How is Old Mac's 4th....

[Emile Bonfiglio]

You both hit the ball 275-300? Really? That places you in quite an elite bracket. Congratulations on that feat.

I smoke the ball for a 5'9" guy and I count on 250 most days.

More Deer Antler Spary will fix that.

[Garland Bayley]

You both hit the ball 275-300? Really? That places you in quite an elite bracket. Congratulations on that feat.

I smoke the ball for a 5'9" guy and I count on 250 most days.

Even an old guy like I can hit it 270 on a windless day at Bandon. Or at least I could a couple of years ago. Right now I'm struggling for distance.

[William_G]

forgot about #11, long hole with the a elevated and repelling green

[William_G]

Matt - Did you hit your drive on the "right" line - ie) where you knew the distance would carry the hogs back?

This is obviously a par 4.5 and easily shifts from a 4 to a 5 depending on the wind, or lack of it. The same with the 6th which becomes a 4 when it's downwind or a 4.5 when it's super calm.

I always found that the priority is to carry the hogs back even if you have to take it a little more left. This normally leaves the opportunity to play a long rolling runner onto the green. Right is jail.

It's not an easy hole but I think it is excellent because of the strategy off the tee and the requirements for another great approach shot. On many holes at Old Mac, because of the width, you can get away with a less than stellar tee shot and still make par, or even birdie, with a great recovery.

I don't understand why they played it as a par 5 for the NCAA tournament considering the distance those guys hit the ball, unless it was playing into a strong wind every day and the tees were all the way back. If so, did they make the 6th a par 4?

According to one of the coaches, they were just taking it easy on the golfers for the tournament...average score was somewhere around 4.5 for the hole I think.

There is no doubt you have to go left of center on #4 with your tee shot.

[William_G]

Par is the most powerful force in golf.

I'll show you par!..

[Bill_McBride]

Matt - Did you hit your drive on the "right" line - ie) where you knew the distance would carry the hogs back?

This is obviously a par 4.5 and easily shifts from a 4 to a 5 depending on the wind, or lack of it. The same with the 6th which becomes a 4 when it's downwind or a 4.5 when it's super calm.

I always found that the priority is to carry the hogs back even if you have to take it a little more left. This normally leaves the opportunity to play a long rolling runner onto the green. Right is jail.

It's not an easy hole but I think it is excellent because of the strategy off the tee and the requirements for another great approach shot. On many holes at Old Mac, because of the width, you can get away with a less than stellar tee shot and still make par, or even birdie, with a great recovery.

I don't understand why they played it as a par 5 for the NCAA tournament considering the distance those guys hit the ball, unless it was playing into a strong wind every day and the tees were all the way back. If so, did they make the 6th a par 4?

According to one of the coaches, they were just taking it easy on the golfers for the tournament...average score was somewhere around 4.5 for the hole I think.

There is no doubt you have to go left of center on #4 with your tee shot.

There is nothing but misery and despair and triple bogies down that right side.........

[Matthew Essig]

Matt - Did you hit your drive on the "right" line - ie) where you knew the distance would carry the hogs back?

This is obviously a par 4.5 and easily shifts from a 4 to a 5 depending on the wind, or lack of it. The same with the 6th which becomes a 4 when it's downwind or a 4.5 when it's super calm.

I always found that the priority is to carry the hogs back even if you have to take it a little more left. This normally leaves the opportunity to play a long rolling runner onto the green. Right is jail.

It's not an easy hole but I think it is excellent because of the strategy off the tee and the requirements for another great approach shot. On many holes at Old Mac, because of the width, you can get away with a less than stellar tee shot and still make par, or even birdie, with a great recovery.

I don't understand why they played it as a par 5 for the NCAA tournament considering the distance those guys hit the ball, unless it was playing into a strong wind every day and the tees were all the way back. If so, did they make the 6th a par 4?

According to one of the coaches, they were just taking it easy on the golfers for the tournament...average score was somewhere around 4.5 for the hole I think.

There is no doubt you have to go left of center on #4 with your tee shot.

There is nothing but misery and despair and triple bogies down that right side.........

Like I said earlier, we were over/left of the Hogs Back

[Garland Bayley]

Why are you even looking at the scorecard?
I think the golf ball travels too far, because you cannot look at a hole and decide where to hit, because some points on the hole are too far to see reasonably, but yet you can reach them with the ball.

[Matt Albanese]

I played this hole on Tuesday in a light winter breeze from the 504 yard plate. I hit it down the right center, cleared the hog's back and hit 8 iron into the green. Seemed like a very reasonable par 4 to me.

[Andy Troeger]

Matt,
You must be pretty long if you hit 8-iron into the wind from 504!

We played shorter than that (450?) into a reasonable winter wind, and it wasn't reachable in two shots for anyone in my group (mostly single-digits). On the other hand I was almost pin-high in two on #6 with the wind helping, even though I blocked my drive by about 40 yards. I think both holes are probably better with the opposite wind, but you play them as you find them on any given day.

[Matt Albanese]

Matt,
You must be pretty long if you hit 8-iron into the wind from 504!

We played shorter than that (450?) into a reasonable winter wind, and it wasn't reachable in two shots for anyone in my group (mostly single-digits). On the other hand I was almost pin-high in two on #6 with the wind helping, even though I blocked my drive by about 40 yards. I think both holes are probably better with the opposite wind, but you play them as you find them on any given day.

A combination of length and being fortunate enough to roll my drive all the way over and to the bottom of the Hog's back and not end up left (or right) of it. Also, the wind wasn't as strong as it can be out there. My point is that there are aggressive lines that can make the hole play a lot shorter. I had 167 yards left once my tee shot stopped.

[Tom_Doak]

not designed as a par 5?

Why not slide the tees back 30 yards? If one carried it over the Hogs Back, he could go for the green in 2. If not, it is 3 shots. I believe it would make the hole better.

I played Old Mac with my father again today and we both still don't quite understand the hole.

I might be told that par isn't relevant but my father and I were both closer to the hole after 2 shots on 15 then on 4.

Matthew:

There were two natural features we had to work with ... the hog's back in the fairway [which was modified by shaping], and the green site.  They were pretty far apart, so it was going to be a long second shot in if we used the hog's back; but carrying the hog's back was not going to be very important if you couldn't get home in two once you did.

If we'd made it a par five, the middle and forward tees would have to be moved back accordingly, and a lot of players would not be able to get over the hill and they would be left with a fully blind second shot.

Also, as Jim Urbina noted, the hole is designed with the northerly (summer) wind uppermost in mind.  It is indeed a very hard hole in adverse winds, or even no wind.  But there are not so many still days in Bandon.