Hole #7 - par 4 - Ocean
Back tee - 363 yards
Middle tee - 345 yards
The 7th hole wraps up a tremendous stretch of holes that is my favorite group of consecutive holes on the course. One of the best sustained opening stretches in golf if found at Old MacDonald, and some would rightfully argue that the stretch is longer than the first 7 holes. #1 through #7 is just my personal preference.
The 7th is yet another moderate to short length par 4 on the front nine. Like the 1st and the 3rd before it, it will play wildly different depending upon the wind. The whole will play longer in the summer than in the winter. Like the 3rd, a shot must ascend a very steep hill. Unlike the 3rd, that shot is the approach on this hole.
A small mound in front of the tee obscures the view of at least some of the fairway. The tee shot is so interesting to me because the fairway essentially runs diagonally past the point where the dune climb to the green occurs, giving the player many options depending upon the wind and the pin position. The fairway runs all the way beyond what one might consider the normal "boundary" of this hole and melds into the area in front of the 8th green.
One could probably play as little as a middle iron from the tee and still have a reasonable shot to play up to the green, though the approach would be difficult. With our winter wind, I think a hybrid or longer iron was probably the most popular choice from the tee, leaving a shot directly up the face of the dune. Another option was to play long into the fairway cutting across the 8th, and then playing somewhat backwards and up the hill to the pin. All of these tee shots could leave as little as a wedge into the green, depending upon how far left into the fairway the tee shot was played. The approach is extremely uphill thanks to the steep face of the dune.
Once you climb the hill to the green, the scenic view steals the show but the green deserves significant attention as well. The ocean supplies a view, but it should be a rather rare circumstance where the cliff comes into play. There is plenty of room to hit the ball here. When the pin is near the northwest corner of the green, there is a bunker that would appear ready to grab a few more golf balls rolling through the firm and fast green.
This is hole represents some of the finest work on the course in my opinion. I think this hole represents the peak of a long, sustained crescendo that begins when the first tee shot it struck. There may be another mini-peak in there at #5, but there's no break until the snack shack at the ocean. Climbing up the dune to see how you fared on your approach shot combined with the rewarding views of not only the ocean, but more importantly the entire course laid out before you, is really something else. This view back on the golf course, triangulated with the ones available when the golfer first crosses the Sahara and also when the golfer reaches the green on #14, is one of the best ways to take in the enormity of the golf course.
From the tee
A look from the beginning of the fairway
The approach if the golfer chooses the short shot off the tee. Still a good bit of work remains with an awkward diagonal uphill approach.
This angle straight up the dune shows that a shot left short might not run ALL the way back down, but it is definitely coming back to one of the tiers.
Another view that shows the severity of the uphill approach
This is the type of angle you'll have if you choose to bang it long into the fairway in front of the 8th green. Another uphill, diagonal approach, but from a very different angle than the other two approach options.
Looking back down on the 7th fairway
A setting that will be featured in many, many photos for years to come
A look at the greenside bunker
A view looking north from the green - similar to the view of the Sheep Ranch that one gets from #13 Pacific Dunes, but a little closer.
Here's the view of #7 with #13 green at Pacific Dunes behind.
One more look at the green
Snack anyone? Not a bad place to sit and enjoy a bite to eat if the course backs up
