One of my favorite holes -- #16 at Red Tail

[Aaron Katz]

#16 at Red Tail is one of my all-time favorite par fours to play, particularly because, at 415 yards from the tips, it can be breached even by players of modest power provided they play smart, quality shots.

The first two photos shows the view from the back tee.  The center bunk sits at 255 yards from the tee and is located at the outside edge of the severe dog leg right.  The large grouping of trees on the right, which are about 220 yards from the tee, are on a direct line with the right side of the fairway, which is the optimal landing area.  The bold player will take his tee shot just left of the tree line with a slight fade.  This line will gain him extra yards due to a downslope but, more importantly, will leave him the best angle to the green.  I prefer not to challenge the trees.  I aim at the right edge of the center bunker and hit a 10 yard fade.  The bunker on the right should not be in play, but further obscures the already blind landing area.




The next photo shows the approach for my tee ball, which came to rest about 7 paces inside the rough line on the left, just past the crook of the dog leg.  I had 152 yards to the center of the green.  That is a gravel waste bunker guarding the landing area.  The green in very shallow for the player coming from this angle, and the top shelf is extremely firm even for a short iron, and overshooting the flag from here means death.  The ridge you see running through the green is shaped like the number 7, creating a shelf that runs from the back of the green all the way down to the front right.  For a ball played more than 10 or 15 feet out to the right, this means a wickedly sloping right to left putt or chip.



This last photo shows just how much more fairway there is on the right, and how much easier it is to get to a left hand pin from that position.  But to take advantage of this angle to the green, the tee shot must be carved very closely to the edge of the tree line.

[Jay Flemma]

I like 16 alot and like 14 and 17 even more...great to see another red tail fan here!

[ANTHONYPIOPPI]

I'm with you guys on this one. Named Willies, after the rough shaper who worked on the hole and a short time later died of cancer, if features a fade tee shot and a draw approach with Silva's signature Indy turns. Matt Ward and other long hitters can challenge the tree line on the right while shorter hitters and tack their way around trouble.

The 11th is a dynamite par-3.

Anthony

[Dave_Miller]

I like 16 alot and like 14 and 17 even more...great to see another red tail fan here!

Jay:
Red Tail is just flat out a very good golf course.
Best
Dave

[Jay Cox]

I love Red Tail, but not the 16th in particular.  The visuals off the tee make you think that you should hit three wood or even a long iron, but I think the correct strategy for the long hitter actually is just to rip it.  If you keep it down the right side, you're in great shape.  If you don't - even if you go over the left-side fairway bunker - nothing particularly bad happens to you, and you're probably still in better shape than if you'd tried to lay up.  I love holes that take a while to figure out, but I generally don't like it when what you figure out is that your best play is pounding away without thinking too hard.

I do like the green quite a bit.

I agree wholeheartedly with Jay Flemma on both 14 and 17, and with Anthony on #11.  Great holes.  I also love #8:  it is a very short par 4, and any error on either the tee shot or the approach makes the next shot exponentially more difficult -- even though it looks very unassuming.

[Aaron Katz]

#8 is one of the best short par fours around.  I actually hit driver there one day to about 20 yards short of the green.  Last time when I was out there, I saw how narrow that landing area is and thought, "Why the f--- did I ever hit driver here?"  

There are so many goo holes out there, and the punchbowl green on #14 is one of the best I've seen.  I played a pitch intentionally past the hole the other day and had it back up about 15 feet to the edge of the cup.  

The reason I like #16 is that, just when I think I've figured out the tee shot (low fade off the center bunker; I don't like challenging the tree line), I can't get the damn approach shot right!  At some point, I may well decide to take it dangerously close to the trees to get a better angle on my second shot, but I've played the course ten times and haven't been willing to do so yet.  

Just for kicks, I sometimes hit a long iron off the tee so that I have a really difficult five iron in from a poor angle.  I love trying to hit a sweeping draw in there.

Also, another reason I like #16 is because, when you get up to the landing area, you get a really cool view of both 16 and 17.  It's pretty surreal with the gravel pit surrounding you on all sides.

[ANTHONYPIOPPI]

Aaron, Jay:

I think what you said about the 8th hole and the 16th really highlights Silva's genius at designing - you learn as you go. It's not until you get to the 16th landing area do you realize you can hit driver, but if you choose to do that and go too far left, it's big trouble; if you keep it down the right side or pull off a left-to-right ball flight the rewards are immense.

On the 8th hole, even if you know the dangers, you are tempted to hit driver because if you thread the slot you are, like you said, within yards of the green.

Black Rock and Renaissance have holes with the same learning curve and enticements.

Anthony

[Dan_Callahan]

Isn't it funny how differently people can view the same holes.

The 16th has always been one of my least favorite holes at Red Tail. With trees choking in the right and the bunker straight away, there aren't a whole lot of options. I typically hit 3-wood over the nunker on the right, leaving about 150 to the green. It's not a bad hole, but it doesn't fit my eye.

The same is true of 8. My first thought when I played it was that they ran out of space and shoehorned in a par 4. The green is so narrow and the drop off the right so severe that there is no temptation to go for it in one. That means you hit about 7-iron off the tee and have a sandwedge in. Not much fun in my book.

Again, not a bad hole, but not even close to my favorite. I guess that just goes to show how good the rest of the course is.

[Jay Cox]

The same is true of 8. My first thought when I played it was that they ran out of space and shoehorned in a par 4. The green is so narrow and the drop off the right so severe that there is no temptation to go for it in one. That means you hit about 7-iron off the tee and have a sandwedge in. Not much fun in my book.

I agree completely with your take on how to play 8, Dan.  What amazes me is that Silva managed to design a hole where the best play is 7-iron / SW, where there is a lot of pressure to play both shots precisely, but where the hole nevertheless doesn't feel tricked up and is managable for a high handicapper.  The approach is demanding enough that, even with a SW, I feel like I have to hit the tee shot into exactly the right spot to able to take a "green-light" shot at hitting it close.  I find that to be an incredible architectural feat -- especially since, as you say, the hole does sort of look like a squeezed-in afterthought at first glance.

What other holes fit that description (very short par 4s with pressure on both shots, without becoming impossible for weaker players)?  My two other favorites are the 4th at Highlands Links and the 4th at The Country Club (though driver is more of an option there), and from what I've read the 8th at Pine Valley might be another one.  But it seems to me that there just aren't that many sound holes fitting that description, which makes the few that do more novel and more exciting to me.