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Mill Creek Golf Course: Play hole #8

amsmith61

amsmith61

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Have seen a few of these threads lately and have absolutely loved reading everyone's different approach to the hole given the yardage, layout, etc.

Yesterday during our round at Mill Creek golf course in Rochester, NY - myself and my playing partners ( ddec and Shankasorous) thought that the 8th hole would be perfect for this type of discussion. However I wanted to add a little bit of a twist. Rather then a satellite image, I wanted to give you images of the hole as if you were there.

The 8th hole: A short Par 4 that has a slight dog leg left. Generally it plays about 310/316/331 for yardage. As you will see from the pictures, it is a high risk/reward hole that is reachable for the long hitters. The green itself is guarded by 3 bunkers but has room between them for the ball to run up on the green. For those wishing to lay- up before the bunkers beware - there is not only long grass to carry, but a creek/waste area to address before you reach the fairway. Here are some pictures:

View from the tee box:

4eje2ahy.jpg


View from the left side of the fairway:

3eza9aby.jpg


View from the right side if the fairway:

9y8eseju.jpg


The green:

e8yse6u5.jpg


Behind the green:

eguvy4yn.jpg


Count on 230 yards to reach the fairway bunkers.

So how would you play the hole?




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Looking forward to some thoughts. We all played it slightly different yesterday.
 
I went for it. Almost drove the green. My ball caught the hill in front and rolled right about pin high.
 
For anyone looking at the picture from the tee box, the flag is above the left fairway bunker.
 
I'd play it the same way as I did both times this weekend: skulled hooking 6 iron that runs up the fairway between the bunkers to 75 yards, chunked awesome wedge short right of the green, chip on and 3 putt FTW.
 
I played it the same way both times. A 7 iron to just short of the middle fairway bunker and a 60 degree wedge to the green. The difference between Saturday and Sunday was the wedge shot to the green was much better.
 
i'd have to play a hybo here, aiming at the dual bunkers on the right side of the green.
a small draw back would put me in good position, right up the chute into the green, with some sort of a wedge coming in.
or if it cut for some reason, there's plenty of room right and enough green to work with from that angle.

if the bunkers were a little less intimidating and not filled with that long grass, i'd go 3 wood here and hope to catch it just right. but if not, shouldn't have a difficult up and down.
 
3W aiming right of the bunker complex.
58* up and down for birdie!
 
Plenty of room right. Driver or 3W keeping in mind that right is ok. If I get into the bunker then I know I can get the ball onto the green for a decent birdie look.
 
Good view from above. I would also add the green is more elevated than it looks in some of the pics.

 
the tee yardage usuall differs from fairway markers in that it follows the dogleg so I wonder , what is the tee-to-green yardage when cutting the slight dogleg? You say about 230 to reach those bunkers so i assume the green may only be about 260 straight line from tee when you minus the leg?

Thats a small green, I'll play my 5w to 230 to the widest fairway right of the bunkers and then wedge in.
 
I'd play a 4 hybrid and a wedge to the green
 
moosejaa said:
Good view from above. I would also add the green is more elevated than it looks in some of the pics.
Click to expand...
I was just going to post that the pictures don't do the uphill of the hole justice. Also, the green has a pretty severe front to back slope. Just a bear of a short par 4.
 
Thats amazing how different things look from above vs ground level. Thats a wierd or "different" looking hole and i dont mean in any bad way. Looks like they could have shortened up the tees and fairway and would make for a pretty cool "longer" p3.
 
Nate said:
Plenty of room right. Driver or 3W keeping in mind that right is ok. If I get into the bunker then I know I can get the ball onto the green for a decent birdie look.
Click to expand...

I should warn that those bunkers are deeper then you think and can be tough to get out of .
 
To echo O'Carroll and amsmith61, 3 out of 4 of us rolled off the back of the green...short pitch, long pitch and a bunker shot. The bunkers are deep and well below the green.
 
moosejaa said:
To echo O'Carroll and amsmith61, 3 out of 4 of us rolled off the back of the green...short pitch, long pitch and a bunker shot. The bunkers are deep and well below the green.
Click to expand...

And to add to the fun, there is a pond behind and left of the green.

Not that I can reach it, but if I could, I still wouldn't try. It's too easy to have it roll up to the green and then over the green into the snarf or the pond ( especially with a longer club).

Fairway, wedge, two putt. Take it every time.
 
Nate said:
Plenty of room right. Driver or 3W keeping in mind that right is ok. If I get into the bunker then I know I can get the ball onto the green for a decent birdie look.
Click to expand...

that's what I did. I took out driver and aimed down the right side. Hit a perfect straight ball there. The 2nd picture in the OP is from where my ball was. I had something like 80 yards to the flag from there. Took out the 54 and hit a high soft shot that we thought was going to be all over the flag. The downside of playing it from there is the slope of the green. From that angle it just feeds all the way down towards the water. That angle also brings the water in to play a lot more than it does if you lay short of those bunkers on the left/middle. My ball hit on the top of the slope and trickled all the way down. Jim was saying that it just kept picking up speed and it ended just on the fringe. Couldn't really hit the ball short of the green either because there is a small valley that would keep the ball from bouncing up on to the surface. Anyway, I was able to 2 putt and walk away with a par. But that sure was an interesting short hole.
 
4 Iron right at the gap between the two bunkers. Shouldn't be more than a wedge in from there. Good hole though. I'm not long enough to drive the green though.
 
amsmith61 said:
I should warn that those bunkers are deeper then you think and can be tough to get out of .
Click to expand...

That might change things then, just depending on how deep we're talking. As long as it's not British Open golf tough where I'm going to be hitting it away from the hole to get out, I "should" have a chance to get out and on the green.

ddec said:
that's what I did. I took out driver and aimed down the right side. Hit a perfect straight ball there. The 2nd picture in the OP is from where my ball was. I had something like 80 yards to the flag from there. Took out the 54 and hit a high soft shot that we thought was going to be all over the flag. The downside of playing it from there is the slope of the green. From that angle it just feeds all the way down towards the water. That angle also brings the water in to play a lot more than it does if you lay short of those bunkers on the left/middle. My ball hit on the top of the slope and trickled all the way down. Jim was saying that it just kept picking up speed and it ended just on the fringe. Couldn't really hit the ball short of the green either because there is a small valley that would keep the ball from bouncing up on to the surface. Anyway, I was able to 2 putt and walk away with a par. But that sure was an interesting short hole.
Click to expand...

That green doesn't look to be the biggest green either. So the closer I can get the ball to the green the better. Now it's just a matter of pulling the shot off from the tee box!
 
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