How Would You Play It? (16th at Whispering Woods)

[saevel25]

I would hit 3 wood, I am kinda cheating here because I played the hole before . With the severe side slope left and the trouble to the right, it constricts where the iron landing area would be for me. I think carrying it to at least the bunkers is the safer bet for me. The bunker play doesn't bother me, and pitching from the rough doesn't bother me either. Getting it past that first bunker on the left seems to open up the landing area for me. I can play it off that right side bunker and draw it.

[Jeremie Boop]

Wait a second... this is course we played with Eric last fall isn't it? I can't remember how I did on it, but if it's anything like the rest of the round I didn't do too great :-P.... Though my worst aspect that day was putting by far.

[whatwoodtigerdo]

I would hit 3 wood, I am kinda cheating here because i played the hole before , BUT with the severe side slope left and the trouble to the right constricts where the iron landing area would be at. I think carrying it to at least the bunkers is the safer bet for me. The bunker play doesn't bother me, and pitching from the rough doesn't bother me either. Getting it past that first bunker on the left seems to open up the landing area for me. I can play it off that right side bunker and draw it.

But we were told the driver was getting us to that bunker.

[saevel25]

Wait a second... this is course we played with Eric last fall isn't it? I can't remember how I did on it, but if it's anything like the rest of the round I didn't do too great :-P.... Though my worst aspect that day was putting by far.

I hit driver last time and ended up on the fairway of the hole to the right, about pin high. Nice bail out area if I do say so myself

But we were told the driver was getting us to that bunker.

Good call, I would step into a 3 wood

Ok, I would hit driver then. Doesn't change my opinion that I rather get the ball closer to the hole.

[Jeremie Boop]

I hit driver last time and ended up on the fairway of the hole to the right, about pin high. Nice bail out area if I do say so myself

Good call, I would step into a 3 wood

Ok, I would hit driver then. Doesn't change my opinion that I rather get the ball closer to the hole.

Yeah, funny thing is I remember your shot but nobody else's. As soon as you mentioned playing the hole before I remembered your drive.

Remembering it from then I would still hit driver because playing from the rough that day wasn't too bad and the sand traps weren't bad either. I had some pretty good recovery shots from the rough and the one shot from the sand was pretty good also. Very nice course.

[Lihu]

Without over thinking it, I would hit driver towards the right green side bunker. I would probably reach the 3W designated distance, and possibly roll into the bunker. With my push/draw to draw/pull (miss), I would be safely uphill a little bit, and I would try to pitch onto the green in two.

[DeadMan]

Unless my driver was really wild all day, I would hit a driver. It seems to have a reasonably large landing area and the best shot at avoiding the hazards to the left and right of the fairway. Basically, it seems like the best chance to get a par is to be as close to the green as possible and then you can probably hit a mediocre pitch/sand shot and get a par. Honestly, it seems like the best place to be on this hole is in the rough or sand by the green. I'd rather take my chances on that type of shot instead of a difficult 1/2 wedge shot up the hill. 3W is out because you put the hazards into play. No sense in hitting that and having a good chance at losing a stroke there. This play probably leads to double bogey a lot more often than the other plays. 3H is out because I think the second shot - the uphill 1/2 wedge - is much more difficult than the pitch or sand shot. It seems like this shot would probably gaurantee you at least a bogey with a decent shot at par. I don't think this option is terrible, and if my driver is wild that round, this would be my backup.

[WUTiger]

This hole reminds me a lot of No. 16 at Cardinal Creek Golf Club on Scott AFB. This 350-yd. uphill par 4 calls for a tee shot which finds a level spot on the rippled fairway. Then, an 8-iron pitch and run works best... the lower loft gets the ball rolling on the green, which has a false front and small spoon area before rising slightly about halfway back.

For the hole in this thread, I would hit a 3W, preferably to the left side of the fairway. This would give me a good angle into the long axis of the green. If the pin was up close, I would hit a half PW pitch-and-run. If the pin was back, I would hit an 8i pitch-and-run to make sure it got deep into the green.

I'm assuming the release and run shot would be less risky than a cut shot and misplaced backspin.

[Golfingdad]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TJBam

3W is the safest off the tee in my opinion.  Risk/Reward of D is not worth it. Although I am decent out of the sand I'd rather avoid it.

How are you out of the water?

Remember that:

Quote:

The areas left and right (between the distance of the 3 and the H) are hazards.

So the risk of hitting 3 wood is having to hit your third from 60-80 yards out of the rough, most likely, after a drop, whereas the risk of the driver is hitting a 30 yard bunker shot.  I will take the "reward" of avoiding the hazards all day long.

And, @saevel25 I don't think you're playing correctly.  You said you'd hit 3 wood, but that also you'd hit it past the first bunker.  Even though you're a big hitter in real life, the OP stipulates that you hit it where the letters are shown on the drawing ... so I think for the sake of this exercise, you are voting driver, right?

[CarlSpackler]

Hybrid for me off the tee or a 4i if there if the wind is helping. I would want to be on the left side of the fairway to open up the green more. I would love to hit 3w to just short of the 1st left GSB. That looks like the best shot at birdie, but it's very risky given the fall off to the hazard left. I would not challenge the GSBs with a driver given that they are well below the green surface and require a lot of loft and still would need to carry a good ways up the hill. Good chance of not getting enough on it and having it roll all the way back down the hole. That appears to leave me with an 8 or 9i given the elevation change. This appears to be a "take your par and and get out of dodge" holes.

Great post. Thanks @iacas .

