Innocent Looking, yet evil, pin placements

[Tim Bert]

What's the most treacherous pin placement you've ever faced without realizing the treachery until it was far too late?  I'm not talking about the obvious one pace off the edge of the green pins or the pins in the middle of a slope on "superintendents revenge" day.  I'm talking about, "Oh look, there's a pin somewhat in the middle of the green, I'll just go ahead and ease my approach on up there and take care of business... Oops, I'm screwed!!!"

Bonus points if you can provide a visual that helps lull the viewer into a state of complacency over the alleged difficulty.

I faced this pin placement with some fellow GCAers in 2008.  When you play the course in question, you go in expecting to have some tough putting holes and even putt a few off the green, but I think it is safe to say this one caught us all off guard!

It was nearly impossible to stop the ball within 3 feet of this pin coming from almost any direction.  If the ball was below the hole, anything but the best touch would result in the ball returning to you.  If the ball was above the hole - forget about it.  Our group had 8 attempts at this pin location, and I believe that fewer than 50% of those attempts resulted in holing out a putt.

The second time around, I put the ball in a terrible spot above the hole just slightly into the fringe.  I knew what I was facing from the first time around and tapped the ball ever so slightly (think just get it in motion) only to watch it roll all the way off the green.  After we completed the hole, just for giggles, I went back to the spot of the putt and I ever so gently tapped the ball (even lighter than the first tap if possible) 90 degrees away from the hole into the fringe.  It too rolled off the bottom of the green.

I'm ok with having a spot on or around the green where it is impossible to leave it close, or even on the green.  Shame on me for hitting the ball there.  The most confounding thing of the experience was that it seemed just as impossible to get the ball to even stop in the vicinity from below the hole.  Perhaps it was just the green speed was ever slightly too quick that day, or maybe we just missed something completely.

Anyway, interested in the wolf in sheep's clothing pin locations you've faced!

[Brad Fleischer]

Tim

That hole there above ? Cmon no way . I think you will win the photo part in a landslide . It looks like it's nothing. You weren't using a
Pinnacle where you I mean I know you need the extra distance . That might have had something to do with it .

Turtle

[K. Krahenbuhl]

Yep...good call Tim.  I remember taking quite a bit of time before moving to the 11th tee.

I had a similar experience with #12 at Oakmont.

[Tim Bert]

Tim

That hole there above ? Cmon no way . I think you will win the photo part in a landslide . It looks like it's nothing. You weren't using a
Pinnacle where you I mean I know you need the extra distance . That might have had something to do with it .

Turtle

It's one of those things I couldn't have believed if I didn't see it with my own eyes.  I would have listened to your story and said, "uh huh, sure" assuming you were throwing in a little hyperbole for good measure.  I sometimes wonder if I've stretched the legend in my own mind.  We'll see if any others from that group opine - or call me out for telling a tall tale!

[Tim Bert]

Yep...good call Tim.  I remember taking quite a bit of time before moving to the 11th tee.

I had a similar experience with #12 at Oakmont.

1 down, 3 to go.  The beauty of that day is that I had four witnesses as opposed to the standard three.

[Jimmy Chandler]

Middle of the 10th green at NLE Beechtree.  That's where the pin was on the day the GCA group pleyed it in 2008 right before it shuttered.  Impossible pin to get he ball close; if you were above the hole you were almost guaranteed at least a 3 putt, even 8-10 feet above the hole.

[Tim Gavrich]

There's a quirky but interesting golf course called Orchard Creek outside of Albany, NY whose par-3 6th hole seems pretty non-descript, with a gentle mound in the middle of the green.  As I recall, a pin atop that mound doesn't look too threatening, but it's absolutely beastly.

[John Mayhugh]

So far, I've never seen anything more confounding than that hole location.  I've seen ones just as difficult to get the ball to stop, but nothing that looks so much more benign than it is.

[RSLivingston_III]

IMO, every green of that course has at least one pin that could be described that way.

[Adam Clayman]

Desert Forest's greens came immediately to mind. Every one of the positions are likely tricky, especially anything front and center, being the most deceptive.

Crystal Downs qualifies too, but I suspect it's that way mostly due to excessive speed rather than any wolf in sheep's clothing effect..

[Tim Bert]

IMO, every green of that course has at least one pin that could be described that way.

I don't doubt that for one second. This was the only one we faced that played that extreme. 13 was close although it looked more terrifying to begin with and ultimately played tamer.

[Jon Heise]

No kidding, when I opened this thread, I read the title a couple of the words on the first line, saw the top cloudy part of your pic and nothing else...  my first thought was Crystal Downs...  DING!


Anyway, good call on that pin.  The round I played it was in a similar spot, maybe a little closer to the middle and back.  Stuck a PW to about 3'.  Nailed my 12 footer for par...

[Tim Bert]

No kidding, when I opened this thread, I read the title a couple of the words on the first line, saw the top cloudy part of your pic and nothing else...  my first thought was Crystal Downs...  DING!


Anyway, good call on that pin.  The round I played it was in a similar spot, maybe a little closer to the middle and back.  Stuck a PW to about 3'.  Nailed my 12 footer for par...

I would have been impressed with your game if you could have stopped your three footer a mere twelve feet from the hole the day we played.  Sounds like a great par!

[Sean_A]

Well, I wouldn't say it is innocent looking, but jeepers, this hole location is a bedeviler.  You see that ball on the right?  That was my safe shot for an approach.  If I recall correctly (not quite sure), I took four more from there unless I made an excellent putt for a bogey. 


Ciao

[corey miller]

Tim

What course and hole is this?

[JC Jones]

Corey,

It is Crystal Downs #10 and the pin on the back left is the WORST.  When I played there in August our pin was back there and nobody in the group got down in 2.