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Rivers Edge, number 9. How would you play it?

golf4life

golf4life

Grip n rip
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I recently got back from our annual guy's golf trip to Myrtle Beach. This year we played 4 fantastic courses north of Myrtle Beach including Rivers Edge, a tough but amazing Arnold Palmer course. We played the Black tees at 6440 yards with a rating of 134. Their signature hole is the Par 5 ninth, number one handicap, and probably the riskiest risk reward hole I've ever played.

As you can see from the image below, the tee shot is fairly demanding as there is marsh hazard the entire length of the hole left, and trees right. While the fairway is reasonably wide, if you miss it, you're in jail. The tee shot is also into the prevailing winds, which were about 10 mph the day we played. But the tee shot is just the warm up. After your tee shot, depending on how far you hit it, you will have anywhere between a pretty tough to very difficult layup with little room for error. As you can see, that marsh now comes in and creates a narrow penninsula to which you must now layup. Going for the green will seem tantalizingly doable if you mash a drive, but the green is just 12 yards across and there is ZERO bailout short or long. You better hit the perfect shot. Oh, don't forget about the headwind to get through too. They did provide a generous drop zone though (I'm sure to speed up play) that is in the fairway about 100 yards from the green.

Even if you layup conservatively near the 150 stick, you are now coming in sideways to the green with almost no room to miss left or right with a leftward breeze across the green. Do you play a draw? Do you dare start it over the hazard right? The day we played (twice, 36 holes), the pin was front corner where the green is literally 9 paces across.

How would you play this hole? At what yardage would you consider going for it in two? I'll post later about what I did on this crazy but memorable hole.

 
I would play the Red Tees.
 
Driver with a draw, 6 iron layup then a wedge to the green and be happy to walk away with a two putt par or a birdie if I'm lucky.
 
200 yard drive
100 yard layup
130 yard wedge short of green
Chip in for birdie
 
Ha funny you put this up there, I just played it Sunday. Gold/White Tees

I hit driver to the edge (260 yds)
7iron from there to the fairway area just short of the cart turnaround
85% low flighted 54* Wedge to the front of the green -rolled into the bailout left front edge,
Chipped on
One putt for par.

Admittedly that was from the white/gold tees, playing from the blacks, I would try and do something similar but land my second shot close to the 150 stake, then aim for the front edge with my 3rd shot - to take the hazards out of play and either chip on and one putt for par or two put for par if I'm on.

Definitely a challenge of a hole but what a great hole it is.
 
Since they have the drop zone, I would hit driver then grab my hybrid, close my eyes and swing real hard :D

Without the drop zone, I would hit hybrid off the tee, then layup to the 150 area.
 
200 yard drive? Did you forget there is a headwind lol :p

mikedean441 said:
200 yard drive
100 yard layup
130 yard wedge short of green
Chip in for birdie
Click to expand...
 
I am not sure if a 350 yard drive would be enough, but if so, I would carry the tee shot 350 to the second part of the fairway and then hit a 9 iron in.
 
From those tees, I'd have to take driver to try and leave myself a manageable layup. Then layup with a 6 or 7 iron, then wedge or short iron in.

Honestly though, I'd be playing up a tee or two, so in that case I'd take less than driver, cause there's no way I go for this in two.
 
The shape of the hole and the forced carries certainly cut out a lot of bail out room and margin for error. I'd hit driver and hope to get in the middle of the fairway, then would take a mid iron to get as far down the fairway as possible. The risk/reward of a long club doesn't seem worth it, as I'm aiming for the fat part of that fairway. That leaves me with a wedge into the green, which I'm find contending with even in the face of wind. I'm probably erring on short over everything else to the green, so as to stay in play and dry.
 
I definitely wouldn't be going for it in 2. Such poor odds of me being able to stop it quickly.

I think I would probably hit 3 wood off the tee, and then layup with an iron or hybrid, like the pin that says 180 yards to fairway and take a couple extra clubs so if anything it is long instead of short. The hope would be a wedge for the 3rd shot.
 
I'd hit driver as I don't feel any less accurate with it than I do with my 5deep or Hybrid. I would hope to get as close to the end of the fairway as possible, but realistically would end up between the 250 pin and the end of the fairway. From there I would play my 20* hybrid along the "180" line and leave myself a short little wedge into the green.

Edit: Just saw the part about the drop zone. If I was inside of 230 I would take the 5deep out and go for the right side of the green.
 
Black Tees: just mark an 'x' on card
White Tees: Driver down the middle, 5/6 Iron to safe spot on fairway, gap it home for a 2 putt
 
If I hit a decent drive, I'd be pretty tempted to go for it in two and head to the drop area if I didn't make it. The smarter play looks like it would be to hit something like a 6 or 7 iron in the area of the fairway between that cart turnaround and the bunker short of the cart turnaround (where there is a little room long) and then have something very short to the green.
 
