to get 500 feet differential in many eastern locations but I would never recommend that for a public course if you want it to be played regularly. Granite Ridge is a workout and the lowest point is only about 125 feet lower than the start of the course. Toboggan may be less than that. People complain in the Twin Cities playing HSSA which is in the neighborhood of 125 feet vertical.
My point is that western mountains aren't necessarily ideal as terrain for fun, hilly courses EXCEPT for courses that start at the highest point, play mostly downhill and you take a shuttle or chairlift back to the top when done.