Brute Strength Means Nothing When Golfers Attempt To … Play With Peril
MEETING THE LOCAL CHALLENGE
Thinking man’s golf, as staff writer Steve Bergum explains, comes into play on each of these three local favorites. These layouts place an emphasis on mental discipline, strategic shot-planning and general course management.
THE TRICKY GREEN ON STONERIDGE’S PAR-3 8TH CAN TURN A MEMORABLE ROUND INTO A WASHOUT
Perhaps the greatest testimonial to the difficulty of the par-3 eighth hole at Stoneridge Country Club in Blanchard, Idaho, is the fact that the downhill monster has yielded only two holes-in-one in the history of the course.
Playing just over 230 yards from the back tees, this character-building hole demands precise club selection and unwavering accuracy off the tee. Anything less leaves frustrated golfers either stone dead behind the green, in the water, in the sand or facing a ticklish little chip shot from the only bailout area short and right.
Stoneridge head professional Doug Phares has heard plenty of horror stories about how No. 8 has ruined promising rounds. And he’s had a few of his own best efforts scuffed up by a double-bogey - or worse - at a hole that still ranks among his favorites.
“I’ve hit 3-wood there before,” Phares said, “but when the wind’s at your back, you can get home with a 6-iron.”
And club selection is only part of the problem. The green slants subtly toward the reed-filled pond that protects it on the front left.
“It really slopes kind of from right to left a little bit, but you can’t really tell that from the tee,” warned Phares. “There’s a bailout area short and right for the high-handicappers, but because of the way the green slopes, it makes for a difficult little chip.
“It’s really hard to get it close from there.”
According to Phares, most low-handicappers and scratch players hit a long iron off the tee and draw the ball in off the small sand trap just right of the green. Still, such strategy has produced only two aces - one of which was recorded by Phares’ assistant, Dave Estes, back in 1989.
Mid-handicappers, Phares said, should pick a club, believe in it and “guard against anything left.
“If you hit anything on the left quarter of the green, the ball is probably going to roll off the green,” he explained. “And if you miss the green completely on the left and you’re green high, you’re probably going to roll into the pond.”
Phares’ advice to high-handicappers opting for the conservative route is to “play the tee shot short and right and take your chances” with the chip shot.
The bunker on the right side is about green-high and leaves those who find it staring at a treacherous sand shot aimed directly at the pond on the other side of the green.
THE 8TH AT STONERIDGE
This dramatic par-3 features a 35-foot drop in elevation from the championship tees to the medium-sized, subtly sloping green. A small pond protects the left front and side of the green and a small bunker guards the right. As with most par-3s, club selection off the tee is crucial. The only safe bailout area is short and right, and anything left will probably roll into the pond.
THE PRO’S VIEW
“This is a good par-3, because it can make or break your round. The holes leading up to it are shorter holes that you can score on, so you can have a pretty decent round going - until you’re here. The slope of the green isn’t severe, but it’s tricky. It slants toward the water, but doesn’t look like it should. If you’re really conservative, take (the tee shot) right, because there’s no out of bounds.”
- Doug Phares
HANGMAN VALLEY’S PAR-5 10TH REQUIRES SKILLED PLACEMENT FROM TEE TO GREEN
The 10th hole at Hangman Valley Golf Course has long ranked as one of Steve Nelke’s favorites. Now the head professional at Spokane County’s most challenging layout hopes he can keep it a part of his course.
“It’s a great hole,” Nelke said of the testy par-5 that stretches 549 yards from the blue tees, “but if we have any more flooding, it’s going to end up downtown.”
Floodwaters once again altered the look of the hole this spring, threatening to wash away part of the championship tee box, but the gateway hole to Hangman’s back nine remains one of the most intriguing in the area.
“I think it’s a really good hole because of the tee shot,” Nelke said. “The tough thing about it is trying to figure out how much of the creek to cut off. Most people try to aim at a certain spot, like the trees (lining the left side of the fairway) and end up going left and blocking themselves out (from the green).
“Usually, people who make a high number on the hole make it from hitting their tee shot left.”
Latah Creek, which cuts in front of the white tee boxes and winds along the right side of the fairway all the way to the green, forces a decision on the drive.
High-handicappers, according to Nelke, should “make sure you find a club to put you over the water and in the fairway, because it’s not a long tee shot.
“Just don’t bite off more than you can chew with your drive,” Nelke added, “and then keep whacking at it and keep out of the water on the right.”
