short survey.

[herrstein]

Doug Stein, 0, Black creek Club, Lookout Mountain GC, The Honors Course.
Toughest:
BCC: #13, par 4 458 yards.
It’s uphill, has a creek left and a yawning bunker that stretches from 245 to 280 off the tee in the right side of the fairway, from which hitting the green is always difficult and sometimes impossible, depending upon whether you hit it well enough to get up against the 4 foot uphill 1:1 slope on the green side. The green is semi-blind and runs slightly away, on an angle right to left, with a bunker guarding short left and the creek further left, against the green by the back left. If I play safe (long and right) I have a chip (which is my weakness) and if I lay up just short I have an even harder chip to a green sloping away. I have a harder time hitting a fade with my driver than a draw- the fairway rewards a fade by kicinkg the ball up the fairway, around the bunker, but a hook goes in the creek, unless I am feeling frisky and have no wind in my face, I’ll try to squeeze a draw around the right side of the bunker (taking the creek out of play, but an overcooked draw is back in that damn bunker.) Of course, I can always lay up short of the bunker where the fairway is wide, but that leaves 210 uphill to the green. It’s a par 4.5. The good news is that the next hole is also a par 4.5, but we call it a par 5. I just think of the two together as a par 9.
LMGC: #4, par 3, 225 yards. The Biarritz. I have to hit a long iron approach. It’s the only hole at LMGC that such a shot is required of me. If I miss right, I’m in a 10 foot deep Raynor bunker, the dreaded blind greenside bunker shot. If I hit it left, the bunker is shallower, but the green runs away. If I hook the beejeezus out of it, I’m in the woods with grass up to my knees (dead!).
Come to think of it, with the pin back at Black Creek’s Biarritz, that may be tougher than BCC #13. But at Lookout, only the back part of the Biarritz is green, so it’s always back. At least at Black Creek, there’s a 2 in 5 chance that the pin’s front (much easier!)
The Honors: from the Silver tees, #5 par 4, 460 some odd. Longer when they put the new tees in play for the USGA Mid Am next year (the tournament’s in ’05). I have to bust a drive slightly uphill to a zoysia fairway (no roll) and then hit 3 or 4 iron to a two tiered, elevated green, bunkers for and aft of the middle. Effectively you are playing to one of tow small greens depending upon pin location. Back right is half a shot harder.

Easiest:
BCC, #14, par 5, 533 yards. A downhill tee shot to a wide fairway with no bunkers that I can reach, although it looks like I can. I expect(!) to hit a 320 yard drive. Then I have an uphill, blind shot over a nest of bunkers, very visually intimidating, but the closest is 50 yards short of the green. No greenside hazards, just a big chipping area all around the elevated green, from which I can putt and avoid the dreaded chip shot. I expect a two putt birdie, but I make a 5 65% of the time. If I make a bogey I really screwed up.
LMGC #6, 130 yards par 3. The Short. It’s a wedge shot to a big green. Unless the pin is short right I have plenty of room to keep the ball below the hole. Even if I don’t I can usually 2 putt.
The Honors, #17, 517 yards, par 5. Big fairway, although it’s semi-blind. A good drive leaves an iron uphill into a receptive green. Just avoid “Big bertha,” the deep trap short left.

My toughest personal scenario of the tee is a long iron (or fairway wood as at #7 BCC, although that hole has a wide landing area from the back (244 yard) tee) par three. Toughest driver tee shot is number 13, BCC, above: fade required, but slice punished. I do fine with a fade required, slice accepted. Water doesn’t freak me out. High grass is worse, but if there’s room, that doesn’t get to me either.

Toughest shot in golf: the dreaded 10 yards off the green chip. I’d rather have a 60 yard bunker shot. I rarely ever miss a green from 120 yards. I can make a double from 10 yards, easy. It’s worse in the fairway. At least in the rough I feel good about getting the club under the ball.

