How would you play this 495y par 5?

[Killa]

It's a 495 yard par 5 from the mens tees. 

You have about 240 yards from the tee to the tree line, maybe 260 (measured from google earth so hard to tell exactly - but I know I hit a 250 yard drive on that hole once and I was not in the woods yet). To the right you have high hills with rough, if you go long right you go on the #9 fairway - not the worst place to be. 

So the first shot is pretty much anything you can hit straight or right and as far as possible. That's usually the driver or 3 wood for me. Then the second shot is pretty much a nightmare for me. If I lay my second shot is usually something 7-9 iron to get in front of the lake. That leaves me a 150ish shot to the green. If I go for distance with my second shot it has quite a small landing zone as a small push or pull gets you into trouble fast. 

I've only made par on this hole once. Made a couple of bogeys as well but an average score would be at least a double if not a triple on this specific hole. I usually get into trouble with my second or third shot. The first one is ok in most cases. Is it just me or is this a really tough hole? 

 

 

[HJJ003]

Yeah it’s a tough hole. Given you HI a bogey here is a pretty good score. I would likely aim at the tree line on the right and hit 3 wood (if in fact 240 gets into the trees per measured distance). My second shot would target the 44yd wide area just left of center, and 3rd into green. However, it’s a tough hole and execution is critical. Bogey is a great score for abilities here. Double here wouldn’t destroy our round  either. Not saying to play for a double lol, but not to let it ruin your demeanor if it happens. 

[BamaWade]

The tee shot suits my stock flight pretty well.  But even at less than 500y., at least from what I can tell in this overhead view, a reach-in-two approach is probably off the table for my game...looks like the tree-line and pond guard the right side pretty tightly, and the narrow-ish gap there would require a little fade to get to a small green snuggled in there pretty tight in the trees...not in my wheelhouse.  So I'd probably be laying up between the wide spot and between the trees fronting the green (depending on how tight that creek on the left makes things).  

I don't know how it looks IRL from ground-level, but really, I'd feel pretty confident on the tee.  From there, I'm likely just trying to make it a simple three-shotter.

[David L Yskes]

I'd think playing a 3 iron off the tee would be ideal, that way you stay out of trouble from the tree's and keep it in the fairway....  and since i can hit my 3 iron off the tee 210+ , then your second shot can be another 3 iron or 4 iron to layup, and you have a PW shot into the green....  

[JonMA1]

I likely wouldn't be able to reach the trees on the right so that would be a safe shot with the driver. If I hit my tee shot 210 or 220, that would leave a long iron to the widest part of the fairway for my second shot. I can't control a draw very well so it would depend on how tall the trees are on the left guarding that landing area and how far right my tee shot landed.

If those trees on the left are not giant, I think I'd use what ever club would get me to the center of that 44 yard wide area on my second shot and wouldn't worry as much about that water (assuming it's a lateral hazard). To me, a miss left into those trees might be more costly than ending up in the water - which would cost a stroke but not distance.

That said, there are a lot of things that would likely go wrong... a tee shot left, a bad slice or hook with longer club on my second shot... Hell, even if the first two shots worked out, that green looks very protected. If I scored a bogey on this hole I'd feel fortunate.

[Carl3]

If you hit your driver 250 or less you are getting there in 2 anyhow, so driver off the tee makes no sense as this hole is all about the second shot (unless you are hitting it real well and have a high percent in the center). If you pull/hook your driver you are in the trees. If you push/slice it you may be out of position and may not be able to hit that 44 yard wide landing area. Personally I would hit a series of 190 to 200 yard shots, which is a 4h or 3h depending on how soft the fairways are. 

I would want my tee shot in the center of the fairway out about 200 yards. Then land my 4h into that 44 yard wide landing area leaving a PW or less to the center of the green. Two putt and take my par or occasionally get my approach tight and one putt.

you don’t want to lay up in front of the lake. The 44 yards is much wider than the average green, but I can see how it would be intimidating. In fact if you look at how narrow this green is compared to the wide landing zone, it should be easier to hit a 180 yard shot to the landing zone than 150 yards to the green.

This is a difficult hole for someone not striking the ball consistently. If you are intimidated by the second shot then keep it short of the lake as you ar currently doing and then perhaps your third short is a 100 yard club short of the green and then try to get up and down for par. Worst case you get bogey, but you avoid a blow up hole with penalties. Once your ball striking get on more solid footing you can shoot for the landing area in two.

[Killa]

The problem with the 44 yard wide landing area is that you aren’t hitting straight at it but almost always from an angle. 

As long as you hit it straight there is no real trouble. A small push or pull can get you in trouble real fast. 

[dbuck]

I am probably hitting my 3 wood off the tee as straight down the middle as I can. Then a hybrid again as straight as I can, probably slightly favoring the left center. That should cover about 415-430 if I execute properly. Then a 48 or 52 to the green.

