We've launched the new forums! Read more here

Easy Hole That Eats Your Lunch

DataDude

DataDude

I Hate LIV
Albatross 2024 Club
Joined
Dec 26, 2017
Messages
24,249
Reaction score
25,778
Handicap
17.2
Is there a hole on your home course that should be easy, but it's really tough for you because it challenges your weaknesses?

At my home course that hole is the 358 yard 16th hole. From the tess there is a bunker covering the right half of the fairway about 220 yards out. I hit my driver 220-230 so driver is a very narrow window. I generally hit my 3 wood which I hit 190-200 or so. The problem with this is that the fairway has a lot of undulation behind the bunker so it's hard to get a good stance on the ball. The green here is elevated, very small with a false front, and a bunker guards the left side. Long is dead on the green. I often an so far back I have to lay up in front of the green because that is the only way to safely avoid the bunker and all the really difficult chips on al sides of the green. Meanwhile anyone that can carry a drive over 235 regularly has an easy flat short iron into his green. The more I play it the more I think it ought to be the #1 handicap hole on the course. It is super easy if you hit it far and super tricky of you don't.


This the view from just in front of the box. You can see the bunker right. And how narrow the left line is from the tee box. You can also see the hump in front of the bunker that makes for a tough 2and shot. Over the bunker is free and clear of difficulty.

20200316_171925.jpg

Another view of the bunker and the left tree line.
20200316_172225.jpg

This is a view of the green. You can see the false front and the elevation. Also behind the green is dead because the ball just rolls off and into that yard.
20200316_172021.jpg
 
I’ve got a short par 4 at my home course that plays around 280. It’s a blind dog leg right with a little pot bunker at the front and patches of native grass surrounding the green with just a small opening coming into the green from the fairway. It’s a pretty big risk going at the green because landing in the native grass is almost certainly a lost ball. I go for it occasionally and almost never hit the green, but have had a few decent looks at eagle that I just couldn’t take advantage of. Playing the hole straight up is a pretty simple layup to about 200-210 yards leaving a simple wedge in, which I somehow almost always mess up.

It’s a hole I feel like I should make a lot of birdies on and occasionally make eagle. Somehow I walk away with a bogey more times than I like to think of. It’s a hole that really really frustrates me to no end...
 
I have 2 short back to back par 4's at a local course that for some reason absolutely eats my lunch. Probably because they are so straight.

First hole is dead straight at 310 yards and I am convinced I can drive it. Which I have a couple of times. But more often then not, I over swing and then draw it hard left or block it right and OB. Right side is housing and anything more than 30 yards right is OB. Left is next hole coming back at me.

View form behind the white tees from the blue tees.
1584403030500.png

The next hole is coming back this way and in the picture above on the left behind the trees is the tee box. Its 331 yards and the green is on a peninsula, uphill, on a slant and if you miss the green, the run off all slopes down to the water. I usually play that one 5i and wedge but for some reasons I have the biggest issue with it.

2 really simple short holes but man they eat me for lunch.
 
Our #3 hole at the Desoto course. 365 yards straight hole but the pin placements are always on ridges that slope. If you are to the side or above the hole. It is easy to 3 or 4 putt. Being below the hole is no guarantee either. I have several times have putted short of the hole only to have it roll back to my feet or beyond.:banghead:
 
Screenshot_20200316-190119_Golfshot.jpg

I suppose I have two at home I should score better on. Statistically #14 is my worst hole, and I don't thing there's anything overly difficult about it. That tree is in the way off the tee. You have to keep it low or left to start, but after that it's a straight shot to a decent sized green for the course. There are some rolls in the fairway and too far left or right and you have tree trouble on approach. And you can't go long. There's a huge drop off right behind and left of the green that's a nightmare pitching back on from.

None of that makes it especially hard though. It's a straight par 4 without an overly challenging green, and yet I refuse to hit the fairway or the green with any regularity, and score higher over par on it than any other hole. It's baffling.
 
For me it's No. 13 on my home course. It's a 513 or 488 yard par 5 depending on tee box I use. according to the score card it is rated 14th. Thus one of the easiest. My rolling 10 round average on this hole is 6.8. This hole starts out with a very narrow tee shot. I only manage to hit the fairway 11% in this averaged data. Even if you hit it, the ground is severely undulated. meaning you could be in deep hole or worse on the side of it, with no hope of a clean second shot. Most of the time I find myself too far right. while you have sightlines, the ground is a battlefield of potholes with long long grass in them.