I'll tell you how I've played it. Perfect drive down the middle. Wrong yardage to lay up to the right and dumped it in the water. Dropped and laid up successfully. Wind was coming from behind the green so tried a knock down into the green and yanked it into the water to the right side of the green. Dropped again and chipped onto the green. Two putted.
 
Driver,then 7 or 8 iron leaving myself a lob shot into the hole.
 
Well, I'm not as smart as any of you obviously. This is how I played it first time in the morning. Hit a good drive, about 275 yards or so. Lasered the flag at 210. I YOLO pulled my 3 hybrid from the bag and hit an almost good shot. Pulled up out of it slightly to see where it was going and thinned it just a bit. It was just thin enough to keep it a low line drive that just hit into the bank of the hazard below the green. Dropped at the drop zone. Tried to hit a perfect 90 yard shot that the wind took just left of the pin, one hop into the hazard. Drop, chip on and one putt for a double.

Second round, hit probably my best drive of the trip, about 285 into the wind middle of the fairway. About 200 yards to the pin, 210 to middle of the green. Stubborn and stupid, pulled the 3 hybrid again. This time, made a pretty awful, terrified pass at the ball, completely pulling out of it causing a high right weak fade. Luckily that's exactly where land is on this approach so I ended up about 60 yards right of the green in the fairway and pretended like that was my intention. Hit a decent half wedge to middle of the green and a miraculous 25 footer for birdie. Probably my hole of the trip and the only score out of 8 of us at par or better for that beast of a hole.

Agreed with above people that the generous drop makes going for it a little bit more enticing, but it takes a ridiculously accurate shot. Without wind I think its more realistic but with that wind, man.
 
If I hit those two drives, I'm about 98% sure I would have done the same thing. I probably wouldn't have been lucky enough to have my miss end up safe though.
 
golf4life said:
Well, I'm not as smart as any of you obviously. This is how I played it first time in the morning. Hit a good drive, about 275 yards or so. Lasered the flag at 210. I YOLO pulled my 3 hybrid from the bag and hit an almost good shot. Pulled up out of it slightly to see where it was going and thinned it just a bit. It was just thin enough to keep it a low line drive that just hit into the bank of the hazard below the green. Dropped at the drop zone. Tried to hit a perfect 90 yard shot that the wind took just left of the pin, one hop into the hazard. Drop, chip on and one putt for a double.

Second round, hit probably my best drive of the trip, about 285 into the wind middle of the fairway. About 200 yards to the pin, 210 to middle of the green. Stubborn and stupid, pulled the 3 hybrid again. This time, made a pretty awful, terrified pass at the ball, completely pulling out of it causing a high right weak fade. Luckily that's exactly where land is on this approach so I ended up about 60 yards right of the green in the fairway and pretended like that was my intention. Hit a decent half wedge to middle of the green and a miraculous 25 footer for birdie. Probably my hole of the trip and the only score out of 8 of us at par or better for that beast of a hole.

Agreed with above people that the generous drop makes going for it a little bit more enticing, but it takes a ridiculously accurate shot. Without wind I think its more realistic but with that wind, man.
Click to expand...

Yep, that sounds like #BrettBombs to me. Birdie or bust, fools! :alien:

Nice job in the afternoon there. Way to capitalize on the nice break!
 
536 equals about 600 with the wind.

3h
3h
3h
SW stayed in trap
SW out of trap
2 putt double
 
That's a fantastic hole. I still remember playing it a few years ago. It's a little tricky if you're not familiar with the hole.


Also -- pro tip: The left side of the course cuts into the water shorter than 295 from the tees. I hit a tee shot there that I thought would be in perfect position down the left side, but it ended up in perfect position in the water...


When I played this hole:

Driver into hazard.

Drop to about 235 yards from hole (if memory serves). Hitting three -- block a 5W just right of the green (just left of the bunker shown on the illustration)

Fourth shot -- Have a remarkable chip shot down what I remember being a pretty aggressive green complex to 4' from the cup.

Make the water hazard par putt. Easy peasy. :alien:






In hindsight, I would hit 3W or 5W off of the tee and position myself to about 125 with my second shot. That's not a very easy driving hole, and the shape of the green (wide but pretty narrow) doesn't allow for going for it in two very well.
 
I played there the first year when I went to Myrtle Beach - before shoulder surgery when I was a much longer hitter. I still remember that hole - beautiful, but deadly. The wind was probably exactly as you described within a few mph. I actually hit a really good drive there, and I want to say I had around 220 left ( but I could be wrong - I am getting old! ) I saw how small the green was, but me being me, I had to go for it. I hit a towering 4 wood, and knew I was going to stick it - wrong! It literally caught the top of the bulkhead, bounced straight up in the air, hit the bulkhead again, and fell into the marsh. Pretty sure I ended up with a crowd pleasing 8 as I played the drop shot, hit it thin, and air mailed the green. Now, I would hit driver, then depending on the conditions try to hit something to get me within 120 yards or so as that is one thin green and accuracy is at a premium there!
I Haven't been back since, but I think next summer that will change. I do remember playing Carolina Nat'l the next day, and the pins being literally bent in half from the wind!
 
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