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Phil McDade

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A great short par 4? The 9th hole at Milwaukee CC
« on: October 28, 2008, 08:47:13 AM »
Ask students of golf architecture to name some of the best short par 4s in the United States, and several come to mind immediately – the 10th at Riviera, and the 17th at Oakmont, for starters. Ben Crenshaw once referred to the 10th at Merion East as one of the great match-play short par 4s in the country.

What do these holes have in common? Among other attributes: Options on how to play them from the tee, exacting second shots even for those who play safely off the tee, and the real possibility of bogey or worse for poorly hit shots or poorly thought-out decisions.

The 2008 U.S. Mid-Amateur tournament at Milwaukee Country Club featured a very good short par 4 – the 9th hole – that produced exciting play, but also bedeviled a number of players.
Some statistics:

The 9th at MCC played at 332 yards for the Mid-Am, although the tee was moved up on some days, notably the championship final, to 295 yards to encourage aggressive thoughts on the tee.
The hole during the two days of qualifying play averaged just around par – 4.03 strokes. It played as the second-easiest hole in what were tough conditions (the par-70 course played to a 76.2 average for the two days of qualifying play).
The hole yielded 1 eagle and 52 birdies – but also 40 bogeys, 5 doubles, and 4 others. No other hole had such a close ratio of scores under vs. over par, suggesting it played as intended – a gambling hole where birdies were a real possibility, but trouble lurked.

The following is an in-depth look at Milwaukee CC’s 9th hole.

The tee shot is straightaway, toward the clubhouse. The hole runs north/northwest – it played straight into the wind for most of the Mid-Am in September (although not the last day).


At about 100 yards from the tee, the fairway dips precipitously into a deep ravine. Most tee shots will carry the ravine with ease, although a poorly struck tee shot risks running into the rise of the fairway coming out of the ravine.


Another look at the rollicking fairway of the 9th. Players during the Mid-Am used everything from 5-irons to drivers off the tee, with the safe play a long iron/hybrid to the left side of the fairway (the lighter patch of fairway, seen here).


A golfer’s thoughts on the tees probably turn first toward a series of three bunkers on the right side of the fairway. Here are the first two bunkers; the first one (middle right of photo) is unlike most other bunkers at MCC, as it’s both flat and lacking the high lips found on most others on the course. The second, middle bunker is deeper, and juts out into the fairway.


Here is the middle bunker; note the high lip, and how the bunker lip hides the third fairway bunker (middle-right of photo; you can see the grass lip of the third bunker). Although not depicted well in this photo, this section of the fairway tends to feed balls into this middle bunker.


Another look at the last two fairway bunkers; here you get a good sense of how well the land disguises the bunkers, even from only 30 yards away. Club selection on the tee can make a crucial difference; a fade with a hybrid or long iron stands a better chance of holding in the fairway. A driver that hits in the darker portion of the fairway risks running into these bunkers. (At the Mid-Am, myself and a bemused, longtime member of MCC watched all golfers in one threesome pull driver on this hole, and deposit all of their tee shots in the left-hand portion of the middle bunker.)


The last fairway bunker; a nasty little thing that’s not really a pot bunker, but not fun to be in, either. Note the false front of the green just beyond.


The false front of the 9th green. The green (which sits well above the fairway) tilts significantly from back to front – perhaps more than any other green at MCC – then dives off into the fairway. Balls that come off the green and down the false front can roll back as much as 40 yards into the fairway. (GCA contributor and Mid-Am caddie Doug Spets said his advice on this hole was to hit a tee shot to a distance for a second shot where the player is unlikely to spin the ball with his approach. Even a modest back-up spin risks an encounter with the false front, and the very real possibility of a third shot taken not far from the second shot.)


The left fronting greenside bunker.


The deepest bunker on the course, affectionately known as Big Bertha, guards the right-front side of the green.


A bunker on the right side of the green; the 9th green is surrounded by stately oak trees, and overhanging branches can come into play for balls errantly hit over here.


A smallish bunker sits at the back of the 9th green; it played a key role in the championship match of the Mid-Am.


In the afternoon play of the Mid-Am championship match, both eventual winner Steve Wilson and runner-up Todd Mitchell (with a helping wind) drove through the green and ended up nearly side-by-side in this bunker (this is the pin set for the afternoon round of the championship match). The challenge with this shot is that the green runs away from the player, and the pin was set just a few feet away from the false front. Any shot hit to the right of the pin that didn’t stop above it caught the false front and rolled down into the fairway. Any shot hit to the left of the pin that didn’t stop, risked running into Big Bertha. Wilson did exactly the latter, dumping his ball into the giant sandtrap. Mitchell, watching this, turned his back nearly completely to the hole, and pitched out to the right and toward the fringe, in the hope his ball would hold up there. It did; ironically, neither played ended up with a GIR after driving through the green on their first shots. Both ended up with pars; Mitchell after a terrific lag putt for a conceded par, while Wilson pitched 20 feet beyond the hole out of Big Bertha, and sank a downhill putt for par. Such is the delicate but devious nature of the 9th.

Two looks back at the 9th hole.



Charlie Goerges

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Re: A great short par 4? The 9th hole at Milwaukee CC
« Reply #1 on: October 28, 2008, 11:48:41 AM »
Wonderful tour and a wonderful hole.

As I'm on the lookout for good uses of trees, what is your opinion of the tree(s) near the green? You noted that recovery could be hindered, perhaps you could expound a bit on this.

Thanks for the images!

