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

[Golfingdad]

You prefer 90 yards vs 30?

And bringing 2 hazards into play instead of flying them? Do you practice taking drops out of hazards "every fricken day" at the range as well? (Just having a little fun with you here) ;)

[Parker0065]

You prefer 90 yards vs 30?

Read the whole post, the risk of hitting driver may not warrant a 30 yard pitch. Looking at the google earth photo's is one thing, actually standing on the tee and seeing the terrain is another. I might stand on that tee in question and see that hitting driver is very inviting and go for it.

There are many holes I play that I hit Driver (where others will not) because it actually takes trouble "out" of play so at my level(+30 years as a scratch) it's not so much a matter of 30 being easier than 90 as much as how am I going to birdie the hole with the least path of resistance. In this case I'm confident I can birdie the hole either way but I can see how the preferred strategy trying to be administered here is to get the average golfer closer to the hole to increase their chance of not making a big number. I don't disagree with that at all. If you don't have the confidence or skill to handle either route to the hole then swing away with the Driver to get over the most penal hazard for sure.

[Divot Master]

I believe that the course architect's message to a golfer standing on this tee is that sometimes "short" holes are NOT birdie holes. In this case, a directionally accurate tee shot is required regardless of the club selected. Then a distance and directionally accurate second shot is required from an uphill lie, and where GPS and rangefinders are essentially useless in determining the effective distance to the pin due to the severe uphill. Then you need a healthy dose of luck, because the crowned front of the green can bounce your ball almost anywhere and the slope of the right and rear portion of the green can easily take your ball 40 feet from the pin. As I have mentioned before, I have played this course many times, and overall consider it one of my favorites. This was the last course the architect designed, and he passed away early in the shaping process. In my opinion there are 3 or 4 places where he would have done things differently if he had been here to guide the construction crew further into the process. This green is one of them. Too many "good" shots are punished, and there is too high a degree of randomness applied to your approach shot. As others have suggested, the smart play here is very conservative. Take your par and run to the next tee!

[CarlSpackler]

The interesting thing about this hole is the very small landing area for an approach shot. It's a little larger if the pin is back right. It's a given that the closer you are to a target, the higher your chances of hitting it. If you hit 100 shots at a target 90 yards away and 100 at a target 30 yards away, you are going to have more balls closer to the 30 yard target. Don't believe me? Give it a try.

[Jeremie Boop]

IIRC, group A hit two drives onto the 15th fairway. I remember @Rob Thompson hit one of them. Maybe @Jeremie Boop or @GolfLug can give us the details.

I would almost say it's more ideal to play where Rob and I were out of the 15th fairway. It was a nice flat lie and 80/90 ish yards or less out. Had I not cut a 10" beaver skin out of the fairway....

[14ledo81]

Can I hit the 30 or 60 yard pitch, sure but I prefer to hit the 90 yard pitch that I practice all the time and am very comfortable with.

Read the whole post, the risk of hitting driver may not warrant a 30 yard pitch.

You might have meant that, but the quote that I bolded lead me to believe otherwise.