10th @ Winged Foot West Article

[Anthony Butler]

Mayday,

Don't you think the pros will be able to hold an 8 iron on that green with few problems..

Might be a stretch with the back left pin placement, but your point is taken. It's not such a challenging hole when 7 iron covers it. Let's hope for a firm green and a westerly wind at least one day.

BTW-The house appears closer because the green sits slightly above you from the tee, so there is nothing visible between the back edge of the green and the ground floor of the house. I'd be surprized if the owner of the house found more than a couple of Titleists a week on his property.

[Patrick_Mucci]

Anthony Butler,

The 10th green sits below, not above the 10th tee.

Mike Sweeney, et. al.,

The 10th green has been softened from the original.
I think the softening took place within the last 15-35 years.
Neil Regan would know the time frame.

[Anthony Butler]

Anthony Butler,

The 10th green sits below, not above the 10th tee.

Mike Sweeney, et. al.,

The 10th green has been softened from the original.
I think the softening took place within the last 15-35 years.
Neil Regan would know the time frame.

http://www.13wham.com/sports/pga_lpga/story.aspx?content_id=ECB14C6A-210D-4D22-A9E4-2DBEFB66EE7C

The back nine opens with Winged Foot's signature hole and one of the world's greatest par-threes. Even the architect called it "my finest par- three." This one shotter requires a five to seven-iron, but precision is a must, as the elevated surface is flanked by sand. The green slopes from back left to front right, so do not miss left and long. When Ben Hogan played in the 1959 U.S. Open, he called this "a three-iron into some guy's bedroom."

It's been about 6 years since I played WFW, but I have a distinct sensation of standing on the tee and thinking the back edge of the green was around eye level. (About 6ft off the ground for me.) From the picture posted in the course review (if this was taken standing on the back of the tee) the back edge would be at best level with the actual tee if not below.

Maybe this was AWT's way of getting you to take too much club-since over the green is dead. Worked on the guy who wrote the review above....  Despite my confusion I parred 10 both times I played the West Course. By that stage of the round, though, I was simply following the orders of my host's regular caddie.

[Tom_Doak]

Mayday:

You are the first person ever to call the 12th hole at Ballybunion "receptive" in print.

Patrick:

I have a topo map of Winged Foot in my office, so I'll get back to you on Monday with the elevations of the tee and green.  I would have guessed they are very close to level with one another; the ground certainly falls away from the tee but the plateau of the green comes back up quite a bit, too.  But, it's been too long since I was there to trust my memory on that one.

[Patrick_Mucci]

Anthony Butler,

The 10th green is elevated ..... above the surrounding terrain.

But, not above the 10th tee.

Don't believe everything you read.