After watching 74 of the world's best golfers fire ball after ball into the water at Doral this past weekend (or in some cases attempt to assassinate the camera man), I thought to myself "Golly...I wonder which hole is our own personal 'Blue Monster.' Well, unless you're Brett, who's personal 'Blue Monster' happens to be the actual 'Blue Monster,' Your 'Blue Monster' was probably encountered down in Myrtle, and more than likely you don't remember it because you were blacked out and/or shirtless. Well, lucky for us, Brett has been collecting hole by hole data for the past 3 years...and lucky for you, I'm here to remind you just how badly you got your ass kicked by the golf course!
The List
Interactive charts??? What wizardry is this! Yup, we've been working hard over the past year...not so much at our golf game, or writing skills, or professional development, or personal growth, or reconnecting with family, or really anything of actual substance. No, we've been scouring the web for ways to make charts and reports. I like charts and reports....charts and reports are cool.
Click on any of the holes below to see how the scoring breaks down. Pretty cool, right?
I threw out the teaser question yesterday afternoon to the Facebook group, and as many of you correctly guessed, the hardest hole from the past 3 years was indeed #18 at Glenn Dornoch. Slightly surprising however, was learning 3 of the top 10 hardest holes were at Glenn Dornoch and very surprising was seeing only one hole from the (overrated) TPC course in the top 20. Then again, I guess that's why they call it schpoople.....let's start from #10, shall we.
#10: Thistle Golf Club - Mackay #7 (aka Stewart/Mackay #16)
Par: 5
Average Score over Par: 2.545
Looking at the yardage book, this looks like a ho-hum straight shot.....well that's just a load of crap. In real life, unless you're able to hit a draw around a 45 degree angle, you're likely playing a "safe" tee shot to the corner, leaving you with 300+ to the green....with a waste bunker lining all down the right edge. Oh, and you need to clear marsh / wetlands on the approach shot...just in case you felt froggy and wanted to attempt getting home in two.
Caution: Actual course may kick your ass in real life
#9: TPC of Myrtle Beach #9
Par: 4
Average Score over Par: 2.583
Warning: Dick habitat
#8: Legends Golf Course - Mooreland #16
Par: 4
Average Score over Par: 2.586
For the life of me, I couldn't remember #16. In fact, I had trouble finding it on the satellite map. I absolutely recall the par 5 15th (with multiple water crossings), and I clearly remember the par 3 17th (surrounded by an ocean of sand)....but I simply did not remember this short, 223 yard par 4. "Why couldn't you just hit an iron onto the green," I thought. So I looked up my score, hoping to refresh my memory...and I took a 10 with 2 penalty strokes! What the hell?!? The absence of any recollection lead me to believe the hole was so damn hard that I completely buried my performance into the deepest recesses of my mind. I reached out to Brett, asking him for any thoughts on this hole, and he responded "You mean 'Hell's Half Acre'....you don't remember that one?" Ohhhhh noooo....the memories came back in a flood of pain...and I remembered...sweet baby Jesus...I remembered. Do you see that brown 'waste bunker' running down the left side there? That's a 10 feet deep ravine (maybe more). That pot bunker in front of the green, it's easily 7 feet deep. That 'open' area to the right runs downhill hard, and the green sits atop a postage stamp sized mound with sides so steep if you miss, you'll either find yourself back in the ravine, in a pot bunker, or rolling OB. All things considered, I think i was pretty lucky with just taking 2 penalty strokes. Ouch.
Warning: Memories of this hole are filed next to the time you saw your grandmother naked
#7: Heather Glenn White/Blue #1
Par: 4
Average Score over Par: 2.625
This one really surprised me, because while I remember the course being challenging, I don't remember the opening hole as all that difficult. Then again, I took a double on this hole and that meant I played it slightly better than average. An uphill par 4 with a slight dogleg right, this hole was sneaky hard. The approach shot required at least 1 extra club due to the hill, which brought the bunker guarding the front of the green into play. There was also a hidden bunker right for anyone trying to hit the power fade around the corner. Tough opener on a great course.
