#13 is a par 4
292 from the gold tee
271 from the blue tee
Walking off the green of #12, I remember thinking "How are we going to top that?" Welcome to the short par 4. You could hit just about any club in the bag off the tee (except for putter, unless you can hit it with a little carry) and still make birdie on this hole. You could also drive the green and easily make bogey.
I was so focused on this hole from start to finish that in two rounds, I forgot to take a single picture of the hole until we were done playing the 2nd round. While I was able to get some good photos of the green, I had to rely on John for the pictures of the tee shot and the approach. There's a special feel to this hole from the moment you step to the tee.
The fairway is a subtle diagonal from the tee and has a bit of a cape hole feel to it. The more direct line at the green you take, the more you must cut off. In reality, most playersd with reasonable length off the tee don't need to worry about the carry, even when taking the direct line. The view is imposing enough to make you think about it because most of the fairway in direct line with the green is hidden from view from the tee. As long as the ball is struck solidly, you shouldn't have an issue.
There's plenty of room in this fairway. There's a bunker guarding the front of the hole, but plenty of room to go around it and still find your way onto the green. There's also a lot of playable area to the left of the green to bomb it up near the green. This hole is really about the short game options, and I think it is best enjoyed with a tee shot that comes to rest inside 50 yards. It's the half-wedge lob, bump and run, or putt 2nd shots (as well as the putts) that make this hole magic.
The green is... well, hard to describe. The pictures will help, but the only way to do this creation justice is to go see it for yourself. It is massive in scale - both in absolute size as well as in terms of the undulations. Unless you stick it tight, a two putt is something to celebrate. A three putt shouldn't be a surprise. It's one of the few greens you walk up to and think that some pin locations could easily yield multiple 4-putts in the course of a day. There is a couple foot drop-off to one large portion of the right side of the green. There is a tiny shelf in the back that is pinnable and could cause fits. There is more going on in this green than one could reasonably take in all in one day. You could spend an entire day just playing this hole over and over. Actually, you could easily spend a day just playing around the green - forget about walking back to the tee.
A great hole right in the middle of a great stretch of wonderful golf on the back nine.
The view from the tee
The approach from the left side of the fairway
A shot of the green from a distance - not much going on here, right?
A view from the lower portion of the green - even money on a three-putt from here!
Another view from a similar angle with a bit of a bunker in the foreground. The magnitude of the change in elevation of the green is apparent from this angle.
A view from the back right of the green
A mostly complete lookback of the green from the rear. It is nearly impossible to capture the entire green in one photo - this angle gives you a pretty good sense for how much is going on here.