Meadowwood 11Th: Don’T Be Deceived

Although long, this scenic par-3 can seem deceivingly tame from the elevated tee boxes. The two ponds affect the hole’s aesthetics much more than its playability, and the green is large and inviting.

There is plenty of trouble lurking around the severely sloped putting surface, however. And if the pin is tucked on the left side of the green behind the gaping bunker, a big number - like a five or six, maybe even a seven - is a possibility.

“It’s a great golf hole, because you can make it play easy or hard from any of the multiple tee boxes by where you place the pin,” explained MeadowWood head professional Bob Scott. “There’s only about one semi-flat spot on the entire green, and that’s in the middle. But when the pin is placed right or left, you end up with some big breaking putts.

“I’ve watched even good golfers just barely miss the pin and then three or four putt.”

According to Scott, the only safe place to miss the expansive green is short and right. From there, golfers are faced with an uphill chip that can be relatively simple if the pin is right of center on the putting surface.

“Sometimes you can honestly say it’s better to miss the green than hit it, and this is a green where I’d rather be short than on it and beyond the pin,” he explained.

Even low handicappers and scratch golfers are best advised, on most occasions, to aim their tee shots to the right center of the green no matter where the pin is cut. Otherwise, they bring the deep, unforgiving sand trap in front of the green and the gnarly rough behind it into play.

When the pin is placed left, where the green becomes alarmingly shallow, there is very little room for error in either club selection or accuracy. The trap is a monster and any chip shot from left of the green or beyond is dicey at best.

“Play it to the right and take your chances with two or three putting and walking away with a par or, at worst, a bogey,” Scott advises. “If you go over the green, it’s tough to even stop your chip shot back down the slope on the putting surface.”

High handicappers and beginners might want to ignore the left side of the green completely. If they don’t, they’ll be staring straight into the pond and the bunker. It is an easy carry over the pond on the left and the water does not normally come into play, unless it starts playing with your mind. And that, according to Scott, happens to more golfers - especially high handicappers - than you might think.

“If you drew a line around where the pond is and made it dirt, probably better than 50 percent of the people who go into the water wouldn’t touch that area,” Scott said. “But when the water is so visible, it becomes almost a mental thing to some golfers.”

So what if the high handicapper wants to have a go at a left pin placement? Here’s Scott’s blunt answer:

“If your handicap is high and you’re shooting at the pin over that, that’s probably why you’re handicap is so high in the first place.”

This sidebar appeared with the story: Holes for thought

All that’s needed to play these three holes, says staff writer Steve Bergum, are great shots, a sharp eye and a grasp of what options the player has.