Hole #11 - par 4 - Road
Back tee - 445 yards
Middle tee - 399 yards
The 11th, as at least one participant has suggested, is a nice back-to-back combo. In the winter wind, the 10th will play deadly long, but the 11th will play much shorter. In the summer, the opposite will be true. Either way, a combined 9 on the two is a nice accomplishment for all but those with the lowest handicaps. In our group, only one player accomplished this feat. He did so in both of his rounds. It is probably no coincidence that he was a 4 handicap and the rest of us weren't.
The Road was quietly disruptive. 9 months later, I'm not sure I can recall exactly why we all made bogeys and doubles. On the surface, it appears that the "hotel", which is represented by gorse, doesn't replicate the original's fear factor (I have not played The Old Course, so equal parts speculation and what I've heard secondhand). First off, I'm not sure that in a summer wind, I'd even attempt to carry the gorse as it felt a long way off from even the middle tee. Perhaps just an illusion. Second, there seems to be ample amounts of space left, including left of the fairway where the "rough" is rather thin and maintained in a playable manner.
What a sucker, you are all thinking. He bit on the play left strategy and the pin was tucked on the back portion of the green. Everyone knows that is the fool's play... and he's wondering why the group didn't par the hole. Except, I can't imagine that either 1) the bunker or 2) the back portion of the green are nearly as severe as #17 at TOC. The back of the green was surprisingly roomy in my opinion. And the bunker wasn't all that imposing. My failing, I believe, was actually playing the approach shot too conservatively (at least with respect to the bunker) and putting my approach OVER the green where getting up and down was no easy task for me. I think next time around, I would attack the bunker and take my chances. In a sense, the summer wind might actually be helpful on the approach as the firm and fast conditions combined with a strong "helping" wind in the winter, make the green more difficult to hold.
I do believe the hole is probably nasty in the summer, but in the winter it is more of a silent killer. All things being equal, I think I'd rather face the two holes back to back in the summer wind than in the winter wind. Perhaps that's only because I've witnessed the difficulty of the winter wind firsthand.
Near the back tee. At nearly 450 the hole is a monster from here in any wind
More user friendly tee box
Left side of the fairway and rough
Perhaps I did not give enough credit for how the movement in the fairway complicates the approach!
A closer view of the approach - the rather large shelf on the front part of the green can be seen here
OK, so the bunker looks more imposing imposing than I recall. 10 years later, the pain of my last kidney stone has slowly diminished in my mind as well
Nah, I was right. It is bigger than one might expect, but not too deep
A look at the green wrapped around the bunker
I don't have a good photo of the rear portion of the green. I'd appreciate it if someone has one they can add.