How do you play the 7th at The Old Course?

[Scott Warren]

When I played TOC last week, the 7th was one hole that really perplexed me.

At first, I grabbed a 3 hybrid and thought the right play was to lay up and leave some room in to run a mid iron approach past the left of the Shell bunker.

After toeing my drive into the bushes, I had another look at the yardage book and decided I had been hitting my driver much straighter than that hybrid and hit my 'three off the tee', a driver towards the Hill bunker. I had 130 left and a punch 7i that landed short and left of Shell ran on and over the green with the wind behind me.

In hindsight, I think a driver belted at the middle of the 11th green looks like the play, so you can use the slope from the left to access the middle of the 7th green or the flagstick - depending on where it is and how brave you are.

Provided you don't put it against the face, is a drive just short of or just in Shell such a bad option for a competent pitcher/sand player?

How do you play the 7th?

What is/are the pros' favoured option(s) there?

[Tom_Doak]

Scott:

I do not often talk about how I have played a hole in the past, but will make an exception just this once.

A few years ago I was playing there on a day with a slight tailwind, and I was afraid I would drive it into the long bunker across the fairway.  So I hit a one-iron off the tee (which I use infrequently but still keep in my bag), and I hit as good a shot as I ever have with the club.  It came to rest right between the Strath bunker and the Shell, about fifty yards short of the green, downwind.

And since I was afraid of skulling the wedge shot, I putted from there.  Sadly, I did not get close enough to hole the next, so I have to shorthand the hole as "1 iron and three putts" instead of "1 iron and two putts".

[Sean Walsh]

Scott,

In normal circumstances I would say Hitting straight towards Bobby Jones/Hill is the the preferred line.  This should leave somewhere around 100 yards plus the green to the pin.  Ideally your ball would finish just to the left of a small saucer left of where the 86 is one the yardage book.

I found that most often with a club standard golfer or wee breeze hurting that the golfer wouldn't reach the 115 crest.

FYI I was never able to get on the course when deserted but my preferred line would be straight over the top of the 11th tee, trying to hole out on the 10th.  If you're sitting on the ladies tee for the 11th you're in pretty good shape

[Patrick_Mucci]

Scott,

Tip Anderson and Des Muirhead wrote a book about how to play TOC.

When I have the time I'll relate their preference on # 7.

I've long thought that the 13th at NGLA was a replication of holes # 7 AND # 11 at TOC, depending upon the area one tees off from.

[Chris Kane]

I usually played it from the left tee - it was always a faded driver starting on the line of the path, then a wedge.  The true ideal line depends, of course, on where the flag is.