I don’t want to think about it anymore.

Is this some sort of psychological exam?

[Evan Fleisher]

Evan Fleisher, 11.7 Index, Dubuque Golf & Country Club

1. The toughest hole at DGCC is the opening hole...a seemingly simple 344 yard par-4.  What makes the hole difficult are that first of all it's the first hole of the day and you have yet to establish any rhythm.  Secondly, you have to play a semi-blind tee shot downhill to a tight landing area.  A large tree guards the "correct" line down the left side of the fairway, and if you are right you are in trees that require a punchout with little chance to hit the green. Even if you hit a good drive, you are generally faced with a severely downhill second shot to an uphill green that runs away from you.  It is very rare for my gang to ever make par here to start a round.

2. I think the easiest hole on the course is the 150 yard par-3 10th.  It is a downhill (usually downwind) shot with bunkers fronting the green but plenty of bailout area right and some short, so there is no huge penalty for missing the putting surface.  Even with a bad tee shot I seem to make a lot of 3's there.

3. Tight OB either left or right tends to be a problem for me...seems to be magnetic.  Water doesn't really bother me all that much, but forced carries are sometimes an issue.

4. The toughest shot in golf for me to execute seems to be getting off the tee consistently into the fairway...doing so always puts a strain on my game having to scramble all the time.

[Jeremy_Glenn.]

Jeremy Glenn.  4.  Royal Montreal

1)  First off, I assume you really mean "what's the toughest hole on your home course to make a "par" on, since there's no such thing as an difficult (or easy) hole in itself.  But in that case, I'd say it's 16.  430 yard "par four" dogleg left into the wind.  Tee shot is a "cape-style" drive over a pond.  Bite as much as you dare, or else you've got over 200 yards back over the same pond to an elevated green.

2) Easiest hole to par would be 13.  A 520 yard "par 5" dogleg left.  A good drive lets you reach the green in two or lay up to a wide second landing area to set up a pitch shot to a fairly large green.

3)  Any shot where failure means "hitting three".  Long carry over water, OB, narrow fairway surrounded by forests, etc...  Basically a hole where a slight slip brings triple bogey into the picture.  That's one of the reason 16 is a tough hole to par.  The tee shot is so friggin' intimidating.  Pull it left and....

4) Bunker shots.

[Ville Nurmi]

Ville, 6,8 Tuusulan Golf Klubi, Finland

1. Toughest hole is our finishing hole, 445 y par 4. The drive cannot be too long because of water on the right side from 230 y onwards and a quite steep rise on the left side. There is only about 20 y in between.

2. Easiest is par 3 14th. 140 y. From higher ground to low green. Only problem is quite deep bunker on the left hand side.

3. Whenb the wind is blowing directly against. Then I tend to slice.

4. Chipping from around the green.

[James Edwards]

Thank you to everyone for replying.

I need a few more, so if your reading this thread for the first time, please answer the 4 questions, and I'll let you know the findings asap.

regards

james

[RJ_Daley]

15.3 index

Brown County Municipal always white tees 6400 yards 70.2/127

Toughest hole, Hole #6 handi-ranking 1, par 5, 511 yards into prevailing wind.  Tee shot doglegs rt at 240,  left side is high rounded diagonal hillside with various trees in rough and with turbo speed ramp down right must carry 235-40 to catch the hump down to garden spot.  Severe fairway slope high left to down right into high rough where there are interspersed trees and a creek within the turn of dogleg at far right through trees.  Unless you hit drive just right, even if you hit right side of fairway, you will be sent in down hill lie in rough or all the way down to trees and possible slice to creek.  Second shot from there very dicey through trees with woods on right all the way to uphill green.  Thus, my toughest driving hole into wind with big trouble right for ballooned up tee ball into the wind with slice.

Easiest hole, par 3 130-40 slight uphill to big green, moderate back to front and mid-green hump contouring. Open front apron.

