A Great Golf Hole

The ninth hole at my home course, Signature at West Neck, is a great golf hole.

A short par 5, it's reachable in 2 shots for even a guy like me who's only average long. But it takes two great golf shots.

After a solid 250 yard drive I'll usually be about 240 from the front of the green. If the lie is right I can pull out my 3 wood and go for it, but if the shot isn't nearly perfect there's plenty of trouble ahead.

What makes the second shot so fun is the placement of several fairway bunkers about 90 to 120 yards out from the green. The bunkers aren't pot bunkers, but they are penal. I know that any shot that I land in the front third of these traps is probably going to keep me from reaching the green with my third shot.

So from 240 out I know that I have to hit a pretty solid 3 wood to carry the 160 yards or so that I need to clear these bunkers. For a well struck shot, there's plenty of "run up" room in front of the green, but there's a huge trap left of the green that will catch any sort of pull, and the grassy moguls to the right of the green, while not as dangerous as the trap, will usually take birdie out of reach.

But a well struck 3 wood is likely to reach the green, and give me that rare chance for eagle.

If the lie on the 2nd shot isn't perfect though, or if the drive wasn't quite solid, there are three options other than the 3 wood.

The most conservative play is to lay up short of the fairway bunkers with a short iron which will leave an 8 or 9 iron into the green.

A more daring play is to pull a 5 or 6 iron and play to the right of the fairway bunkers. The trouble with that option is that the fairway is narrow - only about 15 yards wide - and any shot hit through the fairway finds the grassy moguls.

The third option is to pull a 3 or 4 iron, or a 7 wood, and play to carry the bunkers, leaving a half wedge or pitch to the green.

The green itself, like many at this course, is enormous - 34 yards deep and 20 yards wide - and the placement of the pin factors into the 2nd shot decision too. If the pin is tucked close to the left side trap, I will make sure that I'm approaching the green from the right. If I'm left and have to pitch over the trap to a tight pin, bogey is in play as the green slopes left to right - away from the trap.

Nine is a wide open hole too - and affected by the wind perhaps more than any other hole on the course. A headwind can make the hole tough to reach in 3, while a strong tail wind can give me nothing more than a mid iron into the green.

It's just a great golf hole - one that I enjoy every time that I play the course.