Caution: Sneaky Hard
#6: River Hills Golf and Country Club #10
Par: 4
Average Score over Par: 2.636
We started our round on the back nine at River Hills, and from what I recall most of us either found trouble right, trouble left, or in some cases failed to make it across the water in front of the tee box. Maybe it was the odd angles and sight lines on the hole, maybe it was all of the pressure of teeing off with a large gallery, or maybe it was Doug Barszcz whispering sweet nothings in our ear...whatever the reason we made this hole far more difficult than it was (only the 11 handicap hole on the course).
Caution: Doug Barszcz will cause you to loose golf balls
#5: Prestwick Country Club #4
Par: 4
Average Score over Par: 2.643
There were a lot of mixed reviews of Prestwick, and while the green conditions left a lot to be desired, the course layout was interesting and left a lot of room for creative shot making and/or throwing up mozzarella sticks. Number 4 was one of the more difficult holes on the course, requiring a water carry on the tee shot, and then bringing more water into play for the approach shot. Tough little hole.
Warning: Green conditions may cause rage in Mikoy's with the first name Chris
#4: Glen Dornoch #6
Par: 4
Average Score over Par: 2.688
The 4th and 3rd ranked holes were both found at Glen Dornoch....in fact they were found right next to each other. Running up and down the inter-coastal, Glen Dornoch juxtaposes the raw natural beauty of the wetlands with the picturesque ascetics of lush fairways and rolling greens. It also gobbles up golf balls like some sort of golf ball gobbling machine (Gobblo-tron 5000). Number 6 at Glenn Dornoch is just one of many holes with a forced carry over the wetlands. Breathtaking...yes. Awe inspiring....yes. Frustrating.....abso-friggin-lutely!
#3: Glen Dornoch #5
Par: 5
Caution: Golfers finding the water on the tee shot are less likely to laugh at your drunken antics
1 So much failure on course resulted in much rage. How much rage? 2 broken shafts and the windshield of the golf cart. I'd like to think I've matured in the past couple years, but in reality I just can't afford to get the shafts replaced on my clubs anymore.
Average Score over Par: 3.438
Caution: This hole robble robbles golf balls like a certain someone robble robbles cheeseburgers
#3: Glen Dornoch #5
Par: 5
Average Score over Par: 2.750
Lich was the only golfer to par this nasty bastard back in 2010, with the vast majority of us rocking a double bogey or worse. While it's not overly long, reaching the green in 2 on this par 5 was almost impossible. The dogleg left and marsh-land hazard really restricts the golfer's ability to be aggressive on the tee box. Anything over 270 off the tee is flirting with trouble, and anything under that leaves 270+ yards to the green.....with water and bunkers guarding the green. Of course, said water and bunkers make sure that even laying up isn't exactly a 'safe' play. Reaching the green in regulation requires 3 perfectly executed shots...and firing 3 solid shots in a row is not really this groups specialty. Unless you're talking about bourbon, but even then asking for 3 in a row without finding a hazard is a tall order.
Warning: Tequila and Jager like to fight
#2: Long Bay #18
Par: 4
Par: 4
Average Score over Par: 3.182
Golfers will instinctively try to avoid the water on the right by aiming down the left hand side, but fail miserably in doing so 1. In addition to having the water in play with the tee shot, the 90 degree dogleg right keeps the water in play on the approach...making sure that if you didn't lose a ball on your tee shot, you still have one more opportunity to suck before closing out the round. Still, as a finishing hole this one has at least one great quality; a nice mound behind the green to sit back, pound whatever beers you have left, hang out with your "caddies" and watch the other groups fire balls into the drink. Nothing erases personal golf course rage like watching someone else experiencing their own.
#1: Glen Dornoch #18
Par: 4
Par: 4
If I didn't love this course so much, I would hate it. Seriously...look at that #$@ker! Unless you're feeling confident enough to land your drive on the left side of the split fairway, you'll be looking at a 200+ yard approach shot by playing the "safe" option down the right side. It's all risk reward, and no one from this group found the reward (0 par's in 2010). If the 5th hole required 3 perfect shots to record a par, this bastard requires 3 perfect shots to secure a bogey. Just freaking hard.
Warning: Just pick it up and write down the "10"
I hope you've enjoyed this walk down memory lane - I know just looking at all these courses is getting me pumped up for the 2012 trip. Like I said at the start, we've got a butt-load of stats and data collected from the past LBI tournaments, so look for more cool charts and more witty banter to come.
WORD!
WORD!
~Saps
No comments:
Post a Comment