Toughest personal scenario off tee as described above, a demand for distance to get to some key LZ, but into prevailing wind with dogleg full of trouble rightside and secondary trouble, no bail out up left side.  As high handicapper with difficulty keeping it low and drawing, this is hardest off tee, trying to swing hard enough to get out there and tending to balloon slice because of that.

Next toughest shot to execute, 2-3 ft downhill slider putt.

Hardest club to hit consistently is 3 iron thinking to keep it low and running when little punchy 3 or 5 wood would have been smarter selection... :-/

Now that post was cathartic

[Carlyle Rood]

Name, Handicap and Home Club.
Carlyle Rood, 5.2, Atlanta C.C.

1.  Whats the toughest hole on your home course? why?

Hole 6, Par 3, 6-7-8 iron.  Defended by Sope Creek which is about 15 yards wide and runs at a 45-degree angle to the green.  (It's orientation is comparable to No. 12 at Augusta National).  Four bunkers are behind the green, and require a shot to a green that runs away from them toward the creek.

2.  Whats the easiest? why?

Hole 2, Par 5.  Straightforward drive.  Bad drives are recoverable.  It's rarely reachable, but the most favorible spot to pitch to the green is receptive and open.  Defended by bunkers, but the recovery shots are uphill and frequently the slope can be used to improve the execution.

Also,

3.  What is your toughest personal scenario off the tee?
i.e  Water down the right, wind off the left etc etc narrow fairway?

Tight fairway on Hole 1 with out-of-bounds in play.

4.  Whats the toughest shot in golf for you to execute?

A 30- to 50-yard pitch from the fairway.

[Len]

Len Jobin
Roseland Golf & Curling Club
Hdcp = 11

1.) #11 (approx. 400 yds) is tough for me. There is a tree on the left side at about 240 which overhangs the fairway and forces you to play a draw for ideal position. To the right is a bunker and heavy trees protecting the bailout.

2.) #15 (approx 350 yards). A shortish par 4 that doesn't have the trouble usually associated with a half-shot par 4 which makes you think off the tee. Drive, wedge & putt.

3.) See question #1

4.) Chipping. Some people get the yipps for putting. As I have aged, I have developed the chipping yipps.

[Hunt]

St. Louis CC, 11.8 Index,

Toughest Hole #13 Clubhouse
Long Par 5 that slopes left to right and for a guy that plays a fade-the 2nd shot on this 580 yard all carry hole with cross bunkers is also a challenge. Finally a false front green with some serious movement if properly placed leaves one thrilled with par and still not talking to oneself with a bogey.

Easiest Hole #5 Punchbowl
Short Par 5 that a good drive gives you a shot at eagle and the bowl can feed short approaches if you're in the ballpark.

Hardest Tee Shot
A long, tight Par 3 with a yardage over 220 uphill that requires accuracy. Bunkers left and right catch errant shots and a big, fat swale makes 2 putting a dream on a 50 yard green (oops, I have just described the#2 Biarritz "Double Plateau")  

Toughest Shot
Well, lately it has been the 75 yard wedge shot on a bent grass fairway. If you dont' hit that mother crisp you are either 30 yards over or 60 yards short in wet conditions.

[Don_Mahaffey]

Don Mahaffey, Palo Duro Creek Golf Club, 3.0

1. Toughest hole on my course, IMO, is our 14th, 225 yard par 3 with a large creek fronting the green. The green has a false front and even the tamer back part of the green slopes to the front. The green is pushed up style with severe, closly mowed slopes on both sides and the back. The hole playes into the prevailing wind and I've had to hit 3 wood. The problem is, if you hit to much club for fear of the creek, you end up over the green faced with a green 10 feet above you and a down wind flop shot with water in front. You have to pick the right club and execute. I hated the hole when I first saw it and I love it now.

2. 15th, 500 yards, par 5, dogleg right plays downwind. Very easy to hit it over the corner and have a PW into the green. Only defense is the creek in front and a small green.