Google earth makes this hole look easier than it is. the trees to left are much taller and choke the fairway more. below them is a deep depression that is about a 240 carry to clear. If you can blast it that far you get rewarded with the wide fairway. if not, your punished.

1584404214758.png
 
Every par 3, and every hole that requires hitting over water. I’m a head case, and those two things screw with my head more than anything else.
 
#2 Par 3 185 yds at Prestwick Country Club. Not sure what it is, but that pond has consumed a lot of my golf balls. Those trees on the left come into play more than the picture leads you to believe.
75CC4CEB-2DE4-4A65-8ED9-42C5CB1E93F9.png
 
I need to get some pictures, but home course #9. 533 yd par 5. Blind, way down hill tee shot. Really wide landing area but trees left, OB right. Bend to the right on drive, back to the left for 2nd. Water in front of green surrounded by bunkers.

I've had PW into the green for my second, but has to be my least hit fairway on the course. Average in play drive leaves 200+ into green that I should lay up, but rarely do.
 
220 yrs uphill par 3, but that's not really an easy hole

#16 is 280 yd par 4 dog right from elevated tee box but to get to the green is over tree

The play is 200-220 to just to the left of the trees and 60 yds in. Should be easy birdie hole but so many people try to carry l we the trees they just get stuck in there
 
I’ve got a longish par 4 that is dead straight. Seriously, hit it straight twice and it’s a par. OB left and right. I cannot, for the life of me, hit a quality tee shot. Pencil me in for a double. It’s a STRAIGHT HOLE! God I hate that I can’t score on it.
 
@DataDude what is your home course again? (I think I read it somewhere before but cannot find it).

The hole that gives me fits, hole #1 at Polo Fields. 360 yard downhill par 4. Laying up to the middle should leave you about a 7 or 8 iron downhill to a fairly large and flat green. I’ve par’d it, but also had an 8, and everything in between. (missing left is a house, right is OB, long off the tee can end up lost in the after in the valley)
7F363870-B73B-4F30-BF22-FB69BDA80FC2.jpeg
 
Teulon Manitoba. Par 4, 249 yards from whites. Pond directly in front of Green. Green slopes back to front. Although, it should be easy to lay up with a 7 iron. Often a disastrous layup occurs resulting in a lost ball. Lately going Driver so my lost ball is over the pond. Teulon11a.JPGTeulon11.JPG
 
Goin4Par said:
Teulon Manitoba. Par 4, 249 yards from whites. Pond directly in front of Green. Green slopes back to front. Although, it should be easy to lay up with a 7 iron. Often a disastrous layup occurs resulting in a lost ball. Lately going Driver so my lost ball is over the pond. View attachment 8932122View attachment 8932121
Click to expand...
Oh man those carries over water into a green can be fun or treacherous.
 
mmaynard11 said:
Oh man those carries over water into a green can be fun or treacherous.
Click to expand...
"mmaynard11", one of the the guys I golf with says if you're not using a Driver, "you've given up." I've witnessed him Drive the Green and 1 putt for Eagle. Of course, usually he's in the Bush right of the green. LOL
 
mtbloco said:
For me it's No. 13 on my home course. It's a 513 or 488 yard par 5 depending on tee box I use. according to the score card it is rated 14th. Thus one of the easiest. My rolling 10 round average on this hole is 6.8. This hole starts out with a very narrow tee shot. I only manage to hit the fairway 11% in this averaged data. Even if you hit it, the ground is severely undulated. meaning you could be in deep hole or worse on the side of it, with no hope of a clean second shot. Most of the time I find myself too far right. while you have sightlines, the ground is a battlefield of potholes with long long grass in them.

Google earth makes this hole look easier than it is. the trees to left are much taller and choke the fairway more. below them is a deep depression that is about a 240 carry to clear. If you can blast it that far you get rewarded with the wide fairway. if not, your punished.

View attachment 8932090
Click to expand...
That doesn't look easy at all.
 
Molten said:
I’ve got a longish par 4 that is dead straight. Seriously, hit it straight twice and it’s a par. OB left and right. I cannot, for the life of me, hit a quality tee shot. Pencil me in for a double. It’s a STRAIGHT HOLE! God I hate that I can’t score on it.
Click to expand...
I have one of those that I play over and over. 410 strait as an arrow and no hazards. There are trees left and right. It's a bit long for me so I am usually trying for a bogey, but I hit a lot of tee shots into the trees.
 