Mid-handicappers playing from the 513-yard white tees might want to cut off a little more of the water and keep their drive further right, which also tends to take the pesky creek out of play on the second shot.
Low handicappers, Nelke said, can get home in two and set up a two-putt birdie with a drive down the right side and a fairway wood into the deep, but narrow green.
“It’s probably one of the best birdie opportunities on the golf course,” Nelke added. “But the ball doesn’t seem to carry very far off the tee, so if you want to be conservative, there’s a large layout area you can hit a middle to long iron to and end up with just an 80-yard third shot into the green.”
The green is well-protected by bunkers on both sides and slopes from front to rear.
“When the hole is cut in the front of the green, it’s a tough placement,” Nelke said.
“You get a good shot at a birdie if you keep the ball below the hole and a little bit left - that’s the straightest putt.”
THE 10TH AT HANGMAN VALLEY
The 10th hole at Hangman Valley Golf Course is a memorable par-5 that crosses Latah Creek and plays 549 yards from the back tees. Golfers must decide how much of the creek to cut with their drives, then keep the ball between the trees on the left and creek on the right the rest of the way down the fairway. The green is reachable in two for long hitters, but is well protected left and right by bunkers.
THE PRO’S VIEW
“No. 10 is a good golf hole because it’s scenic and gives players a lot of options. It starts a stretch of four really tough holes on the back nine that can really inflate your score. By the time people get there, they’re trying hard just to not make high numbers and 10 starts that stretch of holes that will determine your back-nine score. It’s ruined a lot of good rounds.”
- Steve Nelke
ESMERALDA’S “MOUNTAIN” CUTS DOWN THE DARING
Long and left is about the only option for anyone hoping to reach the green in two shots on this 395-yard par-4, which bends around a huge rock outcropping that Esmeralda head pro Bill Warner calls “the mountain.”
When pressed, Warner admits the intimidating obstacle that makes Ezzy’s 11th hole so unforgettable stands several thousand feet short of qualifying, topographically, as a mountain.
“But it seems like a mountain to anybody who’s ever tried to hit a ball over it,” he said.
And therein lies the intrigue of an outstanding golf hole that rewards the well-struck, precisely placed drive with an excellent birdie opportunity, but severely punishes any tee shot that wanders to the right.
The rock outcropping extends to the right edge of the fairway about 200 yards off the tee. A drive of 230 yards, placed down the left-center of the fairway, affords a clean look at the shallow, elevated green. Any tee shot short and right is blocked by the outcropping and forces the golfer to decide between chipping around the hill and settling for bogey, or trying to fly it over the trees onto the green for a long-shot birdie chance.
Warner recommends the conservative play.
“There’s just nothing but trouble up there on the mountain,” he explained. “The high-handicapper can’t hit it far enough off the tee to have a clear (approach) shot, so he or she wants to stay way left and probably play the second shot around the corner and settle for bogey - or par, if the player makes a long putt. “The other way can lead to a lot of trouble and a big number.”
Waner said the hole is fraught with danger.
“You have to drive the ball over 225 yards just to get around the corner and have a second shot at the green,” he said. “It’s even tough for scratch players, because if they get it right a little, they’re dead, too.
“‘There are no odds in the good player trying to carry the mountain (on his or her second shot) either.” Warner advises mid-handicappers to keep their drives down the middle or left of center to set up a mid- or short-iron approach shot.
“But even then, par is tough, because you’ve got to carry (your approach) onto an elevated green that isn’t very deep,” he added. “If you’re short, you’re going to hit into the hillside in front of the green and stop. If you hit a little long, you’re usually back on the upslope, which leaves a tough downhill chip.”
THE 11TH AT ESMERALDA
Even with the green tucked behind a large rock outcropping, there is little to suggest - from the tee box, at least - that the 11th hole at Esmeralda Golf Course is anything but benign. Yet the deceiving 395-yard, dogleg right par-4 eats up tee shots pushed too far right. And even a good drive down the left side of the fairway leaves a tricky approach to a shallow, elevated green that is tough to hold.
THE PRO’S VIEW
“It takes an exacting drive to set up the hole. You have to have a good, straight tee shot and hit it far enough (230 yards) to get a good look at the green on your second shot. I’ve heard of some guys hitting it over the mountain (rock outcropping) onto the green on their second shot, but I’ve heard of a lot more guys making 11 or 12 from trying.”
- Bill Warner
, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color photo 3 Graphics: 1. The 8th at Stoneridge 2. The 10th at Hangman Valley 3. The 11th at Esmeralda