3. Tight tree lined fairways where I need to hit driver. Put me on a wide open course and I can split the fwy, force me to hit a dead straight drive and I'll klunk a tree right off the tee.

4. 20 yard bunker shot. Can anyone hit this shot?

[John_McMillan]

Name:  John McMillan
Handicap:  playing to about a 10 at the end of last season
Home Club:  I play at High Pointe as much as anywhere else, so I'll use that to answer the hole questions

Toughest hole:  varies some by the wind and set of tees I'm playing.  From the back tees, and into the wind, #3 is awfully tough - especially with all the trees down the right side.  However, I'll go with #11 for day-in/day-out difficulty.  It's a 150 yard par-3, but the tough part is the shaved slopes left and behind the green which have a good chance to produce a lost ball if you miss the green one of these places.  Hitting 3 off the tee of a par-3 is a tough way to score, and I've done that enough times that it adds to the pressure of the first shot.

Easiest hole:  again varies some by the wind and set of tees.  From the forward tees, and downwind, #6 can be an awfully easy par-5.  However, I'll go with #14 for overall conditions.  While it's a forced carry over a valley, the shot plays to an awfully wide fairway, and I don't think I've ever hit a bad tee shot after playing the hole maybe 50-75 times.  The green has some severe areas, but with an 8-iron to a wedge into the green and no unplayable areas near the green, I'll make par or birdie more times than I'll make a higher score.  I've had days where I haven't broken 90, yet still made a par at 14.

Toughest off the tee:  I'll go with Tom Doak's answer - anything into the wind with trees nearby.  

While it's not something related to architectural values, I played a round several years ago when I was at Iowa State.  After 9 holes, a VERY attractive young woman was standing at the 10'th tee, and asked if she could join me for the back 9.  Trying to hit that tee shot, with the mantra, "Must hit ball and impress woman - don't miss ball and look like fool" repeating in my head was perhaps the single most difficult shot in golf I've faced.

Toughest shot to execute:  any short or finesse shot off of hardpan or other firm surface.  

[Shane Gurnett]

Shane Gurnett, Commonwealth Golf Club - Melbourne-Australia, handicap 5.

1. 16th hole at Commonwealth. 410 yard par four dogleg left, wide fairway with lake on inside of dogleg. Green tilts severely from back right to front left (bunker gaurds RHS) making preferred tee shot as close to the lake as possible, without going in. Plenty of room off the tee to the right, but the "safer" and further the tee shot to the right, the tougher the second. The ultimate strategy hole for mine, and a great matchplay hole given where it falls in the round. I make more 6's than 4's here, because I cant resist the temptation to hit it close to the lake (there are hundreds my golf balls in the damn thing!). There are dozens of ways to play the hole, but no easy way.

2. 13th at Commonwealth. 495 yard straight par five with a wide fairway and landing area for the second shot. A very easy 5 if played with 5 iron, 7 iron and wedge, BUT the heroic method of driver-long iron is too tempting and fraught with danger because of the penalty in the driver landing area (trees/bunkers). A terrific hole which can be the easiest of pars, but if you go for it in two, its easy to rack up 7 or more. A great example of how a short, straight par five can provide numerous options for golfers of all abilities, and a range of scoring results from 3 to 7 and more.

3. If its a hard wind blowing from the right, and there is trouble on the left, I really struggle (the draw quickly becomes a big hook). See 16th hole above as an example.

4. Ball above my feet. I just know when I stand up there that the ball is going left (the hook strikes again!), especially if the wind is helping.

[Steve_L.]

Steve - 7.2 index
St. Johns Golf & Country Club
St. Augustine, Florida

1.  Toughest - No. 18 - 462 yds (from back tees) - Bunkers in center of fairway with lake running entire left side and sneaking in front left of green.  Treacherous green with bunkers left and long.  Into the wind it's brutal.