Last edited:
Supposedly the easiest hole on my home course

Par 4, 260yds or so with a ditch at around 90yds out which doesn't come in to play unless you hit a short/mid-iron off the tee
The green is fairly small with 2 tiers and bunkers protecting both the front left and right
Long is tricky because of trees and awkward slopes that can leave you with a horrible lie

I have driven the green before, I have hit a long iron off the tee to leave a short approach, but I have also walked off with many a bogey for some reason
 
Here is one 9 hole course that pretty much gets everybody their first time here. This is a local course located in Amelia VA. This picture does not do it justice either because you really cannot tell the slope of the hill by this picture. I think this is hole #5.

To give you an idea of how bad the hills are, your cart batteries are just about dead when you approach your last 3 holes. They are often coming and changing out carts for you. If you are a walker you get some great exercise :ROFLMAO:

This photo below is taken standing on the hill from the fairway. If you cannot hit your driver just right the ball rolls down the hill into the water. If you hit an iron off the tee and go for a second shot, the same thing can happen.

Also notice the super tiny green. This is characteristic of all the greens on this course. They are on high hills and very small. They are so bad you pretty much have to use lob wedges if you hit short because you cannot do any bump and runs. Pray you don't land in some of the bunkers because it is like shooting straight up a wall.

On hole #1 par 5 you have to shoot your second shot over a pond and your third shot is up a long hill of which you cannot even see the green - super nasty hole. The local guys play the course pretty well because they are used to it.

I often say if you can play here with the coffee cup sized greens on hills, you can play anywhere. After playing this course a few times and going somewhere else, I normally score so much better on other courses. Greens at other courses look like parking lots after playing this course.

I hit my second shot here on hole 5 about a 158 yards to the pin during one round and was about 3 foot from the pin. Some guy saw the shot and was jumping up and down because I made the green LOL If I can get on the greens here on any hole I am a happy camper. It was a good day as I had several pars.
a9052811b37ffa56e36ac7831b5ad1c8.jpg
 
Most of them eat my lunch lately, but #6 at my home course is more often the culprit for a lot of different reasons despite it being a pretty straight forward hole. It is only 311 yards from the white tees. There is a creek that cuts across the middle of the hole so you have to either lay up short of it or fly it. I most always lay up, but for some reason I shank more balls off to the right into the penalty area that you can imagine. If you hit it left (which I rarely do from the tee) there is a creek over there and some trees, but they shouldn't come into play. Driving it over the creek creates a problem since it is always and muddy on that side of the creek. There is a very small pond on the right across the creek, but it only comes into play on shanks...so I find it quite often. The green is huge, but elusive for some reason. I usually come up short and have to pitch from a wet or muddy lie. Oh and the green really slopes from back to front so you don't want to go past the pin. Which I will always do. I am always thrilled with a par on this hole and have only birdied it a handful of times over the years.
 
The par 5 14th at my home course. The trees are way more mature then when the picture was taken. The two trees in the middle of the tee shot are huge. Leaving a small window at about 220 yards out to squeeze through. If you go right where there is more room you can get caught behind a thick line of trees. Go left and the trees on the left force you to punch out to the center of the fairway. I’ve used 3 wood the past few rounds off the tee and that seems to leave me better options for my second shot. Keeping the ball in the fairway sure seems to make it easier. I just rarely do that. 90A70EBA-604B-4AF6-9884-4746B91F9D28.png
 
ApexFan said:
The par 5 14th at my home course. The trees are way more mature then when the picture was taken. The two trees in the middle of the tee shot are huge. Leaving a small window at about 220 yards out to squeeze through. If you go right where there is more room you can get caught behind a thick line of trees. Go left and the trees on the left force you to punch out to the center of the fairway. I’ve used 3 wood the past few rounds off the tee and that seems to leave me better options for my second shot. Keeping the ball in the fairway sure seems to make it easier. I just rarely do that. View attachment 8932159
Click to expand...
It looks like that one is all about what comes off the tee box and where it lands. Getting around trees can be tough.
 
Yes, a 316 dogleg right par 4 with water down the entire right side, and a pond in front of the green. Fairway ends about 200 yards so it's a 7 iron to get to 155 or so or a 5 hybrid to get to a PW or GW. I wipe a ball into that water hazard about 1 out of every 3 shots, regardless of which club I'm using. I don't know why it messes with my head so much. It's really a super easy shot.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top