[rehmwa]

#8 at Redwing golf club in MN - looks very similar (505 yards) forced double dogleg with a 3w max drive..3 shots to get to the green,

1st shot - 3w through the gap

2nd shot - I'd suggest a hybrid 2-3-4 shape it depending of if the drive got through the gap.  I hit through and had to fade.  I thing a shorter drive and a straight 2nd would have been a lot easier.

 

Played a lot of shorter courses this spring already - it's pretty interesting how the courses force short par 5's into 3 shots....some are very fun, some are just annoyingly contrived.

 

Edited June 4, 2018 by rehmwa

[DeadMan]

Really cool hole, actually. It gives you a couple of decisions on the tee shot and the layup. On the tee shot:

1. You can play it safe on the tee shot by blowing it way right or short of the trees, but that makes your lay up much more difficult.
2. You can play it aggressively with the tee shot to give you a shot at the green in 2, but then you're playing into the narrowest part of the fairway.

On the lay up:

1. Safest play is left of the lake, but that means you have the worst angle into the green.
2. The closer you get to the lake, the better the angle into the green.

The hole is daring you to challenge the narrow fairway on the tee shot or the lake on the lay up or else you're going to have a tough approach shot to make a par.

That said, here's how I would play it as a high handicapper:

1. Hit a club off the tee that won't get to the trees/narrowing of the fairway at 240 out.
2. I think the safest lay up is going to be left of the lake. I think you want to hit to that fattest part of the fairway there, assuming it's not a really long shot.
3. Play to the center of the green on the approach.

It's hard to tell for sure without knowing more and seeing the exact yardages and how thick the trees are, but I think if you can play a 220 yard tee shot, 150 yard shot left of the lake, you'd be left with about 130 yards into the green. There isn't a great option besides having to play to the left of the lake, unless you think you can hit a really good 200 yard shot into the green, or consistently get over that lake into a narrower part of the fairway. You'd probably be making bogey a decent amount because the 3rd shot into the green is to a small target, but that's really okay for most golfers.

 

That said, I would play this hole aggressively off the tee. I would take out driver and try to fit it into the narrow fairway there. If I can do that and hit a decent tee shot, I can fire at that green with a long iron or hybrid (I probably won't try a wood because it looks pretty narrow by the green, but it's hard to tell for certain). If I end up in the trees, I should be able to punch out to the left of the lake and leave myself a wedge into the green. I'm okay with a 130 yard approach shot to a narrow target - I should make par over half of the time from there. The only thing that would change my mind is if the trees were really thick and it made punching out difficult.

[Killa]

If you end up in the trees it's gone :) At least most of the time there is at least 1 foot of undergrowth there in the fall all these trees loose their leaves and it's gone 100%. 

You can find it in the woods about 1 month per year when it's freshly mowed. 

So the "best" place to mishit is to the left of the fairway where there is a lateral water hazard.

Both woods next to the green are not declared hazards so it's stroke and distance if you are in the woods. 

I played this course about 10 times and I've only once had a look at the green with my second shot. (I just had to try and hit the 3 wood there) It didn't end well :) 

[upndown21]

22* hybrid, 7/8 iron, wedge, one putt= birdie 

[saevel25]

Hybrid, Iron, Wedge.

[DeadMan]

1 hour ago, Killa said:

If you end up in the trees it's gone :) At least most of the time there is at least 1 foot of undergrowth there in the fall all these trees loose their leaves and it's gone 100%. 

You can find it in the woods about 1 month per year when it's freshly mowed. 

Ugh. I would probably not play this course then.

I would probably then play it like I suggested before: club < 240 yards off the tee, lay up left of the pond, wedge into the green.

[The Hook Meister]

Its a tough one alright, not to mention very narrow. I would use a 3 iron off the tee and then another 3 iron from there it would depend on pin placement and how well I hit the first two shots. This hole has don't miss written all over it!

[colin007]

5 hours ago, DeadMan said:

Ugh. I would probably not play this course then.

Almost all the courses in my area are like this. It goes fairway, rough, woods - where even if you find it you can you can't play it.

I see these courses on tv where the trees separating holes are short mowed grass right up to the trunks. SMDH.

[DeadMan]

2 hours ago, colin007 said:

Almost all the courses in my area are like this. It goes fairway, rough, woods - where even if you find it you can you can't play it.

I see these courses on tv where the trees separating holes are short mowed grass right up to the trunks. SMDH.

If it's wide enough, then I don't really have a problem with that. But that hole, assuming it's representative of the whole course, is way too narrow to have that.

[Lihu]

I’d use hybrid or 4i, 6i or 7i then whatever iron works for the approach.

Hybrid or 4i to avoid that trees line on the right. Then I’d want an accurate and high iron shot to the approach and something for the approach. Typically my 4i runs to 220 off the tee and hybrid a little further. 7i is about 165 which would leave me 115 in the approach so my gap wedge would be ideal. I just played a narrow course yesterday with a similar strategy.

20 hours ago, DeadMan said:

Ugh. I would probably not play this course then.

I would probably then play it like I suggested before: club < 240 yards off the tee, lay up left of the pond, wedge into the green.

Same.