2.  Easiest - No. 5 - 154 yds (back tees) - Bunker covers entire front and right side.  Large green fairly level.

3.  Toughest scenario off tee - water left of landing area into the wind.

4.  Toughest to execute - 60 yard wedge from tight lie over bunker to tight flagstick position.  

[Jeff Fortson]

Jeff Fortson, no handicap (professional), North Hills CC

1- Toughest Hole -  #2 430 yard par 4 dogleg left.  Severely elevated and sloped green from back left to front right.  The ball will roll off the green on almost every approach shot and even some putts.

2- Easiest Hole - #14 480 yard Par 5 straight away.  Very reachable in 2 and not too much trouble the entire hole.

3- Toughest personal scenario off a tee - Wind hurting and from the left.

4- Toughest Shot in golf to execute - Plugged bunker shot over a high lip with a green that runs away from you.

Jeff F.

[Keith Williams]

Keith Williams, approx. 5, Chapell Hills Country Club in Douglasville, GA.

Toughest Hole:  Hole #1, longest par 4 on course at 458 yards with elevated green, grass hollow at front left and bunker front right.  Creek behind green.

Easiest Hole:  Hole #4, short par 4 (about 330 yards) with generous fairway and little trouble.  Really nothing to deter a player from whaling away with a driver.  Easy, large green with only a small section containing extreme countours.  Bunkers surround green, but on such a short hole they really don't add any difficulty.  The only real danger area is over the green, which isn't seen often considering the shots coming in to the green.

Toughest personal scenario off tee:  a cape-type carry on a dogleg left.  I typically play a soft draw, but I can easily miss by either overcooking a hook or hitting a big push straight right.  This kind of cape tee shot gets me because typically both of my misses are dead, and with a hazard left there is even the potential for a decent shot to still find the hazard.  Our club's sister course has a hole like I described with a lake all along the left and trees tight on the right and it always gives me the willies on the tee.

Toughest shot to execute:  a short flop or lofted pitch to a tight pin off a real tight lie (or hardpan).  I like to blame my equipment (too much bounce on all my wedges  ) but the simple fact is that I don't practice the shot enough and now when I find myself in that position I have absolutely NO confidence.

Keith.

[henrye]

Name: Henry Eaton
Handicap: 16
Course: Granite Golf Club

Toughest:  For me, it's # 18.  573 yard par 5, with a forced carry of 200 yards to a relatively narrow fairway - all uphill.  This hole comes after 2 punishing par 4's of 485  and 468 yards.  By the time the tee shot on 18 rolls around I've usually had enough.  I don't play from the back tees, but the finishing holes are still tough at 461, 423 and 530 yards respectively.

Easiest:  #5.  Short par 4 - 355 yards and I can play a driver due to the large landing area.  From my tees it's only 317 yards.  Flat green with shallow bunkers.

Toughest shot is fairway wood or long iron.

[bodgeblack]

Jamie Black 3.4 Eastwood Golf Club, Glasgow, Scotland

toughest hole; #2 247yard par 3
horrible 200yard carry with OB all the way down the right, hard against the green.

easiest hole; #4 149yard par 3
tee 70feet above the green, just a solid 9 iron.

toughest tee ball scenario; straight away, long, bland par 4 needing a big drive. It's tough to visualize my shot. No mental picture means bad results for jamie!

toughest shot to execute; controled fade or draw. i tend to over-do what i am attempting

all the best

jamie

[Bryan_Pennington]

Bryan, Carolina CC (Raleigh, NC) 7.1

Toughest (for me) #11.  Shortest Par 3 on the course to island green.  About 165-170 from tips.  The tee box is a killer.  It sets-up dead left.  For a hooker of the ball, the combo of the water and tee set-up give me fits (wind generally helps the hook also).

Easiest #1.  Short Par 5.  Downhill 485 yards with a creek 100 from green.  Anything near the fairway with any distance is an automatic go for green.  Water is so far away from green site it is not in play.  Green is reasonably receptive (except front hole position).

