Henry Ernest Dudeney/Puzzles and Curious Problems/316 - Queer Golf

Puzzles and Curious Problems by Henry Ernest Dudeney: $316$

Queer Golf

A certain links had nine holes, $300$, $250$, $200$, $325$, $275$, $350$, $225$, $375$, and $400$ yards apart.

If a man could always strike the ball in a perfectly straight line and send it exactly one of two distances,

so that it would either go towards the hole, pass over it, or drop into it,

what would those two distances be that would carry him in the least number of strokes round the whole course?

Two very good distances are $125$ and $75$, which carry you round in $28$ strokes,

but this is not the correct answer.

Sources

• 1932: Henry Ernest Dudeney: Puzzles and Curious Problems ... (previous) ... (next): Crossing River Problem, and Problems Concerning Games and Puzzle Games: $316$. -- Queer Golf
• 1968: Henry Ernest Dudeney: 536 Puzzles & Curious Problems ... (previous) ... (next): Combinatorial & Topological Problems: Miscellaneous Combinatorial Puzzles: $466$. Queer Golf