#18 is a par 5
591 from the black tee
575 from the green tee
This is one of those holes that has gotten harder for me over time as I've become more aware of just how dangerous it can be. The first time I played the hole, the green tee was up on the high tee that plays from about 600 yards. I birdied the hole to shoot 39 on the back nine (which matched nicely with my 54 on the front nine.) That afternoon, I made bogey from the same tee and went home even par on the hole for the trip.
The next 3 times I played the hole, it was not up on the high tee (it never has been since that first trip.) The yardage was probably about 550. I made 9, 10, 9. Welcome to #18 at Pacific Dunes. I've since made two more pars on the hole, but I've come to learn that anything goes on the hole and much of it starts with the tee shot.
The summer wind is "assisting" on this hole, but that is a bad choice of words. The wind brings all the trouble into play from the tee. Terrorizing bunker left. Bunkers on the right. Sand dunes. Some gorse. It's all there to tally up the strokes in a hurry. That being said, the fairway is pretty generous, so all you've got to do is strike the ball with some confidence to score. The second shot is probably going to be mostly blind depending upon where your tee shot lands and where you want to go with the second one. Everything on this hole feels like it was done in a much bigger fashion than the rest of the course. Bigger does not equal better. In this case, it just feels different to me. The final blow comes when the player gets the green in sight for the first time. One of the most unforgiving bunkers I've ever seen guards a shot missed to the right. There are plenty of places in that bunker that allow for recovery, but there is also a small portion that leaves you feeling hopeless. It's an "aim left and take your chances with the other trouble" bunker. The green is well protected by bunkers on both sides, and also deep, but there is plenty of room to run your shot into the green from the air or the ground.
In recent trips, I've gotten too hung up on completing a score on this hole to really appreciate it like I did the first time around. No experience was worse that the third time around in 2005. I stepped up to the 18th tee needing par to shoot 87 despite an earlier quadruple bogey, double bogey, and a 10 on #4. I had not yet broken 90 on the course in 5 previous tries. I needed only double bogey to do so. I walked off the course with a 91 that round. My love-hate relationship continues with the course to this day. In 9 tries, I've yet to get it done on the course that I adore so dearly.
If anyone has any nice photos of the fairway bunker, please feel free to post. I'm usually too busy trying to hit out of them to take photos.
The view from the tee
The approach shot to the green
Another view of the approach from further right. The bunker on the right is looming from this angle.
From inside the most angry of all bunkers on the course
Looking back at the beautiful green site - if this doesn't make you want to head directly back to the first tee, then I'm not sure what will.
Feel free to discuss the 18th as well as the course in its entirety at this point. I've got a few more photos that I'll share next weekend with differet views sweeping across the course and we'll see who can identify the holes and views. After I finish posting the miscellaneous pictures of Pacific Dunes, we'll get started on the Bandon Dunes thread and see if we can generate similar interest in the discussion. Then I'll finish the trilogy later this summer with Bandon Trails.