Toughest tee shot is trouble left with a fairway that also slopes left.  Play a draw (really a hook) and have no fade.  If the fairways are fast, I can run a ball into problems even if I find the right center of the fairway.

Toughest shot is the high fade.  Almost try to shank the ball to make it go right.

[A.G._Crockett]

A.G. Crockett, 6.7, Alpharetta (GA) C.C.

1. Toughest.
#3, Par 4, 410 yds.  The drive has to be long AND straight, with hazard on left, bunker right and OB way right.  Even from fairway, the approach is a longer iron or 7 wood for me to a narrow green with bunkers and pond on left and bunkers right.  The green is hump-backed, so even on in 2 isn't a guarantee of a par.

2. Easiest
#11, Par 4, 335 yds.  Relatively wide open drive, with bank on left to hit into; any kind of decent drive leaves a wedge in to a relatively large, flat green.  Bogey here feels like a double.

[THuckaby2]

Name, Handicap and Home Club.

Tom Huckaby, 4.7, Santa Teresa GC (San Jose, CA)

1.  Whats the toughest hole on your home course? why?
There really aren't ANY killers there, but maybe it's #18 - dogleg left par 4 with huge trees all along left side, more trees and ob right, tee shot requires a draw... then the green is raised and pretty severely contoured.

2.  Whats the easiest? why?
#3 - short dl right par 4, flat green, some trees but it's pretty simple.

Also,

3.  What is your toughest personal scenario off the tee?
Left to right wind into any tight area.  That tends to exacerbate things and my "fade" is hard not to have turn into a "slice".

4.  Whats the toughest shot in golf for you to execute?
Long iron from downhill lie into a wind quartering from the left (ie into it and moving the ball right).

Too specific?

TH

[A.G._Crockett]

Oops...

3. Worst scenario has always been a hard dogleg right, 'cause I've always hooked the ball.

4.  Hardest shot to execute (following from #3 above!) is a controlled fade with a long club.  I can make it go right, but rarely have a clear idea how far right it is headed.

[Larry_Keltto]

Hidden Creek Golf Club, Owatonna, Minnesota, 13 handicap

1. Toughest hole on course: #4, a 426-yard par 4. It's a dogleg left, and for the first shot there's a pond tight, all the way down the left side. On the right, it's OB tight all the way. Also, the tee shot usually is into a strong northern wind, so at least 3-wood is necessary to be in good position for the second shot. On the second shot, a small creek is located about 40 yards short of the elevated green. There's a bunker short right, and a large tree left of the green.

2. Easiest hole: #10, 526-yard par 5. This is a slightly downhill three-shotter that usually plays downwind. A bunker guards the green short right, and there's OB down the right side, but the fairway is wide and welcoming.

3. Toughest tee-shot scenario. Playing into the wind, with a long forced carry. Either of those two factors usually cause me to rush my swing. In combination, it's tough.

4. Toughest shot. A 40- to 70-yard wedge from a downhill lie to a shallow green that's guarded tightly by water (burn, pond) in front.

[Jeff Shelman]

Jeff Shelman, 4, Mendakota CC, Mendota Heights, MN

1.  Whats the toughest hole on your home course? why?
   I think the toughest hole is the fourth, a 182-yard par 3 with an elevated green, bunker front left and collection area front right. What makes the hole so difficult is a nasty green that slopes severely from back left to front right. Missing the green left or long is really difficult and a putt from above the hole is a helluva adventure.
    
2.  Whats the easiest? why?
   The easiest hole is probably No. 1, a 500-yard par 5 that's rather trouble free as long as you keep the tee ball in play. The green is one of the flattest on the course and it's probably the hole I birdie the most. The rub, however, is that if you make 6, you're not so happy.