[saevel25]

And, @saevel25 I don't think you're playing correctly.  You said you'd hit 3 wood, but that also you'd hit it past the first bunker.  Even though you're a big hitter in real life, the OP stipulates that you hit it where the letters are shown on the drawing ... so I think for the sake of this exercise, you are voting driver, right?

Yea I had that pointed out to me by @ whatwoodtigerdo. My last posted mentioned I would switch it to a driver.

[el shanko]

playing from the white tee, driver gets me 210 hopefully, close to H, then a full pitching wedge 80ish yrds land it pin high 2 putt for par. (yea right)

[TJBam]

How are you out of the water?

Remember that:

So the risk of hitting 3 wood is having to hit your third from 60-80 yards out of the rough, most likely, after a drop, whereas the risk of the driver is hitting a 30 yard bunker shot.  I will take the "reward" of avoiding the hazards all day long.

And, @saevel25 I don't think you're playing correctly.  You said you'd hit 3 wood, but that also you'd hit it past the first bunker.  Even though you're a big hitter in real life, the OP stipulates that you hit it where the letters are shown on the drawing ... so I think for the sake of this exercise, you are voting driver, right?

I'll tell you what my driving instructor told me.  If you don't look at it, you won't hit it.  I never hit it in the water.  I never hit it in the water.  I've never hit a ball in the water in my entire life.  Ahh, optimism.

But really I didn't even see the part about water being a risk for the 3W.  Oops.  Out of water and sand, duh I'll take the chance of sand all day.  That changes things.

[iacas]

This hole reminds me a lot of No. 16 at Cardinal Creek Golf Club on Scott AFB. This 350-yd. uphill par 4 calls for a tee shot which finds a level spot on the rippled fairway. Then, an 8-iron pitch and run works best... the lower loft gets the ball rolling on the green, which has a false front and small spoon area before rising slightly about halfway back.

I dunno man, it doesn't sound like it's like that hole at all. This one's nearly drivable (see the picture? The black tees are 320…), with big elevation changes, a narrow fairway, two water hazards, and three bunkers.

[dbuck]

It kind of fits my eye to play it that way. I am assuming that the 3W spot is a level lie, and appears to be the closest level lie. I could also use the H assuming it is fairly level. I would then have a less than full 56*(3W spot) or less than full PW (H spot). I like to hit those shots--more than 1/2 but less than full afterburner with my wedges, and if I am just trying to get on and two putt, I would rather hit a smooth shot from a level lie. The first hole at my usual course is a baby version of this hole and about the same lengths from the tees. The tee is slightly above the green and the fairway is below, with hazards(tree lined gullies) on either side of the "pinch" about 75-80 out. There is also a large oak on the right side of the pinch. The green is maybe 20 instead of 30 feet above the flat part of the fairway. The green is long, but narrow and undulating, slanted toward the fairway. I can't drive it, but usually run up the hill. Instead of sand, we have thick bermuda rough, and you are standing at a severe angle and hitting a half pitch out of rough. I have tried several ways, but on the average I do better to hit the flat spot in the fairway and have a good lie for the pitch.

[Pretzel]

I personally would hit my hybrid to the 90 yards out from the green. This takes the hazard out of play by making it unreachable, while leaving me with a short enough shot that I should be able to hit the green. In addition to missing the hazard, having 90 yards out versus 40-60 (you said that the driver shot would roll back) gives me a steeper landing angle and more spin in order to better hold the green should it have fast conditions. If I pulled the driver into the left side bunker, I'm left with a shot that I personally don't like in a 30 yard bunker shot. The 3-wood for me just puts the hazards much to close to my landing areas for comfort, the 30 yards closer just isn't worth the risk to me if I mis hit the 3-wood just a bit and it went left or right. From 90 yards out I feel I have a good chance at putting the ball on the green, and it can get close if I hit a good shot depending on hole location and course conditions. I just feel like I have a better chance to put my ball on the green and give myself a birdie putt (not sure what the green looks like and where the pin is, that could affect how I feel about the sand shot) with a full wedge than a 30 yard bunker shot. Depending on the slope of the green and the pin placement, however, I may be more inclined to hit driver if the bowl would funnel the ball to the hole.

[MS256]

If I feel like I am playing pretty well I would probably hit a 3W. I usually feel pretty good about my accuracy with that club.

If I'm not playing as well I would hit the hybrid and I wouldn't feel like it cost my chances much to go with the hybrid.

I feel good about my chances from both 60 and 90 yards but my average proximity to the hole is better from 60 yards than 90 yards.

As distances increase above 100 yards that average proximity to the hole starts to take a nose dive so it would have to look like more trouble than I see from the pictures to convince me to hit less than the hybrid.

Takes a good bit for me to not give the driver a go but I figure the odds of hitting one of those bunkers are too high for the amount of advantage I gain if I hit it perfectly.. I don't mind typical bunker shots but I can't see assuming the risk of plugging in a lip with that narrow a gap between the bunkers and with the bunkers right at driver distance.

Then again the hole may look totally different to me in person and I might pull out the big dog.

[mdl]

This is a tough hole.  I think 3w is the clear answer.  If it were flat I might bet tempted to go driver with the hope of rolling it up on, and I'm not super scared of green side bunker shots if I miss a bit.  But as it is, I'm going 3w.  Keeps me in front of the bunkers and carries past the circle of brush at the middle of the collection area left, so a miss left has some chance of not being dead.  Pulled or hooked hybrid probably results in an unplayable.  Plus I'm hitting it significantly closer to the hole on my approach from a well hit 3w versus hybrid.

That said, if I'm playing poorly, especially with the long clubs, and get to this hole at this total distance I might just hit 5i or 6i off the tee into the wide short part of the fairway.