I had the joy of playing with Paul Turner and RT one day at Deal and we arrived on the 6th tee. The 6th hole is one of the great tempting short par 4s in the game--and it is blind off the tee doglegging right over a huge sandhill. Yet, nobody knows about this teaser in the world of golf. The hole is about 320 yards from the tips and during the summer plays into a southwesterly i.e. a helping cut wind. With the helping wind, the hole on the card definitely temps you to try and drive it but perils await.. Here is what the tee shot looks like:
The green is where the chap in red is. On a direct line it probably makes the carry closer to 280 yards. The fairway however is over to the left by the Richbourough Nuclear power plant tower (since decommissioned). Now in match play, this hole is as tempting as they come. Who will seize the advantage? Does one play safe and go down the left with 3 or 5 wood and try and flip a wedge or try and drive the green.. Both routes are frought with peril. If one tries and drive the green and over does the cut, you are on the pebble beach right or in Pegwell Bay. Hit it safely down the left side leaves the following approach:
The green is obviously crowned and will repel a shot that is not hit well. Also the pin is often in front and the green releases a way from you leaving long putts. So even if you play safe down the left side, you can walk off with bogey.
When playing with Paul, we played from the 290 yard tee box and PT hit one of the prettiest power fades I've seen that the wind helped steer right. He surely thought he drove the green but I had a bad feelling he hit into the gully fronting the green which would kick off his approach any which way.
With the knowledge of Paul's ball flight I hit my shot with more of a curve and somehow drove the green.. By all means Paul's shot was superior but when we got to the green there was one ball gleaming about 15 feet from the pin and no signs of the other. We were sure the ball was Paul's and mine had flown onto the pebble beach which borders the hole. But it was not to be for the Englishman, it was my ball and his had been thwarted by the gully into the rough leaving a ticklish pitch to the plateau green. I cannot explain the joy in playing the hole in match play--although Paul and I were not playing a match, just having fun.
The hole reminded me of the 10th at Royal Melbourne although the design is different the strategies are similar in the risks (the 10th has a cavernous bunker on the left instead of a monster sand hill on the right at Deal)..
It is curious that in 2003 Open Qualifying, the 6th hole being so short punished the field. I believe it had the second highest average on the course as all the players tried to drive the green and those who missed took bogeys.. I think the stroke average was 4.4 or 4.5 for a simple drive and pitch hole..!!!
Ah, the joys of temptation.
BTW, I missed the eagle putt