3.  What is your toughest personal scenario off the tee?
i.e  Water down the right, wind off the left etc etc narrow fairway?
    For me, the toughest scenario is a long par 4 where I have to hit a fade off of the tee. A long dogleg right that you can't just bang it over the corner usually means I hit a draw and have 800 yards into the green.
and finally,

4.  Whats the toughest shot in golf for you to execute?
    Long bunker shots are pretty much the death of me. It's an almost automatic bogey.

[JohnV]

John Vander Borght, 5.6, Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club (Witch Hollow)  no longer a member but it was my course for 10 years.

1. The hardest hole on the course is definitely the 18th.  A 520 yard par 5 from the tees we usually played, it had a carry over wetlands on drive and if you hit it far enough a carry over more wetlands on the second.  If you didn't hit it far enough, you layed up and had a shot from about 180 to the green.  The wetlands also were on the left.  The fairway was 45 yards wide at its widest, but it didn't look like it from the tee as the wetlands obscured much of it.  The green was very steep in back and had a deep hollow to  the left.  All these things gave golfers fits.  I saw (and made) scores from 3 to 13 on the hole over the years.

2.  Easiest hole was probably the 15th.  A 157 yard par 3 with a couple of bunkers in front and a fairly good green, but those who couldn't carry the bunkers could run it up the right side.

3.  OB Left and Trees right with a green such that I want to keep it near the trees.

4. Right now it seems to be a simple little chip from the fairway near the green.  But, if I can get by my current problems, I would say it was a 75-95 yard bunker shot.

[Doug Siebert]

Doug Siebert, index 5 or so, Finkbine GC, Iowa City IA

1. Toughest hole for me is the 9th, a 449 yard par 4 that plays with a tee shot steeply uphill and into the prevailing wind.  The tee is a built at an angle to the hole so the fairway is angled about 30 degrees left to right, with two bunkers guarding a slightly missed drive (with lips high enough that you have to get lucky with placement to have a go at the green) and moguls awaiting a pull or too long tee shot on the left side of the fairway.  There are also tree limbs overhanging about 50-100 yards off the tee that restrict how far to the right you can start out (i.e., a natural draw won't work here)  The ideal play is a fade anyway of course, and that's not an easy shot for me because I'm worried about overcooking it and hitting the overhanging limbs or getting inside two large evergreens that lie about 270 off the tee to the right (guaranteed unplayable if you are in them, or chip out if you are just behind them)

If you can get past the tee shot the hole isn't too bad, with one bunker directly left of the green and a steep dropoff to the right, but the green is probably 15-20 yards wide and 40 yards deep so there's plenty of room.  But given the length of the hole and prevailing wind your second isn't exactly with a short iron, any time you are playing a mid or even long iron into a stiff wind its not an easy shot even if the area around the green was completely trouble free.


2. The easiest for me is the 7th.  It plays 386 and is a slight dogleg right that sets up for me in a way which makes the fairway effectively 50 yards wide.  I probably make more birdies there than anywhere else.  Honorable mention goes to the 14th, 423 yards long, with a 200 yard semi-forced carry, lost ball country awaiting a hook, steep uphill for the last 200 yards, a deep bunker to the left, long is a lost ball and the green has an extremely severe right to left slope.  Sounds hard, and it used to be my worst hole due to too much hooking and too much of a psych job on myself, but mind over matter and nowadays it plays easy for me, at least relative to how it plays for others.  I used to think "6" when I stepped on the tee, now I think "two putts for 4".  Amazing how much the mind plays a part in this game.

3. Toughest scenario is just bad teebox conditions.  Overly long grass, uneven lies, slippery ground.  If that's not what you meant, see answer to #1


4. Most difficult shot is a playing over water from right next to the water when my grips are wet (very hot and humid out, a bit rain, whatever)  I don't wear a glove, and I always feel like the club is going to fly out of my hands and end up lost in the water.  So I'm holding on so tight with my left hand it is difficult to make any sort of decent contact with the ball.