What is the Longest Hole in the Golf World

Golf is one of those sports in which athletes feel compelled to make things difficult on themselves. Greens are cut at different lengths with challenging indentations, fairways are lined with trees and rough to snag any ball mistakenly hit off center. Someone, of course, created the absolutely longest hole of golf to challenge every player on the planet.
The interesting part of this distinguished record is that golf course owners consider the lofty title of the longest hole in the golf world a matter of excessive pride. Not only do players compete to play these longest holes, but also the maintenance crews and course owners have a very real pride in the level of difficulty of these holes.

Identification

The golf course that has held the record for the longest hole for many years is located in Sano, Japan. This hole is a 946-yard, par 7 hole on the Satsuki Golf Course.
However, there is now a course with a much longer hole that holds the distinguished record of the longest hole in the golf world. Chocolay Downs Golf Course is located in Marquette, Michigan. The longest hole of golf in the world is 1007 yards long and is considered a par 6 hole. The owners of the course have left plenty of room to increase the length of the hole, just in case they are in danger of losing their world record.

History

Golf is a very old sport, dating back to the 15th century. Scotland claims to be the birthplace of golf but many other European countries also try to claim that right. Regardless of where the sport began, the need to smack a round object with a stick or club became an obsession as soon as it was devised.
The obsession with the longest actual hole in golf seems to be linked with better equipment and understanding of the game. Of course, there is the "challenge" factor too. Until recently, holding the record for the worlds longest golf hole didn't seem to be such a big issue. Now it is.
Satsuki Golf Course held the honor for quite a while which seems to have initiated a competition among the golf course owners of the world. Satsuki was also listed as the record holder in the Guinness Book of World Records.

Features

Distance in golf is everything. Anything and everything to do with golf evolved to the point of optimizing each swing of the club. Many golf clubs are made of composite, lightweight metals to allow a player to get the best drive possible.
Creating the longest golf hole in the world requires careful planning. Intimidating a player is fine, but ultimately, attracting players to your course brings money in. So designers carefully construct these long holes so they don't deter golfers. A bend here, a strategic placement of some trees and you've hidden the fact that the average golfer needs to smack the ball 6 times from tee to cup.
Length of a golf hole directly correlates with the par figure for every hole. The following reflects established guidelines for setting par for golf holes: par 3--up to 225 yards; par 4--225 to 425 yards; par 5--426 to 600 yards and par 6--over 601 yards.

Considerations

Upkeep on a golf course is astronomical. Maintaining a course in optimal condition (and golfers don't play at courses that are in bad shape) requires a good deal of investment in the form of landscaping, watering, fertilizer and general upkeep. Being the owner of a golf hole that's so much longer than any other in the world requires quite a financial commitment.
The Australian government decided in 2007 to construct literally the longest golf course in the world. Consisting of 18 holes spread out over Nullarbor Plain in Southern Australia. The difference between this golf course and Chocolay Downs is that miles separate the holes. Each hole is placed in a different town along the Eyre Highway, with one actually constructed on a sheep farm. The reason for the distances between the holes is to encourage tourism along this route. Golf carts aren't really needed but a car definitely is as this course will cover approximately 870 miles.

Size

To address the length of the longest golf hole in the world, look at how golf courses are actually measured. Every hole is based on a number called par. Par is the expected number of shots required to complete the hole. Par represents what every golfer aims to obtain with every round of golf played. So measuring a course accurately is extremely important.
Golf courses holes are measured directly down the middle. Measurement of a golf hole starts at the tee boxes and continues down the center of the fairway. If the hole doglegs in another direction, the measurement turns and then follows the middle of the fairway to the hole on the green.
Course owners routinely use GPS, lasers and surveying equipment to measure golf hole distances. Straight-line measurements are extremely rare since there are so few completely straight golf holes.