Charlie
Severally on the occasion of everything that thou doest, pause and ask thyself, if death is a dreadful thing because it deprives thee of this. - Marcus Aurelius

Chuck Brown

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Re: A great short par 4? The 9th hole at Milwaukee CC
« Reply #2 on: October 28, 2008, 11:58:31 AM »
I was there for the Mid-Am.  My first view of MCC.  This hole just stood out.  It is every bit as good as what is described and what is depicted in these terrific photos.  Easily the best hole on a superb course that has almost no bad ones.

By the way; the short-iron appraoches hitting this green during the Mid-Am (even with much of the course having been soaked by a downpour midweek) had that hollow-sounding, cardboard-box kind of "thunk" when they hit the green.  It was dry, hard, and a wonderful challenge.

Phil McDade

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Re: A great short par 4? The 9th hole at Milwaukee CC
« Reply #3 on: October 28, 2008, 02:45:02 PM »
Wonderful tour and a wonderful hole.

As I'm on the lookout for good uses of trees, what is your opinion of the tree(s) near the green? You noted that recovery could be hindered, perhaps you could expound a bit on this.

Thanks for the images!

Charlie

Charlie:

I think there is a legitimate argument for some tree-trimming (or more specifically some branch trimming) on the one large oak tree that hangs over the right (looking at it from the fairway) side bunker. I don't think the trees get in the way for a shot out of Big Bertha, the enormous right-fronting bunker. But they could on the right-side bunker -- enough where (depending on the flag position, the lie in the bunker, other factors) the golfer might be forced with a shot out of the bunker but under the branches. That's a particularly tough shot, because like most of the bunkers at MCC, this one is fairly deep with a high lip -- not the deepest, by any means, or not the toughest -- but a challenge nonetheless.

Other than that, I didn't notice trees having a major impact on the hole, unless one is quite wayward left off the tee.


RJ_Daley

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Re: A great short par 4? The 9th hole at Milwaukee CC
« Reply #4 on: October 28, 2008, 02:46:26 PM »
I spent a great deal of time watching from greenside of 8 and a little ahead of tee on 9, and then made several trips back and forth to the LZ and up to the green.  We talked about it a few months ago, and it is quite true, that 9 is one of the most exciting holes to watch in all of the golf I have watched in person.  I only wish I could say it is one of the most exciting holes I've ever played.  ;) ::) ;D

Since it is such a low flying untalked about golf course, due to not many folks have played it, I think #9 may verywell qualify as one of the best and most exciting short par 4s anywhere.  

I didn't know quite what to make of it at first glance, because I kept getting the personal aversion to trees as a design feature in the way of considering great holes.  The tree overhanging the back right portions and above the back right bunkers is something to talk about and can be controversial, IMO.  With the tricky false front already there to really penalize a sand blast from the rear to risk a big roll off the front, one would think that is penalty enough.  But, I suspect the tree plays more of a psychological role than an actual physical hazard, in that regard.  But, it is very conceivable one could hit the lowest hanging branches from some sand blast shots...

But, I would say if anyone here assembled ever gets a crack at MCC, do not miss it!  ;D 8)
No actual golf rounds were ruined or delayed, nor golf rules broken, in the taking of any photographs that may be displayed by the above forum user.

Doug Siebert

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Re: A great short par 4? The 9th hole at Milwaukee CC
« Reply #5 on: October 28, 2008, 11:54:43 PM »
That looks like a wonderful hole to sit in the clubhouse and overlook while enjoying a beer after a round, listening to the birds chirping and the golfers who hit their approaches fat swearing as their ball runs back down the hill ;D

I suspect when the course was built that dip in the fairway was a real issue for most golfers, particularly if it had rained recently.  Its too bad that features like that which had so much impact in the past are rendered so much less effective now.  Not just because people hit it further -- even if the tees were pushed back the way modern equipment flights the ball off the driver with so much more carry and less roll causes that feature to have much less impact.
My hovercraft is full of eels.

Doug Spets

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Re: A great short par 4? The 9th hole at Milwaukee CC
« Reply #6 on: October 29, 2008, 05:55:07 AM »
I like the driver off the tee to get as close to the green as possible...because you want as little spin as possible on your 2nd shot.  I saw one ball hit within a yard of the back fringe and still end up 20 yards in front of the green after zipping like a bullet.

The green has some subtle double breaks, too...and, obviously, is pretty quick back to front.

So many options, so much danger looming.  A great, great hole.

As great as Phil's pictures are...I think the elevation changes are more dramatic in person.

Ally Mcintosh

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Re: A great short par 4? The 9th hole at Milwaukee CC
« Reply #7 on: October 29, 2008, 07:19:12 AM »
Looks like a lovely hole... One question though...

If you play a long ball (3-wood) up the open left side of the fairway, what makes your next short approach a more difficult one than if you flirted down the right?

I can understand the top players / long hitters having a multitude of choices from the tee. Not so sure I can see those options for the short hitters.

Brad Swanson

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Re: A great short par 4? The 9th hole at Milwaukee CC
« Reply #8 on: October 29, 2008, 08:15:23 AM »
What a cool hole, but what reallly jumped out at me was the course presentation, particularly around the green.  Hats off to Pat Sisk!


Phil McDade

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Re: A great short par 4? The 9th hole at Milwaukee CC
« Reply #9 on: October 29, 2008, 08:33:56 AM »
Brad:

That area around the 9th green that's closely mown is one of the many neat features of the club. It runs right up to the clubhouse. The entire area around the 18th green (which has a similar, though sharply sloping, mown area on its backside), the 1st tee, the 9th green, and the 10th tee -- all within an arm's distance of the clubhouse -- really gives the course something of an intimate feel.


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